Topic Challenge - Week 4 - Goosebumps

This is the fourth blog post in my series "Topic Challenge". Each week, my friend Fiona is submitting a topic which I have agreed to cover in my blog. This week, the topic is goosebumps.


Goosebumps. Cold, shivers, freaky stuff. That's what comes to mind. Who doesn't love a good goosebumpy story?

We've all heard many over the years, some are much creepier or freaky than others, but even the pure coincidence stories can give me a little bit of chicken skin. The best ones are often those that have happened to yourself or to someone close to you, rather than the "I know a guy who knows a girl who's mother's brother blah blah blah". Closer to home is easier to believe, even if it's not as juicy.

So I dipped into my memory to pull out a couple of personal stories that have given me goosebumps over the years. They're not the freakiest things I've ever heard, but they're true. I hope the thrill isn't lost in the delivery!

THE GHOST OF BOYFRIEND'S PLACE

When husband was still boyfriend, he lived in a unit in Randwick, Sydney. Some unexplained things went on there. Nothing scary, just weird. It was as if a classic prankster ghost was sharing the apartment. Here's a snapshot:

• Boyfriend steps into shower, turns on water. It sprays directly into face because shower rose has been turned up - defying gravity.  I was the only other person in the unit. I got blamed for it and whilst I WISHED I had done it, I didn't. Very cool prankster ghost did it.

Reenactment

• Eight tea-light candles lined up along window sill at night time. Candle 3 is on floor directly in front of window sill in the morning. The window was not open; the other candles were not disturbed. After conducting numerous tests (pushing candle 3 off window sill and watching it roll away every time), we could only conclude that it had NOT fallen or been pushed off the sill by a mouse or any other logical culprit. It had been removed from the sill and placed on the floor by very cool prankster ghost.I can hear you saying "big deal?" and I don't blame you. If it had only happened once, we wouldn't have even noticed. But it didn't only happen once. Cue The Twilight Zone music.

• Breville - Remove toasted sandwiches, switch it off, leave it open. Sit 4 meters away from Breville while eating sandwich, with back to Breville. Return to kitchen, Breville closed. This happened many times. No loud bang, no breeze, no invisible maid in kitchen. Just hilarious practical joker ghost.

• Remote control went missing. Ordered replacement. Six months later, boyfriend places his child's clothing on the lounge. When he picks it up, the remote control is under the pile. This is weird because he'd just left replacement remote control on the bed in the bedroom. Voila, two remote controls.

THE LOST WEDDING RING

Husband emerged from the ocean at Clovelly to advise that he'd lost his wedding ring in the water. For non Sydney residents, Clovelly is a beach between two rocky arms and is a favourite spot for swimmers and snorkelers. This pic shows an aerial view of the bay and the red circle shows the spot where husband was swimming. As you can see, this is not the size of a backyard swimming pool.

After borrowing some goggles and searching for the ring for half an hour or so, I convinced him it was hopeless and we went home. There were few words said that day. I felt like we'd been cursed and he was just plain shitty. 

Eight hours later, after stewing on it all day, we went back down for another look. There was no way we'd find it. The tide had changed, the surf was big and LOOK at the size of that place. I was merely humouring him when I agreed to go.

He searched for another 30 minutes before giving up once again. I offered words of comfort as he began climbing the steps to get out and I was mid sentence when he threw himself back into the water.

He did this because, as he climbed out, he saw something sparkle under the surface. This sparkle, this tiny fragment of light was his wedding ring, snagged between two rocks under the stairs in the ocean. No funny ghost this time, just a wonderful stroke of luck.

Often it's the coincidence stories that really get me tingly. Like one I heard a few years ago about a woman who was doing a jigsaw puzzle of a photo taken in the '70s at a famous tourist spot. Only when she completed the puzzle did she realise that she was in the photo. LOVE that story. Hope it's true!

Do you have a goosebumps story to share? Leave a comment so we can all gasp together.