This is an excellent topic and just the perfect place to post it. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this!

I'd be a lot happier buying a house or anything from someone like yourself with integrity and a sense of responsibility. I like that you would want to be sure that you didn't pass on a lemon to someone else.

I am not afraid of spirit...well better put, I haven't thus far encountered anything that I feel is evil or dangerous...not that I don't feel fear when something looks intimidating or powerful to me. And not that I've had a wide range of experience because I haven't. I haven't visited a known haunted house (and I'd probably be scared if I slept over in one). I've experienced lots of spiders in the etheric and I am afraid of them, though I believe I create them, or draw them to me, or even colour them as scary because of my own fear.

I would not want to buy a house in which someone had been murdered. I am open-minded, but if there are x-amount of houses to choose from I'd much rather choose one where no massive terror was experienced. This stuff hangs there or remains there, even if it is covered up with good stuff, or so I believe. Like on America's Psychic Challenge (which I loved watching!), where the psychics visited the hotel room where Janis Joplin died over 40 years ago and some of them could still feel the unpleasantness of it. It might be whatever a person chooses to tap into though. They might feel the despair, or the pain, or maybe even the sense of peace the spirit felt once they passed, if that were the case.

Having said that, I don't think you can erase what has happened as feelings upon the environment, but if there is a malevolent presence in a house, that would be a different story.

Ah, but that reminds me of an episode I saw of Lisa Williams (I love Lisa! And true, I do watch a lot of reality TV ) where a girl sensed a scary presence in her house that turned out to be her mother's step father. He was a policeman and rather gruff in life - authoritative perhaps, and his spirit put off that type of energy which was interpreted as scary. So I feel open to the idea that what is scary might not be so scary once you know more about it. But you know I always take this side of the argument that there is nothing to fear.

Okay, finally onto the point of the post, the question:

What do you suppose you would you do?

I would seek out help spiritually within myself (my guides and spirit friends). Then I would see what was up and if it could be moved along (scat!). Then I would continue to live there. If I could not remove it, I would sell. I'd tell prospective buyers (after they looked at the house) that I think there is something there. If they are the type that don't believe, then they'd probably buy anyway. If they do believe, then I would probably not get a sale. Maybe like hotels do (as seen on reality TV), I'd make it a point of sale that the place is haunted ( Haunted House for Sale! ) as there are so many people eager to interact with spirit these days, even the scary stuff.

Wow Dawn,

Thank you so much for posting this! This is one of my most favorite subjects. Hmmm, What would I do? Well I guess I would do as I always do when moving into a new house, smudge it! Every time I take up residence in a new dwelling, I always smudge. If not to get rid of risidual paranormal energy, then to at least to get rid of the neg human energy that a human or two(that is still living) might have left behind.

This process is simple, just buy a smudge stick (from a metaphysical store or your closest herb store), light one end of it, and walk your entire house repeating whatever your beliefs consist of coupled with the polite , but firm demand that you & yours live in a serene, clean, & God filled enviornment. Make sure to get all of the corners, as spirit seems to like to linger there undetected. Wish well to all entities who linger & if you feel equipt & your beliefs permit, try to help cross over any lingering energy to the other side. Crap this screen is jumpin again. Now I won't be able to see what I am typing! Please disreguard any mistakes.

If the entity seems billigerant, then I would consider consulting a professional, although I do think that if one is experienced enough, that that person could definately guide the entities home themselves. I guess when it all comes down to it, it all depends on how much faith one has in his/her beliefs & the power of energy.

If you're intersted in finding out who is haunting ya, look up my posts on "E.V.P.'S, Maybe that will bring some answers on whether to flee or not. My advice, don't give up unless someone is in danger! "The Haunting" are'nt always mean, just sometimes confused about where they belong.

Much luck love & blessings,

-Jaime-.

Thanx so much for this, love it!

Hello Alisa,

Sometimes I get so excited about a post that I forget to read further to see what others have replied. I found this only after I replied to Dawn's orig post. How muh I agree w/you on all of it!!! You said it sista!

And I must say this ....I know exactly what episode of Lisa Williams you are referring to(and yes,sometimes just an agressive energy can be misconstrude as an evil energy), as I am a HUGE fan of that wonderful & compassionate woman!!! I've wanted to bring her up so many times on this site, I am an avid believer in her work, & think that all of us & I do mean ALL of us are capable of exactly the same thing that she is able to tap into! Thank God for such a great inspiration, hunanitarian & teacher as she!

Bless & love,

-Jaime-

Loved your stuff, Jaim! I've not done a smudge stick...but it's giving me ideas about Wes's room. He is scared to go to sleep (even with a bright night light on and curtains open and me in the next room). It's worth a go to try a smudge.

Lisa Williams is wonderful, watchable, believable, likeable. I know what you mean, Dawn, though. I also am not into psychic/mediums entirely. I have had interest in them and then get enough and move on. I remember when I first saw John Edwards. It was before I believed in spirit and I thought...if he isn't tapping into something supernatural, then he is definitely psychic beyond the norm. He opened my mind more and I found him fascinating, but like all things, I burn out and move on. And to be honest, I'm still not 100% convinced that mediums are talking to crossed-over loved ones as much as tapping into collective consciousness (though maybe that's what we all are anyway, part of collective consciousness, but back to the point)...however, since my last dream that I posted about the phone call from my mom, less doubt remains. (Wow, I've found a foggy area in my belief system!)

Anyone have an opinion on what happens to a human after they die as far as...do they remain contactable indefinitely, move on, or what?

I personally wouldn't want to be a psychic or a medium. I can't imagine how daunting it could be to have to deal with.

I guess I don't follow the psychics/mediums shows because I know that whatever message they have to give is not a message for me because I'm not in the audience.

I will watch a tv show or listen to a radio show if I've heard that a psychic/medium is going to be addressing a specific news story and are supposed to give their thoughts on it. I'm always interested in what they have in relation to missing people or stories like trapped minors. Especially when there's alot of media coverage where I KNOW there will be an update in the news and I can see if the psychic was right, close or way off base.

