Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Six Lies and One Truth - Revealed!

Thanks for all your fun guesses! Ready to be shocked?
  1. I own seven dogs, all of them Mexican Hairless. False. I own two dogs, both of them Welsh Pembroke Corgis.

  2. My children call me SuperMom… because they are grounded if they don’t. False. Alas, I am not a supermom, just a regular one.

  3. Every month I go bungee jumping, to remember what it feels like to be young and carefree. False. The last time I went bungee jumping I was 22 and I puked off the top of the tower. No more bungee!

  4. When I was two, I climbed a ladder and got stuck on the roof. My pregnant mother had to rescue me. False, although I can see why this one seems true...it did happen to a friend's little brother and mother. (Is it cheating for me to use someone else's truth?)

  5. I get a perm every month to keep that curly look. False. The curls are natural - and a bit wacky most days!

  6. I was once playing in an abandoned car. Opened up the glove compartment to find a rattlesnake! False...for me. Though this did happen to my husband when he was 7.

Which leaves the truth, and to be honest, I am a bit nervous that you will all think I am wacko! So let me just preface this by saying I am a very fact-based both-feet-on-the-ground kind of gal. Which is why what happened is so odd...
Here is the truth as I listed it amongst the lies:

I once stayed in the Copper King B&B. I was blessed by a long-dead nun.

While driving across Montana my friend Lesley and I stopped for a single night at the Copper King Bed & Breakfast. We were told the 35-room mansion had been built by one of the richest men in the world.

Lesley and I slept in the same room and she went right to sleep...but as I dozed off, I felt a cold, thin finger trace the shape of a cross on my forehead. I snapped awake, stunned, turned on the light to see...Lesley sleeping and an empty room. I left the light on, started dozing off, and then it happened again. Woke Lesley up, told her about it, she went back to sleep and soon so did I, only to have it happen again. All told, it happened about six times that night.

Now, I am not Catholic, but I do know what the sign of the cross on the forehead looks like when it is done... so in the morning I told Lesley it had happened throughout the night, and I also told her the finger felt thin, and therefore feminine. She laughed, said I had a wild imagination.

After breakfast the owner gave us a tour of the house. She was telling us about the Copper King and his family when I interrupted her. "Did this house ever have anything to do with the Catholic Church? Maybe nuns or priests or something?"

Her mouth fell open. She looked at me very strangely. Then said, "After the family died, the house was given to the Catholic Church. It became a nunnery."

Lesley and I stared at each other wide-eyed. We finished the tour in silence, and I never told the owner, whose family has owned the mansion for four generations. I hope someday to go back again, though I don't think I will spend the night!

So now you know! This writer was once touched by a ghost, or something of the sort! (As I'm not a big believer in the phantasmagorical, do you think it could have been a fold in time? Maybe the nun was perturbed to find me in her bed!)

Is anyone familiar with the symbol of the cross on the forehead? Do you think I was being baptized, or *gulp* given the death rites?

Have you ever been touched by an angel? Ghost? Nun? (lol!)

32 comments:

Slamdunk said...

Wow, that must have been some feeling. I think I would have preferred the rattlesnake though.

Personally, the spirits have left me alone. It is likely the funk emitted from my feet (especially after running) that has kept me safe.

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh how crazy!!!! I loved this, too much fun!!! Sorry I was wrong, LOL

Abby Annis said...

That story is crazy! I don't think I'd want to sleep there again either. ;)

Jessica Bell said...

Wow! That was unexpected! Fantastic!

Brenda St John Brown said...

That gave me the chills... I might have run out of the place and slept in the car. And made Lesley come with me, of course. Would make a great short story.

Kendra said...

That is a bit freaky. Which makes me wonder, if that particular B&B is in Butte? And if so, well then that explains a lot! ;-)

Jemi Fraser said...

Yikes!! What an awesome story! I can't imagine I would have slept a wink. You should go back & ask them if others had reported the same thing - pretty wild!

Unknown said...

Wow! That's one to ponder for a lifetime. I believe everything happens for a reason, but what do you suppose was the reason for this? Who knows! I think it would be cool to go back, but I wouldn't want to stay the night again either...

Cindy Beck, author said...

Interesting story! I don't think I'd ever stay at the place ... just in case the nun is still wandering! :)

What is even cooler than the story is the fact that you own Corgis! Me, too! A tri-color named Corky Porky Pie. (And being a Corgi owner, you will totally understand why he ends up in a lot of my blogs. :)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I grew up in Butte, where the mansion is located! I've never heard a story like yours, but I totally believe it. :-)

Jamie D. said...

Wow - freaky *and* cool. LOL You should have told the owner...I bet she would have believed you.

