Antiques - Possessions or Possessed ...

Actual Photo of my aunts Beloved Herschede Grandfather Clock...

My tale is of an old grandfather clock that I inherited from my favorite aunt. As a girl ,in the year of 1962, I accompanied my aunt on the shopping trip that she actually purchased the grandfather clock.

My aunt was a hard working woman, and worked in a factory for the better part of her life. She was known to only pay cash for anything she bought, and would save money to make a special purchase, as she did for the clock . As we drove to the store where she was to purchase the clock from, she confided in me that she had always wanted a Grandfather clock, and she knew just the one she wanted. It was a Herschede Grandfather clock, that was known to have wonderful sounding chimes.

When the clock was delivered it was placed in her dinning room, and she would fuss over keeping it spotless, and well cleaned. You would never find a smudge on its glass or dust on the clock at any part of the clock. My aunt had high standards when it came to keeping her home clean, one might say she was a "fastidious housekeeper."

The years passed, and my aunt passed away. The clock was passed on to me. I placed it in my formal living room, I wanted the clock to have a special place in my home, where it would be seen daily, and enjoyed by all.

I had the clock in my home for some months, and Christmas was coming, and before decorating as a rule I would give all wood pieces in the house a good polishing. When it came time to clean, and polish the Grandfather clock, I was astonished! There was not only not a bit of dust on the clock, the glass inserts were sparkling... I could not believe my eyes?

To make a long story short - I have had the clock for over 15 years, and it always appears clean and dust free. I know this may be hard to believe, I find it hard to comprehend myself? I feel my wonderful aunt, that has long left this earth, keeps her clock clean, and up to her fastidious housekeeping standard.

I find it comforting knowing she stops in now and then - even if it's just to clean her clock.

Someone was just checking out your Squidoo lens "Antiques - Possessions or Possessed - Can Spirits Possess Inanimate Objects?" and wrote you the following note..

My experience took place in a popular local Fort Lauderdale restaurant "Coconuts", where I was employed as a manger about "8 years ago. It happened one night after closing, as a manager I was responsible for closing. On that particular night I was working with another manager, we found ourselves sitting at the south bar discussing what task that needed to be done. The bar faces the lounge, and we had a good view of the restaurant, and the large lounge area. As we were discussing our closing duties, the bar-tender was stocking the beer cooler, and cleaning the back of the bar area. The lights were dim in the place, and for some reason the restaurant seemed unusually quite. The lounge area at the north bar had a set of duel french doors which led to a large deck. On the west side of the room was a hallway that led to the restroom. As the co-manager and I sat at the bar, I saw someone exit the restrooms hallway , and proceed to walk toward the lounge, walking slowly across the lounge, and finally this apparition walked directly through the closed french doors! I looked at the co-manager to see if he had witnessed what I had? He had a shocked look on his face, and asked me,"did you see that"? We were in disbelief, as we both got up and traced the tracks of this "whatever it was" ? We ended up at the french doors, in the back of our minds still thinking this must have been a stray person that over drank that evening... We both checked the doors, finding them locked. We couldn't explain it, and were amazed by what we had witnessed. While employed at "Coconuts" I had two more paranormal experience's, I was alone at both times, so kept them to myself. It's funny, I never really felt scared or threatened by these strange occurrences.

I enjoyed reading all the paranormal experiences listed on this site, and thought I would share just a few of my own. I truly believe objects can be haunted, as can an entire room be haunted by those that have pasted on, and just refused to give their room up, to the living."

"I've had quite a few paranormal experiences in my life time. One such experience occurred when I was just a child, in my childhood home. When I was just a young child. I would wake up in the middle of the night, and would frequently see an apparition of a young girl. This young spirit actually reminded me of my own little sister. I can't describe the apparition well, it's hard to describe her features. The spirit was vague , somewhat shadowy and white, very filmy, and somewhat see through.

Each time a saw her, I would get out of my bed, and physically follow her into the hallway, I could see her only foot prints on the floor before me. The foot prints appear filmy and white, as the apparition so appeared. As I would approach the end of the hallway, the footsteps would disappear. I would then return to my bedroom, and climb into my bed. Needless to say, I was frightened, and would pull the covers up over my head.