Biblicaly speaking the deceased are contactable: It doesn''t say you can't do it, it just says you shouldn't do it.

As I said in an earlier post today, I believe that our loved ones do check in with us from time-to-time. But where are they in the meantime? I don't know for sure but I hope it's paradise and peaceful.

Psychics tapping into the collective consciousness sounds like a real possibility. I never thought of it that way before.

Alisa, you have such a clever mind. I like the way you think and ponder on possibilities!

Thanks again for the wonderful feedback. You give me such food for my mind!! And I love it!

I like your point about the messages form mediums on TV being for the audience and therefore not that interesting. True. Initially I liked watching them just to see if it felt true to me as I watched each person's reactions, etc.. But true, now I feel I understand what to expect and I'm not as interested in watching. Some mediums (as new and better ones emerge, and they are emerging IMO) do capture my interest though and I watch with relish. Like Lisa Williams thus far.

Thanks for letting me know what the bible says. I always appreciate that as I have not studied the bible, but remain totally interested in what it has to say.

Thanks, too for always give such uplifting comments that make me feel clever.

Bless

Oh Boy! I can hardly wait to start my response on this psychic topic! I do realize Dawn, that this isn't actually the topic. So as to not pull the attention off of your original subject, I'll start a new post on Psychics.

Good point about the Bible too. I don't know very many people that will actually agree that the Bible not only admits that it is possible (to contact the deceased), but also that it is a "no -no". But usually w/this book I tend to do exactly the opposite of what it instructs "us" to do, & I seem to learn so much more about myself & the universe that way.

Hey Alisa, I really hope you do try the smudge stick for little Wes! It really does work. I would like to see him feel more secure in his own space. Also explaining to him that he does have some control over what energies can stay & go, might make him feel a bit more impowered about his personal space. I know Wesley is autistic, & I believe that this is partly why he "sees" so well. I have always believed that kids like Wes are more pure than we, given the lack of Ego, & the fact that they really are at times more intelligent than we "Non-autistic humans", & prove time & again that they are the better "teachers". So Weslesy needs to know how powerful he really is, & that he does "see" differently than we & he does have a say in what he experiences. I've never run into a malevolent spirit. Not to say that they don't exsist, but I find that the ones that I have encountered do have respect for an individuals "boundries", if put in place by the individual himself.

I don't think, but know rather that Wes will get this if you explain it to him how you see fit. I would tell you "don't underestimate him", but I'm sure you probably spend 80% of your life telling others the exact same thing about him.

I remember you mentioning that you always tell him when he questions you or your authority, "Because I'm helping you become a 'human'". Well IMO, the reason it's so hard for Wesley to think & act & accept 'human life on human terms', is because he IS less human than we. Oh no that's not a bad thing, so please don't read it that way. What I mean is simply that he doesn't come w/all of the human flaws that we come equipped with. He really is of a higher consciousness than we Non-autistic humans. This is why it is so hard to grasp the sometimes meaningless rules that we humans live by. Because he is of a more universal mind & not concerned w/such miniscule details that apply here, on earth only.

I also remember you mentioning that whenever you tell him this in response, that he gets it! Which doesn't surprise me at all. So please try to give it a go w/the smudge stick & an honest explaination to him on what it's for & how he can help control what he experiences. I know he'll get it!

Best of luck to you w/that Alisa. & BTW, this is all just my opinion, I don't know Wesley at all except for what you've told me of him. So if I've spoken out of turn, I'm sorry.

Bless & luv ~jaim~

Well okay then...

Thank you Alisa & Jaime for your feedback on my hypothetical question.

As I'm not comfortable with 'turn' of this thread, I think it's best if I step out of it now.

Ooo, good idea! I hadn't thought of it in this way. I had instead thought of it more black and white like he either has entities visit or not, but of course he can decide!

And I loved what you had to say about autism. I also think he sees easily and is simply open to it. I hadn't thought about explaining to him that he is seeing more. You keep giving me new angles from which to see and I'm so grateful!

Along these lines with explaining to him and using the smudge stick, I have noticed a lot of spider webs accumulate in his room. I started realizing I needed to check for them and sweep them away. I think that somehow this is similar to the way smudging works. If that makes sense.



This is probably the part that "turned" this thread I'm thinking. I shouldn't speak for Jaime, but I'm still gonna have a stab by saying that I think disrespect was far from her mind and more along the lines of thinking outside the box from which she was brought up in (as she had a religious upbringing). My

I'd love to keep the love flowing between us (it's so amazing) and so I understand and think it is reasonable to stop chatting about something if it is becoming uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, here's a wheelbarrow full of love for both of you!

Oh Boy!

Dawn, I'm sorry if I offended you , it wasn't my intention. I don't know exactly what it was that turned ya off, but I'm pretty sure Alisa was right on point w/the Bible comment. I didn't mean to disrespect you by making that comment. I maybe should have worded it better. I do respect those who respect the Bible, so I hope I didn't come off as a Bible hater. I just simply meant to convey the idea of thinking outside the box, as Alisa said earlier.

Please don't dissappear from your very interesting thread! I think that haunted houses are a great subject for discussion & I was so inspired by your story.

Although if you do decide to bow out gracefully, I will understand. But I would truly hate to see ya go.

I sometiomes forget that not everyone that I communicate with on this site knows me like Alisa, so sometimes a comment just simply made w/no explaination, leaves people with the wrong impression of me. I need to keep that in mind as I write. I won't go into all of the details of exactly what I meant by the Bible comment, but if you are infact interested in an explaination of it, look up the " What Does The Son Of God Mean To You?" post. This might better help you understand where I was comming from in that context.

I hope this has cleared up the misunderstanding between us Dawn, I would never dream of purposely making someone feel uncomfortable on this wonderful site . I like your writtings alot, & hope to take up discussion w/you on all sorts of subjects, as you seem to be someone w/great ideas & thoughts.

BTW, I do admire your very polite way of excusing yourself from this thread, most would have gotten indignant. Thank you.

