You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Apparitions / Voices / Touches :: Spirit Voice On Beach

Real Ghost Stories

Spirit Voice On Beach

 

This is my first time writing on this site. I've been reading for almost a year since I had a few paranormal experiences after my dad passed away almost a year ago. I'll save those for later though. I'm going to start with an earlier experience, one that happened 20 years ago when I was was 22. I've always wanted to ask experts about this. It possibly involves a known ghost- The Santa Barbara Community College "Lady in white". Google it, I don't know if I'm allowed to put links in here. This happened a few miles north of where she is usually sighted though.

I was a normal working class guy, taking a break from college, being a beach bum at the time, staying in a small park just off Arroyo Burro beach at the north end of Santa Barbara, California. I would work and surf during the day, then hide my board in the bushes on a hillside before dark. I was having a great time and loved sleeping in my 1-person tent in the grassy park just behind the bluff. I felt super relaxed and at peace with everything. Well, until the night I decided that it would be fun to sleep on the beach instead.

After dark, I took my sleeping bag and headed a quarter of a mile or so north away from the beach parking lot and the Rusty Pelican Restaurant at the south side of the park, which was the only building in the area. I laid down and watched the ocean for a good while. It was late and the moon was fairly bright. There was no one on the beach in any direction as far as my eyes could see and I could see at least 100 yards in every direction. I was laying 20 or so yards from the edge of the ocean and the cliffs were about 50 yards away.

It was a very quiet night and I was alone with my thoughts when suddenly I heard a woman humming directly in my ear, even though no one was there! It was a pretty and young voice softly humming a slow, random tune. I froze and listened kind of in a daze for a few seconds, not knowing what to think or feel. So I reflexively looked in all directions (still laying down) - no one in sight. I would have seen a person 100 yards away (I was 22 at the time and had great eyesight) I call out a loud friendly "Hello?"- no answer.

As the humming continued for another half minute or so, feeling exactly like a woman had her mouth a couple inches or less from my ear, my brain feverishly searched for a rational, scientific explanation. It must be some odd acoustic effect, a woman is on the cliffs above humming and its being funneled directly into my ear by some freak air temperature inversion lens right?!?

At the time, I was deeply into Tibetan Buddhist meditation and prided myself on my "deep understanding of the nature of reality and perception" or something like that.

Well, as the humming continued and my mind couldn't explain it or just be at peace with it, I began to feel a quickly increasing fear. It was just too real, too close and too weird. Before gibbering mindless panic had a chance to set in, I told myself I would count to 3, then jump up and run as fast as I could. I got out of my bag PDQ and tore down the beach back to my old campsite.

A few days later, my brother came and we hung out there a couple days more. Then we left to another beach far down south. When I told him about what happened that night, he told me that he had felt an inexplicable, creepy discomfort on the beach at nighttime, and that's why he had talked me into leaving.

No drugs or alcohol were involved, I know that's one of the standard jokes or criticisms of skeptics. I didn't use alcohol or drugs at all during that time of my life.

After this happened to me, when I hear people mocking paranormal experiences, I just think they haven't been through it yet.

Thanks for giving me a chance to write about this!

If anyone knows anything about the Santa Barbara Community College "Lady in White" or anything else this could be related to let me know!

Other hauntings by Berggraf38

Hauntings with similar titles

Find ghost hunters and paranormal investigators from California

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, Berggraf38, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

DandK (11 stories) (344 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2018-06-03)
Berggraf38, I think Valkricry has an excellent suggestion. It would be interesting to see if any other 'beach bums' have had a similar experience. If you can't be there to ask anyone personally, perhaps an online survey just asking for any experiences without giving yours away (best for comparision if you hear about one that's similar when you haven't told them yours).
Darkfox (guest)
 
6 years ago (2018-05-31)
AugustM your theory reminds me of a scene in a cartoon show which I used to watch called "Pokémon"... 😆. It's maybe not be relevant though. And berggraf38 welcome to YGS. I can't tell anything about beach ghosts but a little research in that matter could help, any unfortunate incidents of the past had lead to the spirit to linger there. At least it's worth a try.
AugustaM (7 stories) (996 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-29)
I am a hopeless romantic but maybe you encountered the spirit of a young girl who waited there for her love to return - he could have been a fisherman or even off to war - those stories always come to a tragic end when the beloved does not return.

