In the Baths at Pompeii

From: Lauren (lrizy@hotmail.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: Pompeii, Italy
Source: Form Submission

In June of 1998, I was 28 years old and visiting Italy for the first time with my parents. We toured around Naples, Caprii and Sicily. The three of us being art/history lovers, we knew we couldn't miss Pompeii, its ongoing excavations (since 1798) unearthing the largest collection of Roman Empire artifacts known to the modern world. We all know the story. Mount Vesuvious, the nearby volcano, erputed in 79AD, engulfing the wealthy, lively city in a thick layer of ash, burning and smothering many people to death.

It was about 100F that day as my parents and I made our way around the ruins. We entered into a part of the city called The Baths, a cool, stone cellar like building where the Pompeiians used to gather to talk business and socialize. I sketched images into my journal of the frescoes and architecture and eavesdropped on an English-speaking tour guide as my parents went ahead to join the group. A restaurant had just opened in this part of The Baths, and when I entered the room, I saw cafe tables behind the tour guide. It suddenly seemed a bit grim to me. Many, many people ran into The Baths to escape the falling debris and scalding ash, and were buried alive, smothered to death right where we were standing, next to a brand new cafe.

As I listened to the guide, I suddenly began to notice a strange sensation all over my body. From head to toe it was as though dryer lint/spider webs were being pulled over every exposed bit of my flesh. It was a hot day and I was wearing a long, cotton sleeveless dress and all over my bare arms, face, neck and sandaled feet, I could feel this foreign sensation sliding over me and growing in intensity. There was no lint and no spider web, I was standing in the middle of a crowd. I had never before, not have I since, experienced such a sensation.

As the sensation grew, emotions rose with it. Intense emotions that were NOT my own. A moment before I had been contentedly sketching in the adjacent room, but these feelings of anger/despair were rising steadily. At first I wondered how intense the sensations would get, finding it very novel. Then I suddenly started to panic. I felt overwhelmed by both the physical and emotional imposition. My mother looked over at me at this point, saw that my face was 'white as a ghost' and my eyes filling with tears and asked, 'What's wrong?'

I said in a whisper, 'I have to get out. I'm going to be sick.' I whipped through the guided tour crowd and out into the searing heat. The sensation of losing control was so severe, I thought I was going to vomit. My mother was very surprised at my behavior. I'd never done anything like that before.

I don't know that it was a 'haunting' per se or a 'psychic imprint.' It is said that when terrible things happen, an emotional charge can be left to a place and I'm not discounting that idea. Thing is, though, I felt personalities, I felt people connected with those emotions that I described as not mine... like the way it feels when you walk in on two people having an argument or the way it feels when someone is angry with you but not expressing it in words.

Anyone having any thoughts is free to email me. This was a very unique experience for me. My only solution was to pray for all those people, if they are still there, who feel trapped and confused. I have been told that prayers can help set them free.