My Dog's Experience

By: aeris7g@hotmail.com

This is my second time trying to send this. The first time, my computer

crashed all of the sudden...hmmm...anyway moving on...

Hello, my name is Diane, I'm 16 years old and I will like to tell you about

what happened today. It wasn't more than an hour ago that I brought my dog,

Ginger in from a walk and down to the basement cause we have an air

conditioner down there and that she could cool off. I turned on the a/c,

waited untill she settled on the floor, turned off the lights and went

upstairs to the kitchen. (there's stairs leading from the kitchen to the

basement). No sooner had I finished walking up the stairs, that I heard a

loud crash and Ginger ran up the stairs and hid her head under the kicthen

table. At first I shrugged it off, thinking she had bumped into something

and it fell on her. I called my dog to come with me down to the basement to

put whatever fell at a higher level, but she would only come to the top of

the stairs and look down at me. So, I went down to investigate. Imagine my

surprise when nothing was out of the ordinary. Nothing on the ground knocked

over. nothing missing. nothing. so I'm like "ok...this is weird." but I

continued to call Ginger down to the basement, but she wouldn't budge from

the top of the steps. So, I turned the a/c off and went upstairs to the

kitchen, Ginger following close behind. No one else was home except my

grandmother who was on the porch the whole time. I have no idea what could

have scared my dog like that. She is an overweight dog and only runs if she

has too. If anyone has any ideas, don't hesitate to email me! Thanx for

listening.

"The Vase"

By: topeagle9@hotmail.com

True story, as I remember it, anyway. A long time ago, when I was just a

child, I really can't remember how old I was at the time, maybe 4. Anyway,

my family and I used to live in this old house in New York. It was a

two-story house, the biggest one on the street it was located on, I remember

that well. This house, I always felt strange when I opened the door and

stepped inside. Some of the dark hallways I moved very quickly through, as I

felt as if someone was always following me. I took the stairs with amazing

speed, and would never go downstairs unless the lights were on, or I was

already down there. Anyway, this one incedent scarred me for life, I can

still remember it clearly. I was downstairs with my father, and he was about

to go upstairs, I wanted a drink of water, he wanted a beer. The kitchen was

upstairs, so that's where we headed. On the second floor of the building, I

was fixing a drink of water, when I noticed a glass vase on the cupboard

area. Of course, I was not surprised to see this, as my mother would buy

vases on occasion, but never find the right flowers to fill them. Anyway,

this vase began to rattle just a little bit. I thought it was a bit unusual

at the time, but I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, so I turned

away and started to walk out of the kitchen, when I heard the vase move a

bit. I turned around again , and this time I was kind of creeped out. When I

turned, the vase was so still, it was scary. Like the eerie peace before the

tornado. I was about to turn and head downstairs again, but felt obligated

to look at it, almost like I could not turn away. The vase was so very

still. Then it happened - BANG! The vase just exploded! That's the best I

can describe it! It blew up from the inside, very creepy. a couple years

later, we moved out of the house and I've never been back since, ever.

Cowering K-9

By: ralphwil@eclipse.net

I had a experience while in the US Army, now some 20 years ago, that

always puzzles me. I was stationed at an Army depot in the South Western

part of what was then West Germany, was a Military Police K-9 Dog

Handler and my duty was basically to work during the hours of darkness

and patrol the woodlands. My dog was attack trained and used airborne

scent to scout and detect people and animals. The area I patrolled was

also a wildlife refuge. As to the experience, I was on patrol walking my

dog when out of the blue my dog laid down and started to whimper and

whine and started to crawl backwards, still in the laid down position. I

myself hit the dirt, listened and looked around in the blackness of

night. I neither heard a sound nor saw any movement. I guess that this

activity continued for at least 3 to 4 minutes, then my dog stood up and

just continued being himself. I spent 26 months at this depot with that

dog and It never happened again. I have scouted Deer, Wild Boar , Fox,

Rabbits, Hedgehogs, Weasels and People with this dog, Knew his alerts

for all, so I feel strongly that what scared him was not natural. I did

not feel any presence at that time. I called my Sgt. and reported a

Alert and the squad thoroughly searched the area with no further alerts.