Alisa, woman you can speak for me ANYTIME!I feel like you're my very own Personal Representative. Thank you for your 'right on' reasoning of me. You know me so well!

Of course we can all still continue to share, this is all part of people getting to know eachother. Sometimes the ride gets bumpy, but half way through it, I believe we'll all be singing Kumbaya!

Thank you Alisa for considering my thoughts on little Wes.

Could you please elaborate on the spider webs a bit more though, & how they relate to smudging? I just know it has to tie in there somewhere. I'm thinkin you must be referring to lingering? If that's what you mean, then you're exactly right! Things tend to linger (in spirit), if not regularly maintained. Just as spiders do (which makes me think of your spirit spiders)Very good analogy

Thank you for the wheelbarow of love, my "Love cup" runnith over!! And right back atcha babe!

Thank you both so much.

Jaime you did not offend me. I appreciate your gracious and heartfelt response. It really was a joy to read. You & Alisa have such an eloquent writing voice. I admire that of you two.

Honestly, I respect other peoples feelings about the Bible. If I were of a different faith that had a holy book, that would be the reference I would use, if I were educated in the metaphysical & paranormal societies & books, I would use a reference from one of them.

When it comes to personal beliefs, It's boxes and purses to me. Just like Alisa's dream. I think there are many paths to our personal spiritual goals.

I'm not affiliated with any organized religion. The only time I've been to church in the past 20+ years was for weddings and funerals.
The preachers and I don't seem to see eye-to-eye on many aspects of acceptance, understanding and especially tolerance. It's sad.
My faith comes from life experience & my studying the Bible on my own and appreciating it as a guide on many matters, an enlightening peek into the historical beliefs and most importantly keeping it perspective.
My God is bigger than a book and most especially bigger than a church doctrine.

Would I hang out on paranormal forums if I were so sensitive over other folks beliefs? lol

Nope it was something closer to my heart...



I'm not comfortable with discussing a child's humanity on a 'haunted house' thread. That is all.
I believe certain aspects of children are better discussed in a thread of their own.

Please know that I 'do not disagree' with anything that Jaime said.

I hope you'll understand my being such an old fuddy-duddy.


Again I thank you both sooo much!

I would never have guessed that was the bit that was out of bounds, Dawn! I once again humble myself to realize that I can't read other people's minds! I have to laugh for a minute.

I'm so glad you are not offended by either me or Jaime. And I am really happy to understand you better thanks to you sharing your beliefs and about the bible etc! I like the way you think. It makes sense.

One last thing...yes, you were right about the cobwebs, Jaime. Like sweeping them away (like spiritual fears) to keep them from lingering and amassing.

Okay, back to haunted houses! Wish I had some experience with them to add.

Oh Dear, you wouldn't want to read my mind it's all spooky and covered in spider webs... lol

Of course you two don't offend me. I truly hope I didn't offend you or Jaime. I apologize if I did.

Thanks so much...

I don't have any experiences with haunted houses either... I was just pondering about them.

Aww thank you Dawn, I really appreciate you clearing that up for me. And point noted & taken. I can understand that.

I agree w/Alisa, I like the way you think too. This was my favorite...



...does that come in a size medium T-shirt?!

Alisa, I thought that was what you were referring to(spiderwebs). Sometimes I feel like I should wear a sign saying "SLEEP DEPRIVED MOTHER, PLEASE TALK TO ME LIKE I'M FOUR!!!"

Ok, to keep the spirit LOL of this thread alive(I crack myself up!), I would love to share an awesome story of a haunted house that I lived in, but first I need to make the Princess Dianna post that I planned on doing last night, & never got around to. So I'll write the haunted house post either later tonight, or tomorrow.

Oh & Dawn, thank you for the compliment on my expression skills, I think that you express yourself quite eloquently as well! And Alisa too, she is also very well spoken. I just love chattin & sharin w/you gals

Thank you both so much. You both are peaches in my book! I'm so thankful you understand and now see better where I'm coming from (so-to-speak) I just didn't know how to say it at the time.

Jaime, It must've been interesting living in a haunted house. I look forward to reading your experiences.

Interesting wasn't the word!!!

OK so I was about 13 years old when we moved from Detroit to Wyandotte, Michigan. We moved into a lower flat that had one upper flat above it, but it was a house, not a building. The street we lived on was 'Elm' street, believe it or not! Actually there were alot of syncronicities with scary movies tied to this house. Like the fact that the house behind us that happened to share our backyard as their front yard, housed two roommates by the names of 'Michael' & 'Jason'!! I swear on all that is close to me, that all of the details & events in this experience were real & true, despite the coincidences that seem to make it sound a bit corny.

Moving on, it was only about a month before we started to hear the noises. My mother had just left my father for good this time, so it was just mom, the twins (brother JJ, & sister Jen) & I (the oldest of the three).
As I said about a month into our stay at this house, we started to hear noises...coming from the basement. At night when the whole house was quiet, we would hear moving & shuffling, crying, rocking (like a creaking). My sister & I shared the biggest bedroom which was just over the part of the basement that we did not have access to. The part that we did have access to, was the front of the basement, the laundry facility. Then there was another open space just beyond that, that we were allowed to use as a storage room. Just beyond that, was the 'closed off' part of the basement. This part was a long rear wall w/a series of three doors on it, every single one of them locked w/a padlock! We were told nothing about this part of the basement, except that it was storage for our landlord, & to leave it alone.

Another part of the house that we had instructions for was the upper flat, which did not have anyone living in it. We were told that the woman who used to live there had just recently moved, & still had boxes there that she needed to come pick up. The landlord kindly asked mom to keep us kids out of there since we did have rear access to the upper, just by using our indoor back staircase. Also the door to the upper had a busted lock that didn't work, so she asked ma not to let us get nosy & go rummaging through this woman's stuff! Mom complied & told us that under no circumstances were we allowed to use the rear staircase, since the only place it led to was up. She also told us to keep our mitts off this woman's stuff.

Other than that, we were told nothing about the house, except that she had been trying to rent out the bottom flat for over a year now, & so she was very happy to finally have a nice family living there.

