My House
Sent in by: Tara
The house I live in was built during the early 60's. My grandparents were the first and only owners. Back then the subdivision was just being developed in the mist of rolling tree-covered hills. Only one original house remained and another house foundation was nearby. Both had been farm houses in keeping with the style of the 1820's. These homes were located at the top of the street from ours and an educated guess would lead me to believe the entire subdivision was once land belonging to the occupants of those homes.
I often visited my grandparents and can't say I ever saw, heard or felt anything. In 1986 my grandmother passed away after a traumatic illness. The first odd happening occurred in 1988. My brother and sister whom were 3 and 4 at the time were looking out the window at twilight and they started yelling that they saw a lady dressed all in brown in our yard. At this point our subdivision was still somewhat secluded so it was unusual to hear something like that. My uncle checked it out but he never saw anyone. My sister insisted they had seen a woman.
Around the early 90's my grandfather lived alone in the house. We came out to visit once but he was gone. We turned off the lights again when we left. When he returned home the lights were all on as well as his radio. The doors had still been locked.
In 1997 we moved in with him and my uncle and his son soon joined us. The house is quite large and was luckily able to accommodate us all. At any rate this is when the real activity seemed to begin.
Halloween of 1997 I was taking pictures of my sister and my cousin. When they were developed I noticed there was an orb next to each of them. This is what began my research into the subject initially. During this time my cousin had began talking to angels he said he saw. He was 3 years old.
In February of '98 I decided to experiment on my grandmother's death date. I was skeptical. I figured those Halloween orbs were probably a problem in processing or moisture on the lens. I should also point out I took many rolls of film between October and February of just normal stuff and never yielded anything. So, I took a few pics here and a few at the cemetery where my grandmother was buried. The film came back full of orbs.
I would say from this time period until 2000 there were several paranormal experiences. The TV would go off and on, the downstairs sink would turn on and keys would disappear. Those were regular happenings.
The more specific would be:
- My sister's 80lb. bedframe rocking back and forth when I opened the door.
- A loud, gasping type snore I heard when I was checking on my sister one night. I also heard her snoring at the same time.
- My uncle's room is under mine. One night I woke up to see a man in Civil War type clothes staring at me from the corner. I turned over and ignored him. I didn't say anything the next day assuming I had dreamed it but I thought different when my uncle brought up he had seen a man matching the same description staring at him while he slept that night.
- A purple ectoplasm I saw move along the floor and under my brother's bedroom door on Halloween '98.
- My mother sleeps in the basement next to my uncle's room. One night she woke up after falling asleep on her love-seat and noticed there was a haze in the room. She said it reminded her of like electricity. My sister was sleeping in my mom's bed. My mom didn't want to make her move so just sat there in the dark trying to get back to sleep. She said she was watching the door when the haze formed into white forms. It was a little girl and a little boy who were holding hands and preceded to skip up (like on a hill) on the bed and out the window. My uncle later that night asked my mother if she had noticed the weird haze in the basement.
- My uncle, my sister and I all saw a white light flash in our driveway in the same week. My uncle saw it first and I sort of wrote it off. I'm terrible about not believing it unless I see it. Then my sister and I were on a walk and came home and saw it together. It was like a wall of light had been turned on and off quickly.
There's been more but as time goes on I forget specific instances. Those are the ones that really stand out. The house has been mostly quiet the last two years. I have a few theories...
- I went to a lot of graveyards and known haunted houses at this point. I may have been bringing some visitors home.
- The girls are from the family who owned this land originally.
- The Civil War guy was from a nearby fort.
- They were attracted to my siblings and cousin who are all hyperactive but have calmed down in the recent years.
- And of course there is my grandmother.
Never has it felt malicious. It just seems like someone wanting you to know that they are there. I've never been scared.
It does seem to be more active from August-October and in February. We have had a few recent incidents of the sink downstairs turning on and the TV turning on again. But as I said it seemed to die down for the most part.