I have since then read in a novel (about ghosts stories) Of a solider in

WW2 that had the same experience. I was told that the area (as most of

Europe) was dotted with many battlefield's, In fact there were Huge

concrete Pill Box's that were destroyed throughout my patrol area.

Anyway, my friends and wife listened to my story and I think they don't

really believe it.

Just thought you might shed some light on this experience that puzzles

me to this day. Thank you for your time.

Ralph

Ghost in our House

By: MARNIE0223@aol.com

I have several stories to share with you, we have a ghost in our house, but I

think this ghost is here to protect us. We've had people in our home, if our

ghost doesn't like them, pictures will fly off the wall and things will

disappear that belong to these people.

I was telling my husband about our ghost, he just smiled and said "honey we

don't have a ghost in our house." The front door (which was standing wide

open) slowly swung shut, and we could hear the latch click. His computer

chair was facing the computer, turned completely around, until it was facing

the computer again. He stared at the computer chair for a minute, then said

"well then again maybe we do."

More recently, our daughter just got married, and I was wishing that she had

a sixpense to carry in her shoe, I realize that sixpenses are very expensive,

and I said out loud that I wished she had a special coin to carry in her

shoe. A penny fell hit me on the top of the head and fell on the floor. I

was sewing her wedding purse, and my hand were full of material needle and

thread. I was nowhere near where a penny could have fallen from a piece of

furniture. My daughter wore the penny in her shoe.

Thanks for your time.

Cheap Rent

By: busby.d@worldnet.att.net

I will try and make what is a long story, short. But events like this must

be lived to really understood and even then...understanding is not really

the correct phrase because there is never real understanding, just

exceptance.

I was 19 and my new wife was 17, we were struggling financially to put it

mildly(this was in 1975). We heard of a house for rent for $35. a month on

a gravel road not too far from the small town in Arkansas were we were from.

It was a wreck, old , unpainted, falling down, but at that price what the

heck. We were young and to be honest 'partiers' as long as we had a place to

'crash' and have our friends over, well it would do.

The first we heard of the place being 'haunted' was when an old man came

around selling wood (we had a wood stove). He told us not to buy much as no

one ever stayed long as 'people say the place is haunted and I know for fact

a murder happened here years ago'. Perhaps that set us up to start

'manufacturing' a ghost as some would say; but to tell the truth, we never

gave it a thought. Every night was a party, most of our friends still lived

at home and so our place became the 'hang out'. But slowly things got

strange. It really started when I started talking about taking a job in

Texas and our moving. It was as if 'something'didn't want us to leave(this

was something we surmised later upon reflection) as if the life we had

brought into the place was somehow 'welcome'. Anyway to strive for brevity;

there was a room that we never used, it was always 'cold' and 'eerie'. Some

of this is going to sound 'textbook' ghost story here, but these are the

events. This was a very small shack of a house and we needed the room, but

you just couldn't be in there long(this wasn't just us everyone said the same

thing). We went to Texas to interview for the job; upon our return we found a

strange site ...eveything from the refrigeraror was in the center of the

kitchen floor in a mound, things were missing from around the house(we

actually found the missing items in impossible places at later times), and

the really strange thing was that all the doors and windows were still

locked. My Grandmother had been 'keeping an eye on things and had called us

in Texas to tell us that from looking in the window it looked as if we has

been broken into, but she could not get in to see because somehow they must

have locked up when they left ?

This was the beginning of it actually, the place began to be 'unliveable'

no noises, feelings of not being alone, depression,feeling of suicide,...and

finally the event that caused us to move out immediately. My wife had tried

to stay there alone on the night before this event as I was away,but she

could not, we had gone to bed but had left the stereo on in an adjoining

room, the stereo was a straight shoot from our bed...nothing except a

doorway without a door between us and it. My wife got up and went to switch

it off, as she was returning(in clear sight of me in the bed), she screamed

and dived into the bed. "Someones in the house" was her words I grabbed the

pistol and went looking. Of course...nothing. But from her shoulder to her

buttocks was four scratch marks 'like a hand had raked down her back'. We

moved out the next day...we just knew not to be there another night.

