The Ghost in the Mirror
Ever
since I was young I was told that a spirit would see its own reflection in a
mirror and be drawn into the looking glass. I never gave it much thought and
throughout my paranormal past it had never happen to me….till.
Before I became a paranormal researcher of haunting, I lived
off a canal that made the Island of Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale. Parts of a wild preserve on the Island are
considered Indian Burial Ground. You might see brick around the back of the
property not knowing that they are the bits and pieces of an original home that
was there but no longer since the hurricane of 1926. I lived on the Eastside of
the Island in a 1960’s Duplex. Nice quite community with a park for dogs and
people who like to fish and launch there boats from the ramp provided by Fort
Lauderdale.
Our side of the duplex was nice and large, probably the
“Daughter’s” side of the home. But the home was a bit on the dark side due to
large trees that were on the property. The backyard was a lagoon that went
through the middle of the park. Our side
of the duplex was a very Mid-Century design and small kitchen that only one person
could be in at one time, yet it had great living space that faced a grotto.
One of the small spots was the hallway and on the entrance
on the left side was a mirror. This mirror was built into the wall and seemed
to be very old. As you would look into it some areas of the mirror looked
distorted…warped in a circle pattern. It was one of those items that your head
would wind up pointing your eyes and gaze a bit. One time I thought I seen the
distorted area move with a shadow of short woman walking around my room.
Freaked me out during that time due what I’ve been put through living in a
haunted home on Long Island.
At night I would sleep and sometimes hear an elderly lady talking
loudly to an elderly man. The sound was like she was in a heated argument with
some man who didn’t say much except a humming of agreement. It only started
when I put my head onto the pillow and if I heard it as soon as I picked my
head up, it would stop.
Annoying…….. Yes!
Hard to get to sleep…..Yes!
My other half……Asleep as a log.
That wasn’t the kicker….. You would sometimes feel like someone
flicking your hair towards the back of your head. I once stood; wide eyes open
to the darkness of the night. Waiting for all of the “things” to
happen…..Nothing, Only to put your head down to rest and get that flick, poke,
swipe of your hair. I would sometimes put the covers over my head so it
couldn’t get under this type of attack. What a I used to do in my old bedroom
that I grew up in when I felt a presence of a spirit or ghost.
Not too long after that, the landlord came around to do some
yard work. I got the opportunity to talk to him about the property. I asked him
about the previous owners and if they were an elderly couple. He asked me why
and I was just curious. He said it was an elderly couple that lived in my half
of the duplex. Her husband passed away inside the home. His wife died shortly afterwards.
He said he used to live on the other side of the duplex (small side) which was
all updated due to a fire from a tenant who moved in afterwards when he
purchased the house from the elderly couple next of kin. He then asked me again
why I was asking this question, I said to him that in the evening I would hear
an elderly couple arguing in the next room, muffled yet loud. His eyes widened
and told me that the couple would fight constantly as they progressed in age. I
didn’t want to tell him about the twitching of the hair.
Now as a ghost researcher/paranormal investigator I found
many other places that had “Haunted Mirrors”. There are two that stand out in
my head the most and both are in Williamsburg.
I used to live in Tidewater Virginia and Williamsburg was only a 30
minute drive. I never thought about investigating the area till I moved to Florida.
I was on a trip back in Virginia and decided to take a tour through some of the
old houses of the Historical District of Williamsburg. It was nice to roam
through the streets and feel the energy of the old pathways.
The Governor’s Palace is a beautiful old mansion that I had
to see if something was going on in on inside. The first mansion had its main
building burnt down in 1781. The outside structures were left intact and the
main building was reconstructed with wood that salvaged from other building in
the area which was the same period of the first construction in 1699. Owned by
the Duke of Gloucester Street its decorations of period painting, dance hall,
gunnery rooms, bedrooms and then there is the “Waiting Parlor”.
While I was there, I took a picture of the “Waiting Parlor”
because I just had one of those feelings that I must take a picture here. This
picture was a 35mm film, taken in 1998. It is not digital as we know of now.
I took the picture and didn’t think about it till the film
was processed and I found an image in the mirror. It was an image of man,
dressed in 1800’s fashion. He kind of looked liked John Wilkes Booth. Here is a
close up of the same picture.
You can see his wild curly hair and distinctive mustache and
beard. Then I heard that he was killed at Colonial Beach about 40 miles away
from Williamsburg. This fascinated me and I wondered if his ghost might have
been captured in the mirror. I heard that most of the finishes of the main
building came from around Colonial Williamsburg’s areas not too far from the
historical site. Maybe it is of an attachment ghost?
As I went to building to building I found my way to the gaol
(which is an old English term for Jail). It is one of the oldest buildings in
town where I stood in line to take the tour.
Made of brick, stone and mortar, the building was quite dingy and dark
once inside. They showed us the judge’s area, the jailor’s room and took us
outside where the prisoners were held till court date. Some shackled to the
ground and others had exposed rooms with hay to make a mattress like cushion.
The lady in period clothing said goodbye and I approached her.
The girl was frail, pail with classic features. Her period
clothes showed that she was not a well to do person or leisure as they called
it. I asked her how long she worked there and she said about 6 months now, but
she will be leaving because she will graduate from William and Mary College. “Did
you ever encounter a ghost inside this place?” I asked. She looked back and forth
from one side of the room to the other to make sure no-one was there and that
everyone had left. She looked at me, with a slight fear in her eyes and said, “Oh,
yes, very much so.” she told me.
Upstairs she has to put on her period clothing on and she
invited me to go upstairs where she said was mostly used for mental patients.
She point to the floor and and you could see areas where they must have
attached chains to keep them apart from each other. She then told me that she
would hear a “thud, thud, thud” sound as she changed like a person who would
bang there head against the wall repeatedly as you find in some people who had
mental problems. It frightened her since
she was at a venerable state of dress. She then mentioned to me that others
have had experience the noise as well, but said that it would only happen
around women. She did say that the men that worked prior there would see a dark
shadow of a man sitting in the chair in the mirror. She said it was an original
mirror that was used by the judge to make sure his judgment cloak was
appropriate. I asked her if she thought
it might be the ghost of the judge during that time and she said that she did not
know and that I had to leave because her next tour will be happening soon. I
thanked her for her time and gave her a tip for willingness to tell me her
story.
Here is the picture of the Gaol’s Mirror.
Is there truth in what has been considered tradition of
covering a mirror during a time of mourning? Are you curious? Start taking pictures in mirrors and see what
you might find.
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