Ancestors under the bed

There are someone’s ancestors under our bed. Last night, around 2230, I was awakened by scrabbling, ticking sounds coming from under the bed. I woke my beloved and we listened. He turned on the light and we both stuck our heads under our respective sides of the bed at once – nothing. He turned out the light. After a few moments, it began again. I was sure he was making noises just to scare me, but it wasn’t him. He turned on the light and we checked again. We debated if it was coming from the bed, the wall or the floor. We turned off the light. Just to mess with us it began an irregular rythem. It was really creepy, but we couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Our Japanese friend assured us that if it is a regular ghost, we should just ignore it, because plenty of Japanese houses have them. If it is someone’s ancestors who somehow got lost, they’ll get tired and go away in a week or so all on their own. If it really bothers us, someone from the local shrine can come and send them away – I don’t think we need anything that drastic.

I’m stumped for advice to offer on ghosts. Photograph it and make millions? What is O-bon?

I’m curious about this idea. How far back does the ancestry go? If it’s to the beginning of time (or of humanity) aren’t there ancestors in every fucking inch of space? If they die in Stoke do they have to wend their way back to Japan? Well – if you see my ancestor say hi. She/he’ll probably be skinny and grouchy and smoking too much.

bugs in the wall? small rodent? i admit, the idea of someone’s ancestors, while a bit unsettling, is less creepy than the idea of bugs or rodents!

I hope that your visiting spirits find their way to their rightful destination and allow you to sleep in peace. It seems to me that a true Japanese spirit would never inconvenience its host by keeping them awake while they were trying to rest, it just wouldn’t be proper. Tom-

I’ve been reading what you’ve written about how the Japanese honor their ancestors, and although somewhat strange, I think it is a really beautiful tradition. BUT, ancestors under your bed really can turn into a problem when they disturb your sleep. Weren’t they supposed to be on their way home a week or so ago?

Wow! ghosts! … very impressive story to tell.. there’s one advantage…and thank you for your note. i’m actually a little thrilled to be studying creative writing as well. have a good one.

Personally, most of the ghosts I’ve dealt with are peaceful and just want to be noticed, if not remembered. I’ve also heard that by knowing the spirit’s name, you give it power and that could be a bad thing. *shrugs* I can’t tell you which way to go on this one. Thank you for finding my diary and maybe I’ll post again soon. Take care.

RYN: I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. My mother will be 83 in December so she has had a very good, long life but it still hurts to know that she’s having to go though this. Tom-

wow that is pretty interesting….nothing that exciting happens here at school!