The place is still there, we go there from time to time. But it is in such a

shape that no one now lives there. We have heard that others have had

expierences in that old place, but this I can say, in all seriousness, those

events so long ago forever shaped the way we 'see' things. And we are always

ready to give these type of stories an 'open minded response'. Because we

lived it.

My Haunting

By: khuskey@email.msn.com

I am very happy to see that hauntings didn't only happen to us. My family

and I lived in Old Towne Alexandria for over twelve years. If anyone is

familiar with Virginia, Old Towne is one of the most haunted places in the

metropolitan area. We lived in subsidized housing for eight years in this

small city and here is where the haunting began. My mother was eight months

pregnant with my brother, Kevin, when we moved in. So happy to have a home

of our own, we cleaned and settled in in no time. The FIRST night we were

there, I remember lying in bed with my mother and hearing a very hard

knocking at our door. We were new in the area and had no idea who it could

possibly be. We looked out the window and saw nothing or no one. This is

were it all began. After the knocking on the door, I was freaked, so it a

little hard for me to go to sleep. When I finally went to sleep, I was

woken up by scratching on the walls. Not like mice, but like human hands

purposely scratching. As soon as I realized where the noise was coming from

the bed began to shake as thought there was an earthquake. Although I did

not get up or even say a word to my mother we were both aware of what was

happening. To make a twelve year story short, we were constantly bothered

by these ghosts. There was constant movement in the house. Knocks on the

front door, boxes falling off shelves for no reason that could be seen. I

fell victim to a "flying" box right on my nose. A swollen bruised nose was

a result. My brother was attacked just as much as every other person in the

house. One morning my mother had left my brother sleeping while she went to

fill the car with gas. My brother woke up to a woman's screaming as though

being stabbed to death. He got up and ran to a neighbor's house. These are

small things compared to what many of our other family members and even

family friends have witnessed. The bottom line is, these ghosts were in

absolute control of the house and in a way, in control of us. We were

scared out of our minds for months at a time. It was the worst experience I

have ever been through. I'd rather get my wisdom teeth pulled than spend

the night in that house ever again. Luckily, we moved out and haven't had a

problem since. Weird thing is, the people who live in that same house had

informed us that crazy things are happening to them too. We researched the

area, and there was a railway that ran directly in front of our house, and

on the other side of the tracks was a graveyard for poor people. There are

rumors that when the land was purchased by the company building the

townhouses, not all of the bodies were exhumed. To make matters worse, a

lady with five children lived in the exact same house fifteen years before

we did, and she died. This woman did not want to die and leave her children

to the government to split them up. So, she therefore died without wanting

to. Other people in the same row of houses have complained about ghosts,

noises, voices, waking up to screams, etc.. I am now such a believer that I

guess you can say I am almost obsessed. My father jokes about it, saying

that the only reason I chose to go to the college I did was to get the scoop

on the old civil war hospital which is now a residence hall. Yes, I seem to

be attracted to old historical places, which happen to be haunted. I often

return to Old Towne to visit the shops and every now and then I walk (run)

by the house that for so long tortured me and my family.

