The Face in the Window: A Ghost Story
Hello again friends! I’m back with another spooky tale, this time one that I personally experienced when I was a little kid staying the night at my grandparents’ house (the same grandpa who went to the cemetery I previously wrote on). I didn’t learn many of the details that clued me into the reality of my experience being a ghost, until well over 20 years after it had happened.
I didn’t tell anyone it happened, but it scared me shitless. I was only 8 or so years old, and at that age, didn’t understand the spiritual side of life yet. I’ve always had clairvoyant and medium-like abilities, but given the culture of christian fundamentalism I was raised in, this was something that I wouldn’t claim until my teenage years. One of my earliest memories, in fact, is that of an old lady standing at the side of my crib in my nursery in Pittsburgh. She wasn’t scary, and only comforted me; but when I asked my mom if there were any visitors of that age and description, I was met with a very strong “no”. I digress, and will instead let the story tell itself.
The Face in the Window
It was 2001-2002; definitely after the events of 9/11, and the country was still reeling from the after shock of them. My mom and I decided to spend the night at my grandparent’s house; I think her and my dad were fighting (which wasn’t rare). I was only 8 years old, and remember buying a bunch of Pokémon cards at Walmart before going back to my grandparent’s house, just outside of Kent, Ohio. After eating dinner, playing with my new cards and winding down for the evening, everyone made their way to bed; grandpa first, as he had to be at work early the next morning. My mom and grandma stayed up watching TV, and I decided to go into the guest bedroom and go to sleep. I drifted off to sleep, and stayed asleep well past my mom coming in the room, which we were sharing.
At about 3 a.m., I woke up to the sound of a dog barking, and found my mom asleep in the room with me. She was dead asleep, not aware of what was going on. It wasn’t my grandparent’s dog barking either, perhaps one of the neighbors’ dogs?
I get up out of the bed, and go to part the curtains and see if I could see what was causing the disturbance. I wasn’t expecting to see anything really, let alone what I did see.
Upon parting the curtains, I was confronted with the face of a boy in the window; no body, no arms, no legs. Just the face. It was glowing whitish blue, and didn’t have any expression on it. The eyes were like two black voids, and the mouth was open as if he was trying to say something to me.
Immediately, scared out of my 8-year old mind, I closed the curtains and stepped away. After a minute or so, I decided to see if I could see the face again, thinking maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me. I finally mustered up the courage to part the curtains again. This time, the face was there again, but unlike the last time, I heard something: a high pitched ringing noise that got stronger and stronger, until I realized it was more of a screeching sound. The face in the window then seemed to come at me, and disappeared.
Since then, I have yet to go back into that room of my grandmother’s house. Any time I was sent back there to get something, or help with work being done around their house, I always made it the quickest trip possible, having an almost irrational fear of that room, even into adulthood.
20 years later…
I never told anyone about my experience with the Face in the Window, at least not until certain events that happened on the plot of land that my grandparent’s house is on were brought up in a family discussion. The land that my grandparents live on is shared by two other houses, with two of the three homes on the land still being in the family. It’s quite a big piece of land, and was at one point all farm land maintained by my great-grandfather and the family. Eventually, two more houses were built on the land, with my grandparent’s house being the latest addition in the late 90’s.
While discussing family stories one day, the story of a little boy who lived in the house in the back of the property, which was rented out by my great-grandmother, came up. Apparently, he was playing in the car, pretending to drive or be in a race, or something of that sort. He accidentally put the car in reverse (this was back in the day of manual transmissions), and upon finding his mistake, as the car was rolling backwards, he jumped out, and tried to stop it by pushing it. It did not end well, and the boy died. He was about 5 years old.
Shocked, and immediately replaying the events of that night 20 years later, I stepped outside to collect myself. Later that day, I told my grandma, grandpa and mom privately what had happened, and that I’d connected it to this tragic death on the property. They were all shocked, surprised that I never said anything all these years. Yet they all knew it was true, and it was likely the spirit of this little boy reaching out to me all those years ago.
To this day, I still get goosebumps thinking about it, along with that intense ringing sensation in my ears. I hope that little boy has found peace since; I give him credit for awakening my young mind to the possibilities of life after death and the spiritual component to life. Without that experience, I’m unsure if I would have pursued everything in that realm that I have.
On a Softer Note for Samhain
As our ancestors pass through the veil to visit us once more, and the lines between our world and theirs are blurred, let’s remember those who we love by sharing their stories, much as I am with you. I’ve got a few other spooky stories-either handed down in my family, or ones I’ve experienced myself-that I plan to share with you this spooky season.
Light a candle for those on the other side. Stay safe, stay grounded, and never forget those who have gone before.
Yours Truly,
The Modern Merlin
***
Author Bio:
The Modern Merlin is a Polytheist, Pagan, Animist, Witch, Sorcerer, Paranormal Investigator, Amateur Folklorist, Chaos Magician and Occultist. He embarked on his spiritual and magickal journey over 15 years ago. As such, he has extensive knowledge of The Occult, Ceremonial Magick, Chaos Magick, Witchcraft, Sorcery, and both modern and ancient world religions and folklore. He is a practicing Sorcerer, blending ceremonial high magick, chaos magick and witchcraft, as well as plant medicine, poisonous plants and entheogens, shamanic techniques, and mysticism. He believes that magick can be as simple or as complex as one needs it to be, and rejects dogma, instead trusting his intuition, and encourages other magickal and spiritual folks to do the same! He venerates and casts magick with a wide array of spirits and deities, and works with both the Left and Right Hand Paths, having experience in both. He has also studied eastern philosophies such as Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Hinduism. He is an Astrologer and Tarot reader and actively studies and practices many other forms of divination including Runes, Ogham, Palmistry and Scrying. An animal lover, he sees divinity in nature-the trees, plants, animals and sky. Also an avid reader, you’re hard pressed to not find him nose deep in a book, most likely on an occult, mystical, religious or magickal subject. He is the Co-Editor of PaganPages.Org and the author of multiple columns for PaganPages.Org. He gives readings and other spiritual services through his Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see! You can reach him on Facebook, or e-mail him at [email protected]