Before I take you ahead in the story, let me first tell you of moving day. We had started an assembly line from the uhaul truck to the basement, where everything except furniture was to be unloaded. I was the last person in the assembly line...in the basement by myself. The boxes were passed through 3 different people before they reached me. I was to find a spot for each box according to category. As I stood in this basement, I not only became very uneasy, but nauseous too. This was not because the house was new & creepy to me, I was the kid who would venture off into the woods by myself, to go explore & discover. What I mean is I was not the type of kid who was shaken or scared easily. I really couldn't explain what was making me feel so uneasy & sick about this space, but honestly I felt like I couldn't breath. This basements door was open to the outside for hours as we loaded boxes into it, so I doubt attributing the sick feeling to lack of air circulation.
As the day moved on, I had to step outside to get fresh air, as it became harder & harder for me to breath. I also noticed that mom didn't come into the basement that day, unless she absolutely had to. I found it strange that she left me in charge of the final organization of the basement that day, as she had always been somewhat of a control freak, w/a say in how everything was to be. But I just figured that she was feeling overwhelmed w/just having left my father, & was trying to learn how to delegate & not worry about controlling every aspect of the house. Letting go & learning that she doesn't have to do it all. I WAS WRONG. MOM WAS SCARED SH!TLESS OF THAT BASEMENT!!!!!

So now we had been living in the house for about a month, & every night my sister & I would hear the noises that I described earlier. The most recognizable was the crying & creaking. Each night, Jen & I would go to mom's room & tell her what we were hearing. Each night she would tell us that it was probably a cat in heat (mom was always very honest about things w/us kids, & we all knew about sex at this point. The twins were about 10yrs.old). And each night Jen & I went back to our room, hoping that mom was right, but knowing in our hearts that this wasn't the case. Nice try on mom's part though. She really did try to come up w/a legitimate excuse for what we were hearing. It is quite painful for a female cat to mate. It is a very aggressive act performed by the male that makes this so painful for the female cat. I've heard cats mating on the side of our house before, & there is quite alot of screaming , growling, crying & scratching. But what Jen & I were hearing was different...more HUMAN.

We humored my mother's reasoning for a little while, but it wasn't long before we started to vehemently disagree with her, & beg her to sleep in our room to experience it for more than 5 minutes herself. She complied. I did notice looks of confusion in mom's face that night, as she too became aware that these noises could not be coming from a pair of randy cats. Then the shuffling began.

The next day, mom was on the phone all day. She would not come out of her bedroom, & by the muffled tone in her voice that I could hear only through her door, I could tell she was worried. Later that night, she sent the twins to our me ma's to spend the night (her mother's). I opted to stay at home w/ma, I knew things were about to get exciting!

So there we lay mom & I in my bedroom, late at night. Me in my bed & mom in Jen's. Then the noises began....like we KNEW they would. Then the creaking sound seemed to be moving towards the basement stairs. Still in the basement, but now closer to the upper levels, like it was trying to get us to notice that it was not just a stationary noise, but traveling. Mom shot up in bed & said "It's getting closer, I think it's on the basement stairs!". Right away I wanted to go check it out, but ma hesitated. I think she was afraid that I might be damaged by this experience, but I soon convinced her that I was still her only child that didn't require a nightlight to sleep by. I was still the only one who didn't try to crawl into her bed at one time or another, & I was her metaphysical buddy who shared countless hours w/her for the past three years studying the paranormal & being tutored by her how to tap into spirit. She quickly changed her mind & realized that this was what she was trying to get me to grasp, this life after death concept. And I was grasping onto it quite tightly indeed. Together we walked, lights out w/only a flashlight in hand to the basement door in the rear of the kitchen.

As we got closer the creaks got louder. Once we were at the basement door, we looked at each other once, grabbed each other's hand & proceeded to go down the stairs. The creaking grew louder & in the back of the basement we heard crying...from a baby (I told ma, "There's your frisky cat!", her reply..."That's no cat!!!").

When we reached the fourth step from the basement floor, all noises stopped. It was the weirdest thing, it was as if we were now in a soundless void. Not just quiet, but almost one dimensional in sound, as if we were in deprivation tanks - where no sound exists. The air was thick with everything & nothing, all at the same time. It became harder & harder for me to breath. I whispered to my mom that this is how I felt the day we were moving in, when I was manning the organization of the basement. Her reply was "Me too, why do you think I put you down here?!". I was flabbergasted!! I thought "Great ma, way to protect your child!!". But later she explained that she felt the same ominous feeling that I felt down there on moving day, but every time she saw me go down there, she said that I seemed to return unaffected. She figured that I hadn't picked up on what she had picked up on, & thought "Well if she can't feel it, then she can organize that part". I know that on moving day, that if I had complained or shared about what I had been feeling down there, she would have pulled me out qucikfast & in a hurry, & sent one of the guys helping us move, down there instead. But that day I said nothing.

Just as mom & I started to move towards the rear of the basement, the crying & creaking started again, & got louder & more fast paced. And this shuffling became more like a sweeping sound, as if someone was frantically sweeping with a broom. This next moment was the most symbiotic moment I had shared w/my mother up until that point...She quickly turned me around to face the stairs & shoved me in front of her, as she said "run & do not look back to check on me!" Funny, that's exactly what I wanted to say to her, I couldn't imagine leaving her down there to face this alone. And so by her side I stayed. She actually threatened me to get me outta there, but I told her " Well your gonna have to ground me then, 'cause I ain't goin nowhere!". Her reply..." I love you baby!" . Hand in hand we walked again, this time both confidant that we were in this together!

Once the big BOOM happened, there was no more discussion, we both turned at the exact same moment, & ran to the stairs as fast as our four legs could carry us!!! One pulling on the other to make sure neither was left behind! When we reached the top of the stairs, I said what do you think that was? She said, "sounded like a broom handle, falling & hitting the floor!" I concurred. Mom looked at me & said " I'm calling Neal!", A friend of the family's that was like a brother to her & an uncle to us kids. "We're not staying here alone." she said.

