by art4978@inreach.com
hello
i read some of your stories and was looking though the index and saw
california...i see that you do not have the haunted toys r us...i have
seen the spirit there....and i have tried to find places on the net to see
if i can find anything about it..i had a newspaper clipping of it once.but
i think i have lost it..i will search for it tomorrow!
but it was in sunnyvale i believe...
the story i think goes like this....
there was this farm where the toys r us is at now. and one of the farm
workers there, had accidently killed himself...he was chopping wood and cut
his hand i think..i forget, but he ended up dying..and he was in love with
the farm owners daughter i believe.
well, they built the toys r us...and since then, they have had strange
things happening there...like toys moving by themselves...gusts of
wind...stuff like that.
well they had the phsycic Sylvia Brown( i hope that is her name) come to
talk to the ghost, and it seems as if he was searching for the daughter of
the farmer....
he supposedly went away....and then he showed up again..
well...
when i was about 13 or 14, i was there shopping for some toys with my mom..
well, i went by the aisle with the toy guns and things such as that, and i
felt this huge gust of wind fly right past me..kinda like someone ran right
by me really fast, it was strange..coz nothing was there, then the guns on
one of the racks...by the way, the aisle was empty, well the guns there,
fell down, kinda like someone went up and pushed them off..well, this had
gathered a crowd, coz some people saw that when i did...i was really scared
at the time, not knowing what it was or what had just occured. well, i may
have done the coolest, or the dumbest thing ever, without thinking, i went
into the aisle to pick up the guns..i mean..i really did not want to, but
something inside pushed me on, and as i went into the aisle, i felt this
cold chill, and i felt like i was not in the store anymore...kinda like i
was somewhere else...it freaked me out...but i went and picked up the
guns....and then went to turn around and go..and when i turned, i felt like
something was behind me....it was kinda of like i was in a trance or
something...and then..i saw my mom and some others shouting at me..but it
was like their voices were far away....they were all looking at the sign
above..you know..the ones that say the name of the aisle and what they had
there?
well, it was violently swaying back and forth.....so i kinda rushed out of
there.and my mom and some others said that when i was walking there the
sign was ok, but after i picked up the guns, it started to sway..and it
stopped after i left the aisle. i went home right after that...i was
completely freaked out....
i got to your page through Stone 588's webpage. I saw it and read some
stories and knew i had to email you..well, i hope to get the rest of the
info on toys r us..I hope i can find that newspaper clipping.....thank you
for taking the time to read this..
by mschmidt@wxc.com
The Train
This is a story that my grandfather told many times. I heard it via my
mother.
He was a railroad engineer from the 1920s to the 1950s. His regular
run included a section between Sheboygan and Manitowoc, WI,; many
parts of that route had a clear view of Lake Michigan. A girl he knew
had drowned in an area that was visible and he often looked at that
spot when riding past - thinking of her fate, no doubt. One night, in
the full moon, he saw what looked like a female figure standing there
pointing in the direction he was raveling. For reasons unknown to him,
he stopped the train and got out. He walked ahead on the tracks and
found a few hundred yards from where he stopped that the rails had
come loose. If he'd kept going, he'd have wrecked the train and who
knows, possibly been killed.
Dodsworth
I remembered another event that involved Dodsworth (he was involved
in "My First Apartment" submitted on 10-5-97). He was a tabby tom,
was very affectionate and a house cat all his life. He lived for
11 1/2 years and came with me to Nashville and Memphis. In Memphis,
he became sick and finally I had to have him put down. I'd never done
that before, and after burying him in my veterinarian/friend's yard,
I went home and felt very guilty. One evening about a week later, my
wife-to-be and I were driving home and a large tabby that looked like
Dodsworth walked out in the street in front of the car and sat down.
I stopped and blew the horn, but he just sat there. I got out and
tried to shoo him away, but he wouldn't budge. I finally picked him
up to carry him into the yard of the nearest house, and when I picked
him up, he pushed his nose against mine, just like Dodsie used to do.
I can't help thinking that maybe Dodsie was sending a message that
night that everything was OK... or maybe I just needed to see it that
way.
====================
A Visit From Todd
I had a good friend from my early days of grade school on. His name
was Todd. After Junior High we drifted apart a bit; not an argument,
we just grew in separate directions. Anyway, I was just starting
college when my girlfriend called me from home and told me Todd had
been killed in a car accident. A couple years older - as a result of
his driving style - I'd told him, "You know, you're gonna die in this
car."
Anyway, some years later, I had a dream that took place in the music
office of the high school at which I had student taught. I was
standing in the office when he walked in. We made some small talk (I
think I mentioned that I'd thought he was dead) and I said, "I really
miss you."
He said, "I miss you, too; and this is the only way I could visit."
A few other words were spoken, he gave me a belt buckle with a seal
balancing a ball on its nose, and left. I haven't the slightest idea
what that meant.
The reasons I take it more seriously than just imagination are:
1. I've never had that kind of dream before or since - about anybody
else.
2. The dream took place about 7 years after his death. If it had
happened within days, I would have figured it was because I was
thinking about the event and it was on my mind, so I'd dreamed it. But
7 years later, I have to say it was pretty much out of my mind.
by anonymous
I'm a normal thirteen year old girl and before I can remember I have been
interested in ghosts. I lived in a house built in the 1840s up until I was
ten. Although I don't remember very many strange occurences there had been
a couple. We had an antique piano out in one of the parlors. I was around
eight or nine years old when I heard music, obviously from the piano,
coming from the front of the house. My sister, who was the only one in the
family who could play, was in the room with me. I was scared for a few
minutes but disregarded it as a figment of my imagination. In a house like
mine, which was complete with Underground Railroad hiding spots, was easy
to get spooked in. Even though I had lived there since a baby, I didn't
like going upstairs by myself, even in broad daylight.
