I bought a home in downtown New Bern that was originally built in 1769 and I think it’s haunted. I keep hearing heavy footsteps going up and down the stairs at night and no one is home but me. Sometimes I get this chilly feeling on the back of my neck and the lights start fluttering off and on. I’ve been having nightmares. Doors open and close on their own and sometimes I smell strange things. My cat will hiss and puff up her tail but there is nothing there. How do I know if I have a ghost? And what can I do to get rid of it?
Signed,
Seriously Spooked
Dear Seriously Spooked,
Oh, you’ve got a ghost. No doubt about that. Think of how many people have probably died in your house since 1769!?!? It has seen the American Revolution, the Civil War, the yellow fever epidemic of 1797 and 1863, and the great fire of 1922, amongst other tragedies both told and untold today.
Since it’s October, and in the spirit of Halloween and Las Dias de Muertos, maybe instead of trying to get rid of your ghost you can make friends with it—strike up a bargain of sorts where you and your spirit can live together in harmony, or try to get to know him or her and help them on their merry way.
What you need is to find a person who is experienced in communicating with the dead, like a medium (think Whoopie Goldberg in Ghost), or a gypsy (think Johnny Depp…oh, wait, he was a Pirate, but he’s so versatile he could probably do it), or a Catholic Priest (think The Exorcist but without the green vomiting).
Once you can talk to your ghost, find out why they are still roaming the house instead of resting in eternal peace. Perhaps they died in the house and don’t know how to leave, or they left something behind that they are still trying to find, or maybe they have business that they’ve left unfinished—like they were halfway through making a sandwich and poof, just dropped dead and now they’re still hungry…FOREVER.
Once you know their problem, you can help them get past their struggles and finally rest.
I hope this helps and remember: if all fails call Ghostbusters!
Love,
Henrietta
Henrietta Craven was born and raised in New Bern and enjoys gardening, hunting bears and improvisational dance. She is a self-proclaimed expert on a wide variety of subjects including (but not limited to) fashion, mixology, and cooking. Henrietta resides in a lovely Victorian home in downtown New Bern with her five cats: Graffenreid, Bethune, Devereux, Stanton and Carraway.