The Trestles

By: schickfu@hotmail.com

I am now 20, and the house I grew up in is only about 100 feet from the city

line of Mexico, Missouri, so my road turns to gravel there. Down this

gravel road are a set of trestles that support train tracks. It is rumored

that the KKK used to hang it's victims there, and other people had told me

stories of strange things that happened there. I was never afraid of it

though, until this incident when I was in high school. My best friend and I

used to get free food from a fast food place where our friend worked and sit

on top of the trestles and eat it. On one such night we were eating and

joking when we heard a disturbance in the gravel road below that sounded

much like footsteps. This didn't really scare me, though, because there

were woods to either side of the road and it could be a deer or some other

animal. We could tell the sounds were directly under us, under the

trestles, so we kept eating and joking. Then later, the noises were still

there and my friend and I stopped talking. We looked at each other for a

while because we could tell the footsteps had moved out in front of us, but

we saw nothing. It was a full moon and whatever was making the noise would

have been at least decent sized but we saw nothing. The first thing that

frightened us was when we both made the observation that the footsteps

sounded like they were obviously bipedal, or on two feet. The next thing

that scared us was, though we saw nothing, the sound of the footsteps was

moving towards our car. This truly freaked us out, but we didn't know what

to do. Every time we threw a rock at the noise it would stop for a second,

then start back up. By now it sounded as if it was just circling our car.

We sat scared as hell for about five minutes before we decided to make a mad

dash for the car and leave. Now, every time I go out there or even look

down my road, I get the worst chills and I beg whoever is driving to leave.

This is definitely a site for phenomenon, for many people I know have their

stories about that place, and mine is the least scary of them. I just have

the misfortune of living right next to it. I will try to get my friends to

tell their stories, also.

A Hug From My Mom

By: KMD6@aol.com

I have always been a believer in life after death and the realism of ghosts.

I've heard hundreds of stories and experiences as well. And now I can tell

my own experience to others. When I was a freshman in high school, my mom had

a massive heart attack and died in her sleep. It was all so sudden. No one

knew that she had any health problems. Heart problems had run in the family

though since they had taken the lives of her mother as well as one of her

brothers. Well she died suddenly on April 25, 1995 in the early morning

hours. I was a wreck. I had lost not only my mother but also my best friend.

I used to confide in her and tell her everything and now she was gone. When

she died, I helped take over the "motherly duties" around the house since my

aunts labled me as being the most responsible even though I was the second

oldest. It was tough for me. I was busy balancing my honor roll status in

school, my soccer teams and taking care of everyone. Well it was mid-summer

and my older sister was giving me a hard time about everything giving me the

"your not my mother so I don't have to listen to you, etc..." I was really

starting to feel depressed and overwhelmed about having to go from 14 years

old to 40 in a matter of minutes. My teenage years were taken away from me

and I didn't think it was fair. I went to bed on a hot summer night (89 +

humidity). My bedroom is not air conditioned and it was like a sauna in

there. I was crying for some reason for something that my sister had done to

me. Then I rolled over on my stomach which I never do when I am in bed.

Suddenly there was this really ice cold feeling that came over me. It felt as

though someone was holding me tightly in a huge "hug." I was so scared. I

tried to move but I was paralyzed in fight. Then I could see that there was

some sort of light coming from behind me. I tried to turn around but I still

couldn't move. This went on for a few minutes. Even after everything became

normal again, I still couldn't turn around because I was so frightened. I

later started to think about what had happened and I realized it was my mom.

She always provided me with hugs when I needed them the most and I think that

she felt that I needed one then. It's been 4 years and I haven't see anything

since then but now I know that she is still there for me when I need her.

My Protector Ghost

By: jeni_67@hotmail.com

I've known that I had a ghost since age 5. He would do little things that

never really hurt me, like pull at my pigtails and tickle me. These things

used to scare me, and I told my parents about it, but they wrote it off as

childish imagination. It stopped after I told them. The first time he really

kept me from getting hurt was at the park. I was about 7 at the time. I was

at the swings with my brother, and we were racing to see who could go the

highest. Of course he was winning, being 3 years older than me. He decided

that he had had enough and jumped of of the swing, landing without problems.

