Are you afraid of ghosts or things that go bump in the night?

There was a ghost in the house I grew up in. We called him "Sam". The first time I met him, I was standing at the foot of my bed doing something (can't remember what) when I sort of "felt" something on my ankle. It was more of a gut feeling than something actually touching my ankle but I looked down and saw a wispy, opaque hand wrapped around my ankle, coming out from under the bed. I screamed so loud I'm sure I broke some windows somewhere and bolted downstairs and right out the back door as fast as I could. My mother was outside, hanging laundry, and asked me why I was screaming. I told her and she went up to my bedroom to look under the bed. I stood at the doorway because I wasn't going in there again for awhile! But, she found nothing. Not long after that, we both saw "Sam" float through the diningroom while we were in the livingroom watching TV. Her jaw hit the floor! After that, we saw him occasionally or heard him. My bedroom was beside the bathroom; my mother's was on the other side of the house. I heard someone brushing their teeth but also thought I had heard my mother in her bedroom. I asked, "Mom? Is that you?" loud enough for her to hear me if she had been in the bathroom. She called back, from her bedroom, "What?" I asked her if she had just brushed her teeth and she said no, so we both went into the bathroom and, sure enough, one of the toothbrushes was wet but neither one of us had brushed our teeth yet. It was Sam. Eventually, neighbors told us that they had seen him standing at a window, sometimes when my mother and I were not at home. Visitors saw him, too. I was sad when I moved from that house because it meant leaving Sam behind. He was friendly, albeit somewhat clumsy (knocking things over but almost always putting them back), and I liked him. It was kind of like having a brother. It's weird but I felt safe knowing that he was around. I haven't seen or heard a ghost since then but I do like watching the TV show "Ghost Hunters" and, especially, "Ghost Hunters International" because go to some really creepy places around the world.

Hey pandaeyes! I think that is really cool that you have your own "personal ghost" and you even gave him a name! I do believe in ghosts and spirits too and have felt that my apartment might have had a ghost or spirit at one time too! My friends used to tell me that they felt some kind of presence and so did I! But, I don't feel it anymore since one of my friends told me how to get rid of it! I still am not sure that it is really gone because I keep losing things and "my ghost" used to take things and hide them or move them into different places and I would find them after a long time of looking for them! They would just turn up in strange places that I knew I would never have put them! I keep losing one earring or some piece of jewelry that I know has to be in the house somewhere! I am not scared, just annoyed usually! I have thought that I might have seen "something", but can't be sure! So, as I said, I think that it's gone, but I don't feel the presence like I used to!

Hi pandaeyes, I don't believe in ghosts. I think that they are good stories to tell naughty boys in order to keep them well behaved. When I was a young child I used to be afraid when I heard any sounds at night. My grandma used to tell me stories about ghosts and souls. She used to tell me a story about a farmer who found a stack of hay thrown on the street. He picked it up, to feed it to his livestock. During the night he heard a sound, coming from his barn. According to my grandma the hay was the soul of a poor guy, The farmer said some prayers for the poor guy's soul and took the hay to the exact place that he found it. The noises stopped. This story used to impress me a lot for some reason or another.

While there is little scientific proof that ghosts exist, I often feel that there is some kind of *presence* that stays in places long after the body has gone. I have felt my late Father's presence a few times, usually when I am troubled or worried about things. It's a real comfort to me to feel that Dad is still looking out for me.

Well, I am open-minded in these kind of things. There are ghosts in our house but they don't harm us, they're just there. But whenever I am alone, I sometimes can be scared depending on the situation, like when it's raining outside and it's dark, it could be scary to me. But sometimes I'm not scared at all, especially if I'm not alone.

Ever hear of the Mexican chupacabra? That might be something to be afraid of (if it's real). Supposedly some ranchers caught one last year and turned it over to a taxidermist. He said it looked like nothing he had ever seen before, but it looked a lot like some kind of dog/wolf half-breed mutt to me. Mexican folklore says it can hypnotize you if you look into its eyes. Apparently, it likes to kidnap daughters of Mexican farmers; but mostly it seems it's blamed for making off with their chickens. Scary

Haha.. I don't think so.. I guess.. I would like to know too.. I've only experienced mild ghost presence..

I think its not that easy for anybody not be afraid of ghosts. Its innate for anyboddy to be afraid once in a while, the thing is we just need to let our kids understand that ghosts are just fictional so that they wont be that scared anymore. What if by any chance your kid have a third eye? then your solution will create more problems. We just need to explain to them what are ghosts and how come there are such creatures ;)