The encounter that was the most frightening, though, didn't happen in that
house. I had been living in a new house in a development on the other side
of town for about a year when it happened, since after my parents divorced
the house was too big for three of us, and we had no need for the extra
rooms. I was at my best friend's house with another friend when it
happened. This house was barely five years old, if that, and it took place
in a large living room much like anyone elses. The three of us were
determined to have a seance. We decided to contact JonBenet Ramsey, the
child who had been murdered only weeks before. We had a single candle in a
crystal globe. It was the type of candle you can buy at any store, just a
little round one that was red. We lit it with a normal match and started
the seance. When we told the ghost to give us a sign if JonBenet was
there, the flame rose and turned bright blue. I was looking around when I
heard by two friends gasp.
" Oh my God, " Amanda whispered, " look at the flame. "
When Dana and I saw it was bright blue, a color pretty close to being
royal, we began to scream. The three of us screamed our heads off, and
only regained composure to end the seance. We flicked the lights on, and
embraced each other until we were a little bit less frightened.
by gawkey@worldnet.att.net
Hi. My name is Shelly. I'm 16 and live in Jackson, MS. This happened to
me when I was 15. I was visiting my grandmother one weekend. She lived way
out in the country so there wasn't much to do. I got bored and decided to
go for a walk. The sun was setting at the time I was half way down the
road. I was passing this old obandoned barn and heard a soft voice. I looke
over to the enterance and saw this woman. She was very pretty and motherly
like. She had beautiful black hair that seemed to blow in the wind but
there wasn't any. She motioned with her finger for me to come to her. I
don't know why I did but I walked slowly to her. When I reached her, she
held out her hand as if wanting me to hold it. I looked at the ground and
grabbed her hand. I heard this old, evil sounding laugh come from her. I
looked up and saw that the woman I had came to wasn't the same woman. She
had gray hair, rotting teeth, and her eyes were rolled back into her head.
I screamed and tried to get my hand lose. After I did, I ran back to my
g-mothers house as fast as I could run, still hearing the woman laugh. My
grandmother believe every word I told her. She said that that happened to
my dad when he was sixteen. Now when I go there, I never take walks. I
asked her the history of the barn and she told me that an occult used to go
there and do their rituals. The leader, which was the woman, was killed by
the other members.
by laminx@AOL.com
I visited the Shadowlands web page recently and found your stories
fascinating. My name is James and I'm a computer networking consultant
in southern California. A couple of years back I had an experience that
shook me to the bone. I can't ever imagine ever getting use to becoming
easy going about such ethereal beings visiting me as some people claim
they have, as I get older I'm realizing events in my childhood that were
strange but never did anything about(peculiar).
My encounter happened late one night in Marina Del Rey, CA. I had a
small 1 bedroom apartment and spent a lot of time home on the computer
or strumming the guitar. I have always believed in Jesus Christ as my
lord and felt that he is always present and closer whenever I call his
name(boy!, entities don't like that!)so it makes me wonder just how nice
these beings pretend to be sometimes, like in some of your stories.
Anyway, I was lying in bed listening to some Eric Clapton through my
head phones when I was abruptly shook, I can't recall. The being must
not have liked the music for the shake was violent, this blue thing
hovered about a foot from my face, no noise or wavering movements just a
silent and still hover. Not a lovely experience at 2 in the morning and
everything pitch black!
It seemed to be a royal bluish electric-like presence with a very
defined outline and it meant business. It was very confusing for me at
first, I had the feeling it was trying to show me something or tell me
something, it waved it's bluish hand towards itself, I can't say it was
angry or happy but definitely not inviting. The hand was very much a
human hand but electric blue. I could not believe my eyes, a raw fear
took over that I never felt before quickly followed by a cry for
strength to our Lord Jesus Christ. This helped to get rid of fear and
"it" was gone almost instantly, in a blink of the eye...gone.
I can't tell you how fast I ran to my living room with all the lights
clicking on along the way. Sitting on my couch as quiet as a church
mouse thinking about what just happened to me and wondering if I had
ever had an experience close to that so that I could dismiss what just
happened somehow. No dice, this thing was real! I held my ground. It's
my territory, "sorry pal" I thought "I just paid the rent so I'm
staying". Since then, I sleep on my side, I don't like sleeping on my
back if I can help it because I don't appreciate apparitions or blue
beings if you will just popping up in front of my face like that, talk
about a heart attack!
I wonder how many people go through stuff like this and never utter a
word?
by sam-sharon-nicholson@worldnet.att.net
To understand this story you need to know some background not about
the house that I live in but about the land it was built on. The land
our house was built on used to belong to a big historic mansion our house
was farmland. In the downstairs of the house there are two bedrooms and
when I was younger I used to occupy the back bedroom. One night I woke
up and right outside my window I could here digging in our back yard,
like there was someone plowing it up.. There was clomping and the sound
of wheels moving--like wheelbarrow. When I told my mom this story she
thought I was joking--or dreaming. There were two times when I heard the
noise up close, one night when I was still living downstairs the noises
started up again and I stuck my head out of one of the windows in the
room, there was nothing there but I swear the activity was happening
right in front of me, I heard the wheelbarrow passong right under my
window--and I felt something brush my face. When I was sixteen I came
home late one night from a party at a friends house--I had had nothing to
drink and being a night owl I was wide awake-as I was coming from my car
up to the front door to my right where the front yard meets the back(this
was where the activity was occuring) I could hear the digging and the
sound of wheelbarrow hauling something away. I don't know how to
explain this noise, and I'm not scared of it anymore because in the ten
years I 've been hearing it nothings ever happened.
by alper@uhavax.hartford.edu
Throughout my life I have had a few paranormal experiences. I am going
to tell about 2 of them.
It was a spring of 1996 and I was living in the town of New London,
CT. One night I had a rather disturbing dream where an "figure"
appeared to me. Although I could not see the face or the figure clearly
(it was blurred) I somehow knew it was a dead woman. I asked her: "Why
did you come?". The answer was: "I have a purpose here". I then asked
her: "Do you know how long will I live?" The figure responded: "You
will live 57 years, but it has not been determined yet." At this point
I woke up. Now comes the truly frightening part: I found myself lying
in a very uncomofortable position - on my stomach, which does not happen
to me normally. After a few seconds I noticed that my bedroom was
unusually cold. I also felt a weird tingling sensation running down my
spine. Then I proceeded to turn around and I felt every hair on my head
rise when I saw that, which stood at the foot of my bed. It was a
shadow. My bedroom was dark, but the shadow was much darker and it
seemed somehow fluid, as if made out of some dark liquid. Oddly, my
first impulse was not to scream. I remember myself mumbling some kind
of prayer or maybe a rhyme or something. I don't remember what I was
saying, I only know that I wanted the thing to be gone. I saw the
shadow lower its head and then it dissapeared. It did not exactly fade
away - I thought I saw it shattering up into little pieces which then
dissapeared. Needless to say, I was wicked scared. After many minutes
which seemed like forever I overcame my fear and sat up in my bed.
