Lisa Y. Potocar
Thank you for this fun question and allowing me to entertain you--I hope--through the following story, which is definitely going to sound whacky perhaps to even those of you who believe in the supernatural. But I assure you it's true, based upon solid corroboration.
When I was in my teens, I had just shut out the light from studying for an exam the next day, and I was wide awake reviewing some of the material when an apparition came to me. (I would describe its appearance more like the static that you'd see on a blank television screen versus the white transparent wispiness we all associate with ghosts). Although its face was unrecognizable, it clearly had blond hair and wore blue jeans & a yellow T-shirt. It kept calling out my name as it sat down on the bed beside me and began stroking the back of my hair. Needless to say, I was so freaked out, I let out a shriek and turned away from it until I felt my mattress fluffing back up. When all quieted, I turned back once to find the apparition still standing there gazing upon me, and the next time I turned away and back, it had disappeared. I tried calling out to my twin, who was sound asleep in her adjacent bed, but my voice was frozen. The next day, I told my boyfriend all about it; my adamancy and vivid description made him a believer. (Actually, this same boyfriend married me, and we've been together for thirty years--proof he didn't think I was nutty--LOL). Other than my twin sister, I never shared this occurrence with anyone else until. . .
. . .fast-forward to two years later. I was in college when my boyfriend/ husband, apart from me in distance, was speaking with this relative about an out-of-body experience they once had (when they lived far away from me) in which they stood outside of my house desperately trying to get inside to warn me that Armageddon was nearing and to be with me for those final days on earth. My boyfriend recalled my experience and mentioned it. (Remember that the apparition was faceless, so I would never have known who visited me on that night to have ever spoken with them about it). When he corroborated the date, day of the week, and hour of my relative's occurrence, it matched my timeframe exactly! My relative and I could remember the date with such precision because we both had significant events happening in our lives that coming weekend, such as a wedding for me. Also, remember that the apparition had blond hair, and this relative does!
But there is one last tidbit to this story that my relative and I believe might've linked us on that particular night. I've always been all about being well-rounded in subjects, from which to farm ideas for stories. Although, I'm not particularly religious, at the time of this supernatural experience, purely out of curiosity to learn, I would read several passages in the Bible before I shut out the light. At this same time, my relative was troubled and had turned to the Bible for guidance.
Okay, so what about a story? Without giving away too many of the details, for years, I've been churning over an idea for a YA contemporary story that revolves around my supernatural experience and twins (actually, triplets) since I am a twin, who was supposed to be a triplet--believe it or not, there is a real mystery around that discovery as well! But that's a story for another day.
For now, though, I'm drawn to writing YA historical novels set during the American Civil War. Who knows? There just might be a way to set the supernatural twin plot into an antebellum setting.
Anyone else have a story like mine to share? I'd love to hear from you!
When I was in my teens, I had just shut out the light from studying for an exam the next day, and I was wide awake reviewing some of the material when an apparition came to me. (I would describe its appearance more like the static that you'd see on a blank television screen versus the white transparent wispiness we all associate with ghosts). Although its face was unrecognizable, it clearly had blond hair and wore blue jeans & a yellow T-shirt. It kept calling out my name as it sat down on the bed beside me and began stroking the back of my hair. Needless to say, I was so freaked out, I let out a shriek and turned away from it until I felt my mattress fluffing back up. When all quieted, I turned back once to find the apparition still standing there gazing upon me, and the next time I turned away and back, it had disappeared. I tried calling out to my twin, who was sound asleep in her adjacent bed, but my voice was frozen. The next day, I told my boyfriend all about it; my adamancy and vivid description made him a believer. (Actually, this same boyfriend married me, and we've been together for thirty years--proof he didn't think I was nutty--LOL). Other than my twin sister, I never shared this occurrence with anyone else until. . .
. . .fast-forward to two years later. I was in college when my boyfriend/ husband, apart from me in distance, was speaking with this relative about an out-of-body experience they once had (when they lived far away from me) in which they stood outside of my house desperately trying to get inside to warn me that Armageddon was nearing and to be with me for those final days on earth. My boyfriend recalled my experience and mentioned it. (Remember that the apparition was faceless, so I would never have known who visited me on that night to have ever spoken with them about it). When he corroborated the date, day of the week, and hour of my relative's occurrence, it matched my timeframe exactly! My relative and I could remember the date with such precision because we both had significant events happening in our lives that coming weekend, such as a wedding for me. Also, remember that the apparition had blond hair, and this relative does!
But there is one last tidbit to this story that my relative and I believe might've linked us on that particular night. I've always been all about being well-rounded in subjects, from which to farm ideas for stories. Although, I'm not particularly religious, at the time of this supernatural experience, purely out of curiosity to learn, I would read several passages in the Bible before I shut out the light. At this same time, my relative was troubled and had turned to the Bible for guidance.
Okay, so what about a story? Without giving away too many of the details, for years, I've been churning over an idea for a YA contemporary story that revolves around my supernatural experience and twins (actually, triplets) since I am a twin, who was supposed to be a triplet--believe it or not, there is a real mystery around that discovery as well! But that's a story for another day.
For now, though, I'm drawn to writing YA historical novels set during the American Civil War. Who knows? There just might be a way to set the supernatural twin plot into an antebellum setting.
Anyone else have a story like mine to share? I'd love to hear from you!
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