I tried to jump, but I couldn't take my hands off of the chains, nor could I

move my butt in the seat. The whole time this happened, it felt as if

someone was holding me there. When the swing got close enough to the ground

as to where I could jump without getting hurt, the feeling went away and I

jumped out. I ran straight to my mom and refused to go near those particular

swings again. He was also a comfort during my parent's divorce. I was 9, and

I would cry at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. One night it felt

as if someone where sitting on the bed with me, and when I looked, I saw a

boy. The image wasn't very clear, and all I really remember was that he told

me not to worry, things would get better and I would be fine, and he wiped

the tears off of my face. I asked him what his name was, but he just smiled

and told me to go to sleep. The he was gone. I felt him there every night

that I got upset after that, but I never saw him again until a few months

ago. I was home by myself at the time, and I was in my room with my CD

player up quite loud. I felt a presence in the room, and when I looked up, I

saw my ghost. He told me to get up and go to my friend Kirsty's house, who

live down the street from me. I ignored him for a while, but he didn't go

away. I asked him what his name was and his age, but he said that he

wouldn't tell me unless I went to her house. After considering it, I called

her and asked if I could come over. She said yes, and he said that his name

was Casey, and he was 15. Then he told me to get out and go down there

before he scared me. I didn't believe him, so I sat on my bed, being

stubborn. He shrugged and vanished. About 3 minutes later, I felt icy

fingers on the back of my neck. I turned around, but didn't see anything. I

wrinkled my nose up and thought that he wasn't scary at all. After a few

more minutes of me sitting on the bed, he reappeared and picked me up. He

wouldn't let go of me, even though I wouldn't stop wiggling. He just said

that if I wouldn't leave he would take me there his self. He did exactly

what he said. He dropped me off on her front porch, rang the bell, and

disappeared. She answered the door and drug me inside, then proceeded to

slam the door shut and lock it. I asked her what her problem was, and she

thought I was nuts because I hadn't heard that a serial killer was in our

town. About 15 minutes later the cops showed up across the street at my

house, and out they came with the serial killer. Apparently a neighbor had

heard something from our house, and upon investigation found that our

backdoor had been kicked open. I still feel Casey around, but I haven't seen

him since he put me on my friend's porch that night. I don't know yet, but I

am sure that sometime soon I will find out who he is. This may seem to

extreme for some to believe, but I know what happened, and no type of

explanation will ever make me think that any of this is untrue.

Creaky floor

By: wthompson9107@home.com

I am right now 14 and this experience happened at my old home in

Bloomington, IL. It was the weekend so I decided to stay up late. When I

went to sleep it was about 12:00. I was trying to sleep when I heard what

sounded like footsteps in my room. At first I thought it was just the house

creaking like everynight but this time it went on longer. I was very very

scared. Then the scariest part happened, I started to viberate. I mean

viberate really fast. It may be because I was scared but that has never

happend to me before. I have no idea how long I was this way but then I

felt very very calm. Like I was being protected. In the moring my mom said

see heard something walking around in my room at 4:00 A.M. She thought it

was me, but I was asleep already.

Murph says "BYE"

By: cherdallascowboy@hotmail.com

I love these reportings. I am sure there is some other realm we go to

because of my experiences. I have never had any with relatives but these

involve a very good friend of mine-Murph. Murph(you guessed it) was full

blooded Irish, loved Notre Dame, St. Pats Day and was the first to run in

work and tell me about this new band called Guns N Roses. I had to go listen

to their new song and I was an instant fan. These facts all go together like

this...

We were the same age, worked in the same place doing the same thing(editing

movies) and went out(as friends) and got along great. Co-workers even asked

why we did not date and we just said it would ruin our friendship. When I

look back I don't know why we didn't go out. I think we had a even more

special relationship by what happened.

Murph had been sick as a kid and had surgeries. Well unknown to anyone he

had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion in the late 70's. He died in

the late 80's and was buried on St. Pats day in his Notre Dame boxers. He

was in the hospital and we knew it was coming fast. Everytime I went to see

him he was asleep, so I never talked with him.

