Steven LaChance Blog

(I originally shared this in February 2024. My father passed away the previous October 2023. I had forgotten about it until tonight.)

February 22, 2024

I wanted to share something with you. Most of you know my father was a true believer in the paranormal. He personally experienced the Screaming House firsthand. The last conversation I had with him while he was alive was about ghosts.

Yesterday, I went to my parents’ house in Washington, MO. I walked into a back bedroom, now used as a playroom for the grandchildren, to check on my nearly two-year-old grandson. As I picked him up to hug him, I saw—for just an instant—my father standing over my left shoulder. My grandson sat up suddenly, his face reflecting the same surprise I felt; he had seen him too. He whispered, “Papa.”

I kept quiet about what happened and returned to the living room to talk with my mother. About half an hour later, my four-year-old grandson came down the hallway from the same bedroom. He walked over to his dad, my son Elliot, and said, “I was talking to my grandpa Freddie,” the name he called my father. I was stunned—I hadn’t told anyone about my earlier experience.

By the time we left, it was dark. We strapped the boys into their car seats and began pulling out of the driveway. Suddenly, Elliot stopped the van. “Dad, I just saw Grandpa waving goodbye to us on the driveway.” My father always used to stand near the garage door to wave as we left. I glanced at his usual spot but saw nothing. With a nervous laugh, I looked away, then back again. For a fleeting moment, there he was: my father, smiling and waving, before he faded into the backyard’s shadows.

My father believed in ghosts, and I believe with every part of me that he’s reaching out in ordinary ways to reassure us he’s at peace. Too many moments like these have happened since his passing to dismiss as mere coincidence or wishful thinking. My father believed in ghosts—and I do too. I also believe in him and the strength and power of his love.

(This was my final visit to my parent’s house. What I didn’t understand then, it was my father’s way of telling me it was the last time. He knew I wouldn’t understand this in the moment. He also knew I would look back upon this someday and his message would become clear. My father was clever in that way. He liked things to mean something. Today was the day that I looked back upon this event. I got his message loud and clear. The message? Well, that was he was always with me even though the door to the past closes. I love and miss you Dad.)