Have you ever seen strange people, they would appear all of a sudden and out of nowhere, pass you by but when you looked back and there was no one there. Sometimes you had to do a double take because they might be staring right at you, but at the blink of an eye there were no one there. Then you start to question yourself if you were seeing things.This happened to my second sister, it was less than 2 weeks prior to my mom passing, until this day we still couldn’t figure out what had happened or who that person was.
It was early in the morning of December 2006, 2 days after Christmas so most of my mom’s visitors that came from out of state had gone home, and my oldest sister took the last guest to the airport.My second and youngest sisters were home with my mom, and my nephew was taking a nap in the den.My second sister was the closest to my mom because she lives with my parents and helped taking care of my mom until the end. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if my mom was (is) worried about her.I took my dad to the doctor that morning, so we both weren’t there and missed everything.
My mom was at her last stage of liver cancer, so there’s little that she could do for herself, even with little physical activity such as eating or sitting up seemed to drain all her energy.At this point, my mom couldn’t walk, and toward the end she spent more and more hours sleeping, which Kathy (her hospice nurse) told us that it was normal for her illness.
This happened several days before my mom passed away, she died of liver cancer in Jan. 2007. My second sister helped my mom with her breakfast and gave her medication as usual. After her meal my mom decided to take a nap, so my second sister decided to clean around the house, and the bathroom, which was one door down from my mom’s bedroom. As she was wiping the mirror, she heard the front door opened then closed. In the back of her mind she thought it was my dad and I came back from the doctor’s visit. She called out to my youngest sister who came to visit from NYC, she was sitting in the living room (right across from the front door) to see if it were us that came home. My youngest sister was nursing her baby at the time and couldn’t get up, but also heard someone coming through the front door and just assumed that it was my dad. Shortly after that my second sister saw a reflection in the mirror of someone walking passed her, and went into my mom’s bedroom. That person had a blanket over his/her head and draped down both sides covering the shoulders. The blanket was somewhat brownish in color, very similar to my mom’s blanket. It happened so fast that my second sister immediately followed that person into the room, my mom was still awake and my sister asked if she was okay, which she nodded her head then slowly closed her eyes. My second sister searched the entire room, even looked in the closets, and under the bed but couldn’t find that person. She came out to get my nephew and youngest sister and told them that someone was in the house. The three once again searched my mom’s bedroom, then the entire house but there was no trace of that person. All were baffled because both of my sisters heard someone opening the front door and my second sister saw that person walk pass by.
Shortly after that my youngest sister went to dry some clothes and the dryer was located in the hallway next to the bathroom. She had her baby in a carrier backpack, and as she was putting wet cloths into the dryer, her baby started to giggling as if someone were playing with her. I find this hard to believe because she was not a very friendly baby and I can’t even look at her without her crying, and for her to giggling is like a miracle. My youngest sister said that she could feel someone’s presence. Who ever it was is not a bad person because s/he was not scaring the baby, but not being able to see gave her goosebumps, so she rushed with what she was doing and went back to the living room.
My second sister was still puzzled, and kept thinking of what just happened. She went back to the bathroom and started to wipe the mirror again. She could see the hallway and her bedroom door from the reflection of the mirror. As she was wiping, she saw that person again but this time in front of her bedroom door, and was waking toward the front door. My sister took off running after that person, but there was no one there. She couldn’t figure out which direction that person went because my youngest sister was sitting in the living room and didn’t see anyone. They checked the front door and it was locked.
My dad and I came home approximately 2 hours later. I went straight into my mom’s bedroom and thought she looked different, somewhat grayish in color. I noticed that both my sisters gave me this eerie look, as if they wanted to tell me something. They later told me about the morning incident. My second sister told me that several days back, she saw a huge black night owl sitting on top of the roof rack of my Rav4 but didn’t dare tell me about it because she was afraid that it would freak me out. It made me feel uneasy at the time because I knew that Laotian believe that a black nigh owl, Nok Khao comes with Pee Pie (ghost) and it was a sign of omen. In most cases someone will die, and that someone we all knew that it was my mom, but we didn’t have the time frame as to when and in most cases only 3 days. My mom passed away 11 days later.
Until this day we still don’t know who that person was, I often wonder if it was my mom’s spirit, which Lao/Thai people called it ‘Kwon Dip’ and one of the monks in Charlotte Temple seems to agree with us. I think we were happy with this conclusion, but then another monk with a higher ranking told us that it could be many things. It could be a sign that it’s almost her time, it could be a messenger that was delivering a message to us, or a person that came to pick her up. Who ever that person was, we’ve not seen him/her again after my mom passed away. Shortly after my mom died, my second sister often felt like someone was watching her. She would see but when she looked up there was no one there. Her and my dad live at the house that my mom passed away.