I was staying at a friend of mines house the night he died. I was sleeping

in the bed and loud music woke me up and made me bolt out of bed. I was

"dreaming" that Murph was running towards me and he had a white limo telling

me to get in. When I opened the door it turned into a hearse and he was in a

casket. But the music was blaring as I woke up. I thought what idiot is here

playing the stereo loud! It was a song by Guns N Roses(our band) called

November Rain. It was so loud I made it all the way downstairs and into the

family room and the stereo was not on!! Then the music quit. I felt very

sad, very quickly--I knew Murph had just died. Then I smiled and said Thanks

for talking to me now. I felt very comforted by the visit. That morning I

found out he did die at around when the music came on. 1 year later this

happened.

This is honest to God true!! I left work and it was St Pats day, so I was

looking all over for a green carnation to take to the graveside. I could not

find one in the whole town. They were all sold out. I bought a rose and gave

it to Murph and asked him to not be so mad that I brought him a rose instead

of a carnation. The next morning My 2 kids and I went out to the garage to

go to work and my daughter sat down and then asked me why I had this in the

car. I looked over and it was a green carnation!! The truth. It makes me cry

to write about it. He always had to get the last word in!! Thanx for

listening.

Cats Ears

By: sherrinunn@yahoo.com

I have written to you previously about odd things my

husband and I had experienced in our last home. Now I

have an interesting occurence in our new home to share

with you. We've lived here for about two months now

and until last week, nothing out of the ordinary had

occurred. One night after I had put my daughter to

bed, I was lying on the couch watching TV. I was

lying on my stomach facing so that I was able to see

through our kitchen and down the hallway (we live in a

mobile home. As I was watching Tv when I noticed two

black pointy ears coming towards the couch fairly

quickly. Naturally, I assumed it was my cat. I

figured he was going to jump up onto the arm of the

couch. The ears came towards me, and I saw two paws

reach for the arm and felt the impact on the couch.

When I sat up to see why he wasn't jumping onto the

couch, he wasn't there. There are still some unpacked

boxes sitting by that end of the couch so I thought he

might have slipped between them and went behind the

couch. I got up and looked behind the couch and all

around and didn't see him. I started calling him and

TWO GENERATIONS, TWO STORIES, ONE HOUSE

By: moleron@sssnet.com

MY GRANDPARENTS BOUGHT THE HOUSE MY MOTHER LIVED IN THE

MAJORITY OF HER LIFE WHEN SHE WAS IN THE FIRST GRADE. THE HOUSE ITSELF

WASN'T ALWAYS A HOUSE.  IT ONCE SERVED AS A GRANGE OR TOWN HALL AND LATER

BECAME THE SHOP OF A BLACKSMITH. SOMEWHERE, MY MOTHER HAS A PHOTO OF THE

HOUSE TAKEN BACK IN THE EARLY 1900'S. STRANGELY, IT IS EASILY

RECOGNIZABLE.THE HOUSE IS A VERY SIMPLE DESIGN: IT IS A BASIC RECTANGULAR

SHAPED BUILDING WITH AN UNUSUALLY LARGE LIVING ROOM (BECAUSE OF ITS ORIGIN) WITH

ONE SMALL ROOM AND A SMALL BATHROOM ON THE FIRST FLOOR THAT WAS ADDED ON WHEN

THE BLACKSMITH OPENED HIS SHOP. THE KITCHEN WAS ADDED LATER WHEN THE FIRST

HOME OWNERS BOUGHT THE SHOP GIVING THE HOUSE A SORT OF 'L' SHAPE TO IT. A

BACK PORCH RUNS THE LENGTH OF THE HOUSE LEADING TO THE KITCHEN. AN

UPSTAIRS WAS ALSO ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE, GIVING THE HOUSE AN EXTRA

THREE BEDROOMS.WHEN MY MOTHER WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD (ABOUT THE SECOND

GRADE) HER GRANDMOTHER LIVED WITH THEM, AS SHE HAD DEVELOPED ALZHEIMER'S AND WAS

IN NEED OF EXTENDED CARE. THE UPSTAIRS BEDROOM DIRECTLY OFF THE STAIRS

BELONGED TO HER GRANDMOTHER, WHILE MOTHER HAD THE SECOND ROOM AND MY UNCLE TOOK

THE ROOM AT THE END OF THE HALL. MY GRAND PARENTS HAD TO REMOVE GREAT

GRANNY'S DOOR BECAUSE SHE HAD A HABIT OF LOCKING HERSELF IN WITHOUT BEING ABLE

TO GET OUT. MY MOTHER AND HER GRANDMOTHER WERE EXTREMELY CLOSE.

