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Ghost Of A Mushroom Or Mom

 

I sat straight up in bed, my hands clutching the patchwork quilt. The translucent apparition from my spent dream danced in the air, a foot or so away from my nose. No, the figure of my mother's ghost had changed in the pale amber illumination from my night lights, become smaller than before. Soon only a shrouded drawn face, the size of my fist, remained.

"Are you all right?" my husband said. He had awakened, too.

I reached out in front of me and passed my fingers through the face, now more akin to a puckered transparent skull. A tightness gripped my stomach. This didn't look like my mother. She wasn't here, after all. How sad. Mom had passed away years ago. I missed laughing with her, chatting over coffee and singing "Inky Dinky Spider" while tickling her arm." Yet why was I seeing things?

"I'm hallucinating," I said to David.

"Do you mean dreaming?" David's shadowy face bore a puzzled expression, accentuating his wrinkled jowls.

David must have referred to a false awakening, that phenomenon where a person dreams about waking up but remains asleep. I had experienced false awakenings many times but never had confused them with the real thing once sleep had passed. Right now, I couldn't have been more alert if a train whistle had blasted in my ear.

"I mean hallucinating," I said.

The shrouded skull sprouted legs and transformed into a spider, like some special effect in a video game. Not one of the hairy monstrosities I had seen after taking prescription painkillers, drinking too much wine or eating Portobello mushrooms, activities I tried to avoid. This arachnid appeared delicate and shimmered, almost as though constructed from blown glass. Its crystalline appendages oscillated, ought to have shattered from such movement.

I rose from bed and took careful steps across throw rugs toward the bathroom. The sparkling, wiggling creature didn't accompany me. A flip of the light switch bathed cream-colored walls, tiles and fixtures in brightness and reality.

Several minutes later I returned to bed. A colony of glimmering spiders, suspended on invisible threads, greeted me. I'd served sautéed crimini mushrooms at dinner--baby Portobellos. That variety of young shroom hadn't bothered me before. How strange.

David and I talked for a while. Finally I rested my head on my foam pillow, encased myself in electric warmth and lowered my eyelids. Inky Dinky Spider. When in college, I'd once called Mom on the phone in the middle of the night to ask her how to spell a particular word. Maybe she had finally gotten even. No, Mom used to squash black widows on sight. She might have considered changing into a coffee cup but never into a spider. For tonight's visual manifestations, mushrooms would have to take the blame.

The above story details my experiences and thoughts earlier this month. Do you vote for Mom or the mushrooms? Please leave comments here or on my website: www (dot) laurelannehill (dot) com

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

ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-27)
I think this one is a hard one for me. I'm leaning to Rhodes explanation to this event. Thank yopu for sharring this story with us. I hope to hear from you soon and take care
luvparanormal (12 stories) (268 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
In my personal opinion I think it was Mom. You and mom seem to have had a very special relationship and this might have been a way that she could come to you and she new you would relate.

This is just my opinion. Your story is very impressive. I really enjoyed it thank you for sharing!

Emma2008 (4 stories) (110 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
Did anyone else who ate the mushrooms experience anything strange?

I think it was neither the mushrooms or your mother. I believe you had a night terror. Look it up on wikipedia! My friend suffered from night terrors as a child and she would literally continue dreaming for awhile after she had woken up. On one ocassion she saw a monkey walking around her room.
libertybelle (14 stories) (207 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
What you describe seems almost psychedlic.

As a certified, card-carrying arachnophobe myself, I kind of doubt that your mother would do the spider thing--although there is something strangely charming in your description of their appearance and dancing.

Of course, dreams can be peculiar things--my husband, who rarely recalls his dreams, once had one that featured a chorus line of convicts--orange jumpsuits and all--singing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."

Maybe you ought to leave even the baby portobellos out of your diet.
BriFischer05 (14 stories) (169 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
Wow, just reading your story is tripping me out. I don't know what to say about this one.
Schism (44 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
You saw dancing 8-legged mushrooms in your room.

I know you're not supposed to hallucinate on mushrooms from the grocery store... But this just sounds like a shroom trip to me.

:)
Laurel_Anne_Hill (1 stories) (1 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-23)
Hi SnailBug and Schism,

Thank you for your comments. There is no medical reason I know of (except, possibly bacterial contamination on the mushrooms) why anyone who is not ill should hallucinate from eating Portobello mushrooms purchased at the grocery store. However, I do if I consume more than a few bites, especially if I've eaten the stems. Yet I have cooked and eaten baby bellas (also purchased at the local grocery store) at least two or three dozen times with no ill effects. That is why my recent "mushroom experience" with baby bellas seemed so odd to me.

Laurel Anne Hill
SnailBug (61 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-22)
Hallucinating on portobello mushrooms from the supermarket?...Huh?

I'm really not able to "cast my vote" because I just don't understand how someone could hallucinate from eating non-hallucinogenic mushrooms. 😕
Schism (44 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-22)
If mushrooms cause you to hallucinate, I'd say it was the mushrooms.

Though your mother may very well still be with you. Maybe not in the form of 8 legged mushrooms, hehe.

I just think this sounds kind of trippy, if you know what I mean:)

Thanks for sharing!
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-10-22)
That's a tough vote Laurel as I seem to be "balancing" between a mother's energy wishing to reveal her identity by acquiring a familiar form-one that you'll immediately associate with her as this was your "favorite game" and a daughter's need to create this familiar mental image -one that would bring her back to what she loves and misses most. Had it been the mushrooms playing a "cruel" game, it's hard to decide as of yet but if they hadn't been part of that night's menu, my guess would have been definitely "mom has come to visit". And yet, you seem to have a longer story to narrate-one that goes beyond this short narrative. For that, I'll be patiently anticipating your next submission before I once again jump to conclusions.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Proud to have you in our company!

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