My Sister and Mama Johnson
by Wayne Farmer and Belinda Moss

It’s not unusual to hear Ghost stories. Most I’ve heard are either hearsay or have been passed through generations of time, but my story is one that I personally experienced.

I was raised in a traditional Southern Baptist home in Atlanta, Georgia. I was only five or six years old and very much full of energy. We always went to church twice on Sundays; once to morning services then again for evening services. It was customary to come home and take a long nap before evening services.

One particular Sunday I was in no mood to sleep, so after everyone else was asleep, I got up and went into the dining room where I saw in the floor to play with my toy trucks. Some time passed, then suddenly I looked into the bedroom where my sister, Belinda, was sleeping. There standing over her was my Great grandmother, who we called "Mama Johnson." She had passed away about a year earlier. She was stroking Belinda’s hair and had leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. Of course, when I saw her I screamed with fright. She turned to look at me and realized her presence startled me, so she vanished. Everybody came running in, and I told them what had happened. My parents comforted me by saying it was just my imagination, but Belinda told me later that she knew "mama" was there and was not afraid of her.

After that I always believed there was a special bond between Mama and Belinda, but years later, as Belinda grew into a young woman in her mid-twenties, someone found an old photo of Mama when she was about the same age. We were all surprised to discover that Belinda and Mama could have almost passed as identical twins if they had lived at the same time!

As if all this were not enough, this story is not over yet.

About twenty years later, in 1983, Belinda was lying in bed one night, not quite asleep. She heard someone in the doorway of the bedroom. She looked up and there was a beautiful young woman dressed in a long blue and white gown. Belinda instantly recognized her. It was Mama Johnson. She only smiled and then vanished. The next night, the same thing happened. Only this time she came over to Belinda, stood over her, kissed her on the cheek, then disappeared. It was as though Belinda couldn’t move, or was frozen during this experience. She remembered Mama’s face; she was smiling tenderly. After she had gone Belinda could still feel her touch and her kiss on her face, and could feel Mama saying to her, "Don’t be afraid." My sister has had some pretty tough times since then. Somehow she believes Mama came to comfort her and let her know that things would be all right. After several years of upsetting events, things did work out fine and my sister is now very happy.