MOTHER HAD A PARTICULARLY FAVORITE HAT THAT GREAT GRANNY ONLY LET HER PLAY WITH

ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS BECAUSE IT WAS HER "TO-DO" HAT.

WHEN GREAT GRANNY DIED, MY GRANDPARENTS CHOSE NOT TO TELL MY

MOTHER AND UNCLE RIGHT AWAY. THEY FELT THAT THEY WERE TOO YOUNG TO

UNDERSTAND. ONE EVENING, WHILE MY MOTHER WAS ASLEEP, SHE HEARD HER

GRANDMOTHER WHISPERING TO HER. MOTHER AWOKE TO SEE HER GRANDMOTHER SITTING

NEXT TO HER ON THE BED. GREAT GRANNY ASKED MOTHER TO COME INTO HER ROOM

BECAUSE SHE HAD SOMETHING FOR HER. MOTHER FOLLOWED HER INTO THE ROOM AT

THE TOP OF THE STAIRS. GREAT GRANNY WENT TO THE CLOSET, GOT OUT MOTHER'S

FAVORITE HATBOX AND SET IT ON THE BED BETWEEN THEM. SHE LET MOTHER OPEN

THE BOX AND PUT THE HAT ON. GREAT GRANNY STARTED TO TELL MOTHER THAT SHE

WAS GOING AWAY AND THAT SHE WOULD MISS MOTHER MOST OF ALL. NOT TO WORRY,

SHE TOLD MY MOTHER, THEY WOULD SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN.SHE WANTED

MOTHER TO HAVE THE HATBECAUSE SHE LOVED IT SO MUCH. THEN SHE HURRIED

MOTHER BACK TO BED BECAUSE IT WAS LATE AND THERE WAS SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY.

IN THE MORNING WHEN MOTHER PASSED GREAT GRANNY'S ROOM, THE HAT

BOX SAT OPENED ON THE BED AS IT HAD BEEN THE NIGHT BEFORE.

THIS WAS THE FIRST OF MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO MY MOTHER

IN THE HOUSE.LITTLE THINGS, LIKE MISSING POSSESSIONS, FOOTSTEPS,

WHISPERING AND STRANGE FEELINGS SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE HOUSE HAPPENED TO MOTHER

FREQUENTLY AFTER THAT. SHE DIDN'T MENTION IT TO ANYONE BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT

THAT IT WAS HER IMAGINATION. AND MOST OF ALL, SHE THOUGHT THAT SEEING HER

GRANDMOTHER WAS AN EPISODE OF SLEEP WALKING EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD NEVER BEEN KNOWN

TO SLEEP WALK BEFORE OR AFTER.MY MOTHERS MARRIAGE TO MY FATHER ENDED SOON AFTER IT

BEGAN. MY TWENTY-YEAR-OLD MOTHER MOVED BACK IN WITH HER PARENTS WITH ME

WHEN I WAS AN INFANT. I LIVED WITH MY GRANDPARENTS UNTIL I WAS SEVEN YEARS

OLD, AT WHICH TIME MY MOTHER REMARRIED AND WE MOVED OUT. BY THEN, I FELT

THIS INCREDIBLE CONNECTION WITH THAT HOUSE. I COULDN'T EXPLAIN IT, BUT

JUST VISITING THAT HOUSE WAS NOT ENOUGH. I MISSED IT.

