How To Tell If Your House Is Haunted
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You've just moved into your dream house. You've barely gotten unpacked. Everything should be perfect.
But it isn't.
Something is not quite right.
Your kids complain of weird noises in the night. No one wants to go into the back basement or the front bedroom upstairs. You catch weird shadows out of the corner of your eye, and now you don't much like to look in the bathroom mirror if you're the only one home.
Is your house haunted?
Or do you just have a very active imagination and kids who don't want to go to bed?
(Wow, that never happens, huh?)
Houses make all kinds of noises naturally, due to plumbing issues, old heating and air conditioning ducts, normal settling, weather, and all kinds of other ordinary events and glitches.
But sometimes, every so often, you really do have a ghost.
Ghosts are not dangerous and 99.9% of the time they really can' do much at all except freak you out if you left them and rattle a few shades, but people tend to become frightened when they think they might have one.
If you suspect that you are not alone in your new place, ask yourself the following questions. If you find yourself answering 'yes' to some or most of them, it's probably not your imagination.
- Did you know your house was 'the right one' the minute you walked through the door? As odd as this may sound, that powerful 'click' you got when you 'just knew' that you 'had to have' this particular house, that feeling of near-recognition (as if you almost were remembering this house from some other time)--that specific feeling is one of the single best predictors of a haunting. If you had that experience, and now other strange events are occurring with some regularity, you may be dealing with a genuine haunting.
- Have you started any renovations or started any redecorating projects recently? Paranormal activity in a home is often triggered by redecorating or remodeling. Demolition is especially disruptive.The theory is that the spirit (or spirits) are attached to the home and still think of it as their own, so change stirs them up. But another little-considered factor is that this kind of change also stirs the living residents up. When you redecorate or renovate a house, you are also rearranging yourself. The space that surrounds you is part of you too, so that kind of restructuring can have powerful effects.
- Do you have independent corroboration? Often what happens with a family is that without realizing it,everyone starts to cooperate in building a narrative, a ghost story. This doesn't mean your house isn't haunted, but it isn't as compelling as the kind of corroborating experience in which someone who doesn't know your suspicions comes into the space and and sees or hears what you have been seeing and hearing.
- Have other explanations all been eliminated? A scientific axiom called Occam's Razor states that, all other things being equal, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Have you eliminated rickety plumbing, overactive imaginations, creaky roof tiles, and everything else you can conjure, and still you are left with haunting as the best and most elegant explanation? That could be because your house is haunted.
- Do you find change (ie pennies, dimes) all over the place, in odd locations, when you know you never put it there? Why do ghosts do this? I don't know. Honestly, I don't. But I can tell you that this is a very common sign of a haunting. especially when other evidence is present as well.
- Have you been having vivid dreams that possess a different quality than the dreams you usually have? Ghosts often try to make contact through dreams. If you have been having dreams that feel very real and that include someone or something that seems to be trying to tell you something, it could be be that someone or something really is trying to tell you something.
- Are you regularly awakened from a deep sleep by loud knocking or by covers being pulled from your bed? Again, this is a very common occurrence in a haunting situation. Something or someone may be trying to get your attention.
Just to reiterate: In 99.9999% of the cases that turn out to be an actual haunting, the ghost or ghosts in the home are completely harmless.
People fear ghosts because they fear death, but death happens to us all, and ghosts are not usually malevolent or capable of doing anyone harm even if they are in a perfectly foul mood. There's just nothing to fear from a ghost. Once you accept that, things tend to improve naturally.
Haunting tends to fall into one of three basic categories:
- Intelligent Haunting. The ghost is trying to make contact with a living person. Sometimes the ghost just wants to play or is trying to drive you off, but often, the ghost wants something. Remember that a spirit hanging around a house is stuck, and if you are interacting with it, there's a good chance you are stuck too in some way. The ghost is entering your story for help with his or her own story. Figure out the right story and the right ending and the haunting will either end or become less intrusive.
- Residual Haunting. A residual haunting often is the result of some extremely emotional or tragic situation which causes events to be imprinted on a place, kind of like a loop of film that keeps repeating itself over and over and over regardless of who is watching. Once the projector comes on, you see the snippet of film: the ghost walks up the stairs, the window slams in the same way, the footsteps go down the hall-- but the ghost or ghosts never attempt contact with you. They seem to have no awareness of you at all, but you can become aware of them.
- Demonic or Dark Haunting. Some paranormal researchers start breaking this third type of haunting into various subcategories: poltergeist activity, shadow people, possession, etc, but what's important to know is that this is the least common type of haunting. In my experience, such haunting amounts to maybe 2% or less of all haunting, and of that 2% (or less), I'd say that about 80% of those are instances of projection: that is, it's not a true haunting at all Instead, the entities encountered are actually the projected negative energy of a living person. You see this kind of haunting frequently in households with strong, repressive religious views that provide no outlet for having or understanding difficult feelings. This kind of haunting usually does require help, but you need to choose what kind of help very carefully so as not to feed the negative energy and make it worse.