There was an alalrm clock by my bed, but it was too dark to make out the
time. Finally I got up and walked to the living room where we have a
VCR with a clock. The time read 4:26 am. I could not go to sleep for
the rest of the night and only dozed off when the sun came up. Later
that day (let me mention here that I was involved with the occult and
know a few things about ritual magick) I burned some Asafetida resin to
cleanse the house of any possibly evil presenses. Nothing has happened
there ever since and 3 months later we moved.
The second experience is not actually my own, although I was indirectly
involved. I had an aquaitnance, a girl who lived next door and she had
a friend who lived close by. Well, once her friend was throwing a party
and all the people I know, myself included, were there. The party did
not really work out so everyone got bored and by 10:00 pm people started
to leave. People who stayed were: me, my friend (a skeptic when it
comes to paranormal), his sister and the girl (lets call her Ellen) who
was throwing the party and her friend. By 10:30 we were really bored so
Ellen desided to play Quija board. She did not have one, so she made
one out of a piece of cardboard and a empty wine glass.
As I mentioned already, I was invlolved with ritual magick and I did not
like the prospect of Quija boards. At this time I felt (and still do)
that if the spirit IS to be summoned, it has to be done with full
protection (i.e. inside the circle) with all the necessary rituale
performed. In no case is this to be done for entertainment, especially
using Quija boards, when you actually invite a spirit into yourself. I
mentioned all of this to the rest of the people, but I was only laughed
at. Ellen and my friend's sister seemed quite obsessed with summoning a
spirit, so called all the people to be my witnesses that: "No good will
come of it, and I will not certainly play a part in all this." Then I
left, accompanied by my skeptical friend who had no interest in all
this. The next morining I heard a story of what happened that night
from my friends sister. According to her (this story was corroborated
by all the rest) that when they placed their hands on the empty wine
glass a spirit arrived. It was a malevolent one, for it said: "Whoever
is the first one to take a hand off the glass will die" Then the girls
started pleading with it begging to let go and it finally did. I
believed my friend's sister because I knew her for quite a long time
and she is not the type to make this up. I also talked to all the rest
of the girls and there was real fear in their voices when they told
their accounts. However, this was not the end of the story. A few days
after the event weird things started to happen at Ellen's house. One
instance is when her mother was holding scissors and something pushed
her hand so that she almost injured her eye. The other is when
something pushed her mother in the bathroom and she almost landed on her
head. Finally her mother learned of the incidedt and had burned the
Quija board (I saw her do it in the backyard) at which time the
disturbances stopped.
by tlasusa@WINMAG.com
In November 89, my father celebrated his 59th birthday. We had a small
party for him at home...just some cousins and friends. A bunch of
pictures were taken, but for whatever reasons, we forgot to take the
roll of film to be developed.
That following MArch (now 1990), my father grew very ill. Around the
time he was admitted into an NYC hospital, we found the film. Upon
having it developed, we found something very disturbing...
We had taken a picture of him holding up his birtday cake. In the
picture, however, you could see right through him. He was literally
transparent. Naturally, I figured it was possible that it was a trick
of the camera-that the picture was somehow double exposed. However, I
noticed that the cake itself appeared to be solid, while his form was
not.
I showed only my mom the picture. We said nothing to my Dad.
As it turned out, Dad had cancer and died late in October of 1990, just
a few weeks shy of his 60th birthday. Strangely enough, the picture
dissapeared not too long after after. I scoured the house, rummaging
through boxes, photo albums and closets. It had simply vanished.
by MeanDragon@aol.com
About four or five years ago when I still lived with my parents, our family went to stay at my uncles newly remodeled cabin on boot lake in wisconsin. There are two bedrooms on the first floor, and a loft with three double beds. My big sister was sleeping in a room by herself on the first floor. My parents took the other room on the first floor. My little sister, myself, and a freind of mine slept in seperate beds in the loft. Around three in the morning, my little sister stared to sream out my mothers name in her sleep. She was trying to get her to wake up, I think. It was her dream. She kept screaming, and crying. My freind and I could not wake her up. We were about to go get my mother, but then she stopped. Her sheets were soaked.
In the morning, at the breakfast table, my father started to tell us what happened on the first floor that night. Around three in the morning he was awakened by a funny feeling. He said that the room felt cold, and It seemed to be charged somehow. He also said that my mother felt as cold as ice. That is when he looked over to her and saw IT. Whatever IT was, it resembled a man. From what my father tells me, IT was like a green haze. You could make out features, like a beard, and clothes. A button down shirt. Gaping holes for eyes. The torso could be seen, but from the waist down, it was like a mist, or fog. IT seemed to be kneeling over my mother, just staring at her. My father was freaked. He didn't know what to do. Then as if IT could sense my father looking at him, he turned his head and looked at my father. At this point he thought that they were dead. Suddenly IT was transformed into a greenish mist, and went down the hall. They had left the door partly open, and when IT past the night light, the light was blocked and IT made a shadow as it went past. We have concluded that my little sister somehow felt this all happen, but she does not remember the dream.
That was then, and This is now. Not long after the event mentioned above happened, Strange things started to occur at our house. The shower would turn on by itself, and we could hear footsteps, and the piano would play as well as the pin-ball machines. We knew that we had accuired a new guest in the house. In the last few years I have seen IT, as well as a few of my freinds. It also went to visit, my aunt for a week and turned on her vaccuum cleaner. There was an occasion that IT threw darts at one of my friends, when he didn't beleive, and challenged it outloud. These are just a few things that have happened.