Later that night at around 2:00 Am, Neal showed up. Once again we waited in my room to hear the sounds below & once again they started. Neal got gutsy & decided to venture down to the basement himself. Mom & I stood at the top of the stairs to keep an eye out. Neal got to the fourth stair form the basement floor, & again the noises ceased. We both shouted "Keep going they'll start up again." And he did...and they started up again. Mom & I kept talking to him from the basement stairs, until we heard the banging not once, but over & over again. As we yelled for Neal, we got no response.

To make sure Spam Filter doesn't reject this post because of length, I'll stop it here. We'll call it a cliffhanger! I will write & submit the rest of the story later tonight when I return from running some errands. Until then.....Happy hauntings!!!

Oh WOW! You got my attention. I'm brave when it comes to the paranormal... but Oh My Gosh! At 13 I would not have been gutsy enough to check it out with my Mom... Now my Dad, I'd of followed him anywhere at any age. I even went with him ghost hunting one time when I was about 13 or 14. The ghost didn't show up. I think it was ascared of my Dad. lol He was the biggest baddest cat on the block in my book.

Girl, You do have a great gift-of-the-tale. I can hardly wait to the hear how this turned out...

Come on... Don't make me wait or I shall die of anticipation...

Here ya go Dawn!

As we yelled for Neal & continued to hear nothing in return, we started to freak a bit. Mom said " I'm going after him!". Just as she started down the stairs, we heard footsteps coming back toward the stairs. It was Neal. And in his hand...an aluminum baseball bat. That's what all the banging was. He had grabbed a bat from the pile of sports equipment down stairs & started banging away at the padlock on the first of the three doors on the far back wall. "Well why didn't you yell that up, when we were calling your name?" mom demanded. "I didn't hear a thing", he replied. Mom & I looked at each other in amazement! "We were screaming for you at the top of our lungs!!!" I said. Neal's turn to look totally amazed, & he did. "I heard nothing but the sound of the bat hitting the steal padlock." Neal said, his voice turning to a whisper as he finished his sentence. At this exact moment I got a chill that ran straight up my spine & into the back of my head. A tingling, tickling feeling. Two seconds later, The sweeping sound returned. First slowly, then more rapidly as the minutes passed. We all stood there quietly, until mom turned to me & asked me if I had ever seen anything in the house before. I answered "If I had ever SEEN anything in this house, believe me, I would have JUMPED in bed w/you & INSISTED on a night light!!!" We all decided that we would sleep together in my room that night. Neal took the floor.

Later that night when the scratching started, Neal said he could feel the vibration of it beneath his back, on the hard wood floor.
The next day the twins came home. When mom told them a lighter summary of what took place the night before while they were away (basically downplayed the whole thing), she had also informed them that she had to work that night & couldn't be home with us. My sister freaked. And back Mema came, from two cities away to pick her up. JJ stayed with me that night at home. I told him I wasn't afraid (Mostly because I thought he was going back w/my grandma & Jen, I didn't want him to worry.), but when he heard me say that I wasn't afraid, I guess it made him secure enough to tough it out at home. And so our night at home alone began. To be quite honest, I was so happy that he said he'd stay, I was going to be at home alone that night. It was too cramped in my grandmas trailer & no AC in the middle of August! I'd rather listen to strange sounds all night in my house , then to be cramped & sweaty all night in hers. So it was settled, Mema & Jen at her house & JJ & I at ours.

This night went by pretty uneventful, all except for the creaking. That was just about every night though, with or without the crying or sweeping. This didn't bother us, but rather put us to sleep with it's rhythmic sound. There we lay soundly sleeping in ma's bed, bathroom light ON.

The next two weeks went by very quick, as we were shopping & preparing for the new school year to start. The first weekend after school started, we three kids were so bored & stir crazy from all of the rain keeping us indoors, that we decided to break Ma's rule & venture upstairs.She was at work, how would she know right? All three of us, me in the lead, went up the dark rear hallway & came to the door of the upstairs flat. There were no light bulbs in any of the sockets in the hallway, but we had the trusty flashlight. As we stood in the hallway at the top of the stairs waiting for our vision to adjust, we stared ahead to see the door, slightly ajar.

It must have been a good 10 - 15 minutes before we made the decision to enter. Jen was against it. But in we went. It was dark, still no light bulbs. But what we could see just by the light of the flashlight, was utter disarray.

This apartment looked like a tornado hit it. There were about 10 -12 boxes laying around some full, some only half full. There were magazines strewn all over the floors, & clothes shoes & personal mail . There was only one light bulb in the whole place & it was in the bathroom. We turned it on & started to open cupboards & drawers. Some were completely full, some were only half full but in disarray, like as if someone grabbed only what they needed & in a hurry. We did a quick walk around, & then stood in the living room, which was lit only by the bathroom light, deciding what to do next. JJ said to me, " I dare you to spend the night up here alone!" I searched my mind for a cleaver reason to shoot that idea down..." I can't, mom will find out when she gets home from work!". "SO, I'll set the alarm clock for 20 mins before she gets in & come wake you up." he replied. OMG, what was I going to do, I had been outsmarted by a 10 year old! I couldn't think fast enough for another excuse, I was starting to look like I was stalling, until it hit me, I had it! " If I stay up here alone, then that means you & Jen have to stay alone downstairs too!" ...and Presto, we were all sleeping DOWNSTAIRS TOGETHER.

About 3 weeks later Jen was invited to a friends to stay the night on the weekend. Mom had to work, so this meant that JJ & I would again be home alone. Mom said that Jen would be leaving at around 4 or so & she was leaving for work shortly after. This meant that we would be alone in the house much longer than we anticipated. This was fine with us, because we decided that we were going to spend the night in the upper flat together. Sleeping bags, Flashlights, alarm clock, pizza, & THE BASE BALL BAT. No one else knew of our plan. The woman still had yet to come pick up her things.

Oh my goodness, this is just getting better and better. It's strange about the disarray of the closed apartment. I'd ask you a bunch of questions, but I'm going to wait and to read the rest of your haunted house encounter.

