A Wonderfully Haunted Life

Tracing family history can be a wonderful activity which leads me to one of the local cemeteries where my Cooper ancestors are buried.   Fortunately, the Coopers were also great historians, so several books have been published on the family history.   I plan to visit a number of local cemeteries this spring and summer and photograph many of the wonderful monuments erected in memory of these pioneering families. - Photo By Fred Schulz

HAUNTED ARTIFACTS, ANTIQUES, BOOKS AND PAINTINGS

     It might be the case, because I can’t back it up with newly gathered statistics, that most antique dealers would deny that spirit-kind play any role in their trade. You could ask a hundred dealers whether or not they believe in ghosts, or have had any paranormal experiences, and it’s probable, well more than half will bark out a loud, and unwavering .... "No!....Are you nuts?"

If you were to win over their confidence, and put down anything that looks like a recording device, electronic or pen and paper, (so they won’t have to say "off the record") over the course of a discussion, even those who are secure in their beliefs, will demonstrate a modest appreciation for the ghosts of antiquity. If they adore reading Dickens, "A Christmas Carol," or Washington Irving’s tales of the haunted Hudson River, and the frightening story of the "Headless Horseman," at Sleepy Hollow, they might fidget a little, make a few faces but it could well sneak out in modest proportion that, "Why sure, I’ve seen things.....!"

     I’ve been in the antique trade since the late 1970's. I’ve lived in a haunted house, worked in a haunted office, operated a haunted museum, and I’ve had many vintage articles having a wee bit of the paranormal attached. I’ve hunted through old houses during estate sales and auctions, and I’ve never attended one in more than 30 years, even outdoors, that I couldn’t say with assurance, "Something other than the living was watching." Yet after so many years in the company of the qualities and quantities of "those who have crossed-over," I always expect a certain number of interventions wherever I go. First of all, my wife Suzanne and I are not ghost hunters. We don’t have to hunt them because they always find us. We’re not resistant to being approached and we’re quick to relay messages between us, when it seems particularly relevant to the task we are performing. Hunting through old properties with a huge bank of history, will usually provide a few good stories when we finally get a chance to sit down for a pop at the end of the quest.

     Now most dealers are practical folks who are interested in historical conservation, and of course, just being around old stuff. Some in the paranormal field might suggest there’s a reason for this beyond just adoring antiques. Possibly we in this trade are like-minded enough, to feel a compulsion to rescue history because of some inner ambition we don’t quite understand. How, for example, did I grow into the antique trade when as a kid, my mission was to play professional sports. Side by side the sport’s ambition was an unquenchable urge to seek out significant heritage items. I may well be able to trace back my antique hunting to my public school years, when I’d come home with pockets jammed full of found items. My mother thought it was troubling and warned me that if I kept doing this, I’d become a "riding the rails" hobo-type and all I’d ever have in life was a bindle-stick full of odds and sods. Frankly I was okay with that, and it made her crazy.

     If I was to sit my sons down today, and tell them that "ghosts make me collect stuff," well, antiquing dad might be heading to the home for old dealers. It’s just not a rational argument to them, even though they know full well, my eccentricities trump normality. Yet they would be able to explain to someone else, why their father, out on a tramp through an estate sale or auction, will latch onto a piece(s), and for no particular reason of value, or purpose, (such as fitting into a collection), insist on making the purchase. It might seem a ridiculous purchase, but for some unexplained jolt of interest, some dog-eared piece will be hauled home for posterity.

     I have always been open to impulse and yet I’m not really an impulse buyer, who will finance anything that turns my crank. There’s something more in the connection. I can look at five old paintings, of similar period, subject, artistic merit and condition, and decide to make a purchase based on two impulse. One is for attraction. Which one, or more, held me spellbound? Which one, or more, had an unexplained allure beyond artistic competence? Which ones could I sell for a profit? I’d like to buy everything based on spiritual connection but I’d soon be broke. Well, in the case of the paintings, I might decide to buy one or more for profit. I might decide to make an offer on the easel or the stool with the paintings, because of some particular aura that sets them apart from the others. Is this nuts or what? If you live with as much stuff as we do, and you’ve got to get along, well it just makes sense to buy what you like, and it’s doubly good when it also translates into eventual profit.

