The Fisherman

Just about everyone has a ghost story. People like to tell them this time of year.  Either a friend or family member has a good story or you yourself saw something you cant explain.  Mine is less scary, and more of a "Well, I don't know, but I know I saw it" kind if story.  Whatever you believe spiritually, seeing something is undeniable if you saw it with your own eyes.  I call this, The Fisherman. 

My street  © Google Maps

This happened when I was around 3 years old. My parents still live in the same house I lived in back then. Not a scary old victorian or out in the middle of a field or deep in the woods. Just a regular 1950's two-bedroom, one-bath tract house in a neighborhood of similar houses. I'd heard stories that in the 1900's this was all farmland and the main farm house was on the hill west of our street. An old man that lived across the street when I was a kid told stories of when he was a kid. How he had to bring his family sow across the field that was now our street, straight through what is now our yards, to get 'serviced' by the farmers' bull. 

This house has a small laundry room right off the kitchen. Through the doorway from the kitchen you can see the dryer and part of the washer to the right of it. Beyond that, out of view from the kitchen is a back door that leads to a small wooden porch and the driveway. The door has a window and back then probably had a curtain of some kind. It was after sunset and probably dark outside.  I was standing next to the dryer, facing the back door when I saw something. I turned to my parents who were sitting at the table at the other end of the kitchen and said "Mommy, who's this nice man" My parents freaked. Naturally. They got up and ran towards me, fearing there was a stranger in the house. When they got to me, there was no one there. 

artist rendition.

What I saw was an adult sized man. And the best way for me as a 3 year old to describe it was that it was a fisherman. The classic Gorton's Fish Sticks fisherman. Rain slicker, big floppy hat, beard, etc. But what was unusual, other than there being a random fisherman in the laundry room, was that he was made of pure blue glowing translucent light. And why I said "who is this nice man" was because he seemed to just give off good vibes. Pure niceness. So, even as a small child seeing a stranger, I didn't feel scared of threatened in any way. My parents were creeped the fuck out though. Later my mom told me I drew him with crayons. Blue crayon. I wish I had it still.

So, not scary. Weird, definitely unexplainable. Over the years I've tried to make some sense of it.  The fact that my hometown was on a bay and had a thriving fishing industry but our house was so far from the water.  Like I said it was in a grazing field. For all I know, clothes that looks like a robe, hat that looks like a hood, beard, good vibes, it could have been God or something.  I don't believe in that shit so I dunno.  Maybe I ate too many fish sticks that night.

Some strange stuff did happen later in that house that may or may not be related. A guitar playing by itself. My aunt's friend being touched on her shoulder, my mom and aunt being prevented from watching Gorillas in the Myst on VHS. One drunken Saturday night my mom was up by herself and maybe something happened but she started yelling at "the fisherman" and told him to move on. Drunken Exorcist could be a great new reality show idea. Nothing else happened after that. For all I know the alcohol and 80's party drugs my parents' friends were into back then may have had something to do with all of the activity they experienced.  I never witnessed any of it. The paranormal activity I mean... I witnessed way too much of the partying as a youth that I needed to.

If you have a ghost story leave it in the comments. 

Happy Halloween!