Fraidy Cat: A true ghost tale

As the author of the paranormal suspense novel Shepherd’s Fall, it is probably no surprise that I like ghost stories. I have always loved them since I was a small boy. In a 2005 Gallop poll 32% of all Americans stated that they believe in ghosts. While this is a large percentage of the population, I am always amazed at the number of people who, when they learn that I write in this genre, have personal ghost stories they want to share. For me it is always a treat because I love to hear them.

While I have no way to verify this, the original teller of this tale assured me it was a true story of a dearly departed pet.

Karen (not her real name) is a long time friend of the family. Although people like to share their experiences with me, some are still reluctant to have their name tied to the experience if it is published for the world read. Although 32 % say they believe, many stories are still met with skepticism.

A few years ago one of Karen’s pet cats died of old age in her basement. Karen, a true animal lover, mourned for her lost pet but moved on with her life. That is to say, she didn’t become fixated on the dead cat because she had several others, and a dog.

A short time later, Karen was in her living room watching TV when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a gray cat crossing the living room. The movement startled her, but when she turned and looked directly at the space where moments before she had seen the movement, the space was empty.

Like most people who experience something they can’t explain, she dismissed it, until it happened again, several times.

At this point she told her husband, Ralph (also not his real name.), about spotting this gray cat strolling across their living room. Of course their pet cat had been orange not gray, but whenever she spotted this apparition, it was a translucent gray.

Ralph apparently fell outside the 32%. Or at least, if he wanted to believe, simple never saw the cat himself. For most of us, seeing is a good start at believing. Until, one evening when Karen was in the living room, and Ralph entered from the kitchen. He froze in his tracks and asked Karen if she had just seen the phantom cat.

She had and was excited that he had also witnessed the spectral pussy cat.

But he hadn’t. What he had seen was their dog, which was lying on the floor next to Karen. The dog had slowly turned his head from one doorway in the room to the other one at the far wall like he was watching something move across the floor.

Although Ralph never saw the cat himself, he will concede that it sure looked like the dog had.

Karen experienced these events several times over the next few years. However after they remodeled their living room, putting down a new carpet and painting the walls and trim, she never saw the fantastical feline again.

Source
Moore, D. W. (2005). Three in four americans believe in paranormal. Retrieved from http://home.sandiego.edu/~baber/logic/gallup.html