If you feel you are experiencing a real haunting, should you run out and hire a paranormal investigator? You can, but usually it isn't necessary. I have found that most cases do tend to resolve themselves, and most of the time it's a simple matter of the living accepting what is happening with the dead, not being afraid of it, and just going about their lives.
If you do want to hire a paranormal team, don't pay for it, and do check out who you plan to hire thoroughly. Don't get so carried away that you allow someone inside to case the joint, or allow someone in who will pump up the energy to bilk you for cash.
Most of all, relax!
Ghosts are people who are dead. They've had their chance. They can't hurt you.
Ask yourself why this haunting is happening to you, and you'll be on track to see it pass peacefully out of your life or find a comfortable, non-alarming place within it.
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Thanks Garrett! Me too!
My sister had a house and I always hated the top of the stairs. There was a big, full length mirror there, used to comb your hair in the morning and I always felt uncomfortable infront of it. A couple of years later I found out that the previous owner had hung himself on the same spot you would stand brushing your hair. Maybe I'm just over sensitive.
Most of the real hauntings settle down if you pay attention to them and figure out what they're trying to show you or tell you. There have been more cases of ghosts actually helping the living than harming them. Ghosts will sometimes come to warn people of impending, correctable disasters -- problems that need fixing, like a water heater that badly needs repair. Sometimes they like you and would rather you didn't join them.
One famous one haunts a riverboat that she captained for over 40 years and shows up to warn the living crew if there are navigation problems or weather problems they need to be extra alert for, everyone that works on the boat knows to watch for her and she's still looking out for the boat she loved.
The residual ones aren't always from dead people, they can be cast by a violent event that the victim survived and went on to live somewhere else -- but the event left an echo or stain on the place and sometimes becomes repetitive when people reenact it.
So don't move into a haunted house while you're in a bad relationship.
You're totally right that ghosts can't really do anything. They can annoy you and that's about it. Or fascinate you, which is better for you and them because they can get through easier when everyone's into them. Some of the French Quarter haunts get sustained by constant tourism and I think that's some of why they can be so distinct at times.
Cool things that can be mistaken for a haunting:
Squirrels in your walls, or birds like woodpeckers. No, I am not kidding. In hollow-wall housing if there is any loose board in the siding or anyplace a small animal or bird can get inside, they find out fast that there's a nice heated / air conditioned dark quiet den that predators can't get into. They move in. They burrow through insulation, find a good spot, run around all over making thumps and squeaks and noises and this can be extremely alarming if you don't know what it is. We have woodpeckers in my current house right by my room, it's trippy. But this is nature, not the paranormal happening.
Kittens in your walls.
Same thing, but immature cats can get trapped and get lost in there wandering all over the house trying to get in or out. Their voices can sound like a baby crying, one of the more traditional haunts. This can have a very happy ending if someone figures it out -- it happened once where the kitten got pulled out and rescued, then kept by the people whose house it was. Kittens are brainless. So really listen to those noises and where they're coming from and what's going on. And if you have kittens missing that may be one of the likeliest things, especially if there are crawl spaces and ways into the walls from inside the house.
Ari got into the walls as a grown cat in one house we lived in and I went nuts finding him and getting him out, fortunately he did vocalize and we knew who to look for. But it took a lot of stair climbing for me and pretty much wiped me out, especially carrying him back up five flights when he weighs 14lb, was covered in dust that I'm allergic to and was wiggling.
Children's games that make noises.
I got woken up by these a lot in my Kansas house especially, when the kids were littler and had more of them. Listen close. If it starts reciting the alphabet or repeating a simple word over and over, it's probably an electronic toy. Incidentally, grown cats and dogs love playing with these things and learn how to trigger them at two or three in the morning when the house is quiet.
If that gets to be too much of a problem, adults can always remove batteries from all noisy toys at bedtime so that no furry haunts get their playtime while everyone's sleeping.
Kitty Olympics. Especially if you have more than one cat, cat races, Drop Things, tipping furniture and major crashes can happen late at night. Nature evolved cats to hunt at about two or three in the morning when most of their prey is sleeping as soundly as you wish you were. Also to climb trees and shelves and the highest places they can, but come down from them by falling.
This means of course that haunting noises while your cat is contentedly purring on your lap and all cats are visibly just sitting in front of you are more likely to actually be haunts.
Cats like them and will usually notice them fast. They have great physical senses, faint noises intrigue them, and they're psychic on top of that. Sometimes your cat is listening to something only the cat can hear. It may be a bug inside the walls or a mouse snoring, or it may be a haunt. Too bad the cats can't describe what they hear.