AT SEVENTEEN, I MOVED BACK IN WITH MY GRANDPARENTS BECAUSE MY

STEP FATHER AND I JUST COULDN'T GET ALONG. BY THEN MY GRANDPARENTS WERE

OCCUPYING THE DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOM BECAUSE IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GRANDPA TO

CLIMB THE STAIRS. I TOOK MY UNCLE'S OLD ROOM AT THE END OF THE HALL.

FROM THE TIME I AM OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER, I HAVE HAD A SUBTLE

FEAR OF THE ROOM AT THE OPENING OF THE STAIRS. THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING

FEELING OF ANGER, AND SOMEONE WATCHING ME IN THAT ROOM. I TRIED, AS

PERSONAL ACT OF BRAVERY, TO STAY IN THAT ROOM FOR A WEEK. BY

THETHIRD NIGHT, I HAD TO SLEEP DOWN STAIRS. THE WINDOW IN THAT ROOM

OPENED BY ITSELF ON THE FIRST NIGHT. GRANDPA TOLD ME IT WAS BECAUSE THE

HOUSE WAS SETTLING, SO THE NEXT NIGHT I LOCKED IT AND IN THE MORNING IT WAS

OPEN.  I TOO SAW AND HEARD THE SUBTLE THINGS MY MOTHER AND EVENTUALLY MY

GRANDMOTHER WOULD LATER CONFESS TO. I WOULD SEE SOMEONE WALKING TO THE

BACK DOOR, AND HEAR A FAINT KNOCK, BUT NO ONE WOULD BE

THERE.ONE SUMMER NIGHT, WHILE I SLEPT UPSTAIRS IN MY UNCLE'S OLD

ROOM I FELT SOMEONE STARING AT ME. AFRAID TO OPEN MY EYES, I TURNED

MY BACK AND COVERED MY HEAD. LATER I AWOKE TO THE ROUTINE FOOTSTEPS

COMING UP THE STAIRS, BUT THIS TIME, I WAS NOT AFRAID. I GOT UP

OUT OF BED AND OPENED THE DOOR AND FELT THE COLDEST CHILL I HAVE EVER

FELT IN MY LIFE. I SAID "PLEASE LET ME SLEEP" ALOUD AND I WAS NEVER

AWAKENED AGAIN.AS I BEGAN TO TELL MY MOTHER WHAT I

WAS EXPERIENCING, SHE BEGAN TO TELL ME SIMILAR STORIES. SHE SAID THAT

SHE TOO HAD FELT SOMEONE STARING AT HER AT NIGHT. SHE ALSO TOLD ME

OF THE WISH BOX SHE KEPTIN THE BOTTOM DRAWER OF HER DRESSER

THAT JUST VANISHED ONE DAY. SHE SAID SHE NEVER GOT THAT BOX OUT

UNLESS SHE WAS ADDING SOMETHING TO IT. AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS SHE

FINALLY GOT MAD AND SHOUTED OUT LOUD TO RETURN HER BOX. WITHIN THE NEXT

COUPLE OF DAYS, IT WAS BACK INTHE BOTTOM DRAWER.

ITHINK THAT THE HOUSE IN SPRINGVILLE HAS MANY SPIRITS

THERE. MY CLOSE FRIENDS HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE ALWAYS

UNCOMFORTABLE STAYING THE NIGHT, BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHY. I HAVE SENSED

BOTH GOOD AND BAD THERE. I MISS THE HOUSE, EVEN THOUGH IT SCARED ME

VERY MUCH. MY UNCLE ENDED UP BUYING THEHOUSE FROM MY

GRANDPARENTS. HE SOLD IT TWO YEARS AGO. MY MOTHER AND I PASSED IT

NOT LONG AGO AND I SAID SOMETHING TO HER ABOUT MISSING THE HOUSE AND SHE SAID

SHE COULDN'T EVEN LOOK AT IT BECAUSE IT BROUGHT TO MUCH BACK. I

WANT TO GO BACK AND ASK THE CURRENT RESIDENTS IF THEY HAVE SEEN OR HEARD

ANYTHING. IM CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THE ROOM AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS

BELONGS TO ANYONE.


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