A Miraculous Shove

While in High School during my senior year I tried out for one of the lead roles in a play. It was a comedy written by Neil Simon entitled Fools. *

I was given the part of Sophia, which was the character I wanted. I was exited to perform in this play about a curse that is placed on a small village in the Ukraine in the 1890s.

As my fellow actors and I rehearsed we realized just how funny this story truly was. The curse on the village made everyone stupid especially my character Sophia.

A new teacher, Leon comes to the village and falls in love with Sophia--he finds he must teach her something within 24 hours or he as well will fall under the curse.

In one scene Sophia is standing on a balcony and asks Leon to climb up a trellis to reach her. But as his character does this Sophia really dense runs down to meet him. He then tells her to wait for him but she races back up.

The play was a great success in the community and many returned to watch it several times.

The balcony scene elicited the most laughter but for me it was a challenge to maneuver physically. After saying my lines I had to rush backstage to enter the balcony and then I had to rush back onstage meeting cues both ways.

During this sprint I had to jump over a small gap between the balcony set and the stage. I had not told anyone I was afraid of heights and I was terrified that I would trip.

For the first few performances everything went fine but one night a high heel on one boot I wore as part of my costume caught the narrow edge on the platform were the gap was located.

I lost my balance and started to fall backward. I realized that my head was going to hit the metal supports below. I was terrified I was going to be badly injured or even killed.

I tried to catch myself by waving my arms but I continued to fall.

Suddenly, an unseen force shoved against the center of my back. It propelled me forward 3 to 4 feet. I landed right in front of the curtain that led to my balcony cue.

I turned to see who had helped me but no one was there. My adrenaline pumping I managed to finish the balcony scene.

Afterwards I checked with the cast and crew but no one had come to my rescue. My teachers and fellow students were amazed at my story--several were skeptical it had actually happened.

For the rest of the performances a teacher was placed at the gap to assist me across.

My only explanation for that shove was that an angel was sent to save me. Today--years later--I still feel humbled.

* The original play of Fools lasted on Broadway only 40 performances. The story goes Neil Simon who was divorcing his wife had promised her the profits from his next play.

Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters, compiled by James Stuart Bell

Canada: Ottawa Jail Hostel

“Fifth, darkness, starvation and sickness were common.”

This old jail located in Carleton Ottawa, Ontario is considered to be one of Canada's most haunted places.

This prison first opened its doors in 1842 in the basement of the cities’ new courthouse. It was established when there was an international movement that changed the concept of how prisoners should be treated.

It was the first “reformation” jail in Canada. It was built with the goal of providing both safety and the tools and resources to help prisoners successfully reform.

The concept was to keep the prisoners separated from each other. Carleton Jail was declared the “model goal” of its time.

But what looked good on paper was in reality a facility that was overcrowded and unsanitary. There was very little for the prisoners to do.

They spent hours in extremely small cells where there was little light, no restrooms and no heating or air-conditioning. There was very little food and rare opportunities to shower.

When this Carleton Jail closed in 1972 it was said that countless men, women and children that were held as prisoners here over the years experienced only punishment and torture.

Ominous Feelings

People who visit the building today report a variety of dark feelings.

Negative energy and despair are often felt in the area that once was the prison’s solitary confinement--known as The Hole.

In this area the prisoners were punished. They were stripped naked and shackled to the wall. There was no light and only a bucket for waste. They were lucky to be fed once a day.

Another area that elicits an ominous response is at the back of the jail. It was here where prisoners who died were burned and buried.

Nearby was the prison’s Death Row. Many report seeing the apparition of a prisoner by the name of Patrick James Whalen. He was the second prisoner to be hanged publically in 1869. He is seen writing and wandering the area near the Carleton gallows.

In another area of the prison known as the Lounge voices are heard screaming and crying for this was the area where the women and children were confined.

One part of the old jail that many ghost hunters seek out is the space where aggressive prisoners were kept. It is here and near a stairwell that the most negative energy is felt.

Today ghost tours are given of the Carleton Jail.

Robert E. Lee’s Ghost

General Robert E. Lee

Lee took command of the Southern Confederate troops during American’s most decisive and deadly war--the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee was a military tactical genius and is ranked against the world’s finest generals, including Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, and Frederick the Great.

Born in Virginia in 1807 Lee graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with no demerits. He married Mary Anna Custis the great-granddaughter of George Washington.

After serving with distinction during the Mexican War, Lee gained a reputation for being the most courageous and intelligent officer in the American army.

He served as the Superintendent of West Point and then served in the cavalry in Texas in 1855. In 1859 he was called to put down John Brown’s slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry. He did this within one hour.

At the beginning of the Civil War Abraham Lincoln asked Lee to head the Union forces. First and always a Virginian, he refused and then resigned his post.

He would not take up arms against his fellow southerners even though he adamantly opposed succession from the Union and he considered slavery an evil.

He did not fight for the south until his beloved Virginia was invaded. Lee distinguished himself on the battlefield and took command of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862.

Lee’s Confederate troops experienced numerous victories on the battlefield-- basically because he was an expert at outmaneuvering the Union troops which were larger and better equipped than his.

It is said that he of all the great generals through history did more with less than any others.

But at Gettysburg in July of 1863, the tide turned against the Confederacy. The fact the Civil War lasted as long as it did is a testament to Lee’s abilities as a general.

Lee at Appomattox Court House

In 1865 Lee faced odds that were too great--this and the fact the Confederate’s had run out of supplies resulted in Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant in April of 1865 at Appomattox, Virginia.

After the war, Lee became the president of Washington College--which is today Washington and Lee University. To his credit during this time he worked diligently to reconcile the South and North.

Lee died of a massive stroke while still president of this college in 1870.