Of course if you have a Siamese your cat may never shut up about it.
Hi knell63--I believe you and doubt you were being oversensitive--probably you were picking up on something real, and discomfort was a normal reaction.I think stuff like this happens all the time and we're taught to shrug it off. Thanks for sharing that.
Robert--I know about squirrels! I had one chew right through a solid outside wall at a house I lived in once, shingles and all. It's amazing what can get into your walls. I agree that often ghosts try to warn you too. One of my most vivid hauntings seemed to be in that category. Here's the link if you're interested:
Very entertaining pgrundy! We did/do live in a haunted house. Activity always increased around life changes for us - especially when each of the children left home. Poor things, some of their friends refused to stay overnight after their experiences in our house. It was the worst when my daughter got married. After that, things quieted down quite a bit.
We later built a new home and tore down the old (110 yrs) one. My husband thinks "it" followed us to the new house but I have my doubts. Although I still get the "creeps" on some areas of the property.
Fun hub!
Hi Susie Writes--Sometimes ghosts do attach to people and follow them around. It's also possible for other types of entities to attach to people, for example, I think there is a difference between a ghost and a guide. Guides are often people who have passed on and instead of coming back choose to work off karma by follow someone around. It sounds bizarre but most psychics are familiar with this and talk about it in an offhand way, and I do then to believe there is some truth in it. Cool story! Thanks for sharing it. :)
I really like this hub. I've had had two encounters with ghosts and spirits but will not get into them right now (I've learned that they like to listen, as you said before which is a fact).
People in the Theravadan Buddhist religion were animists before they became Buddhists in so that they worshipped spirits and so until this day, some of that "superstition" is still prevalent and so as a religion, spirits and stories about spirits are not at all a rarity. If you've ever known any Lao, Thai, Cambodian or Burmesian person you'll see that sometimes colorful yarn or white yarn is worn around their wrists as this is a "lucky charm" usually given to followers of the religion to ward off evil spirits. Good work, pgrundy. I'll be stopping in again!
Hi dohn121--Thank your explaining all that--that's really fascinating. I tried to be a Buddhist once. I studied the teaching of Chogyam Trungpa, from Tibet. He was pretty crazy but that was a good time in my life, very helpful. Here in the U.S. its similar in a way--the Indians who lived here before white people believed in spirits and not in a superstitious way. I think it's not at all crazy. Thanks for your thoughts. :)
Great Hub,..I can totally relate to seeing a house and just had to have it. My hubby said he saw a little girl in the upstairs window, I didn't believe him,..Well we got the house and immediatly I knew things wer'nt right. it was'nt very friendly either. We ended up moving out. Then some years later their was a house for rent, very cheap because the previous owner was murdered in it, we rented it and it was the most comfortable feeling place I had ever stayed in. Hubby jokes around and tells me they follow me, haha.
Hi Armyinfantrymom--They might follow you! Seriously, if they think someone can see or hear them, they do gravitate toward that person. It's nothing to worry about though. Thanks for stopping by!
I am somewhat we'll call "sensitive" and personally I've never really been affraid, so maby I am an easy target,..LOL.
PG, this is a great read and keep it coming…I am so into Ghost Hunters---I would love to do a hunt with them one day. Do I believe---ABSOULTY! I have had several personal experiences, which for me, confirms there is life beyond this existence…
Army Infantry Mom--I'm kinda the same way, and like you, almost nothing parnormal scares me. :)
Nancy's Niche--I love that show too. I would love to be part of paranormal investigation team. Maybe I'll start one!
I've never been haunted, though I have written about we "think" we "may" have a ghost. Just little things and occurances that are beyond mere coincidence. Mind you, we're not saying we do, and we're not saying we don't. We're keeping an open mind about it until all the evidence is in.
Ahem. I do have a ghost. Or it will be when I catch him... the bloody neighbor's cat that pisses all over my plants. Grunt.
OK, I'm done being silly :-) I never believed in ghosts, did never even get to the stage of eliminating all other explanations, I'm so darned pragmatic it's boring, but I enjoyed the read immensely!
Hi Chris--If you get to where you think you do for sure, I hope you write about it. That will make everyone here very happy! :)
Hi Elena--I think lots of folks feel as you do (I never let me cat out BTW!), but I'm glad you enjoyed the read!
I was thinking how can someone explain these things in such detail but you did. I particularly liked you classification of haunting. Never thought that these kinda things have classification too. Good one!
Thanks packerpack, good to hear from you! Enjoy your weekend. :)
Oooh, creepy. I love this stuff. Thanks for the entertaining hub!
