What did happen was that Travis awoke at 2:30 AM and was shuttled back to his room by Kelly. I got up to go to the bathroom in the meantime. When I returned to bed I never completely settled in, keeping one ear out for the telltale footsteps indicating Travis was awake again. I flopped around bed for almost an hour, stuck in the unusual but enormously rich and productive state of mind-awake-body-asleep.

I eventually drifted off into an incredibly blissful state of mind, somewhere deep in my psyche. It was as if I had found a long-lost hiding place, or gleefully rediscovered a secret that no one else on Earth knew. Endorphins rushed through me as I did mental gymnastics in my sleep. Sensing I was dreaming, I soon became lucid and embarked on several satisfying (and some quite naughty) endeavors. I even tried my hand at projection, though again I appeared unsuccessful.

I thought I might be grumpy at the thought of having my sleep interrupted again. Instead I can tell you that this kind of sleep interruption is welcome any night!

Thursday night, I returned from a trip to Chicago right before a powerful thunderstorm let loose. It was actually one of the scariest landings I’d ever been in: the crosswind was so strong that the wings of the plane were not level until about 5-10 feet above ground. I had actually begun wondering if our landing would hurt when a voice inside of me said to trust things would work out. And they did.

As as made my way through the crowded Terminal 1 I reached the escalator down to the baggage claim. There was a line for the escalator, though, so instead I chose to go down the stairs. A smile crossed my face when I realized the steps I were walking down were the same ones I had seen in my dream. They were narrow, marble steps: ones I had been fortunate not to have seen for a few years! I might have looked a little goofy when I got the first floor but I didn’t care.

Any worry I had had of not making it to the ground evaporated pretty quickly when I realized I had down down those steps in my earlier dream. It’s funny how the mind works sometimes!

Things trended towards the unusual beginning with our return from a local neighborhood music event. We had crated our dog at 7:45 PM and returned for him at 9:30 PM. At that time our dog was quite agitated – far more than he normally would be for a night with no thunderstorms predicted (and none anywhere nearby). I chalked it up to him being a bit skittish and didn’t think much of it.

Then at 9:45 PM while I was reading to our son, Travis, I noticed the door to his room open about a foot. This is pretty common, though usually our dog is to blame. I happened to look next to the bed, though, and saw Rocket had been curled up next to us all along. Whatever made the door move, it wasn’t our dog!

I tucked our son into bed and joined Kelly in watching a little television. About 10:30 we both went to bed. As customary, I let Rocket outside one more time before bed, though this time upon returning he never really settled down. Instead, he held his head up off the floor and stared into the empty room across from us. There was a look of unease to him, enough that it actually made me check the weather forecast just to make sure that he wasn’t hearing thunder anywhere. Satisfied we would be without storms, I went to bed.

An hour later things really got strange. Travis came to our door complaining that he had a bad dream. I heaved myself out of bed and walked him back to his room. When I walked from our bedroom into the living room, I immediately felt the tell-tale tingling of a ghost. Still half-asleep myself, I walked Travis back to his bed, where he sleepily crawled back in on his own.

I returned to our room and went to the bathroom, pulling the bathroom door closed behind me so as not to disturb Kelly. When I emerged from the toilet room into the bathroom, I was amazed to see the bathroom door standing wide open – certainly not the way I left it! Kelly was in our bed, still asleep.

I lay awake for a few more minutes, staring into the room and thinking to myself that this wasn’t cool. After a while I drifted off into an restless sleep.

At 4:30 AM, Travis once again knocked on our door after a bad dream. This time Kelly went to his aid. As I lie in bed, I could still feel the same presence I had felt at 11:30, and it pissed me off.

It seems as if whatever or whomever came to visit in the fall is back again, and took the time last night to make his presence known. But what does he want? Could all of our talk about refinishing the attic room where a lot of activity has centered be the trigger for the latest events? Or what? Why would anyone want to haunt our attic, anyway?