Washington College
Lexington, Virginia

Haunted Boyhood Home

Lee was a dignified southern gentleman, but his family was more colorful. For several generations, his family had been plagued with scandals.

Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee

His father, Light Horse Harry Lee, was an American Revolutionary war hero who was a hell-raiser. He was a drinker and gambler who found himself in constant debt. At one point he served time in a debtor’s prison.

Lee and his mother were forced to leave his beloved childhood home in Alexandria, Virginia, because of his father’s debts.

This Alexandria mansion and two other homes where Lee lived during his life are considered haunted. But it is this mansion located on Oronoco St. where Lee’s ghost resides.

Lee's Boyhood Home
Alexandria, Virginia

In 1967, a family that moved into this mansion immediately experienced this haunting.

During the day, the whole family heard the soft footsteps of a child and giggling coming from the upper floors in the mansion. They also felt this child ghost walk around them as they stood upstairs.

This ghost made his presence known at least two to three times a day. He often ran around, and he sometimes moved objects. The wife had a cigarette lighter flung at her feet.

One neighbor that visited the home was sitting in the living room when snow started to drop on her from a foot above--now wet she left.

The family also saw the apparition of a black dog with floppy ears playing in the mansion’s backyard.

Subsequent families that have lived in the home have reported similar activity.

A child’s giggles are still heard upstairs, and this young ghost likes to ring the home’s doorbell. He always moves objects, and on two different occasions, he has dropped snowflakes on visitors.

One neighbor reported seeing an apparition of a small boy playing in the mansion’s backyard with a ghostly black dog.

Dover’s Haunted Mill

This cotton mill known as Cocheco Mill Number 1 located in Dover, New Hampshire was built in 1890. This large 5-story building was used to manufacture cotton fabric.

Cocheco Mill on fire

In January of 1907 a fire broke out in this mill on the 4^th floor. The sprinkler system was turned off for repairs so the fire spread quickly.

Many workers were trapped on the 4^th and 5^th floors. The power was shut down, leaving these panicked employees to escape through the darkness and smoke.

The mill had only one fire escape so many people were injured as they leapt from the upper windows. 

The fire fighters that responded from Portsmouth and Dover battled this fire for 36 hours. They found their ladders did not reach the upper floors of the mill.

30-degree temperatures hampered their efforts--it was so cold the water from the fire engines froze almost immediately and the firemen could only work in half hour shifts.

To make matters worse the wheels from several buggies driven in by sightseers cut several of the fire hoses.

In the end, six lives were lost and the million-dollar building was partially destroyed--3 stories collapsed into each other, taking tons of machinery down with them.

Just days before this fire the Mutual Insurance Company had declared it “excellent” when it came to safety.

At this point in time cotton mills often caught fire--they were not kept as clean as they are today. Cotton fiber is extremely flammable when in a light or fluffy state.

The cause for the Dover fire was never determined but it was possible friction caused by the large machinery might have set it off. Another possibility was human error.

One eyewitness to this fire--a prisoner who observed the tragedy from his cell in the Dover jail across from the mill--wrote a poem about what he saw. Here is a link to his poem.

The Hauntings

This building is considered to be extremely haunted. The old mill was renovated and used to manufacture fire engines and then rifles. Today it houses offices and apartments.

Renovated Mill today river side.

Many feel that the 1907 fire is the reason for this activity, which probably accounts for some of the activity but the various eyewitness accounts seem to point to the building having a portal that allows a variety of spirits to come and go.

Two common reports are of strange lights being seen in the upper floors of the building when it has been empty. Before the more modern renovations witnesses reported seeing a light on in the basement at a time when the entrances to these rooms were blocked off.

In more recent times many people have reported hearing disembodied voices especially in the two towers that house the stairwells.

One eerie report involves people hearing the old mill’s machinery start up or shut down--many witnesses claim that after a few minutes one very loud machine takes over. These reports are strange considering the fact that there is no longer mill machinery housed in this building.

First Person Account

A wife shares her husband’s unusual encounters in the building.

My husband works as the maintenance manager in the old mill. His first experience happened at 3:00 a.m. He was covering for one of his janitors who was on vacation.

He was on the 3^rd floor cleaning a restroom when he became uneasy. He then heard a giggle. Knowing he was the only one in the building his “blood turned cold.” When he stopped and listened the sound stopped but as soon as he moved again he heard more laughter.

This time it was two distinct voices laughing--both sounded like small children. Unnerved he left the area quickly.

Later that morning when sunlight streamed in the windows he returned to the area and noticed two pictures on the wall where he heard the laughter. They were of two teen sisters--dressed in Victorian clothing.

He felt in some way these two had returned as children. *

When the vacationing janitor returned to work her husband asked him if he had ever heard anything. This man smiled and replied, “You mean my girls.” He went on to mention that besides the laughter he often heard doors slam that were already closed.

The building houses an auditorium and this janitor also mentioned that in the mornings he would find the same seats down--despite the fact they were the kind that spring up when no one is sitting in them.

Later her husband covering for other workers also experienced first hand the doors slamming and the same seats being down in the morning.

Office and apartment spaces today.

One night the husband brought his wife with him to the building. It had been raining and he wanted to check for leaks. While on an upper floor the wife veered off to use a restroom. She met her husband in one office lab.

They turned to leave and her husband paused. She followed his gaze to the bottom of the door. They both saw shadows moving outside the door in the gap beneath the door. It wasn’t just one of two shadows but an entire parade of shadows that passed.

When they walked out to look no one was there. They determined no one else was in the building with them. When they checked the parking lot no other cars were there.

* Parapsychologists believe that ghosts can come back at various ages and stages in their lives--from when they were children up through their adult years.