I have moved out of the house, and It has followed me. I moved again, and It followed me again. There have been a few times in between when he stayed with my friend. But that was usually only a few weeks. I live in a duplex now, and It was living next door until my neighbor moved out. Now it is back with me. It is stronger than it used to be. It pins you down at night, and tries to get inside. I can feel it when It enters the room. It used to try to get into my little sister too when we still lived at home. I don't know why it likes me, but I would lik it to fo away for good. IT is not a good house guest. Sometimes at night I will be in a dead sleep. IT will enter the room and I will snap awake. The room getts cold, and My waterbed feels like ice. The thing that really pisses me off is that I become paralized, and pinned to the bed. Then it tries to get into my head. I hear a loud buzzing sound, and everything goes fuzzy white. If I don't fight back I am afraid of what might happen. What do you think it is, and what can I do to stop it. I recently told my girlfriend about it, and she is afraid of it too. She hasn't had an experience with it yet, but I hope that she doesn't. It seems to me that everyone that has has an experience with IT has somehow in one way or the other challenged it. Either saying that they don't belive in IT, or they just start saying things like "here ghostie. where are you, you little shit head!!" I think that IT getts pissed and decides to retaliate.
Any suggestions will be appreciated, and if you have any thoughts to what IT could be, I would like to hear them.
by A thinkin2@aol.com
I am telling you this story as best I can recall. The events were very real to me then, as they are now.
When I was a young child, my god-father, who was also my grandfather passed away after a bout with cancer. I had only seen him once or twice in my life and because I was so young (under two) a vision of him would not have remained vivid in my memory. After his death, I began to notice that I was being tucked in everynight and that my back was patted just as I was drifiting off to sleep. This went on for a year or so and then suddenly stopped. When I asked my parents about it, they said they never tucked me in that way. Sure enough, it began again and my parents would come into my room to find my blankets tucked closely around me. My mother later told me that it was my grandpas' ghost...that he had done that to me as a baby when I was first born. Through the years, my family had many encounters with my grandfather's spirit and we felt safe with him there. Just as he had come though, he was gone and my mom said it was because he knew we were all well cared for. Several years later, married to a Navy man, I was home alone during a time when I was violently ill. I had high fevers and slipped in and out of consicousness one night. I had a dream in which I was walking down a country road with my grandfather. I could tell very clearly what he was wearing, the cologne he had on, and could smell his pipe. He told me that I couldn't come with him but he wanted to let me know I had very important things to do without him. When I awoke, I was in the hospital on a respirator. I had died the night before. I talked to my mom that evening and described what I had seen, what grandfather had been wearing. Little could I have known, the clothes I described were what he was buring in 25 years before with I was still a toddler.
by wd43733@navix.net
I York, Nebraska there is an old Catholic church. It's a very holy
place of worship and definately a spiritual infleunce to the town.
Unfortunately, when the sun goes down, it becomes a very sinister
place. Th evil oozes out of the walls. How do I know this? It's a
place that my friends and I would meet to pray.
Let me say first off, I've always been a skeptic. I always look for
the logical answers to the unexplained. This I can say, however, has no
true explination.
One night as we prayed in the old church, the furnace kicked on at it's
ussual time:11:30 p.m. That night it was different. As it kicked on,
my friends and I distinctly made out screams...I'd love to think it was
the pipes leaking steam or something, but it was two distinct screams.
One was of a woman the other was of a child. They grew louder as the
minutes passed. I stood up, no longer concentrating on my prayers, but
rather the feeling of dread that had disturbed such a beautiful ritual.
I looked in the balcony and say something very faint. the light from
the window cast down on all the seats except for one. In this seat was
a figure that seemed to stop the light in it's tracks around him. It
appeared to be a dark cloaked man. Very tall. It sat motionless, but I
knew it watched us and didn't care for what we were doing. My friend
Kevin continued in his prayers unswayed, but Nate and I had stopped. He
knew what I was watching, because he had seen it a few nights before. I
would find out later that several other friends had seen this spectre.
Could it have been the father of the parish? I doubt it. I think he
would have been more polite and simply asked what we were doing. What
was this thing? I wish I could say. All I know is I cannot go back to
that church to pray. Maybe the congregation knows of the evil visitor?
They're building a knew chapel this summer.
by mschmidt@wxc.com
I recently sent you the one entitled "My First Apartment." I'm happy
to see it in the list. Here are a couple other minor events. It's
strange, because I still don't know if I really believe all this
stuff, but I know what I experienced, and I have witnesses to most of
the events, so who knows? Anyway, here they are...
-----------------------------------
The Train
This is a story that my grandfather told many times. I heard it via my
mother.
He was a railroad engineer from the 1920s to the 1950s. His regular
run included a section between Sheboygan and Manitowoc, WI,; many
parts of that route had a clear view of Lake Michigan. A girl he knew
had drowned in an area that was visible and he often looked at that
spot when riding past - thinking of her fate, no doubt. One night, in
the full moon, he saw what looked like a female figure standing there
pointing in the direction he was raveling. For reasons unknown to him,
he stopped the train and got out. He walked ahead on the tracks and
found a few hundred yards from where he stopped that the rails had
come loose. If he'd kept going, he'd have wrecked the train and who
knows, possibly been killed.
-------------------------------------------
Dodsworth
After reading one of the stories, "Cat's Farewell," I remembered
another event that involved Dodsworth (see "My First Apartment.").
Anyway, he was very affectionate and a house cat all his life. He
lived for 11 1/2 years and came with me to Nashville and Memphis. In
Memphis, he became sick and finally I had to have him put down. I'd
never done that before, and after burying him in my
veterinarian/friend's yard, I went home and felt very guilty. One
evening about a week later, my wife-to-be and I were driving home and
a large tabby that looked like Dodsworth walked out in the street in
front of the car and sat down. I stopped and blew the horn, but he
just sat there. I got out and tried to shoo him away, but he wouldn't
budge. I finally picked him up to carry him into the yard of the
nearest house, and when I picked him up, he pushed his nose against
mine, just like Dodsie used to do. I can't help thinking that maybe
Dodsie was sending a message that night that everything was OK... or
maybe I just needed to see it that way.