Your hubs are always interesting. I really enjoyed this one, for many reasons. First because my mom had a "special relationship" with what she called her spirits, but also because my daughters both say there is a ghost, they call "the lady ghost" or "the ghost lady" in our home. I've never seen her, I don't really believe in ghosts, and I don't believe my home is haunted, but the girls have been talking about her for years.
Apparently they first noticed her right after we moved into the house. She always appears in the same place, the archway between the kitchen and the dinning room. This just happens to be where the new addition joins with the original house.
They say she just stands there smiling at them. They have no fear of her and say she has had a calming effect on them when they've been upset.
They love "the ghost lady" and I've been told not to do anything to make her go away. I've always thought it was just something they made up to get attention, but it has gone on for so many years and they have both been so adamant about her being real.
The original house is old and quite small but it does have lots of charm. It sits on 3 acres with a detached 2 story garage and some outbuildings. Right before we bought the place, it was remodeled and an inground pool, dinning room, family room and sun room were added, doubling the size of the original structure. The house seems to have a very peaceful, comfortable atmosphere about it that many people have commented on. Friends tell me all the time that they just love being at my house, and always feel peaceful and calm there. I honestly can't explain it. The only thing that seems to be a little bit weird in the house is me.
The girls say their "lady ghost" is responsible for the good vibes and that she looks after the place. I wish I could get her to do the dishes and the laundry. More often than not, the house is a hub of happy activity. This is the "hang out" house for my daughters and their friends, the "sports bar" for my husband and his buddies, and I find I'm always entertaining my friends. By the way, I read your hub on house numerology and this house just happens to be a 3.
Hi Disturbia--What a great story. I've heard others like it, where there's a resident ghost that is actually a comforting presence. I think kids do pick up on stuff that we don't. I could write a whole hub on that topic alone. My kids used to see aliens. It went on for a long time. They didn't call them aliens, but they'd describe them and .... that's what they sounded like. Little men with big eyes that scared them and moved strangely. They said they would show up beside their beds in the evening, or sometimes they would see them run through the hall. My oldest daugher was actually visiting a cousin out of state when she was about six, and they both saw these little people, not like some ethereal ghostly kinda thing, but like you'd see a mouse or a dog or a cat. To this day my daugher won't watch alien movies or read any kind of alien abduction stuff. She's not dumb or prone to imagining things, and to this day they all swear they weren't imagining these guys or dreaming, they swear it was all real little creatures. I confess I found it all kind of uncomfortable while it was happening. Even now it kinda freaks me out.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I love a ghost story. I understand that when things get moved around or thrown around, it ain't a ghost - that ghosts can't affect material things. If stuff is being thrown around - if it isn't the prejections of some pissed off teenager, then it's a demon.
We had a loving ghost for a short while here. My old uncle who lived with us in this house came back to visit. One of my sons (I was pregnant with him when Uncle died) used to say that if he had a bad dream, Uncle Gene would wake him up and sit with him promising that his presence would prevent any more nightmare. The thing of it was that this was typical Uncle Gene behavior and something that he would say. How would a 3 year old who never met him know that?
Good read. We fell in love with our house instantly and the last owner had died. Spooky :)
Good Hub! I really enjoy the supernatural stories fiction and non-fiction. I've always been curious at how I might react during a paranormal experience.
I had one when I was young, well I totally freaked myself out, but it was probaly was nothing. I was six and we lived in an old row house in England. I was playing cowboy and I had my six shooter by myside and had made a fort out of the dining room chairs. I was walking on the seats of the chairs when my six shooter shot(fell) out of my holster and fell to the ground. That ghost scared me good! (I scared myself good!) I wouldn't play in that room by my self ever again! I laugh about it now because the thought of a ghost really spooked me. Peace.
Hi Dolores--I've heard from so many people who have stories like that about loved ones who have passed one visiting for awhile. This happened with my Dad and my grandfather (my dad's dad), but they didn't stay--with both it was just in the three days following their actual death. People say it's a part of grief not a real visitation but it doesn't feel that way. I take people at their word about these things.
ethel--Thanks for reading it! I love stuff like this, it's fun for me. :)
sneakorocksolid--Wow, sounds like you ran into a cowboy ghost! It does seem like little kids can see them more easily. They don't know that they aren't supposed to see them yet so they just see them. Thanks for sharing your story!
Fabulous hub Pam, I too love all this kind of stuff. I know most Ghosts cannot hurt you, but there has to surely be a risk where a Poltergeist is concerned, (they can throw objects at you), or those Ghosts that actually scratch people, (unless they are demons!!).
Hi Misty! Good to see you. I've hear of those things--I suppose I should be more scared but I rarely have been. Good points!
