VMAs and a Special Appearance

As far back as I can remember I’ve heard the stories from my mother and my aunts about generations of women in our family and their gifts and abilities to see spirits, see the future, know the truth. It’s much more than that really. If you heard all the stories, you might feel as though giving you a tweaked version of Isabel Allende’s The House of Spirits. After years of listening to endless stories, on the night of the 1990 MTV VMAs,  I finally had my first encounter with a spirit.

1990 was the year I started having premonitions and dreams that came true. It was definitely different from deja vu, not foggy but clear images and detailed descriptive events that would play out exactly as I had dreamt mere nights before. This time of clairvoyance didn’t last very long. I think one of the reasons it was a short-lived phase is because of what happened on the night of the VMAs and how intense it felt. I think I forced that door shut, choosing to no longer be open to those experiences. 

The MTV Video Music Awards were coming up and I was so excited about them that year because there would be a very special appearance. Not quite as special as the previous year when Madonna presented my beloved, George Michael with the MTV Video Vanguard (Career Achievement Award). This specific year was special because New Edition would have a reunion performance live on the VMA stage. I loved New Edition and the news that they would be together again for one special night had me feeling very eager for the occasion. This and Madonna to perform ‘Vogue’ , how awesome was that? The MTV VMAs were always a special night, I had made a tradition of watching with my cousins at my Tio Hugo and Tia Evelyn’s house and this year would be no exception. This house had a reputation for possible paranormal activity and the tales of how these activities came to be grew more and more elaborate over the years. I had yet to experience anything concrete and just had fun with the possibilities. On this very exciting night, it became a reality for me. As I sat on the family room floor watching New Edition perform a medley of their greatest hits, I sang and bopped to the rhythm until my cousin, Corin’s cat, Sebastian started freaking out. Sebastian was a very fluffy, very fancy Persian who spent most of his time lazily wandering around with no real emotion as so many adult Persian cats do. No kitten energy for this cat. But on this night, out of nowhere it seemed, Sebastian went wild. Sebastian ran up the walls and curtains, across the back of the sofa and around the living room in a frenzied feline marathon. Everyone was very surprised with this behavior and as my aunt and cousins commented and wondered what could possibly be the cause of all the raucous, I suddenly felt a presence and feeling as if I had been hypnotized. I turned to see what was behind me, beckoning me. I stared at the hall at the back of the room through an open door and waited as if I knew something was coming. Suddenly, he appeared, the man in the white suit. A man dressed in a white pant suit walked past the doorway toward the dining room. This is where it gets really strange in case the start wasn’t strange enough for you. For reasons I can’t explain, I stood up and followed the man. I was in some sort of trance it seemed and I followed into a dark dining room and into the formal living room. It didn’t take long before I snapped out of it and was overcome with fear. Why had I done that? What was I thinking? I started to cry as I told my Tia and cousins what I had just seen and that I had tried to follow him. I described how I had seen very detailed clothing and hands with veins and knuckles. I repeated that it wasn't like the typical ghost floating with a white sheet you hear about in stories. My Tia Evelyn recited the Our Father prayer and told me that if he was wearing white he was a good spirit. The stories of more ghost encounters at that house continued, nothing terrifying ever happened, more like cohabitation with a trapped soul. I wonder if he ever made it out of there? I wonder what’s in store for tonight’s VMAs.