Hickam Ghosts

I was six years old when it happened. The year was 1959. We had moved into the new Hickam housing complex on Fox Boulevard. It was a nice, two-story townhouse with three bedrooms and one bathroom. My sister and I shared one bedroom.

One warm summer night I had been sleeping soundly on the bottom bunk. Suddenly, I felt a bitter chill around me. I opened my eyes and looked around.

Standing at the side of my bed were three illuminated figures. They had no features at all. They looked like human silhouettes made up of white vapor.

Being from a devout Catholic family, I believed the cross pendant that I wore around my neck would protect me from harm. It was blessed by the parish priest with holy water. I lifted the pendant toward them. It didn’t work. They were still there by my bed.

The taller figure moved toward me. I could feel the air getting colder around my neck, and then I felt pressure around my neck. He was trying to choke me! I tried to bring my right hand up to make the Sign of the Cross. In my fright, my hand felt like it weighed a ton. I watched my hand move in slow motion. At the same time I was finding it difficult to breathe.

I managed to make the Sign of the Cross. I began to recite The Lord’s Prayer. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, they will be done…

They disappeared. The room was warm again. I was afraid to move. I stayed frozen in my bed.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" I cried.

My dad turned on the hallway light and checked on me.

"What’s the matter?" he asked.

"There were three ghosts, and they tried to choke my neck," I told him frantically.

He looked around as if to find some clue. He turned to me and replied. "There’s nothing here. You had a bad dream. It’s all right now. Go back to sleep."

My sister and I switched beds several months later. I slept on the top bunk. One night I woke up because my nose was running. The tissue box was on the right side of my bed against the wall. I reached over to get a tissue.

Suddenly, a large hairy hand came up from behind the tissue box and grabbed my wrist. I felt a surging scream coming up my throat, but only a small squeak came out. A cold chill ran through my whole little body.

I tried to pull free. It was a grip as strong as a man’s. I pulled the hand and arm toward me and opened my mouth to bite it. It disappeared.

Once more I called my mom. Once more, Dad came. This time he told me it was a cockroach. My dad doesn’t believe in those things, I figured.

After that scary incident, my mom called the priest. She had the priest bless every inch of the house including the closets. I never had another scare again.