Meet My Hyperfixation: Jaimee & The Ghost Mist

Forty-one percent of U.S. adults say they believe in ghosts or spirits. (Civic Science) 

I don’t know that I fully believe in ghosts. But I am hyperfixated on hearing ghost stories. There is some strange hocus pocus happening out there that is mind-bending, confounding, and even downright scary! 

I’ve had a few strange experiences and thought I’d share one with you in the spirit of the season. This experience wasn’t as scary as it was just startling and totally confusing. 

It was my senior year of college. Our graduation requirements dictated a certain number of community service hours. Because my roommate Tanya’s psych program required this to be completed at one of a list of local institutions, I volunteered with her to a homeless shelter a few miles from campus in downtown San Jose. Off we went.

This shelter opened for dinner in the late afternoon and closed in the morning after breakfast. Our job was to man the front desk and check in patrons for dinner. We were instructed (warned?) to stay behind the desk at all times and not venture into the building unless we contacted one of the employees for permission. So, our first handful of shifts involved us at the front desk, checking people in, and then departing after a couple of hours or so. 

One evening late in the fall, the check-ins had slowed, and we both had to use the restroom. We called the supervisor, who came to the front to sit in for us. She handed us a restroom key and directions. After some twists and turns down the hall, we found a courtyard busy with patrons, a few sad-looking trees, and tall walls surrounding us. 

We proceeded across the path, keeping our glances down, and found the restroom door. 

[This is the part where I feel weird talking about a restroom visit, but here we go.] 

The restroom is institutional-looking, a large rectangle about 6 feet by 10. There were no stalls, no other doors. You enter, and the sink is immediately on the left, then the toilet along the wall, and then a single glass door shower stall filling the far end with a high window at the top. Everything in the room was visible to us. No hidden corners.

[If you’re wondering, Tanya and I knew each other very well, so the fact that we were in there together wasn’t weird.] 

So, I go first, and Tanya is by the door. Then I wash my hands and stand by the door where she had stood, while she goes. We are talking about something benign, I don’t know what. 

And then suddenly I just felt off. Immediately different. Something was weird.

Then, I gaze up above the shower and gulp. Tanya sees my face and looks up. She sees what I see. Looks at me with wide eyes, jumps up, and lands by me. We both look again above the shower, then open the door and haul ass back to the lobby. 

What the *&!$ was that???

I can’t explain it any better than this. A white, film-like substance flowing in and out of itself. It was about a foot or so around and hung in the air about 8 feet off the ground and a foot or so below the ceiling. The closest thing I can think of is cigarette smoke, but thicker and more persistent.

So we sat there at the front desk, stunned, talking it out. Whhhhat. Waaaas. Thattt. Over and over again. (And no, we didn’t say a word to the supervisor. What do you say? There’s an unexplained white film flying around in the bathroom? Who says that?)

Was it smoke? No.

Cleaning fumes? No.

Have you ever seen something like that before? No.

Did it have a scent? No.

Did you all of a sudden feel like something was immediately and deeply different in that room? Yes.

Did we see a ghost? I… don’t know. We don’t know. 

Do we have any possible idea what that was? Nope.

But we’re sure - absolutely sure - that we saw it? Yes. We’re sure.

And, no, we weren’t high, drunk, on hallucinogens, extremely tired, or having issues with our eyesight. Just two 20-year-olds, serving their community and getting the crap scared out of them. 

We did go back to the center. But never again to the bathroom. 

Years later, when I started watching the ghost hunter shows on TV, there was one episode that totally freaked me out. The hunters were in a basement and caught on camera, and later described seeing a white, filmy cloud ebbing and flowing. Yikes.

I’m open enough to believe that there are things out there beyond our explanation. I don’t have to be able to prove them to be true or prove what they are to just believe that they’re happening. 

But Tanya, on the other hand, is a scientist through and through. If you ask her today if she believes in ghosts or the supernatural, she will tell you NO. She will also tell you that she was there in that shelter bathroom, seeing the same crazy mist that I saw.

So that’s it - my spooky story. If you have one, I want to hear it!

Also, if you like haunted stories, there are some great podcasts out there. My favorite is Spooked. True Scary Story is also good. 

Happy spooky season, y’all.