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The Ghosts of the Balkans

 

My parents are from a village called Capari in Macedonia. I was born in the States but on occasion I visit the motherland, usually staying in the village of Capari. I have heard a million superstitions, ghost stories, etc, from my folks and others in Capari. It's not that I don't believe in these occurrences, it's just that I never witnessed them for myself.

In the summer of 1995, while on a two month vacation in Capari, I saw and I now believe. My grandma has a stable of horses in the barn, next to her house. One morning, the horses were dripping wet, sweating like Patrick Ewing in a overtime game, and the manes on all three of the horses were braided into hundreds of braids. It would have taken years to do the braiding, yet it happened overnight.

When I asked what had happened, my grandmother and mother responded, as if it weren't that big of a deal, "the beli ubai are out." Apparently, the beli ubai are lady ghosts whom died over a hundred years ago, trampled by horses that the Ottoman Empire Soldiers were riding.

A few nights later, I was walking home from a Pub (keep in mind, Macedonian villages do not have street lights and it is pitch dark at night - scary enough). I heard a woman whispering in my ear. I quickly turned around and saw a woman (she appeared illuminated) run away quicker than Carl Lewis. I was freaked out and sprinted the rest of the way home. When I told my grandma what had happened, she told me only horses have to be scared, they have never harmed humans. Whatever? Also, if I was to get scared, before leaving to go outdoors at night I had to chant, beli ubai, beli ubai, beli ubai. This, as I was told, would keep me from seeing them. Beli Ubai translates to White Nice in English, however, it makes no sense.

There are so many other ghosts in that village and so many stories to tell. I do not know if this is interesting reading for anyone of you, I just wanted to share one of my stories. If you want to hear more, just comment, it was a weird summer.

Usually, only a few people might see an individual ghost. Yet almost the whole village of Capari is able to see the ghosts that I am talking about. I wonder if it's because no one is scared of them and nobody pays them to much attention. People there don't even talk about it, as if it isn't unusual?

Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, George Petcoychin, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

Gogafem (2 posts)
 
11 years ago (2013-05-01)
I'm from Macedonia and I live in Bitola. I haven't heard about these stories in Capari, but it is close to my city. If I ever get a chance to go around that area I'll drop by. I'm very open-minded for paranormal things. And I've had my own experiences.
aiafaith1 (guest)
 
14 years ago (2011-03-06)
I'd like to share with you that I am Macedonian myself. My family is from Skopje. I was born in the U.S. Though. That seems very interesting, I think I'd like to go to Capri sometime! Thanks for sharing!
Ohiowatha (11 stories) (415 posts)
+1
17 years ago (2007-10-04)
That's a great story, George. I do believe it. You write it with a sense of normalcy, which I like.

My grandmother was in Greece (Delphi, I believe) in the 1970s staying in an old hotel on a cliff. One night, while she and her sister were preparing for bed, a man in 1800s clothing walked through the closed door, tipped his hat, smiled at them, and, as they BOTH saw him and screamed, he disappeared. When they told the concierge in the morning, he didn't even bat an eye and just conceded that "that type of thing happens often in Delphi..."

The old world gets it; America thinks it's above it. We are more ignorant in the US than we think.
adnachiel21 (1 posts)
 
17 years ago (2007-06-09)
im from macedonia, and its true that in the villages here, people believe in ghosts and that kind of stuff, like its something normal, beli ubai means white beautys not white nice.
kathia (14 posts)
 
17 years ago (2007-05-21)
well I think you should keep writing stories I think they very very interesting because in puerto rico it happened almost all the time and it kind of the same story but the P.R.ghost are diffent my mum said to me once that they are women that had made witch craft when they were young and god wouldn't let them go to heaven and let them be on the earth for many years and people say that that when you go outside and you if found a big stool(like bird shiat) in yellowish color like shaped in a ice cream in that she's in love with the man of the house and that she really going to take him away from you no matter what because that happened to my granmama and she's dead now she told me this like years ago when she used to talk about stories likes this and that supposedly they make beutiful braids on the horses and they are so perfect they don't have a hair stiking out of it imagine that what they told me when I got my own experiences so right more I will love it I like this place a lot write back if you want ok at kathia_martinez [at] yahoo.com
Shane (13 stories) (1258 posts)
 
17 years ago (2007-05-21)
This is true Martin. Western culture especial that of the American variety teaches us that there is no such things as ghost or spirits and that to say so makes you nuts. I am not quite sure what George has seen or why these spirits would bother the horses of his family,friends, or neighbors when they were not the ones involved in running them down, it looks like the would go after the decendents of those responsible.

Peace, Love, and Luck be with you.
Martin (602 posts) mod
 
17 years ago (2007-05-21)
I think many more traditional cultures have an easier time with paranormal phenomenons and make peace with it, so they are more able to see them and not make that much of a fuss over it.

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