Keeping Watch

When we first moved to Concord, New Hampshire in July 1995 we lived in a small 2 bedroom condo near downtown. Really cute place, great for two adults (not great when we had kiddo #1 which is why we left - too small, no yard, etc.) The original building was quite old and had been partially destroyed by fire in the 1980's but was rebuilt, maintaining much of the original beams. I understand it had to be that way in order for them to rebuild on the site as the set-backs from the street were not current code and the building could only be grandfathered if it was restored using a certain percentage of the original materials. That certainly explained why we sometimes smelled burned wood in the apartment! We used one bedroom as our sleeping area and the other was set up as a home office as I was initially working from home.

While working in the office not long after we moved in, I had the sensation of being watched. It wasn't scary, just a little unsettling. This continued on and off for a few days - again, I didn't feel threatened, just felt like someone was watching me. I sensed that this presence was male, probably in his late 20's/early 30's, and wearing some kind of an old fashioned uniform. I never really "saw" this person; it was just a feeling or impression I got.

I mentioned the sensation of being watched to my husband and he just stared at me. He said, "from the closet, right?". Yep. "And definitely a guy in a uniform, like an old-time police uniform." Yes again. Mind you, we had NEVER discussed it before. He had seen/sensed the same thing in that room. Weird.

Our friend came to visit us in late September that year and he slept in that room. Guess what he said to us the next morning? "You guys know you have a ghost in your closet, don't you?" Now that made three of us who had seen/sensed it.

After our daughter was born, we used that room as her bedroom. She never saw the man; I think maybe he was aware that he might frighten her because of the uniform (?) and therefore only made his presence known to adults. Who knows?

Some time later, my husband and I were at the Museum of NH History in downtown Concord, looking at some old maps of our neighborhood. It was clear that the house we lived in was located on what was the grounds for the original state prison in the early 1800s and the original building on our site was used as a barracks for the prison guards. Ding! Ding! Ding! THAT explained the uniform! We were so excited to discover this.

I've never met the people who live there now. I'm often tempted to stop by and ask if they ever see the guard in that room. I hope that he crossed over, but if not, that he is happy keeping watch over the folks who share that space with him.