Ghosts, re-incarnation and Coca-Cola

I’ve had some interesting conversations here in Perú about the after-life. I’m not sure if this reflects the cultural beliefs of all Peruvians, but it seems that many I’ve talked to believe in ghosts and re-incarnation. As for me, I’ve been on the fence about whether I believe in ghosts … that is, until about a month ago…

A few days ago, I noticed a full glass of coca-cola sitting on the mantel in front of the picture of my host family’s grandmother. Apparently, the night before, my host sister locked her keys into the living room part of the house. She had to get up early for work the next day and needed the keys to leave the house, so she lifted up some silent pleas to her grandmother (who passed away 11 years ago) to bring her the keys. In the middle of the night, she awoke to loud noises coming from the living room (which we lock every night). She thought we were getting robbed and (bravely) crept toward the door. What she found, however, were her set of keys placed outside of the (barred) kitchen window! Thus, the cup of coca-cola, her Grandmothers’ favorite beverage, remained on the mantel as a gift of thanksgiving for several days.

Okay, this all sounds a bit crazy, right?! Well, I believe it – and here is why. Last month, we took a trip to Tembladera, a small beautiful community in the mountains northeast of Trujillo. My host family has relatives there, and we stayed overnight in the house that used to belong to the grandparents, but is now abandoned. Staying in the house itself was quite an adventure – sleeping on the floor (no furniture), no bathroom or running water, rats, etc! (see picture)

Haunted House in Tembladera

That night, it was extremely hot and buggy, and while we lay awake trying to sleep in the miserable heat, we began to hear things. First, loud noises that were definitely coming from within the locked kitchen. Host sister #1 fled to her aunt’s house out of fear, and host sister #2 went with her for a moment, leaving me alone in the house. After they’d left, the room changed drastically from unbearably hot to ice cold. I began to hear and feel a man’s raspy respirations on the right side of my face. I heard footsteps outside of the bedroom door. The bedroom door (which was a few feet from the edge of my sleeping bag) began to move – opening and closing slowly. I lay there, paralyzed, not sure what to do. I put on my headphones, but I could still hear everything.

When host sister #2 returned (after what felt like an eternity!), everything, room temperature included, went back to normal for a moment. I decided not to tell her - I didn’t want to scare her. However, for the rest of the night, we both experienced the same phenomenon – air changes, footsteps, breathing, door movements. Needless to say, we barely slept. The following morning, the heavy door that leads to the unfinished part of the house (which we’d locked the night before) was wide open. Yup… I’m now a believer!