One night after my last baseball game the team and I went to our coaches moms house for a tent sleep over. Her house was amazing! It was an old white Victorian home with 6 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There was a root cellar that connected to the house through an old Michigan style basement, no cement, only dirt. Going out from the root cellar to the back yard was a cool boat house that just housed the boat with no floor only side decks. The age of the house was prevalent from the big old trees that surrounded it. A beautiful sleek pine and weeping willow by either ends of the watery property with a big oak by the side of the house separating the other property. The garage looked like an old horse stall. In the middle of all backyard was a beautiful patch of grass was just big enough for a 12 person tent and a small area With a fire pit. It was perfect!
We all came from various schools but we as a group we had our faith. It was so pounded into us since we could walk. Don’t listen, you are evil and need to repent, you talk back, you get slapped, then next day confession for you. Either way, we knew that together we could make things happen on that field. Baseball and friendship!
As the sun went down we ate pizza that came with the last game, then s’mores! The campfire set beautifully glistening on the water and shimmering against the pink and purple sky. As the night got later, no moon lit the night sky. What a perfect night for ghost stories. The girls put the flashlight to their faces and told several ghost stories. Which to tell you the truth didn’t scare me one bit. I was pretty bored and headed to the tent to get to sleep. I had to babysit on the morning.
At about 1 am the rest of the girls made it into the tent. They seem to go out pretty quick. What a peaceful night as I fell asleep to the subtle whooshing of the willow and the waves crashing on the break wall. Suddenly, crash-boom, lightening fill the sky. The waves that we so soothing as earlier they were now banging and splashing almost to the tent. The sky lit up from one side to the other in a web of spidery lines. A small shadow started approaching toward the tent. To me it looked like the dress of someone during Jesus time, almost like the Virgin Mary. Her arms were open wide out from her sides. I could hear a faint whisper, “forgive me, I am sorry”. I thought I heard faintly. I sat up and looked around inside the tent to see if any of the other gals heard or seen what I was witnessing. All I could see was bumps under covers so I figured they were all still sleeping. So I laid back down and closed my eyes, thinking to my self “this must be a dream”.
Suddenly, another loud boom - crash then my name was yelled, Heather! I pulled the covers over my head more. I started to shake, then zoop, my blanket was ripped out of my hands. I was frozen in fear. The shadow started to get bigger then broaden out to show 12 people not 1. They just kept moving closer and now in a louder voice they were praying the Our Father prayer. One of the shadow people moved forward into the middle of the other beings. He started talking to me directly.
“Heather, I’m sorry but I have a message from God. You will be made to suffer from this day forward. God is very sorry, but if you do not suffer you will not be able to do his glorious work he has intended for you. You need to pray for strength and guidance through this tough time of abuses”. The chorus of chanting were getting even louder now.
CRASH, Boom FLASH!, The storm started to gain strength, now the wind started whirling through the pines whistling, the willows swhooshing violently as the tent ends started to lift up. I stopped a minute and thought, mmm there is 13 of us here, it has to be my teammates. I stood up, pulled the blankets back from my friends, they were gone. Yep, this is a prank. The group of shadows were now backing away from the tent but I could still hear the chant the Our Father prayer. I unzipped the tent, went around to the boat slip and saw nothing outside. I could still hear the chanting but no team or anyone else. I peeked back into the tent and the shadows were still there just getting smaller. The wind was picking up every leaf in the yard and whirled it by my head. I turned to walk to the house and I saw a man at the corner of my eye in the willow tree. I turned fully to look at the figure from the corner of my eye. He had a noose around his neck. I yelled, I was so done! I went to run into the house and with a tornado like wind I was twirled around. Bam, my face smacked into feet hanging from the tree with blood on them. The man looked down at me and cried, saying “ you will be betrayed, as I have been betrayed. You will be harmed physically and emotionally for many years but this is by the will of God. You are needed for a special task He has planned for you. God is sorry and I am sorry.”
I twisted away from the feet, wiped my face with my arm and bolted into the house.
As I entered the house the rest of the team was watching TV and eating popcorn. They all started to laugh and I began crying. I told my coach’s mother what happened. She did not look stunned or disturbed she just held me. She told me that they tried to wake me to come into the house but I just sat up and told them that I was waiting for a message. Then I laid back down. I was stunned. What happened to me? Why did I see those things? So she tucked me with a sheet on one of the couches and went to get my things. When she came back I was finally starting to relax. The other girls were laying in another room going to sleep. The house was getting quiet.
The coaches mother got back with my things and told me a story I was so shocked to hear, and even to this day it gives me the creeps.
The church across the street owned this property. It also used to be an ancient Native American burial site. A bloody war was fought on this land and when the Native Americans lost, they put a curse on anyone who lived here. When this was part of the church the nuns used this place as their living quarters. One of the priest had some conflict with the Vatican because he was trying to set things right with the native Americans but the church officials denied his request. Evil really filled this place at one time. So the priest, to send a message, kills all the nuns. He then hung himself up in the willow tree. I was shocked but a little relieved, at least maybe I’m not crazy!
At the end of the story, I thanked her for letting me know. After that day, I see ghosts and they follow me everywhere, do you know who is standing next to you?
