The first experience I remember was that there were several of us family members in beds set up for the funeral/wake.  Sometime during the night while we were all sleeping there was a large thud of something crashing.  We all promptly awoke and investigated the noise from within the room and found that a LARGE hardbound book had fallen off a bookshelf.  No books were teetering at this time and all the contents of the bookshelves were securely within the bookshelf.  The house was not shaking and all of the family members sleeping in the room were mostly Baptist and not predisposed to any affinity towards the supernatural (as was myself at the time).  There was no way for this heavy book to move on its own without some sort of action taken towards it.

I hadn't known much death before this, so the wake and being in such close proximity towards a dead body was creepy to me.  I'd loved my grandfather during life and even now, but I was just a kid.

In any case, the second experience was my mother ordering me to lay down for a nap as we were going to have a long day.  The bedroom where I was to nap was against the wall where my grandfather's casket was placed against.  Although this caused me to be fearful, I made an unsuccessful attempt to nap.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I heard my name.  'Mark.'  I awoke with a start but did not make a move.  I was frightened but tried to rationalize my experience.  'Mark.' it said again, and it sounded louder somehow although now I realize the voice was probably telepathically sent to me instead of being auditory.  There was no one within earshot that would have called my name, especially in a male voice.  I laid there motionless, and again tried to pretend as if I didn't hear.

The third 'Mark!' was now loud and almost a shout.  I was frozen in fear.  The door opened and our beloved housekeeper at the time entered the room with fresh towels and whatnot.  In extreme terror I jumped up and jumped on her like a scared animal, almost sending us both crashing to the ground.

After explaining to her what had happened, she related to me without much fanfare that she wasn't surprised in the slightest, as the night previous to this while she was cleaning the kitchen, she smelled the familiar scent of my grandfather's cologne drift past the kitchen.  She said that when he was among us on earth, he would often drop by the kitchen to check on her and the strong scent of his cologne would accompany him.  Last night as she was cleaning the strong scent of his cologne again wafted by her and she knew he was there.

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?         No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?   Yes

          Describe what you heard, how clearly you heard it and what was communicated:     His voice say my name three times.

          Did the voice or sound seem to originate externally or outside of you, inside you, or did you not hear a voice or sound, but had a sense of knowing what was communicated?    It sounded like a voice external to me.  I've had other experiences since then and now I believe the voice was sent to me telepathically.

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?        It sounded like how the deceased would have sounded like on a bad phone line.

          Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?     There was no one around who would have called my name with authority three times in a male voice.  There were no males around during that time and my female cousins who wandered about the area during this time did not have a penchant for pranks, especially during such a serious time.

          Was there any possible impairment to your hearing at the time of the experience?     None whatsoever.

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?   No

Did you see the deceased?       No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?       No

How long did the experience last?      A few minutes.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?          The book drop was sudden.  The calling of my name happened within a few minutes.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?         Yes

He seemed displeased about something.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know? No.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?        Experience was definitely real

          Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:  I've since had more experiences but this was one of the very first ones and I had no baseline, nor any reason to make it up in my head.  I now often ask for signs from deceased relatives.  Back then I did not, nor did I want any signs.  It wasn't something I asked for or ever wanted.  It just happened.

          Was the experience dream like in any way? No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:        I was sad, but fearful at the same time of being so close to a dead body.  I had been conditioned by watching scary movies at the time and I was also just a child.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?          Yes

The healing happened several years later.  I was a child and it was more scary to me than anything immediately after it happened.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?    The worst was me not processing it the way I could have at the time.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?      Yes                      Describe:     I eventually lumped this in to my several experiences and now have become more curious.