You have a marvelous sense for how to leave off your story at just the most delicious moments. I wonder if you've ever tried or are a published author. I think you'd be a dandy at it.

I'm sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what happened next.

As we gathered up the things that we would need for our expedition (which was entirely too much crap, cards, Mad Libs, chips, pop,t he cordless phone...OK the cordless phone was a necessity!!) we decided to take everything up while it was still daylight out & try to straighten the place up a bit so it wasn't so uncomfortable. We headed up stairs. As we were lugging what we needed up the stairs, JJ dropped one of the flash lights. As we listened to the flashlight drop from stair to stair we both panicked, then remembered we had two. I put my stuff down & retrieved the flashlight...the bulb didn't make it. That made me a little nervous. What if something happened tonight up there & we had to run? What if in our haste to flee, we accidentally drop the other flash light? Then we have to try to make it through a dark apartment & a dark hallway w/no backup light."We need light bulbs!", I blurted out, still holding the broken flashlight. " No way!!!" JJ said, " I'm not runnin back into our dark house if something happens up there!" he argued (we knew that we were out of extra bulbs because mom had just put it in the porch light outside, knowing that we'd be home alone). I told him that we could take 2, one from our bathroom (which we would not really miss, since we weren't sleeping in ma's bed), & the utility light in the pantry. We only needed one for the rear dark hall that the staircase was in, & one for the upstairs living room, since that was going to be where we were camping out. He rationalized, then agreed that it would be better to run through 2 half lit houses & a poorly lit hall, then to have to run from a completely darkened house and hallway, to our lit lower flat. We grabbed the light bulbs.

When we got up stairs, I started setting up camp. As i pulled the baseball bat out of my sleeping bag (which I had used to throw everything into, to make it easier to carry), he said" what's that for?". "Just in case." I replied. " In case of whaaat?". Then I remembered that JJ didn't know exactly what had happened the night Neal had stayed the night. So what does a big sister do when faced w/this dilemma? She tells him anyway, despite the many years of therapy it may cause later! Hey what are big sisters for?! LOL!

Immediately after he had the whole story, "I wanna go see!" he says. I thought about it for a sec, cause I knew this was a big one. "Alright, but only in the daylight.". "Sweet!!" he snickers, while rubbing his hands together.

As we walked down the basement stairs there was nothing. No noises, no scratching or sweeping, no crying, no creaking. Just the sound of the birds chirping outside. JJ looked a bit nervous, but this was the most comfortable I had ever felt in that basement now. As we approached the first door in the series of three on the back wall, JJ raised both arms with such force that I heard a swoop. Then down hard he came on the padlock with the aluminum bat! The sound from the metal against metal was ear numbing. Over & over he hit it, until between his work & Neal's the pad lock fell to the ground.

As we slowly walked in through the door the smell of burned rubber smacked us right in the face. What was behind that door was a singed makeshift apartment. It was much darker than the rest of the basement, because the windows on that side were covered from the inside with boards. But broken boards at that, so some light was shinning through.

Looking around it seemed only big enough for one. I imagined that was all that used to live there. There were two rooms, one a living room/kitchen. The other was a room w/a door (which was closed at the time), then just a tiny bathroom that reminded me of one that you would see in a camper. The entire place was blackened in soot there was scorched paneling hanging half off the walls, ash in every nook & cranny & furniture still in place, though badly burnt. It looked like someone had at least tried to clean up, there were lighter marks on the walls, like someone had started to wash them, & a yellow broom leaning against the small camper sized kitchen sink. What we wanted to know, was what was behind that door. So over to that end of the room we went, to inquire further. As we approached it, we noticed that that part of the little apartment was less scorched than the rest. slowly we pushed the door open, & what we saw puzzled us. A rocking chair, only it wasn't scorched, & barely any of the inside of that room was damaged either. The weird thing was, it looked as if this rocking chair had been down there quite a while, there was dust on some of it, about a half inch thick...except for on the arms & seat of the chair. It was also covered in a light coat of soot & water spots. I didn't need to point out the obvious to JJ, even at 10 he was pretty bright. We both knew what the lack of dust on the seat & arms of the chair meant, but neither of us said a word. Finally I said " Maybe the landlord took a break in this chair while he was down here cleaning!". "Duuuuh!" JJ said, laughing. Whew! I thought that was going to take a little more effort, but I pulled it off well. Or maybe he was just pretending to buy that excuse so easily, & I was the gullible one.

As we walked out of the little back room with the chair in it, I said " Do you think we should try to communicate with it?"..."Yup." he replied in a steady voice. "Aha!", He didn't think that rocker had been sat in by the landlord either, just as I had suspected. "Liar!" I said to him. " What?" he asked. I said in the snottiest mocking voice I could, "Duuuuh?"..." Why did you act like you thought it was the landlord too?". His retort, "I thought you were trying to make yourself feel better!"( aww, I was torn between wanting to slap him for being a dishonest little turd, & wanting to hug him for being so codependent in trying to comfort me, even if it was B.S.). I quickly asked "So you think there's something down here too?". "Uh huh." he replied. I proceeded to tell him how mom had been teaching me how to tap into spirit. I explained to him that I had never done it before, but that it was easy. He seemed interested, so I asked if he wanted to try it, "Sounds good to me.". At this moment, I was so impressed by my brother's fearlessness.For the first time, I actually admired my 10 year old little brother for his moxie & brass ones!

And so we started, JJ followed my lead. " is there anyone here who would like to communicate with us" I asked first. Nothing. " We're the people that live upstairs now", JJ piped in. Nothing. We started walking around out of nervousness, maybe it was intuition that made us finally settle ourselves by the front entrance & stand still, "Did you used to live in this house or just the basement?" I asked, this time the sound of my own voice creeped me out! Imagine asking that question & no one's there...or at least that's what we thought. No sooner had the last word "basement" roll off my tongue, did the yellow broom slide across the edge of the counter & fall to the floor! JJ & I were standing about five feet away from it. There were no words, just heavy panting and erratic footsteps, as we bolted outta there so fast, I don't even think our feet fully touched ground!

