Last week I blogged about the legend of the Grey Man, a benevolent ghost that is said to haunt the lowcountry of South Carolina and warn the inhabitants of the sea islands about approaching hurricanes. Today I want to tell you about an experience that hit much closer to home for me; an experience that still gives me goosebumps everytime I think about it.

The year was 1993 and my wife was pregnant with our third daughter. Like most expectant parents, we spent a great deal of time trying to decide on a name for or new addition to the family. After giving it much thought, we came to the conclusion that she would enter the world as Ashley Olsen.

Okay, think about it. The poor child would have gone through school with the same name as a rising celebrity twin (we knew nothing of the Olsen twins at the time). Can you imagine the teasing she would have had to endure? Not only that, but everyone said she looked just like the famous Ashley Olsen in her early childhood, which would have only caused her more grief.

Well, I guess my daughter wasn’t about to go through all that, so she decided to pay me a prenatal visit. It began when I woke from a deep slumber and saw the misty image of a little girl who appeared to be about six years old standing at the foot of the bed. I couldn’t move nor could I speak as she wagged her finger at me and let me know in no uncertain terms that her name was to be Shannon, not Ashley. 

I came out of the experience in a cold sweat, and when my wife asked me what was wrong, I told her I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but we better think seriously about naming our future child Shannon.

My wife liked the name, and when our daughter made her grand entrance into the world on July 15^th 1993, her birth certificate announced her as Shannon Elizabeth Olsen.

Here’s the real kicker: when Shannon turned six years old, she was the spitting image of the little girl I had seen at the foot of the bed (believe me, I remember every detail of that experience). 

So, did I really see my daughter before she was born or was it some sort of dream warning me not to inflict countless days of teasing on my daughter by naming her Ashley Olsen? Think what you will, but I firmly believe it was the spirit of my daughter. And that’s what influenced me to write a similar scene in my first novel, A Lone Palm Stands. For those of you who have read the book, you know what I’m referring to. For those of you who haven’t read it … well, what are you waiting for? :)

Coming in next week’s blog: “Who dat Boo-Hag is?”

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