Nye Noona 
Quite a story Ginger, I am a believer. So, I believe both monks are right. ‘Kwon’ is something we all possess. There are times when my kwon is weak. Knowing that, I re-enforced it with meditation and a lot of prays. I hope we all can live in harmony within our realm. There will be a time when the others have to cross over to our plain of existence. What has to be done has to be done. It is written.
Hi Amphone, we didn’t tell my mom about the incident, if we did, she’d have known that it’s her ‘Kwon’ (spirit). She told me once that a young girl in her village, about 16 years old was walking back to the village with a group of 5-6 people and she saw herself running and hid behind a bush; she told everyone to look ‘how in the world she’s over there?’, but no one else could see except for her. My mom said it was her ‘Kwon’ or spirit that came out, and after that she got ill, and 3 days later she died.
Kathy, her hospice nurse seems to think that it was someone that came to pick up my mom. My second sister and I think that it was my mom’s ‘Kwon’ or spirit, and in a situation like this the person wouldn’t know that their spirit left their body; since my mom wasn’t able to move around, I think her mind was so determined that her spirit was able to move around freely, she had gone outside and walked around but the opening and closing of the door was a mystery to all of us, was it just noise or did the door really open and close?
They say, seeing is believing so you really have to believed in Ghosts to see them.
Seeing moving chairs? Feeling those cold breeze as if someone went past beside you? Do you feel like someone’s watching you?
I probably think there are logical explanations for a lot that happens in our lives; sometime we jump into the conclusion that we are a ghost-host without checking out all of the ‘rational’ reasons things are happening the way they’re happening.
But I do think that majority of houses are not haunted but if it really is, maybe call someone for help. A ghost buster? Sometimes our imagination is far more than just seeing pictures in the mind. It includes all the five senses and the feelings. One can imagine a sound, taste, smell, a physical sensation or a feeling or emotion.
K make an excellent point, “seeing is believing.” I do believe that Ghosts come and go somehow someway. I have not seen one yet. I have no desire to. But if it could happens. I probably freak out if it does happen.
Just to share my own personal experience. Something that really feel real. I believe it was just a dream or my own kwon left to wander. Well last year, I guess it was a time when I was at my lowest, lacking of “kwon power.” I think my kwon, from a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being full and strong kwon power, was at a 3. It was one dark stormy night. I was sleeping on my parents’ basement. It was the closest encounter with folks from the other side or whatever it is we call i/them. I was dead asleep when I felt someone touched me. In panic, I naturally put up a fight because I was trained to do so if this ever happen. I know I have to be strong and try to shake the thing off of me. I was in frantic stage and all hope was about to be lost when the thing finally let me go. The pray and chant worked. So, I was awake now. Gathered myself, like a lost sheep. It was 3 am. So I thought it was all a bad dream. I went back to sleep. Later…. in my sleep, I drifted into a dream like stage and start to see feel something or someone moving about. It wasn’t in the house. It was outside. In that stage or dream, I saw a figure outside my window. It was a well built male dressing in a white. He was moving about outside my window. I have no I dea what he was trying to do. I was scared again. So, I try to tell myself, “…wake up wake up.” I tonked “chant”, namo namo namo, pud tho pud tho pud tho. I kept doing that until I was awake. This time I was sweating. After I was awke, believe it or not, like a chicken, I went to turn on the light. I thought to myself, “Okay, so this is going to be a fight. You’re coming for me who ever you are. I hope you come in peace and go in peace. Building my kwon power “juice”, got stronger, I collected my thoughts. My mom’s teaching came to mind, “Always pray to Buddha and your ancestors for protection.” She used to tell me to gather myself and try to reason with them if there ever come a time. So the rest of the night I have to dig deep and seek refuge in the teaching of the olds and the wise. I went back to sleep. Everything was peaceful.
During that time, there was a couple fo funeral I went to. The deceased were good friends, a young couple met an ill fait. The other was my best friend’s dad. Thinking about them so much may have been the reason I encounter something like that. I am positive it wasn’t them that visited.
Hi K, you’re probably going to think that I’m crazy, but I think it’s a gift to be able to see ghost and you’ve seen them mainly because they choose for you to see them.
Something recently happened to my GI Joe sister (4th sister) that I like to share with you and also with Amphone. My GI Joe sister is afraid of ghost, and she’s still afraid to use my mom’s bathroom. One day last week, she went to help someone to hang draperies at a temple (Wat), mainly because my mom’s monument (ashes) is there and this person couldn’t do it by herself and it took them over 3 days to get it done. As she was climbing up the ladder, she smelled an odd odor, similar to chemical that they put in a dead person’s body. This went on for almost ½ hours, then she mentioned to the monks that stood near by. She proceed with her work again, but that odor was still there, then 2 monks came to tell her that my mom came to visit her and stood outside. My GI Joe was standing next to a doorway; you’d imagine how she must have felt at the time. The 2 monks then went outside and told my mom that my sister was there to do some work for the temple, and shortly after that the odor went away.
