Bear in mind that most of what I'm going to relate here is second-hand.

Do you believe in ghosts? I do, although it's a pointless belief, as I've never seen one, and in fact have a terrific fear of seeing one. I'm not so afraid of the actual ghost, I don't think, rather it's the element of surprise that disturbs me. I don't want to turn around and find someone unexpected there, staring at me. Some unexpected, potentially transparent being, perhaps a former resident of whatever seedy hotel I've woken up in this time.

I've experienced, over the years, several odd occurrences that could, with a stretch, be considered "ghostly encounters" (everybody say, "ooo...OOOOOO!"), but since I've never seen anything, nor witnessed unexplained cries for help written in an unsteady hand, or heard spiritual clanking, I tally my total ghostly experience at zero.

Recently, however, something happened that makes me wonder if my lack of ghost-viewing has to do with a shortcoming on my part.

The night before last, I heard the Keelhauler get out of bed in the middle of the night, and woke up to see him return holding a lighted candle, which he set down. It was very cold, and I assumed that he'd lit the candle for warmth--a candle is a surprisingly effective heat source on a boat.

By morning, the candle had burned itself out, and I forgot about it until later that day, when he mentioned hesitantly that he'd "seen something" on the boat the previous night. He may have said "someone," I don't recall exactly. I was initially thinking that perhaps he'd seen the ghost of one of the boat's former owners, a young man who'd killed himself, but whom we'd never met.

"It was a young guy," he told me, a sailor--dressed in what he termed "rescue gear": heavy foul-weather coat and pants, bright orange in color, but of a style unfamiliar to the Keelhauler.

"Where was he?" I asked, and the Keelhauler described the man as sitting on our bed, next to me, looking down at us. He also described two other men sitting in the main salon, one pouring liquid from a thermos into its own lid, and one seated forward, talking to him.

"Are you sure you were awake?" I asked, and he said he was positive. The man seated on the bed was semi-transparent, and lit by the ambient light in the room. "Did you make eye contact?" I asked further, and he answered no. He'd been cautious to move, because he felt that if he did, the vision would disappear. Finally, the Keelhauler moved his arm around me protectively, and the apparition vanished.

I asked what the general feeling of the vision had been. "Positive," answered the Keelhauler. "I got the feeling that he was protective, like that he was watching over us," he said.

He's certain that he was awake, and he said that the men's clothing was of a modern but unfamiliar style. "I could pick the guy out of a line-up if I had to," he asserted, and what a line-up that would be.

"It's just my imagination," he shrugged, and perhaps he's right, but still, I went to bed last night wondering if while I slept there'd be a quiet, benevolent visitor nearby.

What say ye?

Star of the day. . .Rex Stardust