Switch on the tv these days and you wil find most shows and human interest segments featuring ghost stories or halloween-ish topics. leading videocd rental stores also feature horror and suspense movies on their shelves. You can bet on my children -and hubby too 
- of renting those movies despite my protests.
To be very honest, I'm a teeny-weeny bit scared too of encounters like that. I never was a fan of scary movies as a child. Thank God I've never experienced seeing one - or i would really scream out loud and go nuts! I heard you can go "mental hospital -crazy" when you see one!
But I've experienced odd encounters before- only fleeting visions that resemble white light or just thin air. I won't even realize at that time until hours later that it was a spook. I usually encounter those incidents in my house or in a place I frequent - a light suddenly shuts off, a faucet turns on, a white spirit just passing by to go under the stairs, glasses moving for a toast (no, I'm not kidding , although THAT is funny). If I remember any more I'll leave it as an answer to a comment later.
My most odd experience occured when I worked as a salon receptionist in London in 2003. It happenned at the Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith where you can find Skinsense Salon.
A tired-looking lady dressed up in a scrubsuit, er, hospital gown- came in to book for a massage. I still remember her name. It was Alpa Dodia Zidane, kind of unusual. She asked for an appointment slot in two days because she says she will be needing a massage that bad.
Good that I found her a vacant hour in two days. As is required, I asked for her contact number. She just looked at me clueless so I quickly added that we need it to contact her for any cancellations or rescheduling. She went, "Okay, if that happens just call me on 5th floor South wing. They know me there." Always to please and not wanting to upset customers, I just took note of it and said "Ok, thanks, see you then..."
Her scheduled appointment came, she didn't show up. So I called on the hospital switchboard to connect me to 5th floor. Her name wasn't on their roster. The 5th floor receptionist whom I phoned asked me if I was sure she worked there, so I quoted the client's exact words "They know me there."
"That's odd." she said, "Wait, could you come up here to 5th floor south wing, please."
I went, took the lift to 5th floor. But hey, I was with two other people on the lift going to 5th but the blasted thing took us all the way up to 11th floor and back to where we wanted to go. I thought to myself, seems to be malfunctioning.
Finally met the receptionist on 5th. She was actually smiling at me. "Oh, I found her name on the roster. She doesn't work here, she was admitted last week and released two days ago" What! I frowned, impolite of her not to cancel, she must pay a cancellation fee for this. I asked, "Is that so? Where can I contact her, do you have a number?"
The lady smiled, "No...no, you don't understand - she died two days ago when she booked with your salon" Say what? er... 
Waah! I'm not taking that lift anymore! I'll just take the stairs, thank you! 
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Pulled your leg, didn't I? Of course the story isn't true! I was just kidding as one of my old old pranks in 2004, but the story was close! Yet it was made up out of the salon small jokes when clients don't show up :))
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