--------------------------
A Visit From Todd
I had a good friend from my early days of grade school on. His name
was Todd. After Junior High we drifted apart a bit; not an argument,
we just grew in separate directions. Anyway, I was just starting
college when my girlfriend called me from back home and told me Todd
had been killed in a car accident. A couple years older - as a result
of his driving style - I'd told him, "You know, you're gonna die in
this car."
Anyway,about seven years later, I had a dream that took place in the
music office of the high school at which I had student taught. I was
standing in the office when he walked in. We made some small talk (I
think I mentioned that I'd thought he was dead) and I said, "I really
miss you."
He said, "I miss you, too; and this is the only way I could visit."
A few other words were spoken, he gave me a belt buckle depicting a
seal balancing a ball on its nose, and left. I haven't the slightest
idea what that meant.
The reasons I take it more seriously than just imagination are:
1. I've never had that kind of dream before or since - about anybody
else.
2. The dream took place about 7 years after his death. If it had
happened within days, I would have figured it was because I was
thinking about the event and it was on my mind, so I'd dreamed it. But
7 years later, I have to say it was pretty much out of my mind.
name withheld by request
I am a thirty four year old male living in the town of Oakville, Ontario Canada. Oakville is located in the greater Toronto area on the shores of Lake Ontario. A growing "bedroom community" of Toronto, Oakville still has the small town feel that has been associated with it since it's founding in the early 1800's. Farming, grain and a small port attracted the earliest settlers to Oakville, and it is on one of the old orchard properties that the stories I am about to relate to you have occurred.
I have been employed at a government funded, regional centre for the developmentally handicapped since 1989. During my tenure there, I have heard stories and first hand accounts of several experiences with what most say are "ghosts" or "spirits". The number of events that have occurred is incredible and were growing in such a number that they demanded further investigation. I went to the public library and learned that an orchard had been sold and the old building of the centre was erected as an orphanage in 1917. The orphanage was in operation until the late 1930's at which time it was converted to a military barracks for a mounted regiment. It was used for this purpose long past the second world war until it was shut down in 1969. In 1975 the old building was added onto and several townhouse style residences were erected to be homes for the developmentally handicapped. The structure remains in this capacity to this day (1997).
It should be noted that most of the experiences related to me were done so by people who worked at the centre and had no previous knowledge of the function of the old building, especially in it's capacity as an orphanage. I cannot swear to the validity of all the accounts that have been related to me, but I will relate the stories that peeked my interest, especially the ones that had some historical relevance.
Some of the first stories I had heard related to the time period that the building was used as an orphanage. All the stories as related to me happened between 19:00 hrs and 08:00 hrs.
Children Playing
Numerous accounts of visions of children playing by themselves have been told. The centre is staffed 24 hours a day and used to have a night supervisor until 1991. Duties of the Night Manager included security rounds of the premises. It was during one of these rounds at approx. 1:00 a.m. in the dead of winter that she and a colleague swear they observed an infant, bundled in a blanket, lying in the snow of the courtyard. They were observing her from inside, through a window of the building. They rushed down the hall to the exit doors nearest where they saw the infant. Once they arrived to where the infant had been laying, it had disappeared without any footprint or indentation being left in the snow.
There have been several accounts of a young child aprox. 8 -10 years old, bouncing a ball down the hall of the main building and then "evaporating" at the end of the hall.
Another account occurred during the Night Managers rounds in the swimming pool. Checking the doors of the pool area, the Night Manager swung a door open. In the reflection of the glass on the door, she could see a young girl sitting on the edge of the deck of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. When she turned to look at the pool, the girl had disappeared.
These and other strange occurrences (elevator going up and down by itself with the doors opening and closing) caused the manager to bring her dog with her to work. The Black Labrador would freely walk most of the rounds with it's master but would not go up an old stairwell that was situated in the old building. The dog would just stare up the stairs with his tail between his legs and whine. Consequently the Night Manager didn't either unless she was with someone.
"Harry"
The stairs mentioned above seem to be a location frequented by spirits, namely "Harry". Harry's sighting are many and diverse but would not be complete without a little history about the stairwell.
When the old building was used as a barracks, the maintenance worker (whom I will call "Harry" to protect his family ) committed suicide by hanging himself down a stairwell. There is some discrepancy as to which stairwell he used, as one was reconstructed into the elevator that exists today. The other is a fabulously ornate old stairway with brass railings. Harry was the cleaner and maintenance man of the old building. I have asked the current maintenance staff about the stairwell, each and every one of them says no one has polished the brass railings in years, yet it remains sparkling and apparently polished each and every day.
One maintenance worker swears she once saw a rag fall from the railing just as she turned the corner to go up the stairs. Harry rarely reveals himself to anyone. He plays little tricks like turning out the overhead lights consecutively as one fellow worker walked down the hall of the old building. One by one the lights would turn off, just as he passed beneath them. Upon investigation by an electrician the next day, it seems that this behaviour by the lights was "impossible" as they were all on one circuit. Toilets constantly flush, doors refuse to open then suddenly violently fly open. Doors slam, pictures fall from walls, lights turn off and on. The list goes on.
At the top of the brass stairway lies the top floor of the old building. This floor contains two sections. One is used as a spare apartment for parents who visit from far away. This apartment also used to be used for residents of the centre who were getting ready to make a step to the community. The feeling as I walk up this stairwell is very unique. There is a chill that goes down my back and almost a change in air pressure. The floor is crooked and old and there is that "old smell" one usually finds in old country homes or cottages. The other section of the top floor is another apartment that is currently vacant and the door is kept locked.
One event pertaining to this top floor occurred in 1988. A resident and staff member were in the apartment late at night. The resident was in bed, and the staff member was sitting in the small living room. The staff member heard the resident yelling from his bedroom telling someone to "get the *&*$$$% out!!!" The staff member thought he was talking to him and tried to calm him by saying "It's Ok, it's only me". Before he finished his sentence the staff member observed a blinding light dash across the room towards him forcing him to close his eyes, then he heard a very loud pronounced voice yell "Get Out!!!!" The rest of the story is vague but I think it is safe to say that he got out.