Another childhood memory takes me back to a night my brother, and I was in the guestroom of our home. I must mention this very room had been used by my grandparent's, as they lived with us for a period of time. My brother, and I was standing near the heater, which is right under the rooms' window. We were just killing time, and talking about random things. Suddenly, out of the blue, the blinds flickered, all in one motion they opened. We were both startled, I will admit we were scared ! We both ran out, beating each other to the doorway.

Some years later two guests stayed the night, and slept in the guestroom. They both had a very unrestful night, claiming that they were awakened by the loud sound of snoring, which sounded as if it were coming from within the room?

On another occasion my younger sister, and I was sleeping in my grandparent's old room, we were awakened suddenly, and both saw a ghostly face in the window. We retreated under the covers, and yelled out loudly for our father. My Dad looked outside of the window, and claimed to have seen a cat. He tried to comfort our fears. Telling us, "it was just an old cat". However, to this day I know what I saw was not a cat at all, It was the face of a human, a ghost. For years after I would have dreams of ghosts being in my grandparent's old room.

I truly believe the family dog's could also see the spirit's that haunted our home. I was awaken many nights, by our dog's barking in my bedroom. Just barking into thin air - barking at nothing? I would be too terrified to move, so I just would hide under my blankets. I would become sweaty, and hot because of terror I felt. After these incidences, the dog's would come by the side of the bed, cowering. I could feel their fear, feel them shaking so badly it shook my bed. It was clear the dog's were as afraid of these spirit's, as I was. I have always felt the dog's could more readily see the spirits that haunted our home. Perhaps dog's can see more than what appears to the human eye?

The most frightening experience, a night I will never forget, was a night that my parents were entertaining, having a party of sorts. My brother, and I were in my bedroom. We were talking, and just passing the time, when suddenly we both simultaneously saw someone. I filmy vision formed out of nowhere, it was very near us, and reach its hands out quickly towards us! Its hair could barely be seen, and was sort black with tinges of green in it. My brother and I agreed, it was defiantly a woman. Needless to say, we both ran screaming from my bedroom, and as you might guess, this frightful apparition was nowhere to be found, when our parents came to see what all the shouting was about.

I had many frightful nights growing up in that home. Almost nightly I would hear odd faint sounds, such as footsteps coming from other room's in the house or light knocking on the window's, soft voices that echoed down the hall. I guess one must experience the paranormal, to be a true believer.

Erik wrote...

"My wife and I bought a brand new (not antique) set of the Wizard Of Oz "Bobble-Head figurines from a store in a local mall. All 7 (Dorothy, Toto, Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Glenda The Witch and The Wicked Witch Of The West). We decided to display the set on the fireplace mantle. We wanted to place them in an area in our home, where we could enjoy them. When placed on the mantle the figurine's all stood perfectly erect, as they were before we removed them from their individual boxes. Not long after the figurines were purchased, I had a rather odd , I was working in my office, and I heard my wife, and baby son in the hallway talking. However, when I went out into the hall to join them , I found the hallway empty, no one in sight? I thought it best not to mention it to my wife, thinking I was just hearing things, and I certainly did not want to "freak her out".

Not long after this experience, my wife called me at work, upset and claiming that she, and the baby heard me in the hallway talking on my cell phone? She claimed that she thought I had come home from work, but became concerned after I did not come into the living room when she called my name. It was only then that she realized I wasn't even in the house, and never had been.

The house seemed to be haunted, evidenced by many other unexplainable events that have happened in the house, events that have no plausible explanation. Nevertheless, one occurrence that actually gives physical evidence of what I believe substantiates a haunting in the home is, the " Dorothy "Bobble-head" incident. As I mentioned all the Wizard of Oz figure's were erect when they were placed on the mantle, and I must mention that the figurines are made of ceramic pottery. The Dorothy doll has become inexplicably bent over backwards, there is no explanation as to why or how this could even be possible? We believe that something is not right in that house, and that whatever it is has affected the figurine somehow? We have since moved out of that house. No longer being able to put up with the presence of the unknown that haunts the house.