     This lengthy diatribe isn’t to suggest that a haunted piece means that it will fly around the house in the wee hours of the night, or re-arrange itself in a room for a lark. These are pieces that when you first see them, you know there’s a lot more than meets the eye. There’s a beckoning to touch it, handle it, examine and potentially, buy it! You may not have a clue at the time why this is important, or what you think it represents. I think there are spiritual attachments to some heirloom pieces; a modest possession of strange historic aura that may not be strictly considered a paranormal experience....... but at the same time can’t be written off entirely as just a frivolous emotional surge to purchase. I’ve had pieces in my hand that radiated paranormal vibes, such that it would be impossible to ignore questioning its provenance. It could be something about the look of an old doll or teddy bear, a flash-back sensation when clutching a beat-up old toy, from a child’s room at an estate sale or auction. You instantly feel connected to another life, another time, and it’s not just a nostalgic sensation. It might even be the case you can visualize the child at play with this gnarled old buggy or doll house. Rather than feel creepy, most antique dealers welcome the aura but don’t ask them whether or not they believe in ghosts.

     My association with what I believe are paranormally influenced items, has ranged from old books, Bibles, diaries, photo-albums (always a way to pick up a ghostly traveler protecting their heritage), chairs, paintings, framed photographs, games, toys, jewelry boxes, assorted collections created by one individual, and clothing. The practical and realists amongst us, will brush off these paranormal vibes as irrelevant.....caused by an undigested bit of potato from lunch, or a second cocktail at dinner, maybe a restless night’s sleep. For many of us who validate the "other side," and those who have "crossed over," and don’t get freaked out by paranormal activities, connecting with a piece that has its own strange aura is fantastic, and something to be shared and enjoyed. While it is true that antique hunters have occasionally found a cradle that rocks itself, paintings that refuse to hang straight, books that like to topple off shelves for attention, and dolls that fall despite best intentions of their new owners, the majority of paranormal experiences seem to be of the modest, non-threatening variety. We had a hair wreath, done as a memorial tribute to a loved one, hanging in a museum where I worked, and there was no doubt in my mind it radiated the essence of the dearly departed. A majority of sightseers to the property kept well away from this shadow boxed memorial, as if they were informed by an audible whisper to stay clear. Only a few guests ever went up to study it closely. When they’d ask what it was made of, that usually influenced them step back in disgust. It was common practice in the Victorian era. Those who side-stepped it entirely, never even asked what it was made of....the aura emitting from that wreath was enough to thwart most "up close and personal" contact.

     If you think back in your own life, to times when you marginally believed in something of a paranormal characteristic, even if it was getting scared telling ghost stories around a campfire, the disconnect is often as illogical as thinking of ghosts as an impossibility. You want to believe in ghosts or you wouldn’t have any fun at the campfire. There can be a lot of fun getting scared out or your wits. It’s the basis of roller coaster design. Yet when it comes down to the science of ghosts, and the reality we can’t make ghosts dance on command for the camera, many simply opt out of the discussion because it’s uncomfortable. You don’t want to be laughed at, or thought a nutter! At the campfire, when you had to hug your mates for safety, what exactly were you afraid of anyway? Ghosts aren’t real, are they?

     I’ve lived an open life, ready to experience whatever I come upon, and so far, I’ve survived pretty well without any tragic ghost or paranormal encounters. I’ve never once been afraid to avail myself to a paranormal experience, whether it comes with the patina of an old china cupboard, a jam packed recipe book, a family Bible, a portrait, doll collection or teddy bear. I’ve seen ghosts but they’ve never once raised a finger to hurt the intruder. I’ve heard ghosts, and they’ve never once uttered a foul word. I’ve awoken at night to find a ghost standing in my room, and never thought it necessary to run or hide under the covers. I’ve watched, listened, touched, and enjoyed their interventions. And after all these years as a collector / dealer of antiques, I can still be swayed into a purchase by the strong aura of any piece.....the provenance attached that takes me back to the many former owners who have enjoyed the article before me.....most of them of course, in the rank and file of the deceased.

     If you research ghosts and paranormal activities around the globe, you will find lots of references to spiritually enhanced antiquities, that the dearly departed haven’t quite finished with yet, for their own good reason. That’s for the new owner to interpret and resolve. The rocking chair I once owned, that carried its own rhythm through the night.....well, it kept the cat company.....and the room always feeling occupied.