Needless to say, we opted not to spend the night in the upper flat!!! We didn't even bother to go collect the rest of our things from upstairs. We called mom at work & told her what we found in the basement, & what had happened before our very eyes. We waited next door at a neighbors until she returned home from her shift.



While waiting there our neighbor finally said, " I was wondering how long it would take you guys!" We were puzzled as to what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask. Finally, I asked him what he was referring to, that's when he proceeded to tell JJ & I the history of the house, well what he knew of it anyway.



Apparently he had only lived there for 2 years, but said that he was there when the woman upstairs fled the house. He said that one night she came banging on his door,crying & asking to use the phone. He let her use it, she called her boyfriend. She waited on Ed's (the neighbor) porch until her boyfriend showed up, then they went back up stairs together, came out with a suitcase & a box, & left. She hadn't been back since! That was 9 months prior to our moving in downstairs. She left no forwarding address for her deposit to be sent. He said that she was already at the end of her lease, so she didn't just cut out on the land lord. She had originally signed a 6 month lease, but went to a month-to month lease for the last three months, until she could find another place. So she was actually entitled to her deposit, since she didn't skip town before the next months rent was due. As a matter of fact, the landlord had left a note on the upstairs cabinet for her, stating that when she returned to collect her things, she may still have the deposit back if she contacts them (the landlords were a mother & son team.)



When ma came home, she talked to Ed further about that situation, & got the rest of the details. Then she called Neal & to come to stay the night with us three. When Neal got there, we all filled him in on the events of the night, & the information that Ed gave us.



When we took Neal & mom downstairs to show them what we had discovered, mom saw the little apartment & started to cry. When we asked her what was wrong, she said she didn't even know why she was crying, or what brought it on.



The next day mom & Neal went to see the owners of the property. The son wasn't home, but the mother was. Although elderly, she was very detailed in her memory of the events that took place in the last five years.



THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND OUT, & THIS IS WHY WE MOVED....



Five years prior to our renting the place, the house was filled w/two sets of renters occupying both the top & bottom flats. The makeshift apartment in the basement was originally built for a relative of the owners. After the family member bought a house of his own, the owners rented out the basement apartment for very little rent, to a newlywed couple who were expecting their first child. Seven months later, the baby was born. Two months later, the father who was an alcoholic, passed out in a drunken stooper, with a lit cigarette in his hand. The mother & father slept in a sofa bed in the small living room & dedicated the small room w/the door as the baby's nursery. The mom was on anti-depressants, for her very bad case of post-partum depression, which knocked her out every night. They both died in bed where the fire started.



Later when the fire fighters found the little baby in his bassinet in the nursery, they had determined that he had died of smoke inhalation, not of being burned, although he was badly covered in soot when they found him.



So this is what we have,...



1. A family that moves into a house & mom & I immediately start to feel uncomfortable & unable to breath in the basement....only to find out that three people died in that apartment, of smoke inhalation.



2.Jen & I keep hearing shuffling (sweeping), Creaking (rocking) & a cat in heat (crying) & a scratching sound, all from the basement area....only to find later, a broom (sweeping). A rocking chair (creaking). And the knowledge that a baby died there (crying). The scratching was never explained, although Neal did feel the vibration of the scratching under his back, while sleeping on the floor.



3. Mom & I hear a bang (slam that sounded like a broom handle hitting the ground) in the apartment while we were on the outside of the apartment door, upon investigation....Upon the break-in of the little apartment, JJ & I find a yellow broom, later that broom slides across the counter as if it was losing it's balance all on it's own, & SLAMS down hitting the basement floor RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES!



4. An upstairs tenant that fled her rented space in such a hurry, that she never came back to collect the rest of her things or pick up her deposit....a neighbor that confirmed it all & witnessed the frantic state of the tenant himself.



5. No light bulbs in any of the sockets in the upstairs hall or the upper flat, except the bathroom. Also a smell of burnt rubber in the basement apartment....the day we finally moved out, a few neighbors stopped by to be nosy, & informed us that what the landlady said about the couple causing the fire w/a lit cigarette was a lie. They said that that the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring.



6. A landlord that hadn't been able to rent out the bottom flat in over a year....We were also told by the neighbors on our street that the owners, first had to fix the electrical problems before they could rent it out again. I guess it took them quite a while.



As we drove to our knew house on the other side of town, I looked back on Elm street & knew that I would miss it. It had been the most exciting house that I had ever lived in! In this house I bonded with my mother on an experiential level, I found a whole new respect for my fearless (or very, very brave) little brother. I explored the world of the paranormal up close & personal for the very first time. I discovered that I am very sensitive to feeling lingering energy, hence my not being able to breath down there, where people died of smoke inhalation. And last but not least, I had my very first encounter w/ trying to contact spirit, & actually got a response ( the broom falling when I asked if the entity there used to live in the rest of the house, or just the basement). All in all I discovered much about my family in that house & I learned much more about myself. Yes, I was going to miss this house indeed.



As we pulled onto our new street, mom pointed out the big brown house that stood almost at the end of the block & said "That's it, that's our new house!", as the landlord was removing a FOR RENT sign from the window.





I hope you've all enjoyed this quite long, but all true experience that I've shared. I've written it to the best of my recollection. I might have forgotten some things, as this all took place back in 1989, but I'm pretty sure I got it all. I am happy to answer any questions that anyone has. Thanks for being such a great bunch to share with!



Bless=-)

Dawn,

I Coppied your first comment on the story to this post, so it would make more sense to anyone reading the response, since it is so far back in the beginning of the page.



In my family, mom was the leader of the pack & the tough one. I would have followed her through the depths of hell & back.

Thank you for the compliment on my story telling ! I love to write!!!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!!!

Dawn,
Again I coppied your comment, so my response will make sense to new readers.



I'll be happy to answer any of the questions you have my friend! I'm so thrilled to see such interestby you in my experience, thank you!

No I've never tried, nor am I a published author, but that has to be one of the nicest compliments I've ever recieved, Bless you!