Whoever she is - whoever she was - I hope she has found peace.
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-28)
Berg-
Yes, atmospheric conditions can play tricks with sounds, that is a given fact, however it's generally a 'nearby' or 'over there' sound, not an in your ear thing.
Since you didn't see anything, it's a hard call to make on whether it was a Lady in White or another entity. California (and a great many other places) have many, many Ladies in white. This may be because white was the preferred colour for burial for children and young women up until around the late 1940s or so, and even farther back the colour of shrouds.
Like wise if you could identify the tune, you might be able to establish a time frame for the spirit. I suppose you could ask some of the local 'beach bums' if they'd experienced anything?
Berggraf38 (3 stories) (23 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2018-05-27)
Hi everyone, thanks for your comments.

Anno_Domini- No, there's no way it was wind or any other 'natural' sound, it was exactly a woman's voice sounding so close that her mouth would be just about touching my ear (If someone had even been there!) It was a very quiet night, with just a little bit of shorebreak noise from the ocean to my left. The voice seemed to come from my right.

CreoleEmpath- She sounded very calm and serious, not peculiar or scary, but the situation was so weird that I got really scared.

Lady-glow- I have researched on and off over the years, (murders or suicides in the area) when something reminds me of it. All I ever found was the Lady in White. I'm going to dig deeper now though. I had been planning to go back through Santa Barbara this past March, but didn't make it. I hadn't thought of going back to that beach, but it's a cool idea!
My brother is a more instinctual person than most, so I thought it was interesting that he felt something strange there.
Anno_Domini (3 stories) (167 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-25)
Hi Berggraf38,

Thanks for the story. I don't know if you've "definitely encountered a spirit" 😆 or not, but just want to point out that many things can make sounds that sound like humming when there is strong wind. In my apartment just before a storm, when my windows are open and strong gusts of wind blow through, I get various hums and "ooo" sounds (depending on how the wind is blowing) from wind blowing past the gaps in my doors and cupboards that sometimes sound human. Perhaps it is this phenomenon you experienced?

In fact when my kids first heard it they asked me "Who's singing?". Now they're just used to it.
CuriousDee (8 stories) (631 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-24)
Berggraf,

I don't know about seeing the 'Lady In White'. Although, I don't really buy into urban legends/myths (just my opinion), but it sounds like you definitely encountered a spirit. I agree that hearing of your brother's experience and uneasiness in that location is great validation. Maybe it was just a spirit that took an interest in you because you chose to camp out on the beach?

Interesting account, thanks for sharing.

Dee
RSAChick (115 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2018-05-24)
Thanks Berggraf, I enjoyed reading that.
Reminds me of sirens luring sailors to their death with their enchanting songs... Good thing you made a run for it!

Please share more of your experiences.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3149 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2018-05-24)
Welcome to YGS.

Berggraf38 - that's an unnerving experience though, in my opinion, it doesn't fit the description of the SBCC "lady in white", whom is reported to be seen "...disappearing in a blue misty light or running towards the edge of the bluff and jumping off towards Shoreline Drive..."
From: http://www.weirdca.com/index.php?type=30

It's possible that you encountered a different entity, the fact that your brother felt uncomfortable at the beach gives validation to your experience. Have you ever considered to go back to that place? Have you done any research about tragic deaths in that area?

I really enjoyed reading your experience... Sorry for not offering any help.
CreoleEmpath (3 stories) (12 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2018-05-24)
That's an interesting story. I have a house off of the beach in Charleston, South Carolina and I've heard a baby crying from the outside of the home. The voice seemed distant, yet close. So, I know how creepy that is-- was there anything peculiar about her voice?

I mentioned that my property is near the beach, because I hear spirits are more prone to communicate in such areas.

To publish a comment or vote, you need to be logged in (use the login form at the top of the page). If you don't have an account, sign up, it's free!

Search this site: