Ghost stories! We all love them and can't seem to get enough of them.
They are featured in our movies, we read about them in novels, and we sit around the campfire telling scary ghost stories.
But are they real? Do ghosts really exist?
I once asked myself that question and really didn't have an opinion of their existence (as we portrayed them) ... that is, until I lived in what is known as "The Haunted Lighthouse of Block Island."
As I share my experience, as well as others who have lived there, maybe you can ask yourself... do I believe in ghosts?
It was the summer of 1982. My husband had just returned home from a grueling 2-month boot camp training for the United States Coast Guard. We were a young, newly married couple and couldn't wait to start our new life and adventure with the military.
What made it even more exciting was hearing that we would live in a lighthouse on a small island where my husband would serve as a lighthouse keeper.
As we arrived on the island and had to check in at the station before heading to our new home, we were approached by a young seaman who asked if we'd heard that the lighthouse was haunted. He began telling us his experience.
He and a few other guys wanted to find out for themselves if the house was really haunted. They set up their sleeping cots on the 3rd floor and snuggled into their beds. As they began to fall asleep, they encountered the most frightening experience of their lives.
One by one, their beds began to violently shake, and lifted clear off the floor, only to land back down with a big bang. The terrified men quickly got dressed and ran out of the house, never to return.
I could tell by his voice that this was a very frightening experience and one that he will never forget.