The Orange Glow

Hampton, VA is a city that grew from one of the oldest settlements in the U.S.; aside from Jamestown. This story takes place in a section of Hampton just across Mill Creek from Fort Monroe called Phoebus. This community weathered through such events as the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War I. Hampton, as a whole, was burned down by our own troops in 1861. Then, the business district at the time was burned down in 1884. As you can see, this area has plenty of reasons to be haunted; for those who believe in such things.

On a lighter note, Phoebus had a restaurant called Fuller's that was used as a filming location for the movie King Crab in 1980. The film also made use of other areas in Hampton. My great uncle, Macy Carmel, was a judge in Hampton. The Carmel Center For Justice in downtown Hampton, near Phoebus, was named in his honor. Phoebus was also a great place to watch fireworks on July 4; especially for those who had relatives with waterfront property facing Fort Monroe.

It is in one of the many houses in that area on the waterfront in which this experience takes place. I won't give street names. However, I'll say that it is located on the northwest side of the main street that crosses over to Fort Monroe. It's not on the corner of the crossing street, but between the corner and the railroad tracks. My grandparents built a house there in 1952; about 6 years after my mom was born. My grandmother sold the house in 1994; about a year after my grandfather died.

I don't recall with certainty, but I am pretty sure that I was about 7; possibly 8. I was spending the weekend there as I did many times; especially during the summer. It was probably about 9pm because my grandparents went to bed early and got up early. They were usually up before I was up. Anyway, back to it being 9pm... I went to "my" bedroom. It had belonged to my mom and aunt when they were growing up. It's a large bedroom. There were 2 full size beds separated by a wall that extended just past the foot of the beds. The front half of the room was open (i.e. Not divided like the rear). I generally slept in the bed on the left side. I'm not sure why except perhaps that it was a little closer and the doorway was directly in front of it. So, I hopped into bed and likely played around quietly for a few minutes. Then, I laid down and pulled the covers up to my chest.

A few minutes went by... I was likely daydreaming about what I'd be doing the next day. Then, I suddenly saw an "orange glow", that's what I've always called it, floating at the doorway. It was roughly spherical except it had a distinct "tail". The closest thing I can think of to give you a mental image is a 3 dimensional caption. You know, like in comics books; only 3D. I was scared! Not frozen with fear, but scared. I looked at it for probably 2 or 3 seconds. Then, I hid completely under the covers for safety. However, the reaction wasn't completely out of fear. I was analytical back then too. So, I stayed under the covers for several seconds. Then, poked my head out again to see if it was still there. Not only was it still there, but it had moved closer to the bed! Well, that was enough analyzing for me! I jumped out of bed, ran out of that bedroom and into my grandparents' bedroom directly across the hall. I honestly cannot remember exactly what I told them, but I did sleep in their room that night.

Now that I've described the incident, let me fill in a few details. When you walk into that house, you're standing in a foyer. The bedrooms were down a hall to the right. The open living room and dining room areas were to the left. Then, there was a sunk-in den straight ahead. My grandparents' bedroom was all of the way down the hall on the right and the bedroom that I slept in was directly across from theirs as previously indicated. The hall light fixture was in the middle of the hall and not visible from the bed I was in at the time. So, we can rule out color spots caused by looking at a light source for a few seconds. Then, looking away. Furthermore, it was just me and my grandparents there that night. So, no-one was playing a prank on me. There were no lights on in the bedroom; not even a night light. They just left the door open so that the hall light kept the room from being pitch black.

There's another oddity about that house. I'll freely admit that this is probably not anything paranormal, but a bit weird nevertheless. There was a skylight in the living room and for an hour or so during the morning everything in the room had an orange tint to it. This was a regular occurrence likely due to the sun. However, the bedroom that I slept in did not have a skylight and was at the opposite end of the house. Yet, everything in there had an orange tint too at certain times in the morning; to a lesser degree than the living room. This wasn't all that scary to me, but it was a bit weird. I do vaguely remember some other oddities that were probably less scientific in nature, but not enough detail at the moment to put them into words.

What do you think? Was it merely an orb?