I never had any ghostly experiences until my mother-in-law died. We were not really on good terms. My husband and I separated in 1987 after a decade of fighting. My relationship with her had become sour at the very start, when I convinced my husband that we would be living on our own instead of with her. We have two kids, a daughter and a son, whom she loved very much. My mother was the one to tell me that she had died, and she urged me to go pay my respects. I felt uncomfortable around the family members, but knew it was the right thing to do. My father-in-law is a very kind man, and he was the only one (aside from my husband) talking to me about what happened the last few minutes before she died. She was asking for my kids-- she wanted to see them-- but nobody informed me. If I had known that she was in the hospital, of course I would have taken the children to see her, regardless of our history. I felt so guilty knowing that even on the last minute of her life, all she wanted was to see my children. One week before All Soul's Day, I was dreaming that I was talking to my mother-in-law. It was very short but it seemed so real. She asked me, "So Alma, you will come and visit the dead, right?" I wasn't able to answer her; I just woke up feeling weird. On the evening of November 1, we were all watching TV when we heard somebody knock on the door. I wondered who was visiting me at that time of the night without calling my name. Usually, if friends came late, they loudly announced themselves before knocking on the door. I shouted, "Who is it?" Nobody answered, but knocked repeated three times. I was getting scared, so I peeped through the spy hole. No one was there! We turned off the TV and heard a noise outside as though something had through the door, through the wall, and towards my bedroom. The noise got inside my bedroom and made a sound as though plastic bags and papers were being crumpled. I noticed that my children were scared. I tried to show them I wasn't concerned and dismissed it as a big rat. We continued watching TV and nothing happened for the rest of the night. I felt strange but did not want to show it. The following day, my younger brother arrived from out of town. I told him about what had happened the night before. He was worried but, like me, appeared calm in front of the children. That night, around the same time as the incident the night before, my daughter came running into my bedroom. "Mama, there's a knock on the door again" This time my brother was the one who shouted, "Who is it?" Nobody answered. We then heard the same noise as the previous night, but much stronger. This night, it sounded as though a very angry person was crushing the bags and papers. I was so frightened that I could barely conceal my shivers. My brother finally decided to go upstairs to check it out. He found nothing, which was almost scarier. Then…we heard big steps in front of us. It sounded like someone in wooden sandals was making them, exactly like my mother-in-law used to wear! When I told my mother about it, she blamed me for not taking the kids to visit their grandmother's grave. Since that year, I always remind the kids to light up some candles and say prayers for her. Our problems with the intruder ended, and I learned never to ignore my dreams or responsibilities

Mariano, Philippines