A very good friend of mine who works as a nurse was looking after an elderly lady last year, and the lady told her the following bitter-sweet story ~

Hannah was born on a small farm in the early part of the last century. She and her family lived very happily in the small farm cottage and she has many fond memories of the little ghost that lived with them there. They would often hear light footsteps around the house, and quiet bumps coming from empty rooms. The family were not in the least bit afraid of the ghost and Hannah and her sister believed it to be that of a little boy. They named him “Billy”. At one stage, Hannah’s’ cousins had to come and stay with the family for a while and they were all terrified of the footsteps and noises. They begged Hannah’s’ father to have the house exorcised. He relented and the local priest was called in. All activity within the house stopped but the family were aware that ‘Billy’ had just moved outside. Hannah’s’ sister could now see Billy. She described him as being around five or 6 years old, with curly blonde hair, shorts and braces. Hannah only ever saw his legs from the feet up to the knees. They would spend hours playing with Billy in the barn and around the garden. As the oldest girl it was Hannah’s job to call the cows in for milking in the early morning. On many occasions she would see Billy’s feet walking along next to her as she trudged across the fields. When one of the cows would wander off, Hannah would ask Billy to bring her back. Sure enough, the cow would about-turn and slowly re-join the herd. A few years later, one of Hannah’s school-friends told the priest about her friends’ ghostly playmate. The priest paid a visit to the family and scolded the two girls. He angrily told them that they were keeping Billy from his family and they must no longer talk or play with him. Devastated, the girls turned to their parents. They were God-fearing folk and told the girls that they must do what the priest told them. That very night the girls crept into the barn and said their good-byes to their beloved Billy. He was still seen for many months afterward, trailing after the girls, leaving faint footprints in the muddy soil. He eventually faded away and Hannah was heartbroken. Although she felt guilty about keeping Billy from his other family in heaven, she still missed him.

All together now ~ AAaaawwwwwww



Hammy x x x

That's a wonderful story, Hams, and it shows the flip-side of things ghostly. A friendly, even welcome, presence. A friend of my kid sister's told her once how her auntie had similar `guests' to little Billy, and they had grown used to them.

The thing that stood out in that account is how the ghost did what it was told by the priest carrying out the exorcism. Seemingly, to the letter. It left the house, but hung around outside.

When the priest carried out the exorcism on my last house, one thing that stood out in her words, according to my mum,(who was with her as she went from room to room), was that she was instructing the spirits to stop from troubling us.
Within 24 hours of us leaving, all hell broke loose. We have always speculated that the presence obeyed the instructions, but to the letter.

Thanks Thistle ~ I think it's my most favourite of all the stories I've collected.......really heart-warming, but so sad....poor little Billy, left to fade away

that was a very interesting story..
it gives you a clearer insight into the fact that many ghosts are just people who find themselves in another dimension good or bad as a person..
Billy was just a kid who was lost and seperated from loved ones. so he found a family in this world..
its very good...i'm gonna print this.
also the post about a ghost following a priests words literaly was so interesting..

yeah... it is charming hammy..
very illustrative..