I’ve decided that the novelty of it all has worn off. Travis is becoming more spooked about things and sometimes is reluctant to play upstairs by himself. All of us are having our sleep affected. This ghost has worn out whatever welcome he thought he had.

I’ve asked a few of my friends with more experience in this thing to become more involved. I need to find out what attracts this ghost and what will make him move on. Enough is enough.

I began to heavily praise him for his efforts and as I did, the idea popped into my head that his performance had earned him an extra doggie treat. Well the next thing I know, the dog is all over Kelly as she put clothes in the clothes dryer, which just happens to be directly below where we keep the dog treats! He was in the sitting position facing her, with his ears perked up, exactly like he does when he’s expecting a treat. It was enough to make Kelly burst out laughing but it left me scratching my head.

We regularly move clothes into and out of the dryer and usually the dog couldn’t care less. Why the sudden interest? Also, he had just been fed a full meal. While sometimes after he eats he wanders below the dinner table for small scraps, it was quite unusual for him to be begging for a treat right after being fed. I had never seen him beg like that except after he’s had a walk, when he expects he will be rewarded with a treat.

It made me go hmmmm. Was this another telepathic thought I occasionally broadcast, like the others I’ve documented here? Did the dog somehow pick this up? Or (even more amusing to ponder) did that thought originate with my conniving dog and somehow get picked up by me? Or is it mere coincidence?

I can’t say I always know what the dog is thinking: that would certainly be a useful skill! It wouldn’t surprise me if the human-pet bond is deeper and far more complex than we acknowledge.

Perhaps Rupert Sheldrake is on to something after all with his pet psi experiments.

Update: I’m pretty sure I blurted out my intention of giving my dog a treat while he was eating, so there’s no mystery here.

Soon the taste of Mexican food filled my imagination. I could taste the beans and meat to the point that my mouth began to water.

When I arrived home, I was quite happy to see I was correct! Much to my delight, Kelly was busy making soft tacos.

I need to try more of these psychic games. I bet I’ll get better at them the more I do.

In hindsight, I wonder if the ghostly visits were related to the sudden passing of my close friend, Gerry. Gerry checked out of this life on March 1st when a truck plowed into his car. For weeks before that event and a few weeks after the ghost activity was most intense. Now it’s mostly gone.

Even so, there might be other factors. It’s now much lighter in the morning as spring is well underway. We went through a time change for Daylight Saving Time. Also, our week away for vacation in Sedona might have been enough to drive our invisible visitor away.

It’s a shame: my curiosity is still there but the mystery guest apparently isn’t. I hope I didn’t miss my chance to learn more.

As a switch from my usual drink, I poured myself a glass of milk. As I did, I thought about the milk in the coffee machine at my office. I get a latte from that machine each morning and I was thinking about a comment a coworker had once made to me that the milk in the machine was not skim milk, but 2% milk instead.

I turned around to pour the milk when Travis confidently announced “Daddy, that’s skim milk.”

Gulp!

I had not mentioned a word about milk; I had just grabbed it out of the fridge and started pouring. And I don’t even think Travis was watching me. Even if he was, though, he could not have possibly guessed that I was thinking about skim milk. We stopped mentioning skim milk years ago when the kids stopped drinking whole milk.

Just like the previous mindreading between Hallie and me, it seemed that Travis and I were both puttering around contentedly when he read my mind. I think that mood is important, perhaps because one lets one’s guard down. Or, it could be that both participants fall into sync when doing something they enjoy.

At any rate, I’m happy to see these curious events continue!

I’m baffled as to why the cologne smell was so strong, especially considering the wind was blowing at about 20 MPH tonight. I have a habit of smelling phantom scents, strange as it may seem. Could this be another instance?

On the afternoon of Saturday, January 9th, the kids and I were out shooting baskets in our driveway. It was clear and sunny at the time. As I was about to shoot another basket I caught a whiff of a familiar smell: gasoline!

