I come from a large family. We were eight kids and lived in a smallish three-bedroomed house with a kitchen, living room and one bathroom.
My story goes back to 1954. My father worked for a large company in town and most of the town's residents worked for this company. The company owned most of the houses and apartments in town. A very small rental amount was deducted from employees salary each month. This was one of their perks.
My father's mother was in her seventies and was becoming sickly so she came to live with us. Living in a three bedroom house that was already over-crowded with us children, my father arranged to move to a house with four bedrooms to accommodate my gran. The only house available was far from town centre which meant my mother would have to endure a far walk when doing shopping, paying bills etc. My mother couldn't drive a car but she sure knew how to fix it and was my dad's right-hand mechanic (lol). We had been staying in the old house from 1954-1959.
My parents went to say goodbye to our neighbours whom they had come to know very well. The neighbours were a retired policeman and his wife, Marie.
They were really sad to see us go but my parents promised to visit as soon as they could. After all, we still stayed in the same town and our new house was only a 10 minute drive away.
In the new home my gran became bed-ridden and my mother got really busy looking after her. We had a helper who was worth her weight in gold and if it wasn't for her my parents would have had a very difficult time looking after an elderly person and running a home full of kids.
Any visits to our previous neighbours were non-existant as there simply was no time available.
We only stayed in the new house for about ten months when my gran passed on. My father promptly arranged to move back closer to town centre, where us kids could be closer to our school and my mom's trips to town would take her less time.
The gentleman at the housing department warned my parents that he only had one house available in that area and previous tenants had all said the house was haunted. My parents had so many previous experience with 'hauntings' that they chimed together...'that's alright, we don't mind sharing a house with a ghost' (lol).
My father used to work different shifts and the day we moved he was working night shift (22:00 - 06:00). On the first evening that we moved in to the new home, my father went off to work. At about ten the evening, we were all in bed and my mother decided to turn in as well. She didn't close her bedroom door completely, it was left ajar, about three inches from the door frame.
At two'o clock my mother woke up and immediately 'felt' there was someone in the room. In the darkness, she could plainly see the outline of a woman standing in the doorway. In the darkness it appeared as though the door was wide open but when she switched the bed light on, the door was as she had left it and there was no sign of a spirit. Turning off the light again, she clearly saw the outline of the spirit in the 'open doorway,' My mother has seen so many spirits during her lifetime that she would become curious to know who they were. She was never afraid of them but would never converse with them whatsoever. After a few seconds the 'apparition' faded.
The following morning while my parents were in town doing shopping, they bumped into the retired policeman who was more than happy to see them. They apologised for not visiting and explained the reason, promising to come visit within the next few days. The old man then said "Marie has become extremely ill since we last saw you. She is now taking a lot of medication for her heart condition. I now do all our shopping etc., as Marie is too ill to leave the house. Marie always reminds me to be on the lookout for you and she will be delighted to know that you will visit us in a few days." They chatted for a few minutes more and then went their own way.
That night my mother didn't sleep. She read a book until about one thirty a.m. Then she put the light off and waited. Sure enough the spirit showed up. My mother stared and stared, trying to see the face, but just as the previous night, she could only see the outline and not the face.
The third night my mother waited but the spirit didn't show up. The fourth night my mother went to sleep early and had a good night's rest.
The following morning (Friday) at six thirty, my cousin arrived saying "Aunty, my mom asked me to bring this note on my way to school." In the note my Aunt had written "I don't know if you heard the news, but Marie Fraser passed away on Wednesday morning at around six o'clock. She was bending down to give the dog his food when she collapsed from a massive heart attack and passed away.
My mother suddenly realised who the spirit was, as the outline of the spirit lady was large and so was Marie a big built lady.
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