The Ghost and Mrs. Darcy

Rex Harrison in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of my favorite movies, (the book is rather lovely too), an old black and white classic romance starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. A widow moves into a house that is haunted by a colorful, dead, sea captain. But I won’t give it away; you must see it for yourself.

If you need a glimpse

(This old Hollywood Trailer makes the movie out to be a farce. It may be funny, but it is a true romantic tale, grab some tissues before you watch!)

I bring up this movie, not only to share it with you, my readers; but because it, in part, is currently mirroring my life. You see; I think there is a ghost haunting my apartment - and he’s a MAN!!!  Of course one can never be entirely certain of the presence of a ghost. It’s not like he’s talking to me, as Capt. Grey talked to Lucy Muir, (thank heavens or I’d know I’m crazy). But there are too many weird things going on around here to be “just the wind.”

It started in the late summer of last year. There were noises in the kitchen, and I would sometimes see shadows in front of the refrigerator out of the corner of my eye. Then one night, a certain battery-powered device turned itself on. I often sense motion on the other side of the room. And my apartment has recently acquired several ‘cold spots’ that I never noticed before. It gets especially cold when I’m feeling depressed and need a hug. And sometimes when I take a shower, the bathroom temperature seems to drop. All of these things lead me to believe I’m dealing with a pervy, male ghost.

Recently, just since the New Year, I’ve begun to experience a slightly more disturbing occurrence. Three times now, I have woken at 6-6:30am to the weirdest smells. The first time it was a man’s cologne, (actually smelled like my dad’s from when I was a kid; freaked me out & I called home immediately to make sure he was alright). The second time, it was to the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies, and then later, the smell of spaghetti sauce.

I have lived here for two years, and I’ve never smelled anything my neighbors have cooked, (unless they are barbequing outside). I also doubt people are cooking so early, (we’re all young professionals; we don’t cook; we order out). If I rule out the smells coming from other apartments, then I only have a few other options to explain their origin: 1). Paranormal Activity, 2). Phantosmia, (which is a symptom of brain tumors), *Googles ‘brain tumor symptoms’….mumbles while reading….nope, no other symptoms – in best Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation – “it is not a toomah”* So that leaves me with one possible explanation – paranormal activity.

I wonder if I brought a ghost back with me from my trip to London last summer. The timing would fit. Or it could be astral projection, and then it isn’t a ghost, but the spirit of my Mr. Darcy, visiting me while one of us sleeps. This is all extremely vexing. I am quite put out! I want to know who the ghost is… uh, er… was. I want to know what he wants. I want him to make himself useful around the house and stop using my Wi-Fi bandwidth to watch ghost porn.