I stopped and immediately asked the kids if they smelled anything. “Yeah, gasoline!” they responded.

I looked all around for potential sources of the smell. There were no cars passing by (we live on a dead-end street), no neighbors were mowing or trimming their lawns, no planes were flying over, and no gasoline was stored in our open garage. That got me wondering if the smell might not have been a physical one. I was reminded of the phantom gasoline smell we had in our home on March 3rd, 2009. Was our ghost back?

The smell quickly dissipated and we continued playing. Everything seemed normal. That is, until that Monday morning, January 11th!

I got the dog out for an early-morning jog, heading down Edmund to Brookside and back up Monroe. During our cool-down walk up Weatherford and back, I glanced up at the house.

Our attic light was on!

The room in question is unfinished. It has a sticky door – one that requires some force to open (though the other door to the attic also provides access to this room). It was too early for the kids to be awake and they’d never shown an iota of interest in this room. Yet plainly the light was on when it should not be!

I walked closer to the house, trying to reconcile what my eyes were telling me with what I knew to be true: that room couldn’t possibly be occupied. Yet as I stared in disbelief the light clicked off again. What the hell?

I got the dog back inside and checked the family. The kids were still sound asleep and so was Kelly: just as I thought they’d be. My mind took me back to the past weekend and the phantom gasoline smell: was my deceased neighbor hanging around the house?

Once she awoke, Kelly was skeptical that the light was on, though she seemed to believe that I believed I saw something. I became frustrated as I needed some proof. I could walk into that room and feel a definite energy but whoever it was wasn’t communicating. At least the energy wasn’t threatening or disruptive, as far as I could tell.

I sent a note to some of my psi friends asking for references to psychics who might help me solve the mystery. I was referred to George Matthis, a Raleigh ghost hunter, and we set up a time when he could bring a “sensitive” friend with him who might be able to tell us more.

They arrived this past Thursday night. George’s protocol is to keep quiet on most of the details and let his friend see what she could discover on her own. Though I led them through the opposite attic door, she was nevertheless drawn to the area of the attic where the light had mysteriously turned on. She also concurred with my judgment that the ghost wasn’t harmful, even if it wasn’t particularly outgoing. We agreed to have them return again sometime soon and do a more thorough investigation.

George’s ghost-hunting stories reminded me that I have a radio IR alarm that I intended to use for tracking when people walk through our yard. Friday afternoon, I set up the IR sensor in the attic and went about my evening routine with the family.

At 9:30 PM, the alarm chirped two times, consistent with someone walking in front of it! The room was definitely empty at the time: at least of all earthly beings. It was yet another clue I hadn’t been imagining things.

So what happens now? Hard to say. Since I put the alarm in that room I haven’t felt the energy like I used to. Nor has the alarm tripped again. Either the ghost wandered off for the weekend (it snowed Friday night) or he’s left for good, I’m not sure which one. Frankly I’m okay with either scenario, though I would like to know why he chose to visit me. If he leaves I may never know.

Looking back, I now wonder if that October morning’s tweak on the nose and the sound of my name being called may have been ghost-related.

So many clues but no real picture about why.

There were countless humanoid creatures here, small in stature. They had prominent eyes (glasses?) and very clearly expressed desperation at their situation. They wanted to reach the surface but this was too dangerous. I felt very sorry for them, though I knew there was nothing I could do. Without comment my escort brought me back out of this place.

An insect near my nose awoke me from the dream. As my attention returned to the room, I clearly heard a voice quietly say “hey Mark.” My wife was asleep next to me and though she sometimes talks in her sleep, she almost never calls me by my name. Nor did the voice seem to echo from our bedroom walls: it seemed to have been in my head. I wasn’t alarmed so much as curious.

The clock read 12:58 AM. I spent a minute looking around the room, wondering about the dream and who might have called my name.