In Nan's Memory

My nan died in July of 2007, and we were very close. She was the only one who would talk to me about ghosts and spirits as if they did exist. My nan believed in everything, and this is what made people think she was a bit barmy. However, I believed her, especially about the ghosts.

I have never been "there" in some of these stories, but my nan was so special and had a lot of experiences that she would have loved to have shared if she was still here. So, I am almost telling them in her memory because I am wanting to know the answers.

Now, from my last story about the Ouija Board, you can probably guess that from a very young age I became very interested in the paranormal. My parents would tell my nan off because of all the stories she used to tell me, but I would still listen.

Some of the best stories that came from her were from when she was living in her first house when she was married with three children. I can't remember whose father it was (either hers or her husbands) but she told me that after the father died, there used to be a strong smell of the cigars he used to smoke around the house from time to time, but she was never sure.

My nan used to own a very old grand father clock that came from his father (it is with my uncle) and often, my nan's pet cat and dog used to show a lot of fright when the clock used to chime. She said that their fur stood on end and that the cat would hiss and the dog would bark, and it would go on for about 10 minutes, and then everything was normal.

When my grandad (the one who I think was there in my previous Ouija Board story) died of a heartattck around 1999/2000 I think, my nan was distraught. She would be up in the night missing him terribly. Now, my aunt, Joy, lives with my nan and did up until the day my nan passed away. Unfortunately, she never got married. Joy is also the one who gave me some ideas about Ouija Boards.

One day, whilst visiting my nan (which I did loads) she told me how she saw my grandad the previous night. She said that he was floating in the doorway of her room (her door was always open) and stayed there for a few seconds, then rolled his arms and floated upwards. However, she never mentioned this to me again, so I don't know if it was 100% true.

That is all I can remember about what my nan told me. I mean, there were stories she used to tell me from books. She was a keen reader of the UK magazine "Chat" which had a page dedicated to ghost-related stories and pictures and she would believe them and tell me things, but I think that as I got older, she layed off the idea.

When my nan died (thanks to the great British NHS) I was destraught. Her funeral was painful and the nights were oddly lonely. About a week after the funeral, I went on holiday to Cornwall with my best friend Harriet for a supposed 2 weeks, but only managed one as I missed my nan so much. I came home and stayed with my aunt for a week, as she was alone and my parents were in Dubai. During my stay, I had to go back to my house and clean it up a bit and put some of my stuff away.

Now, the house had been locked up for a week, the windows firmly locked and the doors too. I was the first person in that house, and, I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. I went into the living room, (which the door too had be shut tightly) and smack bang in the middle of the floor was a little white feather. I know that people sometimes say (well my mum and aunt do anyhow) that a white feather is a sign that someone is watching you, so I instantly thought of my nan. I wasn't sad, I was really happy, and I felt to much easier in my house knowing that she was watching me. Oh, and just so you know, the pillows in the living room aren't filled with feathers. I found another one that same day, I can't remember where, but I think it was upstairs.

Whilst in Dubai, my parents say that they found one as well and whilst my cousins were in Cornwall, they found a few in their little chalet and my aunt I was staying with had one that was found in my nans bedroom.

I never felt uneasy though, staying in that house, because my nan wasn't a bad person and would never hurt anything, I felt very protected because she "was there".

A couple of other things have happened since she died, like earlier this year, late at night, my aunt heard a huge crash outside her bedroom and she was too scared to go and see. In the morning when she woke up, she found one of the many hanging plates by her bedroom had crashed to the groud but hadn't shattered as such. Instead, the middle of the plate had just "slipped" from the rim of the plate.

There are hardly any windows upstairs in the corridor thing so it couldn't have been the wind. My aunt did say that it was my nans favourite plate. Another thing is that when my aunt and her friend were talking about my nan, a large pile of books and magazines toppled over without warning.

I don't think that, if it is my nan, that she is being "scary" because, as I have said, she was a great woman, and she is probably letting us know that she is still watching us, which I like.

I know that I have never been there in any of these, it's just, I want answers if you know what I mean, because none of my family would ever want to find out, let alone post a story on here.

Her "ghost influences" have rubbed off on me for ages, I just would like to know the answers and whether her stories have made me more "aware" of ghosts.