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OSCAR—THE FRIENDLY GHOST by Edward R. Raasch  I never met “Oscar.” I am convinced he existed because of my source—my daughter Jan and her friends Gwen and Ted, and their two children. Believing in ghosts or active spirits depends upon an experience one may encounter. I haven’t had the pleasure or displeasure of any contacts with ghosts, so I always view the stories I hear concerning those ghostly meetings with a slight doubt. But golly, gee, my own daughter became a believer. That perked up my interest in checking out this friendly ghost named Oscar. The background of this story is the Abilene house where Ted and Gwen first lived. Their home was one of many believed to have been built on an ancient Indian burial ground. In that area, there was a universal belief that the spirits were active. Ted and Gwen believed that Oscar truly was an active ghost in their Abilene residence. Oscar first made his presence noticed in the children’s room. Momma Gwen had felt Oscar’s presence several times, and the children would say with no fear: “Momma, Oscar is here again.” One night Ted was feeding their newborn son. Ted was resting comfortably in his favorite armchair, holding his son lovingly. He made sure the baby blanket covered the little guy. Ted fell asleep, and when he awoke, the blanket was spread on the floor and his baby son was sleeping peacefully. The bottle was carefully positioned by the little one. Ted is a heavy sleeper; he had not awakened . Checking with Gwen and the other children, Ted discovered they had been in another room during the night. That left the other resident: Oscar. Gwen and Ted firmly believe that the friendly ghost Oscar had spread the blanket on the floor and placed the baby there. Who else? A friendly, caring apparition who had adopted the family and watched out for them, that’s who! 205 206 Superstitions, Strange Stories, and Voices from the “Other Side” Jan has been friends with these people for many years. Ted and Gwen are solid, successful citizens. I will vouch for my daughter, who had a wonderful career in the education field. On one visit with Ted and Gwen in Abilene, Jan became a believer of her own accord. It seems that Gwen was in the back room of their home with the children and Jan was going down the hallway when suddenly she found herself in the center of a swirling, gentle wind. She stopped momentarily. She said she experienced no fear, and she could step out of and back into this wonderful, caressing atmosphere. Jan stood very quietly and the swirling, gentle breeze disappeared. At that moment, she knew she had met Oscar. When Jan described this experience to Gwen, it was confirmed by her to be Oscar. As my daughter told this to me, I smiled and said: “Those old houses can have hidden openings allowing this gentle breeze to flow in the hallway.” Gwen said the house had been checked for leaks. They had checked the plumbing and all the heat and air conditioning registers . They found no problems. Regardless of the temperature inside or the weather outside, the gentle, warm, “feel good” breeze was there. And so Oscar became an integral part of the family life of Gwen and Ted. My daughter said to me, “Oscar also became a friend of mine, whenever I visited Ted and Gwen.” Years later, when Ted and Gwen moved to Arlington, Texas, Oscar moved with them. He stayed around for several months, and then suddenly he was gone. Ted and Gwen were positive that Oscar wanted to make sure the family was going to be all right in the new location. Then Oscar moved back to Abilene. The family missed him, but felt Oscar needed to be back in Abilene among his ghostly friends. For many years, I doubted the existence of ghosts. Hearing about Oscar the friendly ghost opened my mind that there is a possibility these creatures are floating around. Well . . . maybe. Oscar—The Friendly Ghost 207 “Hearse Song” or, “As the Hearse Goes By” Did you ever think as the hearse goes by That you may be the next to die? They wrap you up in a big white sheet And drop you down ’bout six feet deep. All goes well for about a week, And then your coffin begins to leak. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out...

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