You Know They're Here
70A Novel Based on Actual Events
My first hub on Hubpages, http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Paranormal-Side-of-Life offers one the information about the infamous house nestled in the hills of Hinsdale, New York which was depicted on The Discovery Channel's, A Haunting - Dark Forest, as well as attracting numerous world renowned psychics. I'd like to share with you some excerpts from my novel. I trust you will find it interesting reading as I found it interesting to be a part of this troubled house.
Excerpt 1
This was my first ever visit to the house, August of 1974.
This is the drive down the road from the haunted house after my and my ex-wife's first visit.
The night was black, pitch black. Looking out the window, you couldn‘t
see ten feet in any direction. We both rolled our windows up and I
locked my door the same time Debbie was reaching in the back to lock
the rear doors. “I don’t like this one bit.” I said as I turned the key
in the ignition.
The battery didn’t even click as a battery usually does even when totally drained.
“I saw something!” Debbie shrieked.
“Oh, you did not; don’t you lose it. There’s nothing there, hear me?
It’s probably just an animal. We’re in the country.” I said.
“Animals aren’t ten feet in the air! Dammit, I saw something in the tree above us!”
I turned the keys several more times. Nothing.
“It’s probably just a loose wire in the ignition or something.” I said.
“That’s not going to make the headlights go out, or the dash lights!”
She was right.
“There’s something outside the car, I’m telling you, there’s something outside!!”
“Shut up, Debbie. Goddamn it, there’s nothing outside. It’s your
imagination. Just please calm down and help me figure out what the hell
is wrong!”
I snapped. Imagination or not, I was scared out of my wits. Looking
across Wagner Hill road, I could see lights in the house no more than
an eighth of a mile up their driveway. The thought of leaving the car
and walking in pitch black was out of the question in my state of mind.
There is no way Debbie would allow me to leave her alone, and she sure
as hell wouldn’t have trekked the distance with me. There was
something! I couldn’t see it or hear it, but I could feel it. My mind
was playing against me, and I tried my best to make it right, yet there
was something or someone outside the car. I told myself it was my
imagination, but the feeling was getting stronger and I dared not look
up from the steering wheel, because if I saw what I felt, I would
freak. All the while, I was twisting the key so hard in the ignition I
expected it to break at any moment. All the windows in the car were
closed and the air was heavy, hard to breathe. Was this shock? Time
wasn’t moving, at least not from my perspective. Too many thoughts were
crossing my psyche and I wasn’t thinking rational.
“Do something!” Debbie shouted. “Get us off this fucking road, NOW!”
I couldn’t move, I refused to look out the window; there’s nothing
there. Our imaginations were running rampant and I had to somehow take
control of a situation we had no right being in.
“We’re ok, Deb. I’m sure the engine’s going to turn over in a minute
and we’ll be on our way home.” I said calmly, yet my mind was screaming
at her to not say another word.
“Oh, God, what was that? WHAT WAS THAT!!?” She screamed so loud, every
nerve became frazzled, and every hair on my body stood at attention.
Excerpt 2
A random evening guarding the property.
My friend Tim and I spent many nights at the house, guarding the
grounds from trespassers. Lines of cars would drive the back country
roads, people searching for the house, hoping for a chance to see a
ghost. This excerpt is from one of our late nights.
I handed Tim the towels and he wiped the flashlight off. We began
walking back toward the car when we heard what sounded like someone
walking through the tall grass along the shore of the pond behind us. I
quickly turned and scanned my light across the length of the pond
pathway. I saw nothing. When I turned back, Tim was already at the car
and getting in, but he got in the passenger side. As I started to laugh
the sound came again, as did the feeling. I had turned to stone, I
didn’t turn around and I didn’t run to the car, I stood frozen in place
when I was suddenly blinded by Tim who was shining his light directly
into my face. I prayed he wasn’t, at any moment going to yell, “RUN”
when the light which was trained on me found its beam reflecting on
something I dared not imagine. Every hair on my body was a prickle, and
every sense heightened to their limits. My mind told my feet to ’do
their stuff’ but they were set in fast drying cement. Every imaginable
scene from every ghost story Warner Bros. ever produced flew through my
thoughts. It felt like I was drifting, being carried on the cool breeze
that was at my back. Was it the breeze, or was it the tip of the arctic
freeze that slapped my face the night Phil took me on my first journey
into this haunted land? As I stood there, the air began to get much
cooler; cold, and the feeling began to intensify with lightning speed.
I was expecting to hear a voice once again.
You know they’re here too, don’t you?
Oh baby, do I, and right here, right NOW! I wasn’t alone, I knew that.
There was a presence with me, but the feeling of fear was subsiding and
the feeling of sadness overcame me. Was it sadness for myself because I
was standing here like a rooted tree, that I really wanted to run my
ass off to the safety of the car, or was I being given a psychic
connection from the presence that was nearby? I believed the latter,
because it was extremely strong as was the initial feeling, and the
only feeling of my own I was aware of was fear. The air was very cold,
too cold.
