We moved to Virginia Beach from Danville Va about 5 years ago. While there we rented a house that was way to big for us in one of the city's older neighborhoods. I guess it bears mentioning that Danville was the last capital of the confederacy and is also the subject of the wine "the Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". In other words, lots of history. There's a little bit of an eerie quality to the place. It's more recent history is a bit sad and seems to revolve around a betrayal of the city by one of its major economic drivers. The place is like a giant broken heart, still beating because it doesn't know what else to do. The Dan river slides by, uninviting. The feel of the town is of abandonment and the air feels leaden with unrealized expectations.

I arose one morning when my wife poked me because of my snoring and went to take care of nature's necessity. I returned and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on my pants. From the corner of my eye I caught a figure standing at the foot of our bed. When I looked more directly, I saw the image of a woman dressed in a long gray dress and a white apron and small round hat with her arms wide as if in supplication. The image vanished after a few seconds. The cats were losing their minds and my wife was as pale as a bed sheet. I was fully awake and had witnessed something I'll never forget.

So... Is there an afterlife? Are ghosts real?