Salem Spirit: An Autumn Monday Morning Huddle Series

Good morning, and welcome to part one of Salem Spirit, an autumn series of my Monday Morning Huddle!

Throughout autumn, my weekly nature-inspired spirit-guided post will feature photographs paired with channeled messages from Salem, Massachusetts. My goal continues with my catchphrase, "writing to uplift humanity," while exploring a place made popular with the witch trials of 1692. From all things witchy and haunted to architecture, literature, and colonial maritime history, Salem reportedly attracts over a million tourists during the Halloween season, with a record-breaking 37% increase in October 2024.

Today's cover image is of a Salem hot spot for ghost activity and features a ghost- yes, a ghost!

I realize that I will likely receive three types of reader responses.

• Those who see and believe
• Those who see nothing and think I am bat-shit crazy
• Those who think my photo is a hoax and altered in some way

While I understand that I run the risk of losing credibility, possibly offsetting readers and folks losing interest in my Monday Morning Huddle, the writer and spiritual enthusiast in me says the show must go on.

A Salem Ghost Tour

On Thursday, September 18, my youngest daughter, son-in-law, and I took a trip to Salem, Massachusetts. I've been before, but during the busiest times of year, which are in October, especially on Halloween. This time, a wise decision was made to visit right before things get hectic, especially since my daughter and her husband have never been, and because of my immunocompromised health and the fact that I wear a brace for ongoing knee issues.

Thursday evening, we took a ghost tour with an excellent guide named Elena. Taking a tour is exciting, but what makes or breaks the experience depends on the knowledge, expertise, and presentation of the guide. Well, I can safely say by the crowd's vibe that Elena surely did not disappoint the tourists seeking some good old Salem spooky tales.

Upon reaching the graveyard, Elena told us that this spot is a Salem hot spot for ghost activity and encouraged us all to take photos. She alerted iPhone users of the "Burst" feature, which takes a series of back-to-back images, increasing the odds of capturing a ghost on film. I was disappointed because I have an Android and figured my outdated phone wouldn't capture anything exciting, just gravestones and perhaps the skunk lurking about the cemetery.

Well, I didn't catch the skunk, and no one got sprayed, but I did indeed catch an image on my phone that went right along with a story Elena told the group about a woman from many years ago.

Brief recap of the tale

Years ago, there was a house fire behind the graveyard. A woman rushed into the house with her young daughter, frantically searching for her husband. Unfortunately, the mom and daughter were consumed by smoke and perished. Later, only their bodies were recovered. The husband and father of the little girl was nowhere to be found.

Elena told us there had been multiple sightings of the woman in the graveyard over the years.

👻 👻👻

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, I decided to look through the photos on my Android.

At first, it was nothing but typical nighttime cemetery scenery until I clicked on the image featured above. Instantly, and I do mean instantly, I saw the woman standing behind the gravestone in the foreground. Her face peers over the stone, almost as if she were posing for my snapshot. To confirm, I had my daughter and husband take a look, along with several other people, since the trip.

So far, everyone agrees that something ghostly is in the photo, and I firmly believe I have a legitimate example of a phenomenon described as paranormal activity.

How a Ghost Offers Inspiration or Uplifts Humanity

If you made it this far, thank you. I am happy I still have your attention.

When one thinks of a ghost, common words that come to mind are creepy, scary, spooky, and haunting. I think it's fair to say that humans often fear what they cannot comprehend or things that are beyond the typical physical-based existence.

A ghost is defined as a disembodied soul, especially: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness.

Unlike a poltergeist ( a mischievous spirit that interacts with the living), a ghost is typically seen but doesn't interact.

While movies hype the presence of ghosts and their activities, the reality is that they are simply souls who have passed over.

Fear sets into the human mind when one encounters such a presence because we aren't wired that way, meaning, such contact exceeds our rationale. Believing in such things means crossing boundaries, boundaries that keep us safe, embracing what we are "supposed" to know, see, and accept as humans.

An alternative perspective

What if, for a moment, one considers personal experience, specifically the death of a loved one?

We often hear of departed loved ones reaching out to the living in a variety of ways.

• Unexplained smells
• Sounds, whispers
• Changes in electricity (lights flickering, devices turning on and off)
• Animal behavior
• Dreams, changes in mood
• Physical sensations ( chills, a push, or pull)
• Feeling a presence

Personal experience- my late grandfather, who passed when I was a baby, visited me during my first pregnancy. I knew it was him when the rocking chair began rocking one night by itself; it was the same rocking chair he sat in when he used to come visit and feed me my bottle.

Embrace love, not fear

Instead of fearing the unknown, debunking it as nonsense, why not embrace love?

Is it really so hard to consider that death is not completely the end, especially when cultural and religious teachings tell us yes? The end of physical existence does not negate the soul, which continues onward, opposing scientific beliefs, which rely on concrete, tangible proof.

Perhaps non-believers need a seeing-is-believing event to change their minds, but many people actually do believe in ghosts.

According to a CivicScience survey, forty-one percent of U.S. adults said they believe in ghosts/spirits, and a solid majority of adults (64%) said they believe in at least one kind of paranormal or supernatural phenomenon.

While it's natural to fear the unknown, thinking beyond physical limitations provides new perspectives on life, death, and the afterlife.

Perhaps even more important is being open to the fact that our dearly departed remain with us in spirit even when physical life concludes.

Now that isn't scary one bit.

Ghost Photo Channeled Message

Sitting with the ghost photo on my phone for a while provided a mixed message I'd like to share.

What I perceive to be the woman from Elena's story is obviously sad, likely still searching for her husband. This is the obvious notion based on the tale. She feels lost and in a state of great unrest, reliving the same scenario night after night.

As a believer, I feel that she revealed herself specifically for film capture, which may sound odd, but this is just a personal belief based on previous personal experiences.

A deeper message reached me and made me really think about life.

Humans do the haunting, not ghosts. We cut each other down, hurt each other, belittle, torture, and kill each other every single day on this earth. Evolving for the greater good is always implied, but all the violence, deception, and corruptness of our species paint a picture of humans devolving to lower inclinations.

"Humans do the haunting, not ghosts," played on repeat in my mind space, which further exemplified my "Writing to uplift Humanity" catchphrase.

This felt personal and like the woman was giving me another confirmation that I am on the right path in my life, aligning with my divine soul purpose.

What about you?

Are you playing your part, trying to make this world a better place, either through a job, talent, hobby, skill, or otherwise?

Something to think about, especially with the current state of worldly affairs.

There seems to be no end in sight of unjustly taking human life, no fear, no qualms about it, yet people fear ghosts.

Seems ridiculous to me. We need to fear ourselves, not some disembodied consciousness, because the human lack of consciousness is truly what haunts us.

Thanks for reading!

If you liked this, you might enjoy this story from last year