Didn't occur until now that I and my kids were "lured" to some of the haunted houses we lived in! I prefer to think we were "chosen". Must be as hard for ghosts to get compatible housemates as it is for us. ;D
JamaGenee--LOL! I like that. Never thought of it that way but you have a point!
Great article! I really enjoyed reading it, especially since I have lived in a few homes that were haunted. My favorite apartment was very old, and every morning I woke up to find pennies all over the floor - and always in the bedroom :)
I think my house used to be haunted. Objects would move whenever we'd leave and sometimes fans and stuff would turn on by themselves. Then one day, in the middle of the night, the front door opened by itself, and nothing has happened since.
I love this hub, thank you so much for shedding some light for the skeptics:)I'm not one, but I love to hear parallel stories, to confirm my own. I've added this link to one of my ghost stories, I hope you don't mind:) Hugs
I think fear is such strong emotion that we do create a reality of its own ! :) NO FEAR YOU IDIOTS !! :) just chill ..
Hi everyone, thanks for your comments. :)
Myriad--I don't really see anyone commenting here as an idiot but thanks for the advice.
I've always wanted to live in a haunted house, it's like my life dream to find some old house that has a little girl ghost singing in the back garden or something
Great hub !! ghosts are scary ;)
For me..the first sign was the boy who told me he saw dead people. ;)
Love that top photo, Pam. This was a great hub and so true. I think I'll pass this onto my sister, she's fascinated by this stuff, but mostly because she hasn't experienced it but wants to.lol.
OMG! I am freaked out! I am staying at my boyfriends folks house because we are in between a big move. Anyways, they said they had a ghost and they think it is my bf's dad's deceased twin brother who passed away without cause or reason. I think they call it sudden death syndrome.
So anyways, I have been here for about 4 weeks and last week I tell you, I swear it to whomever that something touched my hand. It was cold and it woke me up out of my sleep because it was that cold.
I didn't freak out too much accept for being startled and dumbfounded about it but went back to sleep. But last night. OMG, OMG, OMG!
At about 2am, I was either dreaming or it was real, I don't know. Anyways I opened my eyes for a second (don't know why) and looked towards the bedroom door. I saw something come in, a silhouette and I thought it was my bf because of the physical likeness, so I thought I was dreaming.
Then it came closer and I realized that it was not, not, not my bf and it was definitely not his fathers brother.
So it kept got close enough and reached out to touch me and I started screaming.
I mean screaming it freaked me out so bad. When I have bad dreams I usually scream but have to work on getting the scream out to wake myself up. But last night it just came right out!
I was trembling, nearly crying it was so scary and called my bf in the middle of night. I think this house has a ghost but I don't know what it wants with me unless it is pissed off that I am here.
Whatever be the case, if it is the same thing that touched me the other night, then I don't care if they are harmless or not, they can still do things.
Creepy!
Good Hub, If you come to Asian countries there a lot of people who are exposed to this kind of supernatural thing. Actually you have nothing to be afraid of Ghost / Genie, but it's always better to have some knowledge about them. If you fear them the stronger they will become. God is the best Protector.
Fascinating hub. There are many documented ghost sightings in places that actually lure tourists to those sights. So it can actually be good for business to have a resident ghost!
Very very interesting...bookmarking to remember
Oooooh...(eerie tune plays in background)...I do believe in ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists. Just dont think they're spirit of dead loved ones, especially when they're there to freak you out. For obvious reasons. Brilliant work.
Thanks for stopping by fierycj! :)
Very good hub, I enjoyed it.
Ghost Hunters fan - -love this stuff! Great hub
I liked the article very much. I really like ghosts. My favorite things to watch is ghost hunters, ghost whisperer and anything else about ghost. I would actually like to be a ghost hunter and see ghosts.
Hi Annette--I love those shows myself. Thanks for your comment and happy ghost hunting! :)
Great read. I use to live in an apartment and I would hear my name called in my girlfriend's voice. My friend even heard it one night. It would only call my name when my girlfriend was not there. It would also hit my bed when I was reading.
Very nice read I loved it thank you:)
HI there, I really loved your post - it is not often I come across someone with a similar take on ghosts that I have and you put your thoughts across so well. I will be looking out more of your hubs, because this was a great read
Thanks :)
Lisa
I had an experience a few months ago that was by far the most spiritual that I’ve ever had. What happened was I was hired, to do some installation and maintenance and stuff like that for an attorney on his four properties. We were moving a audio/video system from a condo in Marina del rey to Hancock park. The marina is a modern comtemporary place, and the condo was very tastefully decorated, and the a/v system was very expensive, over a hudred grand. There was a jewelry safe in the bedroom that was over five feet tall. There was also a time clock in the kitchen, the kind you clock in and out of at work. There was also things like walkers and crutchs and stuff like that. Also in the living room was a glass table and it was broken, it looked as if someone had fallen on it and it broke.
