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The Dead Live

 

There is rarely a more traumatic time in one's life, than when they bear witness to the decline and eventual extinguishing of the life of a loved one. This horror is greater still when the soul who is passing happens to be your own mother.

This morbid situation was the grim but true reality for my young mother, a mere 17 years old in the early nineteen seventies. Her mother, my grandmother: Maureen was terminally ill with cancer. The illness originated when Maureen suffered a fall which disturbed some rogue cells within her body. Eventually she was completely bedridden, my mother often reflects on how the memories of her being active and healthy often seemed blurred, it was like she was in her bed forever.

The doctors where convinced of her imminent mortality so they discharged her from hospital so that she may spend her final days (which were surprisingly lengthy) among her family.

Her final illness occurred in her house on St James' Place, Belfast. The family, all of them had gathered to support her through her death throws.

It is of the utmost importance to understanding that she was not compus mentus. She was thoroughly dosed with diamorphine to combat her ever present agony, as a result she lay in a semi-comatosed state. She could not speak.

In the house at this time where the following people. In the bedroom with Maureen were her two sisters Annie and Sadie. Downstairs was Maura's father (Maureen's husband) Michael and her Uncle Peter.

The night was getting on, so Maura and her younger sister Collete were sent to bed.

Maura was sleeping soundly when her slumber was disturbed by a voice in a tone of great "urgency" calling "Maura, Maura, Maura!"

Urgency! Not a word Maura would use lightly.

Maura immediately arose from her bed and hurried to her mother's bedroom. She immediately asked "What do you want Mummy?" when the words caught in her throat. Maureen was completely unconscious.

The aware occupants of the room enquired as to what she could possible have meant. Maura simply responded "I heard Mummy calling me."

At that very instant she heard foot steps moving hastily up the stairs towards the bedroom. It was Uncle Peter, and he came in panting, looked around for signs of trouble and stated "I heard Maureen calling me!"

Yet unconscious still she lay there, no more aware of her surroundings than a statue or a painting.

Later on Maureen awoke from her stupor, completely sharp and alert. She demanded that she would be given the opportunity to speak privately with each of the occupants of the house.

The first person she summoned was Edward, my father and at the time; Maura's fiancée. Maureen firmly told him to look after Maura. Then to Maura she said "Look after your younger sister!". To the rest of her family, she disclosed a private message that to this day remains to be private.

Immediately after each of them had their private conference with Maureen, she closed her eyes and silently passed on...

In that era, owning a telephone in rural County Sligo was not just a novelty, but a blatant luxury. Sligo also happened to be the home of the majority of Maureen's relatives. Michael instructed Maura to telephone Sligo and "Tell Granny what happened!".

In order to get in contact, you therefore had to phone the local pub. In this case it was Jordan's, the proprietor of the pub and recipient of the call was Sonny Jordan. He sent the message to whomever it concerned.

Several months later, they travelled the 265 miles to County Sligo to visit their relatives. They were talking to Aunt Katie about Maureen's death and Katie said: "I knew long before the phone call".

Perplexed, Maura questioned how this was possible.

Katie then stated. "I was sitting eating my tea when mummy came down the stairs screaming 'Mother, Maureen's dead, I saw her standing at my window'".

...

Was this a psychic experience of a ghostly experience? Did Maureen's relatives somehow see into her mind before her death and heard her voice begging for assistance? Maybe, but how then do you explain the sighting in Sligo? Furthermore, is it possible for an apparition to travel 260 miles to appear before her relatives?

Is this all a figment of 3 sane people's imaginations, or do the dead walk every lane and alleyway that we perceive as empty?

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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, Subtle_Poetics, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

daisy12 (10 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-05-04)
Great narration and awesome story. Just Enjoyed reading it.
geetha50 (15 stories) (986 posts)
 
13 years ago (2012-01-31)
Like the other posters said, this is occur often among loved once. Tell your mother that she should be blessed that she got the last change to talk to her mother before she passed away. I hope your grandmother is at peace.
anneke8 (10 stories) (274 posts)
 
13 years ago (2012-01-31)
I don't think this was a psycic experience your family had. I heard and read a lot about near death experiences. The people tells afterward that, even though they were in a coma, they could see everyone and everything happening around them. They could even hear and see people that were'nt present at the time! I guess this is what happened here. It's like a outer body experience she had. Very nice story.
DARKNESS (3 stories) (2022 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-01-31)
Subtle_Poetics: Great account, and very well told! As Rook has mentioned there have been many cases of the spirit or energy of terminally ill people just on the brink of passing away visiting by astral projection/travel to loved ones one last time to say goodbye. Your Family should feel blessed by this experience. 😊

Thank you for sharing.

Dan
minimom (50 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-01-31)
It's called a crisis apparition. I've had the experience twice in my life and I value both of them.

Keep the stories coming! You're a great little storyteller.
rath9375 (1 stories) (52 posts)
 
13 years ago (2012-01-30)
Beautifully written story.

My family has several stories not unlike your own. Thank you for posting this.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-01-30)
Subtle_Poetics,

This experience speaks for itself, but you have asked a couple of questions concerning it...

It seems Maureen may have 'called out' to those that were sleeping to ensure everyone was awake for her private talk with them. As far as appearing in Sligo before the realitives who could not be present? There are many cases where something similar has been reported... The recently departed shows themselves to an individual that could not be present at their time of passing so they say 'goodbye' before their spirit departs this realm.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

Respectfully,

Rook
Subtle_Poetics (7 stories) (11 posts)
+3
13 years ago (2012-01-29)
These stories are like my heritage. My family lack any distinguishing feature whatsoever. The prolific amount of paranormal occurrences that assail us throughout our lives, really brand us as unique.
UntilDark (1 stories) (24 posts)
+3
13 years ago (2012-01-29)
I must say that your tenor of writing is very elegant before anything else.

Coming on to the story, incidents of relatives feeling uneasy, hearing voices, or seeing apparitions before their loved ones' death is not uncommon. Probably, the same thing happened in this case. I find it fascinating that all the relatives somehow knew that Maureen needed assistance.

Thanks for sharing. 😊

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