Spooky Pilgrim Ghost Stories: Julia’s Tale

Sick Pilgrim reader Julia Kriz Dzierma sent in today’s totally true ghost story. If you want to submit your own, email Jonathan at [email protected]

In October 2011, my mom and I went to a family gathering. My mom’s favorite cousin, Carol, related to my mom and me a story that happened that past summer. I’d never heard anything like this before from what I would consider to be a likely legitimate source.

Carol had a cousin on the other side of her family named Dennis, who went by Denny. My mom played with him a few times as well when they were children. Denny was a bright guy, and grew up to be a journalist. Later in life he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and lived in a semi-assisted living community with his own cottage but with group activities and meals. It was a good situation, and he did well there. Carol helped him move into the cottage, picking out and purchasing many of the furnishings. When he died a few years ago, Carol saved the belongings she wanted to keep and used them in her guest house at her property in Italy, where she lives part-time.

Because of his mental illness, Denny didn’t have many friends, but one of his few good friends was named Bill. Carol had also gotten to know Bill during Denny’s life, and when Denny died, she invited Bill to visit her place in Italy in appreciation for his being such a good friend to Denny. Bill took her up on the offer this summer.

Upon Bill’s arrival at the guest house, Carol explained to him that the house had an outside shower. There was a bathtub inside, but no shower. She left him to decide which to use. A few minutes later, Bill came running up to Carol at her house, shaking like a leaf and muttering to himself a little. Carol was able to calm him down and get him to explain what was wrong. Bill said that he had really wanted a shower after traveling, but was a little uncomfortable taking one outside because of privacy issues. He had been looking out the bathroom window at the shower, wishing he had packed his bathrobe. While standing there debating, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around. He saw Denny standing there. Denny said, “That’s okay, you can use my bathrobe.” Bill then noticed that hanging on the back of one of the doors was a bathrobe. He didn’t recognize it as Denny’s, and hadn’t noticed it earlier. Denny disappeared.

After Bill recounted this, Carol explained to Bill that she had brought the bathrobe to Italy along with some of Denny’s other things. The bathrobe was Denny’s.