The lawyer wanted us to move this stuff to Hancock park, where it’s old money. Big houses that were built back in the 1920’s. What was so odd was when we walked into the house it was still back in the early 1900’s. The furniture hadn’t been updated, not a stitch. It wasn’t as if these people were antique hunters, they were cheap. But that lawyer that I was moving the stuff for, he didn’t live in either place. He lived in a crowded condo in Newport beach. He co-founded a lawfirm with his now deceased father who owned the Hancock property and come to find out his mother owned the Marina property. Apparently she left the old man a couple of years before she died. Her and the old man died something like 7 months apart, it was a battle of wills, who was going to live the longest. The old man won on that one, but the thing was the old man was wicked, mean and didn’t care about anything but money. He taught is son how to beat clients out of their money by overbilling, and having them up their houses up to cover any debt they might have to the attorneys at the end of the case they were handling for these people.
In the den at hancock park was a dining room set made of grotesquely shaped logs. It looked as if it were carved with a knife by hand. The legs were large and deformed as was the table. The wall paper was lilght blue and the brown from the years was creeping upwards. Everything was old, the floors were covered with layers of carpets, instead of throwing out the old one, they were too cheap, so they just put another one on top of the old one. Above the door in the den was a broken out piece of paneling and above it was a grove that was shaped like a semi circle. It looked as if there was an old crude latch, the kind you see in the country to keep the door locked. When you climb the stairs to get to the second floor, there is a door to the left directly down the hall, and there is a huge lock on the door. It’s not just the kind of lock you put on a bedroom, but it was a lock you put on a steel door. And underneath the door was about a eight inch gap. Immediately to the right of that door was an exact match to that door. So there were two doors that looked exactly the same. That gap underneath the doors was disturbing, the first thing that came to my mind was it was to slide food trays underneath.
As soon as you got to the top of the stairs, directly in front of you was an ultra moden, circa 1980 bathroom. It was enclosed in glass without any doors. It was all marble, it was a sore thumb. It didn’t fit, and it was the only luxury in that house. And if you took a right at the end of the hall was the master bedroom with no door. It gave a clear view of that entire second floor. Two rooms with doors, and heavy locks, an open bathroom and an open master bedroom, strange, very strange.
Back downstairs, everywhere in that house were makeshift beds, that were small. Everywhere. There was a room that had chairs around the perimeter of the walls and the center was open except for a makeshift bed. It was eery… in the garage as the door was being opened it stuff began to tumble out, piles of stuff, peoples stuff, clothing, tables, chairs, toys, a Harley Davidson, everything anyone would have in their home. Except these people, they took it from their clients who couldn’t pay, or they took it from people they had come to do work they sued for breach of contract. I know because I’m one of those people….
At the Marina in the closet was a stack of pictures, and on the back of one of those photographs was the name “Kile”. That’s all it said, and on the front was a young man, who’s head was oversized, andhe looked handicapped. He was one of their sons, who the old man ridiculed and the woman loved dearly. She took care of Kile as his father hide him away and his brother played favors wit the father. Kile was the outcast because he was nothing but a waste of time money and effort. The mother began to hate her husband for all he stood for. They had moved to California from the country a lifetime ago and he made it as an attorney. They had a future, they had finally made it, she and he. But he forgot her, he forgot the promises he made her, he forgot who he was, and he reinvented himself. He didn’t fit in in the cool California towns, he was still a hick, and no law degree was going to change that. He became bitter because he worked for his respect and people still laughed at him, so he began to take from everyone and he even took from his own family. He took his son and brow beat him and made him a man just like him. His son was an attorney now and with his suits he wore white tube socks and black shoes., with a crew cut. And that hasn’t changed since, well since… ever, it never changed.
He was now hiring people to do work at his home and would make up a reason they couldn’t finish and he’d sue them for everything, and he got away with it everytime. Who could afford to go up against a lawyer but a lawyer and nobody could afford a lawyer when they had to work. But I digress, kile finally died, and the woman was heartbroken, and she was old and tired, and she hated that man for never showing a bit of compassion to his poor son. She had had enough, she made him, she sacrificed for him, and she didn’t get anything but the back of his cruel hand. She left him and she went shopping, she shopped and bought things, and it tore that man up. The only thing that he cared about and she had it, the check book. She spent lavishly, like there was no tomorrow, because she knew it was only things, it was only object; it wasn’t anything it didn’t mean a thing. But to the old man it was everything. So she went out and bought a benz, and krell a/v system with a crestron remote and talk about jewelry, she needed a five foot safe to keep it in. But her health was taking it’s toll, and she had the regret of not having left him a long time ago. Her life was over, but she still had to do this for kile and for herself. It was her day and although it was a cloudy day, it was her day. She couldn’t find the solace in revenge, but she knew that it was ripping the old man apart inside and that is what this was all about. It wasn’t about herself, it never was, she died a long time ago, every time the old man called kile a retard, every time his brother would ridicule him and run to his father for protection. She tried to forgive her son for being so mean spirited like his father, because it was his father who made him to be the monster he had grown to be so proud of being. But she began to despise him, because he didn’t care. He had no feelings inside; he was everything that she had despised. Could god be so cruel, that she grew up poor in the deepest of the country farms, sweating sacrificing?