Another event happened in this same apartment when a parent was staying for the weekend, visiting her son. She had gone up to the apartment and went to bed, when the room suddenly became very cold. She made a point of this when relating the story. The room was almost at freezing temperatures. Restlessly trying to sleep she suddenly felt an ice cold hand on her face. The woman calmly as possible told Harry that she was just visiting and she would be gone at the end of the weekend. The room then returned back to it's normal temperature and she did not hear from Harry again.
Other stories have been told around the centre of blood curdling screams being heard from outside a house, only to find everything and everybody quiet and relaxed upon entering the house. A vision of a man in a soldiers uniform on a stairway in one of the townhouses found at the centre. Footsteps being heard from the second floor of houses when everyone is fast asleep. Light fixtures swinging on their own. A vision of a woman nurse walking casually around a corner then disappearing.
It is easy to discount all these happenings as active imaginations and natural phenomenon. I know, because I did myself. Although amusing and entertaining, I never considered them seriously until I had my own subtle yet very pronounced encounter.
I was working late in the main building when the manager came to me and asked me to check on the elevator. It seems to have been stuck on the basement floor of the old building. This is not a common occurrence. the elevator is a fairly new one and is constantly being upgraded. I asked her why she wouldn't go down and check it for herself. She just looked at me with a nervous smile and said. "I'm not going down there". I just laughed and played the hero. "Ok," I said " I'll go downstairs and see what the problem is.
I walked down one flight of stairs to the basement. This section of the building contains a maze of hallways leading to various maintenance rooms and an underground garage. When I opened the door from the stairway I could see that the elevator door was jammed wide open. This stuck out in my mind because all the lights were off in the basement area leaving the light from the elevator flooding into the hallway. (This, by the way, is not the usual behaviour for the elevator. The doors usually close automatically after reaching a floor.) With the elevator being so close to the stairway, I didn't bother turning on the lights, as the switch was a fair distance down the hall. I walked over and into the elevator. I pushed the button for the main floor, and without any problem the doors closed and the elevator went up to the main floor. The door opened and the manager was standing there waiting. I told her that the doors were just stuck open for some reason and she came into the elevator to do her security rounds of the basement. She was a little spooked so she asked me to do them with her. I agreed and we continued down in the elevator back to the basement floor. The doors opened and as we began to leave the elevator I stopped dead in my tracks. I wasn't sure what it was at first but something was different. Then I realized that every light in the basement had been turned on since I had gone up in the elevator. The time it took me to go up one level, wait for the manager to get in, then return to the basement couldn't have been more than 20 seconds. We did an extensive search of the basement and found no trace of anyone. All the security doors were locked and there was no way anyone could have been down there except...Harry!
I am leaving out many other accounts, there are just too many to put down here in one sitting. So far there have been no injuries or heart attacks from any of the events and I see no reason to be worried about Harry and his friends, but I do smile when I see the elevator go up and down by itself.
by Smith.Blake@emeryworld.com
My wife and I moved to Portland (Beaverton), Oregon 9 months ago. I am
interested in the subject of ghosts and the paranormal, but my wife is
very skeptical. One night my wife was awaken to see a woman standing in
our bedroom. She was heavyset and was carrying an open umbrella and
wearing a rain coat (which is appropriate since it rains here quite a
bit). My wife watched the apparition for a long time and then went back
to sleep; she must not have felt threatened. She is sure it wasn't a
dream and told me about it the next morning. I had a similar experience
later, when one night I was having a dream that my sister was walking
around the side of the bed and I reached out to grab at her. Anyway, I
woke from the dream and found my self grabbing at a shadowy object that
disappeared. I almost fell out of bed because I was reaching out so
far.
I had another interesting experience when we were living in Dayton,
Ohio.
It was 2 - 3 months before our son was born. I woke up in the middle
of the night and looked over at my wife. At first it appeared that she
was sitting up in the bed, but as I looked in more detail, she was
laying
on her back sleeping. However, there was the upper torso of a woman
on top of where the baby was located. The woman had long, light brown
hair (my wife's hair is short), fine features and was wearing a light
loose fitting shirt (robe). I looked back and forth at my sleeping wife
and this woman for a few minutes. Then, in astonishment I said
something like "What he heck ?". At that point the apparition
disappeared. The next day, I thought that maybe it was the baby's
guardian spirit or angel that I had seen.
Thanks for letting me share my (true) experiences...
by sestrada@mail.tds.net
I have 2 stories to tell. The first one is a few years back, I was home
alone and sitting in my living room. I saw a shadow and I thought It was
probably an animal, so I followed it. When I saw it go in the kitchen I
knew it couldn't have been an animal. I saw the shadow, it was like a
figure with a dark circle around it. I decided to follow it- keeping a
distance. When it went inthe kitchen I did, when I got in there it
disappeared in to the wall.
The other story is about my brother. He was sitting in his bedroom
listening to the radio, and all of a sudden there was a bright light in the
doorway. He looked up and saw the same figure that I saw. I went upstairs
and it left before I could see it. He turned white- I asked him what was
wrong and he told me what happened. I found out later on that an elderly
lady died in our house.
by MLF812@webtv.net
I work a second shift job where I don't get off work untill 12:30am.
I have an approximately 12 mile drive one way to and from work. I always
told everyone that I didn't believe in ghosts untill I would actually
see one with my own eyes. I always said that people told these "real
encounter' stories because they just wanted attention.
What I had experienced two years ago changed my entire outlook on
life.
In June of 1995, I had just got off work and got in my Mustang to
head home from a normal day of work. It was approximately 12:50am. I
live out of town and travel mainly backroads to my home. At this hour I
really don't pass much traffic coming home.
I was driving along normally listening to the radio when for no
particular reason I happened to glance in the rear view mirror. What I
saw was my Uncle John sitting in the back seat staring right into my
eyes through the mirror. It scared me to see anyone sitting in my car
because I knew that no one else should be there. I stared at him for a
couple seconds in the mirror before almost losing control of my vehicle.