Another time about a month ago, my GI Joe sister has an upholstery business and she went to deliver some furniture in NYC and felt that my mom went with her, and she said that normally she’d get sleepy and would take turn driving with her husband, but this trip, she was wide awake the whole 10 hours, she drove all night. When she got to NYC, my oldest sister dreamed that my mom came with my GI Joe sister. There was no doubt in their mind that my mom went with my GI Joe sister.
I’m not as lucky, I sat by my mom’s monument for a long time, but couldn’t see or feel anything, I think you’ve to be a ghost magnet (gifted) to be able to see.
Hi Amphone, thanks for sharing your dream; I had dreamed similar to yours and I think Lao people called it Pee Umm. Mine was when I was younger and was home alone, I dreamed that I saw a boy (about 6-7 years old) dressed in traditional Lao outfit standing outside my bedroom window and I thought to myself that he’s outside and couldn’t get in and went back to sleep (this was still in my dream), the next thing he was next to me and was grabbing my neck, I tried to fight him off because I couldn’t breath and that woke me up. It was so real and I felt at the time that the house was somewhat haunted but it was just a feeling.
Pee umm, I agree.
Hi Amphone, I thought you might agree, my GI Joe sister often has had this type of dream.
Hi everybody! I am not going to be able to sleep now!:) Anyway something K said got me thinking. He said, “One can imagine a sound, taste, smell, a physical sensation or a feeling or emotion.” I agree that sometimes we can be overimaginative when we are exhausated but there are still things we can’t easily explain away. Maybe those of us who are empathetic (abilities to identify with another person’s feelings)are more highly sensitive to the paranormal because our senses are more opened or heightened. Also it could be that some of us use our sixth sense more than others. Anyway, I think I’m one of those people. Here’s my story.
Since I can remember I always have what psychologist call a “paralyzed dream” but what Lao people call Pee umm. When this happens to me I know it is a dream and in my dream I even tell myself that it is a dream and I have to wake up, but I can’t move, I can’t scream. In my dream I feel a presence holding, suffocating the brealth from me because I am so terrified. And I don’t want to open my eyes because I’m afraid of what I will see so I refuse to confront my fear and stay frozen in my dream longer. The best way to describe this sensation is that it feels like someone is menacingly pressing up against you and you feel their face an inch away from yours but you think if you ignore it they will go away which they never do until you can wake yourself up. I’ve learned to use my anger to confront the pee to make it go away. Praying and having a strong faith does help as well.
Hi Karmadiva, your story made me think of what my mom told me as to the reason that I’ve had nightmares, Lao people believe that your hands are symbolic of ‘hell’, not literally but our hands kill many living creatures, back in Laos, killing mainly for consumption such as fishes, chickens, pigs, cows, and many times when we have nightmares was when we’d place our hand(s) on top of our chest area, placing ‘hell’ as my mom called it, therefore we’d have nightmares. I then started to pay more attention and it was true, but not that I believe the theory of our hands being ‘hell’, but I think it’s because I put weight on my heart area, making it more difficult for me to breath is what I’m thinking, therefore sending less oxygen to my brain.
Another thing is when I dream/nightmare and can’t move or would run very slowly, I’ve noticed that if I were to sleep sideway, curl up in a fetus position which is the common position for me most of the time, I’d run very slowly in my dream, but if I sleep in a soldier position then I’d run a lot faster, this I can’t explain why, but I discover that my nightmares were somehow associated with my sleeping position also.
Hey Ginger that is very interesting about the symbolism of your hands! I never sleep on my back with my hands on my chest because it reminds me of how the dead have their hands sometimes position on their chest when they are in the casket. I always sleep in fetal position because I have less nightmares. Thanks for the interesting facts! 🙂
You are welcome Karmadiva, I thought it’s a common knowledge amongst Laotian, I guess not. 🙂 Oh, and you’re sleeping position tells a lot about you. 😉
All, I have learn not to sleep certain way(s). My safest way to sleep is sideway. This make my sleep more serene. I enough share of nightmares and have learn not to sleep on my back. With hands on the chest too? Ooh, trouble. Guarantee trouble. Yes sir. So I have learn that by being more concious of my sleeping positions have save me the trouble of fighting with guys from the other side, especially the bad ones. So now, anytime I see my friends or family sleep face up, I would wake them up right away. I do that but won’t let them know why I do it.
I find what you both said about sleeping position very interesting. This is what I am talking about. Laotians or non Laotians should share these important common knowledges passed along by our parents and their parents passed along.
Another, it is also not a very good idea to take a picture of someone while they are sleeping.
Hi Amphone, I’ve never heard of not taking photo of someone whilst they’re sleeping, do you know the reason as to why not to?