Ivy's Watchful Vigil

Witness: Gemma
Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Date of Encounter: 1993 to 1996

I'm what you call a "sensitive" and have had many experiences (which I may eventually post), but living in a haunted flat really was something special — in a good way, I have to add!

Not long after my then fiancé (and now ex husband) and I moved into our little one bed flat, odd things began to happen. I always felt a presence in the hallway and at the bottom of the stairs, and things would vanish only to turn up in odd places. One afternoon, the volume dial on the stereo went up all by itself — I actually saw it move! On one occasion, a set of keys disappeared from the mantelpiece. My ex husband hadn't touched them, but they were definitely not there. I jokingly said to him, "Well, maybe our ghost has them and she'll put them back." The following morning I found them, back on the mantelpiece exactly where they'd been before.

Although I was unable to actually see her, I got the distinct impression that I was dealing with a tiny old lady with quite a ruddy face and one who favored green woolen jumpers. I also sensed that she was deeply unhappy for me (notice I say for me rather than with me) for some reason. To be quite honest, I think she was unhappy because I was allowing my ex husband to beat me quite severely on a regular basis.

There were nights when I would feel her sit on the bed next to me. I could feel her watching me, and I could feel her sadness. Sometimes she would pinch me, and one night I felt her lean across my ex husband and she pulled my hair. Not just a little tug either, she grabbed a handful, and my hair is quite long!

Eventually I decided to quiz my downstairs neighbor about the previous tenant. She told me that she'd been a very tiny old lady named Ivy, who had eventually died in a nursing home. She told me that Ivy was a nice lady, but she didn't mince her words and would always let you know if she was unhappy. I asked her if Ivy ever wore a green jumper and had quite a ruddy complexion, which visibly shook her. She asked me how I knew that, and when I told her that Ivy was still around she said she wasn't surprised because she had that kind of spirit in life!

Ivy continued to hang around. When I was alone, I'd even say things out loud to her, telling her not to worry about me so much.

Eventually I found the strength to throw my violent husband out, and immediately after he left, the atmosphere in the flat lifted. My first night alone, I felt Ivy's familiar weight settle on the bed and she sat there stroking my hair until I fell asleep. She was still watching me, but I could feel that she was happy my husband had gone.

It would seem that Ivy appointed herself my relief guardian angel… maybe I gave my normal one a nervous breakdown! Anyway, I do hope I meet her in the afterlife so I can say thank you.