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B J Laubscher – Where Mystery dwells

The experience of Mr. H. J. van Staden of Pretorius Street, Wesselsbron.

He described how he was lying on his back on his bed with his hands under his head. He was wide awake and he was contemplating getting up. It was fairly early in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. Lying there thinking of the day and its work and all its other implications he became aware of the presence of a strange girl in the house.

From his bed his vision included a portion of the lounge as the door was open. He could see the farthest wall of the lounge against which hung a huge oil painting. The girl was standing facing the picture with her back towards him and whilst looking at the painting she brushed her hair, or stroked it, backwards with both her hands, and her attitude was that of someone looking at the picture as though it were a huge mirror.

While lying there speechless with wonder and marvelling at the display revealed by his vision, she turned round and faced him, and once more stroked her hair with a graceful backward movement. Then she smiled sweetly at him as if to say "that it is no longer time for sleep." He saw her so plainly and distinctly that he could see her features and facial expression as well as her clothes.

He saw that she had bright blue eyes with a lovely skin, pure milk-white and very smooth. Her nose was sharp and somewhat pointed but did not detract from the rest of her beautiful face.

Her dress was rose-coloured and of a floral design with a silky appearance. After she had stood and looked at him for a few moments, while he was lying there tongue-tied with amazement, she turned again to face the picture, and he noticed that she had lovely long blonde hair which reached down well below her shoulders. Again her hand came over stroking her hair as if she enjoyed the feel of its softness and texture. One could almost say she was admiringly caressing her hair. Then she turned sideways and looked at him with the same sweet mischievous smile. After that she somehow just stepped aside and vanished.

Later that day he told the other members of his family about this strange and beautiful phantom visitor. Then to his surprise he discovered that his father had also seen her and could describe her features, expression and general appearance in the same detail as he had observed them. They had no idea who she could have been and where she could have come from. They never saw her again in their home, but a year later his father was at some social gathering and there to his utter astonishment was the same girl in the flesh; yes the identical personality. One regrets that neither Mr. van Staden nor his father followed up this interesting case of evident astral projection.