He didn't move or say anyhing. He just sat there. I looked in the mirror
again and he was still sitting back there. I glanced ahead and locked up
the brakes, pulled the emergency brake and jumped out of my car. Leaving
the door hang open, the dome light was on and I could see that now no
one was in the back. I was almost ready to go bezerk. I then realized
that I had stopped my vehicle half on, and half off the road. I was also
in a abandoned area surrounded by woods on either side of the road with
no houses for a few hundred yards in any direction. After taking a quick
look at the interior of my car, I jumped back in and drove home as fast
as I could without even glancing at my mirror.
Now my Uncle John only lived about 10 miles from me and I seen him
all the time. We hung out together and got along really good. I couldn't
understand what was going on. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I
must have imagined it although I had never experienced my brain making
odd illusions before my eyes. Now not to brag, but I consider myself to
be pretty inteligent. I lied awake in bed for hours before I finally
fell asleep that night. I planned to tell no one what had happened.
I was awakened the next morning by the telephone. It was my mother
informing me that my Uncle John had died last night around 7:30pm in a
motorcycle accident. She told me that he was riding his bike, took a
corner too fast, and lost control of his bike. He was ejected from it
and hit a telephone pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
So this means that I saw him sitting in the back seat of my car
over 5 hours after he died. I can still remember it like yesterday. I
saw him just as plain as looking at another human being in broad
daylight. I never told this story to anyone untill right now. I didn't
attend his funeral but I have visited his grave several times. To this
day I have never had another single encounter of any kind.
by joxxer@swbell.net
My family has some land in Texas near the little town of Normangee
(pop. 638). My grandfather was born there, and he and I would often go
up there and spend a night or two. There were many good times had there&emdash;
I learned to shoot a few guns, went hunting, and had several cookouts. I
had heard a few ghost stories concerning the house where we stayed in,
and I must admit they scared the tar out of me. However, the only
paranormal activity I ever witnessed ended up just being my over-active
imagination. Until one day...
Years and years ago, my mother, grandfather, and I went up to
Normangee to spend the night. We had enjoyed this lovely day&emdash; my
grandfather had told my mother and I about the old days when he was a
boy. Eventually we were all too exhausted to go on. It must have been
around ten or eleven when we went to bed, and that is when this strange
occurence occured.
The lights were off, and it was pitch black inside and out; I
couldn't see my hand right in front of my face. Over the years I had
developed a method of going to sleep in the house&emdash; I would lay down in
one position and not move until I went to sleep. The pure darkness had
always motivated my imagination to bring forth my fears, and I had
somewhere along the line decided that pretending to be asleep was better
than letting a ghost know that I was awake. I was in a room which
connects to the kitchen in the south wall, the living room in the north
wall, and to a spooky, scary room in the east wall. As far back as I can
remember, I had regarded the room to the east of mine as the most
terrifying room. Even during daylight hours, it held some eerie quality
that I could not attempt to explain. My bed was right up against the
east wall (this is not where I would have chosen for the bed to be, but
there was no where else for it to go), which was shared by the
frightening room. This odd room is connected in its north end to another
bedroom where my mother was sleeping (although she was not yet asleep).
My grandfather was staying in the living room, which is north of the
room I was in and west of my mother's room. Anyway, this is what
happened: I heard a knock of a heavy human hand on the wall I was lying
next to. It came from the other side (of the wall [and probably Space
and Time, too]). The hand knocked three times, cutting the silence like
it was made of jello. I was rather petrified, staying much more still
than before and trying hard to disapear. I imediately ruled out the idea
of it being anything other than a ghost because: 1. No one was in the
room; and 2. It was the sound of a human hand, not a rat or other
creature inside the wall. It was the exact same sound as if you took
your own hand and hit it against the table. It is hard to duplicate such
a sound. Also, I didn't here any additional sounds like a mouse running
through the wall or such whatnot. It came all of a sudden, and, after
knocking, made no noise.
The next morning, my mother confirmed hearing the same thing. She
said it freaked her out as well, and she was as sure as hell-fire that
it was a ghost. My grandfather, on the other hand, said it was the old
mouse that lived in the wall. I disagree.
by tenpenny@library.vanderbilt.edu
I have never been one to seek out the spirt world, but have always
remained somewhat open to it's existence. These two stories involve
encounters of sorts with a dear human relative and a beloved
family pet. My grandmother's sister, Ruth, was always a favorite of
the family. She was full of life and had a wonderful sense of
humor. Even late in her life, when she was quite ill, she would make
jokes about being sick and even about dying! I always loved to
visit Aunt Ruth and even when she lived in other states, we
corresponded, shared photographs, etc. She had lived in the area
when I was a child, and there are many photographs of her holding
me as a baby. My aunt died in 1984, after a long illness.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the funeral and did not go to
the cemetery for several years afterwards. Approximately five years
after her death, my parents and I went to visit her grave. They had
attended the funeral, but their memory had dimmed as to the exact
location of the grave. All of us searched for the grave for quite
awhile, but were unable to locate it. Finally, my parents said they
didn't think they would be able to locate the grave. It was getting
late and they thought we should go and try again some other time.
I was standing in another section of the cemetery when they said
this, and I felt a great sense of sadness and not being able to visit
my aunt's grave. In my mind I said "Aunt Ruth, where are you?"
As soon as I said it, my eyes spotted a distant marker. Never
taking my eyes off it, I walked in that direction and found it was
indeed my aunt's grave!
Another incident involving my aunt, occurred much more recently.
I framed an old picture of my Grandmother, Aunt Ruth and I that
had been taken when I was about four-years-old. I am standing
in front of them, petting a dog. Aunt Ruth has her hand resting
on my shoulder. I had looked at this picture for decades, so it
was a very familiar photograph. I placed the framed picture in
a bookcase, just to the right of where I often sit while watching
T.V., reading, etc. While sitting there one winter evening, I kept
smelling cigarette smoke. At first I thought my roommate must
be smoking a cigarette on the porch, but I found him watching T.V.
in the living room. He said he hadn't been smoking at all. I went
back to the den, and again smelled the smoke. I checked the garage,
and even went outside to see if a neighbor might be smoking on their
deck. There wasn't anyone outside and no smell of smoke; only in
the den, and near where I was sitting. I went back to tell my
roommate what I had found, and he said "maybe Aunt Ruth has
come for a visit!" I laughed and told him about the picture, which
he didn't know had been added to the bookcase. He asked me
if she was smoking a cigarette in the picture? I said she
wasn't, nor was she holding one as I had seen that picture many
times and would know. This had gotten my curiosity so high, I had
to go check the photograph again. When I held the photo under
a lamp and looked very carefully, there indeed was a cigarette in
Aunt Ruth's fingers! It almost looked as if she were trying to hide
it while having the picture made, but it was in her hand that was
resting on my shoulder!
