Real Ghost Story - Bless Yourself

I remember this story my father told me one time about a man he once knew.


Bless Yourself After You Sneeze!

The old time Portuguese almost always have a wine cellar and they almost always make their own wine. So when they go to fetch a glass or pitcher of wine they must trudge down to the wine cellar and fill up their vessel usually from a barrel with a spicket. One night my father’s friend Manny ( I will call him Manny because I am not sure of the man’s name) was walking down the stairs to his wine cellar to get himself some wine. As he was descending the stairs, he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of being followed. He kept turning around and looking to see who might have been following him. There was no one there but still the feeling of being followed was so strong that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end.

At about halfway down the stairs Manny had a wallop of a sneeze. Not being a religious man, he usually would not have blessed himself, but that insistent feeling of being followed had him so spooked that he did just that. As he traced the form of the cross along his body a form started to appear before him. To his utter shock this creature looked at him smiling and said “It’s a good thing you did that” and promptly dissipated into the damp cellar as quickly as he had appeared.

After hearing that story I make a conscious effort to remember to bless myself after every sneeze if I am alone. Especially if I am feeling uneasy about my surroundings.