Gay & Lesbian Ghost Stories. Antonio Garcez

at the stake for the spiritual power they possessed and harnessed. In my experience recording and researching ghost stories over 45 years, gays and lesbians, both in the past and in the present, are intrinsically gifted in their psychic abilities. This begs the question: are there higher percentages of gay and lesbian psychics serving today? My belief is that we, gays and lesbians, have been given a very unique and precious gift—a gift that, if developed, allows us to see, communicate, and experience the paranormal from childhood.

      The sad fact is the AIDS epidemic has brought the gay community to intimately experience innumerable deaths within our communities. The afterlife encounters with those who have passed have only added to our firsthand knowledge of the paranormal. We have become uniquely aware of ourselves as exceptional spiritual beings experiencing a corporeal moment on earth.

      Given the personal self-searching, societal hurdles, family struggles, sensitivity to creativity, health-related challenges, and for many, a deep spirituality, it’s no wonder that the universe is so easily accessed by such a “chosen” population. Within these pages, you’ll read of individuals, from Alaska to Florida, who have experienced direct contact from spirits either at home or at work. My partner and I traveled to these particular states as I personally interviewed gay men and women and a few straights for the firsthand accounts of their encounters. We were not disappointed.

      These interviews cover paranormal subjects such as extrasensory perception (ESP), near-death experiences (NDE), and, most definitely, ghosts! Our investigations continue to expose the potential for further validations that encompass all the elements of such experiences. I am therefore thrilled to share with you these new, intimate collection of ghost stories as experienced by members of LGBT communities throughout the United States.

      —Antonio—

      ALASKA

      Francine C. Raisor’s Story

      Anchorage, AK

      I’m originally from Santa Maria, California. I moved to Anchorage 12 years ago to live with my girlfriend, Rachel, in her family’s home of three generations. Rachel was also in the medical field and worked as a pediatrician in a different hospital than I did. We used to do quite a lot of outdoor activities before her untimely death. Rachel died of complications from hepatitis C. She contracted this disease from a deceased patient while conducting the autopsy. So I am left to manage alone on our property since her death two years ago.

      I graduated from Keck School of Medicine of USC in Southern California with a degree as a surgical technologist (OR tech). My job at Alaska Regional Hospital requires me to assist within the operating room during various invasive surgical procedures, especially open-heart operations. Because I’ve been at this job for so many years, I’ve become very friendly with my fellow associates. I know it might sound corny, but we genuinely regard each other as extended family members. We rely on each other for emotional support when a patient we’re fond of dies while in our care.

      My personal ghost story took place eight years ago in the hospital. We had an excellent female surgeon who worked at the hospital for just a few months. She died one Thanksgiving holiday in an auto accident while driving back home to Anchorage from the town of Dawson City. Somehow she drove her car off the road, first hitting a tree and then coming to a stop in a shallow water channel. She sustained fatal injuries to both her skull and spine and was pronounced dead at the scene.

      It was not long after her funeral that a few staff began to talk among themselves about seeing the doctor’s shadow image standing at doorways, and at one time it was even spotted by Arnold, our anesthesiologist, standing against a wall in the operating room!

      Arnold himself once told me that during an operating procedure while he was adjusting the concentration of anesthetic vapor isoflurane for a patient, an unexpected movement caught his attention. He looked to see what moved and spotted the image of the dead doctor standing about four feet away from the patient on the operating table.

      He told me that he happened to glance about the room and noticed two other staff also captivated by the same paranormal image. Arnold said, “We elbowed each other to look in the direction of the ghostly figure. One nurse, a Catholic, made the sign of the cross and said in the direction of the spirit, ‘Thank you for your assistance, Doctor.’ As this was said, the doctor’s image suddenly disappeared. Because we had a patient to tend to, we got back to the business at hand and only freely spoke of seeing the doctor’s apparition later after completing the operation. We all had to admit that the good doctor was continuing the work in death she loved so much in life.”

      Despite surgery room instruments being moved about, doors opening on their own, and footsteps being heard in empty halls, our job responsibilities continue as normal and as usual. I know the rational mind works to disprove, even deny, what I’m describing, but eventually, even the most hardened minds can change with enough evidence. I sincerely believe this to my core.

      ARIZONA

      Lisa and Geri’s Story

      Prescott, AZ

      My interview with Lisa and her partner of 33 years, Geri, took place in their home 20 miles south of Chino Valley in the nearby town of Prescott. The women purchased the house and 15 acres in Chino Valley in 1962 from a woman who lived in the house for only three months. Lisa and Geri were attending a party in Phoenix and, by chance, happened to meet the seller of the property. As their conversation progressed, the seller informed Lisa and Geri about the home. That night, Lisa and Geri made arrangements to meet her at the property the next day. They drove 150 miles north to Chino Valley and immediately fell in love with the old two-story house and surrounding land.

      What now follows are both women’s stories of an incredible ghostly experience. I don’t believe many people would choose to remain in such a negative house unless they had to. What happened to Lisa and Geri in their home is a testament to their strong will to conquer what evil existed in the house. Did they eventually overcome this evil presence?

      Lisa’s Account

      After buying the property, Geri and I immediately went to work. With a hammer in each hand and the will to make a home out of a real fixer-upper, we set our goal to start with the most important rooms: the kitchen and bathroom. The bedrooms were next, followed by the living room and dining room. We decided to leave the outside of the house for last. The roof had been patched six years before with hot tar, so we felt it could withstand the elements for another year or two.

      We spent the days in our new house hard at work. Our evenings were spent in a beat-up old trailer we bought and parked on the property. It was nice to have the trailer to relax in after a day of dust and sweat. Eventually, the kitchen was completed, and in a few days, so was the bathroom. The two upstairs bedrooms were next. Strange things began to happen to both of us after we decided one day to tackle the bedrooms.

      One morning after breakfast, I left Geri at the kitchen table reading the paper as I walked up the short flight of stairs to the second floor. As I reached the top floor, the door in one of the bedrooms slammed shut with a loud bang. The noise was loud enough to startle one of our small dogs. He ran right up the stairs to the door, where he excitedly barked and barked.

      Geri, who was in the kitchen, called out to me, “Hey, what’s going on up there?”

      I answered, “Nothing. The wind just blew the door shut.”

      Geri called to our dog, who was still upstairs with me, and as he ran down the stairs, I approached the door and reached for the knob. I turned the knob and pushed on the door to open it. I heard the clicking sound that the knob made, but it would not open. I thought it might have gotten stuck from the force of the slam, so I played with it for a second or two. I managed to open it about an inch, and then it came flying right back to its closed position. I had the feeling that something was not right. I called to Geri, “Get up here right now!” I told her that I thought someone was in the bedroom. We readied ourselves for the possibility of encountering a prowler. Again, I turned the knob and pushed on the door. This time, it gave a little, and with Geri’s