The final story involves our little Fox Terrier, Bobby. We got him
in 1976 and he lived until 1990. I lived with my parent's and Bobby
until 1983, when I moved into my own apartment. Bobby had a cute
habit of coming to the bathroom door when you were in there and
had not completly shut the door. You would hear him bump the
door with his nose and then you would see him peek in to see just
who was there! Once he was satisfied as to who was there, he would
back up and go on. If you had locked the door, you would still here
him bumping it as he tried to look in. Bobby slept in the little
utility area, just outside that bathroom. He also died there, with
my father holding him in his arms as he passed away. Later on that
year, I was visiting my parents. I was standing at the bathroom
sink shaving, when I heard what sounded just like the bumping noise
that Bobby used to make when he was checking on the occupants of
the bathroom. Feeling I must just be sensing a pleasant memory from
the past, I looked down and clearly saw his face through the
partially open door. He again was a young dog, like he was in the
late seventies when I lived there. Startled, I looked back to the mirror.
When I turned to look again, he was gone. I think maybe he was glad
to see me back there again and wanted to say a final goodbye.
by ptp@primenet.com
My grandmother died in her home at age 78. Up until a few days before
: her death, she had been in fine health for a woman her age. Then she
: started complaining of stomach pain, what she called "a burning feeling".
: She had visited a doctor, who gave her something for her stomach and had
: scheduled a follow-up visit for the following Monday morning. (Her visit
: was on a Friday.)
: When Monday morning came around, as she got dressed to go to the
: doctor, she suddenly announced, "I'm having trouble breathing." My
: grandfather called 911, but before the ambulance got there she laid back
: on the bed, waving her hand slowly at my grandfather (as if to wave
: 'goodbye'), and went limp.
: The ambulance arrived moments later, but it was too late. She died of
: heart failure.
: Months later, she came to me in a dream. I dreamed I was laying in bed,
: when suddenly, in a cork-screw like clockwise motion, my grandmother
: came down head first from the ceiling. Only the top half of her body had
: come through, but because of the disproportional way dreams are sometimes,
: as she looked down at me her nose was mere inches from mine. She wore a
: blue flower-print house dress, one I hadn't seen in years but immediately
: recognized as one she had favored for many years when I was a child. She
: was aglow with an inner light. She softly said, "Remember that I love you,
: and that everything is going to work out." And with that, she spun counter
: clockwise back up into the ceiling.
: I awoke and thought to myself, "Whoa".
: A few weeks after that, I was settling down for a night at my
: grandfather's house. Yes, the same house my grandmother had died in.
: Staying in the guest room, the night began to drag on as I had trouble
: falling asleep. As minutes stretched into hours I listened to the radio.
: After awhile, the radio clicked off (it was on a timer). Soon the quiet
: night sounds were all one could hear. I began to relax.
: Then, I heard my grandfather (whose bedroom was directly across the
: hall, to my left) get out of bed and shuffle off into the bathroom. (It is
: attached to his master bedroom.)
: At that moment, something both wonderous and scary happened. Looking at
: the wall directly in front of me, as my head was slightly elevated by two
: pillows under it, I saw my grandma walk into the room. She came through
: the wall and the bookshelves mounted on the wall, and continued to the
: left side of the bed - the bed I was laying in! Again, she was aglow from
: within, although now I could see the room directly behind her by looking
: through her. She wore the same blue flower-print dress as in the dream.
: Standing next to the bed, she looked down at me and smiled. At the same
: time, she laid her hands on mine (mine being folded across my chest at the
: time). Then she bent over and kissed me on the cheek. No, it didn't feel
: it but as she started downward I saw her lips pucker (in a pecking kiss
: way) and by looking down I could see the blurry glow stop just at my
: cheek. Then, she stood back up and smiled again.
: At that moment, I heard the toilet flush in my grandfather's bathroom.
: Evidently, he had finished his business. And the weird thing is, my
: grandma heard it too. As the toilet started to flush, she turned and
: looked directly into my grandfather's bedroom. She then looked back at
: me, turned back towards the wall she had entered from and walked
: away. As I again heard the shuffle of my grandfather's feet from across
: the hall, my ghostly grandma continued on her way and disappeared back
: through the wall whence she came.
: I snapped out of bed, flung the lights on, and spent much of those
: early morning hours telling my grandfather what I saw and just wondering.
: Like I said before, it was both wonderous and a little spooky. My
: grandfather, at one point, commented, "She never visits me."
: But it doesn't end there. A few days later, grandma came to me in a
: dream again. I dreamt I was laying in the guest room bed at my
: grandfather's house. I dreamt I looked over into his bedroom and saw his
: lights were on. He was laying on the right side of his bed, asleep.
: Sitting next to him, on the left side of the bed and fully awake, was my
: grandma. "Oh no," I thought to my dreamself, "not again." I looked down
: for a second, then looked across the hallway again. Now my grandfather was
: asleep on the left side of his bed and, you guessed it, my grandma was
: sitting on the right side still looking at me.
: "Come here, Peter." she said.
: "Maybe you should come here," I replied.
: "Now, now... You're not afraid of your ole Grandma, are you?"
: With that, she floated towards me. I noticed the end of the dress ended
: in a bit of blue mist, there were no legs per se. Not like in the real
: visit days earlier, where she looked complete (though a bit transluscent).
: Stopping at the doorway of the guest bedroom, she said, "I want you to
: tell your grandpa something for me. I want you to tell him I visit him all
: the time, he just doesn't remember it like you do."
: With that I awoke.
: When I told my grandfather the next day, he got misty eyed.
: Then, he smiled.