She and Henry were going to make it, and make it big and have a big house and cars, and parties in California one day. She helped him through school, they scrimped and saved and then one day they would… that one day never came, There was no lavish parties, there was no new cars, clothes , nothing. The same furniture they bought in the early 1900;s was the same furniture they had in the year 2000. What is wrong with that man she thought day and night, until she didn’t care anymore?
Well one day I was working in the de
Very interesting...My mom and dad's first house was so haunted they moved out shortly after purchasing it. To this day she doesn't like to talk about it. But I heard the stories of their experiences and they were bad. I myself have lived in several houses through life that seemed to have "occurances" that are unexplained. There is a city in So Cal called Imperial Beach and its known that almost every house there has some sort of hauntings...
Hello,
When I was about 7, I was staying at my grandparents house. I was going down the hall to use the bathroom and I saw a light white colored mist at the end of the hall. All the doors were closed down there and there was no light from under the doors or nothing. It was night time. I was just standing there looking at it. All the sudden it started moving in my direction and I ran into my grandma's room and told her about it. She went to look and it was gone. There have been lots of ghost experiences in her home. My dad's friend, my god father, was staying the night there when my dad was a kid. A voice told my god father saying "Get out of my house!!!". He never stepped foot in that house again. My dad would see a man in a suit and a black hat walk into his room from the door, enter the closet and disappear. Then finally my cousin was at the house and my grandma said her chair started shaking. Just the chair. She jumped off of course and it stopped. Just weird stuff like that. They had it checked out. Apparents the house was a passthrough for ghosts going to the other side. The only ghost I have actually seen was not even a ghost, just the mist. But I have always been able to feel them. In our last home, it was pretty bad, about a year and a half ago. The front of the house was fine, but in the back where the dining room is, and a small office, I just didn't feel right. And me and my two friends were getting sick there. Once we moved, we got better. However here, there are two other ghosts. One is nice. I can feel it, but it doesn't scare me. But the other, the other I have a hard time with. Like it's watching me, but not in a good way. Makes me really uncomfortable. So that's my experience with ghosts.
-Stanley
Hi, just wanted to say I enjoyed your hub. I really adore the paranormal stuff myself and I am always willing to read about it. I would love to share stories of experiences I have had with you one day. Brilliant hub
Hi phoenixarizona--Thanks for stopping by! It would be a great to be able to trade storie someday. I'm on the same page as you--love this stuff! :)
Wow! what a hub, you certainly know your stuff, I've not heard of the 'finding change' thing before, very interesting, but then I might not notice that as I tend to dump loose coins anywhere and everywhere anyway, lol.
I've not seen a ghost, and whilst very interested am not entirely sure I'd want to, but I did suffer from sleep paralysis (or at least I think it was) every time I had to do 'Sleep-ins' when I worked in a care home that many of the staff claimed to be haunted. I've had it a few times since at home, but it started there, happened every time I slept there, and it was always a lot stronger there, and it definitely felt like my dreams were being invaded by... Well, who knows.
Hi Mr. Voodoo,
Yes, I've heard that change in weird places thing from a several people, and we had a ghost when my kids were young that announced itself that way. I've seen a number of ghosts. They're just people who aren't alive anymore. It's easy to get 'spooked' by them, but most of them are just lost or stuck. :)
Oooooooh I love the subject of your hub and i find it thrilling that there are other believers out here that are not pushing th presence of empiricism over enthusiasm. I had a professor in my baccaluareate days of psychology that loved, "A scientific axiom called Occam's Razor states that, all other things being equal, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one"-- because he only had to think about something briefly. I have a whole nother approach to the paranormal and would love for you to read some of my stuff there as well as catch a hub ir two of mine . . .
sharing the light,
miss erica hidvegi the enlightenment advisor
When people live in isolation due to family neglect, they sure will have psychological occurances within their own brain. There's no psychics at my local police station. Fact is from primary resources, TV and media is a secondary resource. A real ghost haunting is when parents raise their kids hard to survive, rather than sharing, being equals, no it has to be authoritive and strictly black and white, so that when family sees each other again, one has seen a ghost of the past. BOO! Makes me go pale when I hang round the elderly
I've written a couple of hubs on similar topics.At the moment I'm focussing on other things but have done a couple of healing sessions and house clearings where the owner was troubled by psychic activity, clocks stopping, drawers opening and shutting that sort of thing.
