GIMP Version: 2.8.2
Operating System: Windows
OS Version: XP - SP3
GIMP Experience: Beginner Level

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Hello,

I created a text box containing the text "Botanic Gardens," then did some fiddling with the bold/italics/strike through options (contrary to what everyone says, I had no problem adding bold and italics to pre-existing fonts.) This all worked very nicely and I felt that nice feeling come over me when something actually goes right with GIMP.

Then, as is usual with GIMP, that ugly feeling came over me once more. The paint brush stopped working. The trouble started after I deleted the text layer: a strange apparition of it with dotted blinking lines around the letters remained on the backround image (see above). There is no corresponding layer in the layers dialog, and there is no floating layer there either. Consequently it cannot be anchored or deleted. Painting only works over the "ghost" letters. (I may have inadvertantly added an alpha channel in my attempt to get rid of them.)

Suggestions?

Is it possible you did Alpha to Selection and now have only those letters selected? Try Select None and see if it goes away, maybe.

well it looks like you alpha selected the text
that means you can only paint within the selection and has nothing to do with a floating layer

when you go to select: none, the selection will vanish

Your 'ghost' letters is actually a selection, so naturally, all you do (paint, gradient, bucket fill, etc.) applies only to that selection. Deselect all in Select>None or by pressing Shift+Ctrl+A and try again. You did not mention it but somehow you made a selection from your text (probably right-clicking on text layer and choosing alpha to selection)

Thank you all. I never realized there was a select none option. This got rid of the blinking dotted lines but left an imprint of the letters over the background layer. I suppose I will have to just paint over the letters to get rid of them?

That is strange. Is this imprint of the text that was selected by mistake? Was you text on the background layer or on a transparent layer above that?

Using text tool always creates a separate layer above active layer. If there is still a separate layer with text, just use the Eraser tool.
If you've already merged text layer with BG layer - yes, paint over it. (Normally, within the same GIMP session you can undo any operation by Ctrl+Z as far back as your max undo level settings allow or return to any previous stage in Undo History, but this information is not saved for the next GIMP sessions)

It was a text box which started out transparent over the main background layer. As the post above this one states, I probably somehow merged the layers because I did have to erase it. On the other hand, before I erased the letters, if I selected the background layer with the mouse and started to move the background layer, the letters would disappear and the background layer below them showed through. But as soon as I took my finger off the left mouse clicker, the letters would re-appear. Don't know if that is a clue.