What's On TV?

At about the age of 10, I moved from one haunted house to another haunted house. This story takes place in the second one. A little background on the house first: The house was once a hotel at which people would travel to by rail, then stay at before a horse and cart would take them out to the Waitomo Caves. However, as travel became more functional, it became more unnecessary, and so was split up. The portion I lived in (approx 2/3 of the original structure) was moved about 2km down the road, and both were converted into houses.

The house that I spent my formative years in was haunted by multiple entities. Some friendly, some merely shadows, and others who made me or my family uncomfortable. This particular one was more, I guess, curious than anything else.

The Lounge and living area was a large room, with the fireplace and television at one end, and the dining area at the other. We had the area divided by putting a couch and chair in about the middle of the room.

One evening, I was watching the TV alone (the rest of the family being out, or in the case of my father, working on something in the shed) when I felt my father come in and pause behind the chair to see what I was watching, as was his custom. "Yeah, nothing's on" I told him as I flicked through the channels for him. He didn't respond, and so I turned around. I blushed to myself when I realized I'd been talking to thin air.

A few years later, when my siblings and I had moved out, I came home for a weekend, just to spend time with my parents and the four-legged members of the family. I was watching TV once more as I felt my father do his usual step up and pause to see what was on. I made a comment about how I was watching the only thing worth seeing, and turned to see what he was up to. Again, there was no-one there.

The second time it happened though, I wasn't at all surprised to see no-one there. In fact, I was mildly amused by it. It's a pleasant thing to know there's a benign ghost who stops by for a quick "what're you watching?"

More recently (late 2007, at an approximation) I was down visiting my parents (and pets) again. Eventually, both of them had retired to bed and left me to my devices. Again, I felt someone step up behind me, as though to see what was on. I didn't even turn around. Just said "Hi", smiled, and kept on watching.