As a matter of fact, it's funny that you mentioned that, because I just said to my husband about a week ago, that I have been thinking about trying to write a childrens book. I asked him if he thought I had a good chance at getting published. I've never written anything before besides posts on this site, but I do enjoy words so much!!!

I think my sense of leaving a good cliff hanger comes from reading so much, I'm a bookworm!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dawn for all your many sweet & flattering compliments, you're so supportive. I hope you enjoy the rest!

In your segments, You answered all my questions. That's why I decided to wait to ask them.

I think you're a great compliment to your Mom's positive loving character. I admire her courage and strength. She must have been a really wonderfully special lady and role model.

I think the owner of the rental property should have told your Mom what had happened, so she would have had the opportunity to make an educated choice to move in or not in the first place.
I think that there should be a law of disclosure that renters or buyers should be told of negative or horrible tragedies that happen at a property. After-all, Owners usually tell & use as a selling point and brag if someone hits the lottery or became fabulously famous while living on the property... so why not the bad stuff too. Yes, I know why, but I still think it's not fair to the new residents.

I'm glad that you all moved away. There's no telling what would have eventually happened... Just the prospects of my child's psychological damage alone would be enough to me running... Your Mom made a great choice there!

You learned so much while living there. As I read through your list, it reminded me of hearing over the years that the presence of the preternatural/paranormal is sometimes presented to us to teach us something about ourselves, other people or life in general.

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you do try to publish your writing. You're a natural in my book.

Wow!

What an absolutely wonderful storyteller you are, Jaime!!!!! I was glued to the screen reading each section (brilliantly written and cliffhanged).

True life stories like this are amongst my favourite reads. Thank you soooo much for sharing it with us! I felt like I was there. It must have been a thousand times scarier than a Halloween Haunted House. It is amazing how the sounds synched up...like the broom and the baby crying, the chair creaking...and wasn't the scratching sound freaky. And that the rocking chair looked sat in!

I pray that there are more adventures in you that you'll eventually share here. It is a truly pleasurable treat!

Such an interesting topic! And again some interesting posts! And I must admit, yours caused the hair on my arms to stand on end, JJ!

I had the gift - or, sometimes, closer to a curse - of witnessing the paranormal without any real effort from an extremely young age, and surprise surprise, I happened to live within a house that was well and truly haunted. Both my parents admit they never felt comfortable in the house, especially alone, I had seen covers nudge by themselves, and a few more supposedly far-fetched things, as I'll explain.

I used to spend time in my brothers room - it being the larger - and the windows are very long, and large, and backed onto the conservatory roof, which we could quite easily sit on if we felt the need. One night, both of us were looking at the window, when what I could only describe as a black-clothed man with a true pumpkin-head appeared at the window, grinning in at us, moments after a loud ring sounded, before it disappeared again. I know I wasn't seeing things, because both me and my brother screamed at the same time - at which point my brother described to me, in perfect detail, what it looked like!

There were cases of our beds feeling like they were shaking (My brother even had it on holiday once, in a static caravan), I used to hear footsteps passing over the landing by my door regularly at night - my mother even remembers me asking Who just walked past the door? numerous times..

One case, I awoke in my room, at midnight roughly, and something drew my attention to above my door. There, was spinning a blue orb, with a white spiral in the middle, as solid as day. I hid under my covers with a yelp, and when I looked again, it was gone.

Constantly, in my bedroom, was a presence so strong, it made the air hot, and felt like it was so full of pressure, it pressed against me. I admit that a lot of the experiences in that house mentally scarred me - I still sleep with a light on, I suffer from anxiety - and at one point in the house, at about the age of 7 or 8, I followed my mother around the house everywhere, in fear of being alone, even in the day.

At night, I couldn't leave my room, out of fear of what was outside of it. I used to hear the footsteps, and the darkness down the steps used to seem to grow, and crawl up the walls in the most uncanny way..

Talking of scratching, I heard scratching in the room in my new house, once.. It went from close to the door, to the right, closer to my computer, to the opposite wall, then next to my bed, and then went silent..

Ooo! The things that you perceive continue to amaze me, OMJ! The pumpkin-head entity (like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) is interesting to me because I experience entities that are also in books and stories like this. It makes me think these entities already exist and that writers of stories merely channel them.

I am interested in the blue orb with the white spiral in it. Was it a positive experience overall, even though it scared you? Did it change you in anyway or heighten your perception of other "spirit" things? Did it communicate with you at all in words, symbols or ideas? How big was it (like a basketball or baseball, etc.)?

I once had an altered state communication with an orb (from my journal):

In the closet on a shelf was a glowing circle like an orb. It said something like, "This is what we are, Little Girl." I felt its voice (if it had a voice) was low and masculine in timbre. The message was cryptic-seeming to me. It held information, but was hard to translate. Calling me "Little Girl" was not derogatory. It reminded me of a wonderful lady I had worked for who often called me "Little Girl" and it was endearing and never made me feel spoken-down-to.

I feel the circle was rather flat in my dimension, but not so elsewhere. Though it appeared plain in colour, I intuited that it was orangey in the centre and going out to thin rings of rainbow and ending in purple. When I dwell on the message and experience, I feel emotional and loved. And then this morning I have portions of "Strawberry Fields Forever" lyrics running through my head: "nothing is real," and "misunderstanding all you see."

Ooo I love tasty tid-bits like the ones you've provided above OMJ! MORE PLEASE !

I'm not afraid of the dark...is that weird? I welcome it...is that weirder?

I believe that once someone thinks something up, it becomes reality somewhere. So IMO any scary monster that has been thought up for story or movie sake, really exists out there somewhere in the universe , & I believe that we can pull those entities & creations into our own realities by merely being aware that they have been created from someones mind (for whatever reason).

Then again I also believe what Alisa said too , about these creatures stemming from some part of truth that we are remembering from another dimension.

At any rate, I can relate to a lot of what you wrote about above OMJ. Thanks for sharing that .

Happy Hauntings, & I shall affirm for you, that your nite-lite NEVER goes out!

Update from Jaime moved to Fairy Thread.