We have some haunted spots here in Billings, but Butte has us beat for freaky happenings, I think! :-)

Corgis are so cute...

Scott said...

No, you weren't baptized. Now, had you been spritzed with water and then the sign of the cross made on your forehead . . . well, that's a different story. Perhaps the nun was just offering you an added bit of protection throughout your life.

Now, since I have your undivided attention (ha!), and the fact that I mentioned holy water. My grandmother was a DEVOUT (yes, all caps kind of DEVOUT) Catholic. As mom tells the story, they never knew there was a thunderstorm at night until her mother splashed them in the face with holy water. Yes, dear old grandma would go through the house sprinkling her 10 (yes, 10) kids with holy water to protect them from the storm. She'd also do it while they were awake. Mom swears my grandma converted the protestant girl from down the street one day because just as grandma sprinkled the last of the holy water the storm stopped. : )

Amber Lynae said...

Ghost stories always freak me out a bit. But I guess a nun would hopefully not be to harmful.

Bethany Wiggins said...

LOL, Scott! That is hilarious.

Awesome retelling of the story, Suz. In October we should delve into all the family ghost stories!

bookaholic said...

Creepy...I love this post!

Unknown said...

As a former Catholic, I definitely think you were being blessed. I've experienced spirits in older B & B's before (among other places) but I don't mind them -- they don't always know they have the choice to move on. Great story -- you might have a book idea there!

Yamile said...

Yes, I too think it was a blessing.
Once when my son was a baby, and we were living in my in-laws' house while they were in a mission, I was touched by a ghost, or something.
My son's crib was in the other side of the house, and there was a queen size bed in the same room. Instead of going back and forth between the rooms, I decided to just sleep in my son's room. In the middle of the night I felt a cold hand pressing against my heart. I wasn't scared. I thought it was my husband...
But when I went back to bed later, he said he hadn't been up at all.
My father-in-law's dad lived in that house before he passed away. Maybe it was him giving me a blessing. That's what I felt at the moment. I might have been an angel.
The thing is that after that night I kept my son in my room. Can you blame me?

M.R.J. Le Blanc said...

Bah, I didn't think there'd be so many falses but at least in some way we were all kind of right. I knew the nun story was true, or at least would have been more surprised if it had been false. I love ghost encounters and hearing about them. I think Kristi's right - that's story potential!

Sarah Ahiers said...

That is such an AWESOME truth!

Christina Lee said...

Get OUT!!! Please tell me that's going into one of your books! Former Catholic here too-- I'd say "blessed"...or "forgiven" ?!?

Angie said...

I love that story, creepy and yet sweet at the same time.

Krista said...

Very good, creepy story in a non-harmful kind of way. Chills. Maybe you reminded the spirit of someone close to her and drew out her compassion. Remember, we take our knowledge and beliefs with us... hmmmm. Don't know the doctrine of it all, but won't it be interesting to find out?

Myrna Foster said...

What a strange story! Thanks for sharing it!

Liza said...

Yup, I'm going with blessed.

Carolyn V. said...

Okay, that was completely awesome and scary all at the same time. I would have never guessed! =)

Suzette Saxton said...

Love the comments and stories! I'm relieved I can share this with you all without recrimination. ;)

It's good to know it was probably a blessing. (Or six of them, lol!) The finger was cold enough that at first I thought it got me wet, and touched my forehead to check, but I was dry. And I never felt threatened, but still it was plenty creepy.

Suzette Saxton said...

And isn't it amazing that you all were right? You picked out the two stories that were someone else's truths!

B.J. Anderson said...

I had NO idea this was the house when Bethany first told me that story. I used to live in this town (for 6 years) and I lived very close to this mansion. I've been in it several times (very creepy). I went to college in this town. LOL! It's a small world.

Suzette Saxton said...

BJ, NO WAY!!!!! That is stunning!

Stina said...

I believe that the visit meant something. :)

I'm not a ghost-believing person, really, but one night as I was falling asleep, I had a feeling my grandmother was there telling me goodbye. In English. Which was strange because she couldn't speak English. She told me I was going to have another baby--a girl. I looked at my clock. 11:20 pm. The next morning I discovered my mom had recieved a phone call to tell her my grandmother had died. The call came at 11:20 pm. I freaked and bought a pregnancy test. Negative. Three months later, I was pregnant--with a girl. And we weren't planning to have more kids. Spooky, I know.

Bish Denham said...

Very interesting. I'd say you were being blessed.

Anonymous said...

I can't say I've ever been touched by a nun ghost, but I've got many a true ghost story to tell nonetheless. Muahaha.