The Mysterious Lady

I am from the U.S. Virgin Islands, and this is a true story. In the 1990's I was working at an insurance agency as a file clerk in a very historic part of the island of St. Croix known as Gallow's Bay. Now Gallow's Bay was an area where criminals (slaves as well) were hung on the gallows or dragged to death by horses. As a youngster I was told by many people who resided in Gallow's Bay that if you were born there you eventually see jumbies (the Caribbean word for ghosts).

One of my best friends said that her mother claimed to have encountered a female spirit while she was asleep in a house located in Gallow's Bay. She was unable to move or speak but managed to open her eyes and saw a transparent lady hovering over her. I do not recall the outcome of that story but I do recall what occurred to me in the insurance agency and I will now tell you all about it.

The insurance office was split into two sections, the front where clients would enter and the back where supplies and employees would enter or exit. In the center of the office was the boss's office and no one could get there without the employees seeing them first.

It was after ten in the morning. An average day. I was in a good mood. Nothing amiss. The office was quiet. There were no clients, just people busily doing paperwork and answering phones. I was in the front of the office but I had some files to carry to the back of the office. As I was walking past my boss's office I looked in (there was no door) and saw a woman sitting on the wooden filing cabinet behind my boss's chair. She had long, curly red hair. It was just a bit frizzy but in a nice way. Her skin was pale. She wore a white dress with tiny purple flowers with green leaves on it. Her shoes were wedged sandals beige in color.

I smiled at her and told her, "Good morning." She gently tilted her head and smiled at me. I continued on and encountered a blank stare from my co-workers at the back of the office. They asked me "Who are you talking to?"

I told them, "The lady in the boss's office."

They seemed troubled by this. "The boss left this morning for St. Thomas. She didn't have any appointments. There shouldn't be anyone in her office."

We all panicked because that meant that the boss missed an appointment with a client and it would reflect badly on the company. Poor service, etc.

We all ran to the boss's office. No one was there. We went to the front of the office and asked the workers there if anyone came into the building. My supervisor said no. The door usually made a tinkling sound when someone entered as we had placed bells on it. One of the older workers told me that I had seen a jumbie. She didn't look like a jumbie to me. She looked like a real flesh and blood individual.

Over the years I have wondered, who was she? Why did she appear in the insurance office? Why did I see her and no one else did? I wasn't born in Gallow's Bay so why did I see this mysterious lady?

This is a true account and I have experienced many other strange things in my lifetime.