Well a side comment before I get back to the ghost story:

I do not watch a lot of late-night talk shows (Leno, Conan etc). However in the past week or two I have for some reason managed to catch two separate shows both featuring little kids who have memorized an amazingly boring amount of Presidential trivia. One was a little girl who wasn't in kindergarten yet, she was a cutie, but tonight on Leno they had this 8-year-old who was just this little snot. Wow what an asshole. Then he said look for me on the Republican ticket in 2036 or something like that! Figures he'd be a Republican. But what's the deal with all these kids running around memorizing President stuff? Weird.

Anyway, I was recounting my story to my brother Peter, who dog-sits frequently for these mansion folk. (No, the dogs were NOT there last night, they are members of the family and as such are on vacation with them for the month!!) He laughed and said, "oh, James was around?" I said, huh? So apparently the ghostie has a name. James. It's painted in the basement, on the floor under the stairs or something like that (I'M not gonna go a'huntin for it). Peter immediately began telling me about things James does, before I could even finish my story to him he was halfway finishing it for me! Then he continued. "Oh, James does the silliest things all the time in the house." James likes to have things the way he likes them, or play tricks on people, just check things out in the house all the time. Opening cabinets when no one is around, locking doors (Peter says he was once locked out of his bedroom and had to go find a master key in the basement to get back in. Sheila has had similar experiences.) Lots of things. Peter and Sheila both think James was just checking out what someone was doing in that part of the house, since no one is usually using my suite of rooms. Also I made a big crash and a big mess when I broke the glass towel rack in the bathroom (which I still have to go back and clean up), which Sheila thinks probably attracted him over to my area even more, seeing what was a-happenin'. Peter thought it sounded hilarious and that he was probably playing a trick on me (since I still don't understand how it broke off the wall considering I was more APPROACHING it than hanging my towel with many pounds of force upon it), which I don't buy so much as just a glass towel rack breaking, but hey whatever.

Soooo....however ridiculous Paul thinks I am for being freaked out by "things that don't exist" and Sheila and Peter think I am for being freaked out by "silly James", I decided not to sleep there tonight...or until I am not weirded out by the idea of sleeping in a haunted mansion. Sheila says she doesnt think he came in my room last night cause I would have KNOWN she says, I am not sure what that means but I am pretty sure I don't want to either. (She says unless that is what woke you wide awake in the middle of the night, which freaks me out to be woken up by a ghost, but I guess it's one life experience to cross of my list, huh?)

I think knowing his name is a little bit FREAKY but also perhaps a little comforting.
So as far as we know, Sarah, not vengeful ghost. Curious, bored ghost.