Broken Spirits Katie McAfoos

My mother shared a story with me recently about an event that occurred shortly after the passing of her brother. His death was a shock to the family and to this day there is no closure. On Feburary 18^th, 1993 her brother Pat went missing. Almost three months later his body was found in the Mississippi River. His death was ruled undetermined by the coroner and the circumstances surrounding how he ended up in the river are unexplained to this day. His Notre Dame class ring was found in a shed on The Arsenal Island, along with blood and evidence that he tried to enter the shed unsuccessfully. It remains an unsolved mystery, but what happened afterwards makes me believe he wanted somehow to tell them something, or at the least, comfort my mom through her grief.

Almost a year later my mother began encountering some strange activities. Weird things began happening…the television would go on by itself, things began falling off tables, and she was hearing various noises. With no other way to describe it, she just said she could “feel” Pat around. The situation gave her trouble sleeping but as time progressed she grew more comfortable with the feeling of having Pat around. Each night she would acknowledge his presence, and that made it bearable. The out of the ordinary events were never shared with anyone.

One night, as she lay in bed, she realized he had left. He wasn’t there. For an entire year she had felt his presence. The next morning she took lunch over to my grandmothers, her mom. My grandmother had been acting strange like something was seriously bothering her. With that, my Mom asked what was wrong. My grandma replied, “ I know this is going to sound crazy, but I feel like Pat is here… I sense he’s with me.” Hearing those words sent shivers up my mom’s spine. The night Pat had left her, he had moved on to my grandmother. My Mom had never told anyone what she was experiencing…but she did then. She told my grandma…they both cried. My Mom told my grandma not to be scared. Maybe he is trying to tell us what happened to him…maybe he can’t move on until we know.

Only a few months had passed when my grandmother had gotten a knock on her door. Just moments before the knock, Pat had left her presence so before answering it, she already knew her other son, Dave, had passed. She answered the door in tears, and the detective gave her the news she had already sensed. No one ever sensed Pats presence again, and Dave didn’t stick around at all.

My grandma passed away in 1997. My mom never felt her presence until last year. She thought it was Pat, but then went to a medium and the lady told her that my grandma wanted her to know it was her…not anyone else. The medium also mentioned my Uncle John several times. He died August 11^th…just a few weeks ago. My mom doesn’t feel his presence, or my grandma’s anymore.

Looking back on it, I believe Pat hung around because his death was unsolved. Then he was needed elsewhere when Dave passed. Grandma only came around in advance of my Uncle John dying, and then left. My Mom hopes they stay away for a long time now, because they only seem to be around when something bad is going to happen in the family.