Sure Horizon

Archive for November 30th, 2009

Ghost stories.  Whether believed in or not, almost everyone seems to like them, and every city seems to have one, especially New York City.  In fact, the next time you’re staying in Manhattan, at a New York boutique hotel, take a walk over to Times Square and see if you can see two men standing in England’s Royal Air Force uniforms.  No?  Well, this particular story about ghosts in New York sounds a lot like an urban legend or myth, rather than a bonifide moment of paranormal activity, but you can be the judge.  Here’s the case:

A Harvard man, recently graduated, was living in New York City while his friends were in Europe, fighting in World War II.  He walked down to Times Square to take in the lights, and there saw two men in RAF uniforms.  One of the British pilots asked the man if this were Time Square, and he told them it was.  When the street light changed, the two pilots followed along with the man across the street, excited to be in Times Square after all they’d been through in the war.  The man asked them to dinner at the Harvard Club, and they readily agreed.  After dinner, they talked late into the night together, but the two pilots kept checking and rechecking their watches.  When midnight approached, the two pilots excused themselves and thanks the man for a good evening and walked toward the door.  One of the two pilots stopped and remarked that they had long wanted to see Times Square but didn’t have the opportunity until now, after they were dead.  The man reacted to this strange statement, in surprise.  At that moment, the clock struck midnight and the two men vanished.

This tale is called the Ghost of the Two Pilots, but it seems clear that this is a fable.  There are many fantastic moments — the fact that the two pilots seem aware that they have a “deadline,” as seen via the checking of watches, and the fact that they vanish precisely at midnight.  Ghosts, in other, more credible stories, don’t keep to a schedule.  The fact that they came to a Harvard graduate seems as if the originator of this piece wanted to speak about status or education or class; perhaps, enjoying the fact that that the graduate was fooled so easily by two ghosts.  It’s unlikely, though, that we’ll see this moment of playful spirits remade as a movie playing at the local cineplex.