There was no doubt in my mind. Right outside our bathroom window floated the head of a ghost!
Sure, it was dark out, being the middle of the night and all. And I was still half asleep, having just woken up to use the bathroom, but there was no denying what I saw. It was a ghost with yellow glowing eyes — and it was looking right through me!
Ghosts do cry
The only thing worse than trying to convince your brothers and The Sister in the morning that you saw a ghost the night before is to claim that it was gray, crying, and banging on the window to get in.
“Ghosts are white.”
“Ghost don’t cry.”
“They don’t have eyes.”
“Ghosts don’t bang on windows; they can go right through them.”
“They say, ‘Boo’ and they don’t whimper.”
I protested, “Well, my ghost did. It was gray with yellow eyes, whimpering ‘cause it was crying, and was asking to get in by banging on the window.”
When I told Mom, she said I was probably sleepwalking again. Then she went back to the basement to fight some more with the Laundry Monster. She fights a monster every day, but no one believes I saw a ghost? When Dad got home from work, his reaction was very different.
The knowing smile
After I recounted the entire ghost sighting story to Dad, he leaned back in his recliner, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and said, “You know, just to be sure it wasn’t a dream, perhaps you should look out that window again tonight at about the same time.” As I walked away, I’m sure he was smiling, but at what I didn’t know. He believed me — that’s all that was important, and I decided to follow his advice.
That night I set the alarm clock next to my bed for 1:00 a.m. — the ghosting hour. When the alarm sounded, I made my way to the bathroom in total darkness, just like the night before. And just like the night before, while washing my hands I looked up to see the same gray ghost with yellow eyes floating just outside, banging on the window and crying to come in.
Screaming scares ghosts
My screaming from the bathroom woke up my brothers. But to ensure I had witnesses, I ran into the bedroom and made them get up to see the gray ghost. When we got to the bathroom and switched on the lights, the gray ghost was gone. The explanation that my screaming and the light must’ve scared it off didn’t go over well with my brothers.
In the morning, I don’t think Mom believed it either. She gave me a hug and then went back to the basement to fight the Laundry Monster again.
Dad believes
When Dad got home from work, he said he suggested I’d do the same again. This time, as I walked away, I looked back to see the ever-so-slight smile crossing his face. Still, that night I set my alarm and when it sounded made my way to the bathroom without switching on the lights. Again, I saw my gray ghost, and again I got my brothers up. But this time I didn’t scream, they didn’t make a sound, and no lights were switched on.
They believe
It was one of the few times my brothers and I stood next to each other without making a sound. Finally, Twin Brother Mark whispered, “Where’s the ghost?” And that’s when it happened. Out of nowhere, the gray face with yellow glowing eyes appeared right in front of us! The ghost started to whimper as it tapped on the window trying to get in. This time, we all screamed, ran into our parents’ bedroom, jumped into their bed, and pulled the blanket over our heads.
The laughter heard for sixty years
We all talked at once, recounting the story of the real gray ghost floating outside our bathroom window. Our parents’ reaction wasn’t what any of us expected. Their laughter started slowly and soon became uncontrollable. It was Mom who finally said, “Honey, we need to tell them.”
It seems our large dog was a special breed which had yellow eyes that “glowed” in the dark, like cat’s eyes. He also had heightened hearing that accounted for him hearing me in the bathroom. Standing up on his hind legs, he perched his front paws on the windowsill and tapped on the window whimpering to get let in.
I was only eight years old at the time, but I will never forget my gray ghost story. My brothers never let me forget either. Every October, one of them calls to ask if I’d seen any gray ghosts lately.
Finding a ghost of their own
After telling my granddaughters this bedtime story, they insisted on going outside on the back deck hoping to see their own “ghost.” After ten minutes without a sighting, we turned to go back inside, and that’s when we heard it — a haunting hooting sound, coupled with a rustling high up in the nearby trees. I knew what it was, but the girly girls screamed and bolted inside, convinced they had heard their own ghost.
I figure, I’ll give it a week or so and then tell them what really made the sound and rustling noise — a barn owl. Or perhaps I’ll just let them keep their ghost memory so they can tell their kids about the time they went out on the back deck with their Big Papa in search of a ghost — and actually found one.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories weekly in The Citizen since 2001.]
