by Kim Latham

Created on: August 09, 2009   Last Updated: August 11, 2009

Over the years, many times I have come across things in my life I had no explanation for. I can remember my first paranormal experience going back as far as when I was 5 years old. That memory is still fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

My family come from the Blue Ridge Mountains. My Gram's family are all buried in a very old confederate cemetery right on the outskirts of V.M.I.(Virginia Military Institute). For anyone that knows the area, it is very haunted to say the least. Well while "visiting" our loved ones, we toured the resting places of our ancestors. I came upon a small square marble stone in the ground, and I being only 5 was very curious about it. I sat on the ground and traced the name on it, I looked up between two trees and saw a little girl wearing what looked like a white nightgown. As I continued to trace the little marble headstone in the ground, I shouted to the top of my lungs that the little girl was burning. My Grandma and Mom gave each other strange looks. Turns out in my later years, when that topic was brought back up. The tombstone that I was tracing was that of my Grandma's Aunt, my Great Grandmas Sister. From what my Grams told me, her Aunt had died at the age of 5, the same age I was at the time of the incident. She had died by way of scalding. She was just 5 when she had accidentally knocked over a large pan of scalding hot water, which burned her to death. It was the first time I had ever encountered something like that.

During my teenage years and into adulthood, I have had many other occurrences that lead me to believe that the "Paranormal" does exist. My Father passed away when I was just 24 years old, He was very young when he passed, he was only 51. After a year, still living in the house he died in, we decided to buy a smaller house. So the next year after his death, my family and I moved into our new home. Dad's stuff had been packed up and donated to local charities. The only things we kept were photos and his Fire Department memorabilia It was during that first year in our new home that I could smell his cologne from time to time. He wore a very expensive cologne, and none of my friends nor uncles wore the same thing my Dad did. I went through the house checking everything I could to catch the scent, but no avail. When I sat down and thought about it, it was during special days when I would smell it, not even thinking about it. I would smell it around Christmas, my Dad's favorite holiday. I smelled it around my parents' anniversary, and I would smell it around his birthday. No, I wasn't crazy and I wasn't just making it up, because other people would comment on it before I did at different times.

Now that I am almost into my 40's, weird and strange things still happen. I no longer pass them off or shrug my shoulders. I pay more attention to what is going on around me. I have come to believe that my paranormal experiences are from loved ones. They are just trying to let me know that they are OK and that they are still able to come around from time to time to make sure everything is going alright. Does that make me crazy for believing in such a thing? No, it doesn't and it should not make anyone else feel a bit odd either. I know one thing for sure. I have some pretty cool people watching over me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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