As most of you know my recent trip to England was planned by my #4 son and his soon to be wife. They did an excellent job of taking me to places that I needed to go for the research of my next book, but also to places that would give me great experiences. One of the things they did was to book some of our lodgings in places that were considered “the most haunted castles in England!”

One of these places was Lumley Castle between Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham in northeastern England. Built in 1389 it’s 630 years old! This was the castle where I stayed in that amazing room with the four poster bed up on a dais and wrapped in plum colored velvet and damask curtains. The bedding was layers of matching plus velvet and there was even a rope hanging near the headboard that turned on the reading lights in the canopy above. Although I imagined it called the servants when I pulled on it. There was a small bathroom just off the room that was completely lined in stone and had the cutest little door. I had to duck to go through it, it’s arch shaped rising to a point at the top but still not tall enough to get through standing up.

It was in this room that I wanted to stay, literally forever. I related to a friend that evening, that depending on your belief system one of two things were happening to me right now. Either I had actually lived in a castle like this at one point in a previous life and my soul had returned and I was finally at complete peace or I have read so much over the course of my life regarding English history and castles that I was actually sitting in something I had imagined a million times, giving me that peace of coming full circle. Either way I had never felt more comfortable in a room. I actually didn’t want to leave the room when my son said we should walk the grounds before dinner. I struggled through the politeness of sitting in the lounge with them afterwards chatting and having a drink. But when discussions of dinner arose I told them that I really didn’t want to stay away from that room any longer and they could go to dinner without me! If I got hungry I would order room service.

So back I went to that peaceful, amazing room where I felt so at home. Most of the evening I just sat sitting up in the bed staring at the room. I tried reading for a while, but I didn’t even want that diversion to take me away from absorbing every single minute of this experience in this room. I wanted to memorize it so that I wouldn’t forget any part of it. Eventually the night wore on and I was getting drowsy and I knew that I need to get ready for bed. As is my habit when traveling I plugged in my sound machine and turned on the white noise. I learned long ago that hotels, motels, resorts, etc can be loud places to try and sleep, so I always travel with my sound machine to ensure that anything that might disturb me is blocked out.

After I turned on the sound machine I walked across the room to the bathroom. As I was doing so a thought popped right into my head. “I don’t like that noise.” Weird thought! Have you ever had a moment like that when a random strange thought just pops into your head? Why would I have that thought? I loved my sound machine! So as I reached to turn on the water in the sink, put the toothpaste on my toothbrush I think to myself, I wonder if ghosts are bothered by different sound frequencies. Logical question since we are staying in “the most haunted castle in England!” and although not an expert on sound frequencies I know enough to know that white noise is different from regular sound right?

I literally had no more poised this question in my mind, “Are ghosts bothered by different sound frequencies?” then the sound machine shut off. Yup I am not kidding you! It shut off!!! I’m standing there in front of the sink the only sound in the room now is of the water running. I’ve got my toothbrush still in my mouth, a little toothpaste dribbling out of the corner, I’m staring at myself in the mirror and I’m thinking holy crap! So I lean a little to my left so that I can peek out of that adorable pointed arch stone doorway into the room. I honestly expected to see someone in the room. I don’t know who or what they would look like but it was very obvious at that moment that I was not alone in that room. However there was no one in the room, that I could see, just the bed as I had left it, strewn with my books and travel pamphlets. The bed side table covered with the wrappers of the complimentary chips and candy bars that I had chosen to have for dinner instead of ordering room service. The bedside light shining softly and my sound machine sitting there absolutely silent!!!

I think I gulped and swallowed a mouth full of toothpaste! I’m not a ghost expert! I don’t study the paranormal. Until this moment I could honestly say I had never had an experience with a ghost. I’m a historian who happened to find a really amazing piece of history that included a ghost story, but I don’t do ghosts personally! However I had heard the term “telepathic” and knew that in some situations this might be how a ghost communicates. Seeing as that random thought “I don’t like that sound” had entered my. mind just before the sound machine shut off I figured whoever this was that was how we were going to communicate, through our thoughts.

So standing there in front of the bathroom mirror, with my toothbrush still frozen in my mouth I looked myself straight in the eyes and I thought “I’m sorry, but I always travel with my sound machine.” And with that simple thought my sound machine came back on and the room was filled with the sound of white noise. Most amazing experience of my life! I followed that up with the thought of “thank you” because apparently whoever I was dealing with was respectful and deserved the same in return. I rinsed out my mouth and toothbrush. Shut off the bathroom light and walked back to the bed. Well this was going to be something I’d remember for a very long time.

I sat there for a long time pondering what had just happened. As I’ve said many times, ghosts are not my thing, so was there another more logical explanation? Were thoughts of ghosts in my mind because I was staying in a supposedly haunted castle? Absoltuely! Was it possible that the sound machine shut off due to an electrical glitch that just happened to have occurred while I was wondering if different sound frequencies bothered ghosts? Possibly, although I don’t remember the lights flickering to indicate an electrical surge. And I can’t explain at all why it came back on when I stated my reason for having it. Again no other evidence of electrical surges were present.

So what was it?

Later when talking with a friend she said “It takes attention to see the magic around us.” Is that the answer? Is magic, just a word for things unseen that we cannot explain, truly all around us and we are just to busy with our day to day life to notice. Are we trying to hard to be logical, to find the answers to everything we experience? Have we lost our faith in things unseen? A belief in a part of our world that we don’t understand at all but has proven itself over and over again to be there. Did I have this experience because I literally had spent hours just slowing down my mind and trying to be in the moment of that room?

I want you all to know that I slept well that night. I slept with all the lights on mind you, but I slept well. I never once felt that the experience was of a dark or sinister nature. No it was almost as if two friends who were sharing the same room for the night were having a discussion on sleeping habits. And I’m glad my companion was accommodating!