My life is haunted so what are you talking about. I can talk, hear, feel, and see the dead.
thanks, well written.
I've never heard about the coin thing before. After each of my two youngest boys were born an old tuppence apeared on my dressing table. They both went into my jewelry box as soon as I found them. A few years ago I asked another person about thier appearing in my home and she told me they were a "Mother's gift from the fae."
Hi it's just me--Wow, that's spooky! We had a spirit once that moved objects. We'd come home and find things in weird places--on top of bookshelves and so forth. I think these things happen more than people realize.
What ever it is it must be attached to me because we lived in two different houses on opposite sides of Anchorage when the boys were born.
Hi, Pam...Hope you and your partner are doing all right. This article is just in time for Halloween...at least when I am getting to it, lol. Love the top two photos or photo collages in this--they read like photo paintings.
Supposedly, we do have a ghost in our house. Matt is more into these things than I am, :). He says she stands at the window on the side of the house in one of the bedroom when he drives up, but that she is a friendly ghost and likes people living here that take care of the house. It is late, and so I am spooking myself out. And actually, maybe I can find a way to weave that into the Nanowrimo novel, since it will be based on this historical house we live in and the stories behind it. "The Sutler" was the builder of this house...he and 2 brothers came here from New York and 2 became important in Arizona; the other moved on to San Francisco. They owned stores that served the military here, among other things.
Anyway, I see madame ghost as kind of an East of Eden (but more decent) sort of wife...as many kind of were in the 1860's. :)
There ia a story I would reccomend on a site called Authorsden. It's called-A true story of the supernatural, by Gerald J Tate.
It frightened me at least.
Creepy stuff.
Thanks Jordan. :)
I am being woken up in the middle of the night not by blankets being pulled off or any noises, but I just wake up at odd hours through out the night and I am frozen with fear. Also last night I woke up 4 times, the 4th time I was laying on my right side it felt like someone was behind me and I was to afraid to move I cried and went back to sleep.
No one was in the bed with me as my husband is a truck driver and he is on the road, no one else was in the room. This is not the first time this happened to me, my house is an old Canadian Forces Bases house from 1945, it was an officers house. Any ideas what is happening? And why it only happens when my husband is not home???
Hi Leanne--You could be experiencing anxiety and stress that is coming out at night as a sleep disorder. "Night terrors" are a form of sleep disorder in which you wake up terrified for no apparent reason. It might not have anything to do with a haunting. I would talk about it with your physician--he or she may be able to solve the problem simply with a prescription.
If that doesn't work, it is possible that you feel more anxious when your husband is gone, and this feeds any ghost that may be around. Ghosts draw energy from fear and negative emotion, so anything you can do to reassure yourself and not feel afraid will help it to stop. If you do have a ghost, once you are no longer scared of it, you can then deal with the ghost or not as you wish--you can just tell it to bug off if you want, it will be up to you. Good luck!
since a really scary experience with a ghost in this house about 2 yrs ago and also I have seen shadows walk across my dining room at night when everyone is home but of course no one else see's it I am leary about sleeping on my back and so your probably right about my fear feeding ghosts that maybe around. I make it a point to NEVER sleep in my back unless my husband is home as the last time I did I was woken up by a ghost blowing in my face smiling and then fading back and away from the bed. (Husband was home that night) I will try my best to relax and think positive thoughts when I go to bed at night, I dont usually think scary or negative thoughts but I obviously have it on the brain as I know to not fall asleep on my back. I guess the fear is so deep it is in my sub concience. Thank you so much for your input and I will ask my doctor, it wont hurt to ask him :)
im pretty sure that my house is being haunted. is there any way i can be sure that whatever is haunting me is not a demon?
Hi nick--Demonic entities are rare and if you had one you'd definitely know. Most entities people call 'demons' are either elementals (again, rare) or projections of problems inside themselves, usually anger and fear. Many researchers believe poltergeists are not ghosts but are telekinetic activity coming from upset people within a household.
You probably just have a garden variety ghost.
Pam I hope you don't mind me saying something to Leanne
When we are alone we as females have a tendency to be more alert. When we are sleeping the slightest sound or change in atmosphere can wake us. What is making it harder for you is that it seems these ghosts like to play with you. For some it may be the attraction of power, the ability to put you in fear. You should have a nice long talk with them explaining that this is your home and they are not to bother you with thier nonsense, you wouldn't put up with it from a living entity. So why put up with it from a spirit entity.
Garrett McLee says:
4 months ago
Excellent read! I love ghost stuff.