Icelandic Ghosts: Are They Real?

Photo by Thora R.KristjansdottirIt's Halloween month and so far I've either posted or have scheduled three posts on ghosts. I don't see why I should write about werewolves or vampires because I don't believe those exists. Ghosts, however...
Yes, crazy as I may seem to you, I do believe they exist. I know they exist. 

Icelanders generally believe in ghosts. Why? Because believing in the supernatural is deeply rooted in most Icelanders and we hear the stories from a young age. There are stories about trolls who venture out at night and turn to stone if they don't make it back to their caves before the sun comes up - there are rock figures that prove this. There are human-sized elves and small elves who live in rocks and mountains, and should those rocks and mountains be disturbed you're in a hell of a lot of trouble. There's a ghost at the crossroads to my hometown - many people claim to have seen him and he's been around ever since my grandmother was little. These stories are told as if they are facts, not fiction. My other grandmother has always been able to see ghosts. She doesn't talk about it too often, but it's eerie how she can talk about a woman wrapped up in a shawl and describe her looks and how she smiles and holds her hands in her lap, only to discover a couple of days after from the owner of the house (who didn't live there - my uncle was renting the place) that it was his late wife. The exact shawl, the exact gestures and smile. This isn't a one-time sighting. She even used to play with them when she was a child. 
It's easy to see "stoned" (*snicker*) trolls in the
rough Icelandic landscape.
Photo by Thora R. KristjansdottirWhen I was little, ghosts scared the hell out of me. The ghosts I pictured were sheet-covered beings who made "whooooo" sounds, and then they were see-through and could walk through walls. But then I caught glimpses of American horror movies where ghosts manifested in small children with the intent to scare (not  just kill; scare). As I grew older I realized that they are souls that weren't ready to die, and so they linger behind. It makes sense. The majority of people go to heaven/hell (or wherever they go) and the ones who died very suddenly or have business yet to finish remain behind. However, I've found that I’m not much of a Christian believer anymore. Sure, there’s some good force out there and I might as well call it “God”, but I don’t really believe in some euphoric heaven or demonic hell. I believe that we all become “ghosts” - spirits that are unseen by most. However, those who die suddenly - those who don’t necessarily know they’re dead - are more likely to be seen. The same goes for those with unfinished business. That would also make sense because those who died suddenly or have unfinished business are still trying to move around in the world of the living and want to finish their business. Some may find a way to finish their business but some will longer forever. Icelandic nature often has a supernatural feel to it.
Photo by Thora R. KristjansdottirNow I probably sound nuts to a lot of you, but this is my firm belief. I have seen a ghost myself, when I was in England. I don’t remember it much, but my cousin remembers clear as day. A girl, dressed in clothes from another century, was sitting on her bed. The odd thing is that I wasn't scared, she didn't mean any harm, but I scared the living daylights out of my cousin. This is the only sighting I remember - however, I frequently talked about the “woman in the hallway” when I was a toddler and used to point at her. That scared my mom, and she asked grandma once if there was someone “there” and grandma said there was a woman in the hallway. 
But here’s the thing with me. I’m sensitive - or empathic or whatever I should call it - so I sometimes sense a presence or even the “vibe” of a place. I can sometimes feel it when bad things have happened (as in, I have to get out of the house or suffer the feeling of suffocation/intense fright). That place where I lived as a baby, it’s a house that many family members have lived in and I always sensed this presence when I was older and visiting. I didn't like sleeping over because something felt weird. I didn't know what it was and I didn't know about the “woman in the hallway” until a couple of years ago when my mom was telling my uncle about it (again, stated as a fact, not fiction). 
Then there's one of my sons who, as a toddler, used to point at the bare wall in his bedroom and say he was scared of the man in the wall. I tried all sorts of things to get him to understand that there was no man in the wall, but he kept saying it (only 2 - 3 years old) and although I wished I didn't believe there was a ghost in the wall, I believed him. So, after different experiments, one that including swatting at the wall with a fly-spade, I spoke to the ghost after my sons were asleep. I told him, in a firm voice, to leave. He's scaring my boy and he can't keep doing that. Well, my son didn't talk about the man in the wall for about half a year! Then he started talking about him again and I went through the same speech.
So, are ghosts real? Yes they are.
Body in the water? ^.^
Photo by Thora R. Kristjansdottir