Excerpt 3
This was undoubtedly one of my most frightening visits.
Clara walked over to where Beth was sitting, and ever so carefully,
placed Joe in Beth’s arms. Beth was all smiles, and began cooing as
soon as he was settled against her chest. I was a very proud dad at
that moment, and felt a tear attempting to break through, but I knew if
it did, many more would come. Before I’d let that happen with all these
people in the room, I got off the floor, picking up the glass Laura had
brought me, and took it to the kitchen. I walked back into the living
room, as Keith, Mike and Randy were coming out.
“Nice job, dad!” Mike said.
“Thanks, Mike, I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, he’s cute, thank God he doesn’t look like you!” Keith exclaimed.
“Piss up a bent rope!” I said, jokingly.
The three of them went back outside, and I sat on the floor next to Debbie.
“One of you girls get up, let Paul sit on the couch!” Clara said, sort of demandingly.
“No, Clara, I’m fine. Let ’em sit, I’m good, really.”
The air seemed uneasy somehow, and I had noticed that the birds weren’t
singing as they had been when we first entered the room, and that made
me start the feeling process, although, I didn’t actually know how. I
waited a minute, turned around, and snuck a quick peek at Laura; she
didn’t look back with her beautiful smile, which she always did when we
looked at one another. I was sure Clara noticed something, or perhaps
she felt it too, because she observed Laura and myself gaze at one
another. Clara had that look she often did before, or during one of her
‘umbrella’ nights. Christ, not now! I got up and started lowering the
legs on the bassinet, which made Debbie’s expression immediately turned
from her typical glowing self, to mud. Lord, going through those simple
steps of taking down a babies bassinet felt more like digging in,
preparing yourself for incoming; wondering how long until the enemy
infiltrated your lines.. I began sweating, and everyone in the room
knew what was happening, especially Clara and Laura. Clara’s face was
drawn and ashen, as she hurriedly helped Debbie wrap Joe in the
protection of his blue and white blanket, decorated in the most popular
Disney characters. Where was the ’heat wave’? ‘Don’t you dare assault
me, or my family without telling me you’re coming, you son of a bitch!’
I thought.
“Come on, come on, get him to the car, I’m right behind you!” Clara exclaimed.
“Laura, honey, will you grab his little -”
Bam! The energy of the house - like a baseball bat, driving in the
wining run, slammed a psychic club directly across my forehead. I
dropped the bassinet in the middle of the floor as I fell against the
doorframe to catch my balance. I heard Beth yell to Mike and Randy, who
I could hear entering the kitchen. This unseen bastard was beyond
angry, his loathsome, and beguiled energy stuck harder than in the
past, and I imagined myself losing consciousness; falling to the mercy
of its force.
“Get him outta here!” Beth screamed.
Mike and Randy helped me, getting me to the car, which had already been
started. I began to get into the driver’s seat when I asked Mike to
drive for me.
“Keith, follow us down and bring Mike back. I don’t want to drive down McMahon; I can‘t” I said.
“You got it!” He said going to his car.
“Mike, drive, please?” I asked.
“Are you going to be ok after you get to the end of the road?” Clara asked.
“Mike will be there if I’m not, but I’m sure I will be.”
Laura was standing next to the car; I looked at her and thought, ‘thank
you,’ which she returned with a smile - it would be ok, soon. Mike,
extremely slow and cautiously, drove to the end of McMahon Road and
stopped. Keith parked right behind us, and for the first time since we
got in the car, I saw that Debbie was in tears. “Son Of A Fucking
Bitch.” I muttered, emphasizing each word..
“You ok, Paul?” Keith said, after walking to the driver’s side of the car.
“Yeah, I think, but I’d like you and Mike to stick around for a bit if you don’t mind.”
“Hell no, man. We’ll stay as long as you’d like.” Keith said.
“Well, this is the last time I will ever bring my son up here, and I am
going to, once and for all, find a way to drive this fucking house into
hell!”
Mike got out of the driver’s seat, as I got out. Mostly now, it was my
anger that needed composing, I felt somewhat better. I didn’t break my
promise to Debbie. At the first sign, I was up and, all but ripping the
bassinet apart, getting it collapsed. Even though there were no sounds
for Debbie to hear, I felt miserable because we didn’t simply get up
and leave after a very pleasant visit, we ran out of there as if being
chased by a crazed madman. Perhaps we had. We sat there for nearly 10
minutes, when we observed Clara and Beth walking down the road toward
us. When they arrived at the car, they had concern on their faces.
Clara asked, “Would you like Mike to drive you home and have Keith
bring him back?”
I didn’t say what I thought after her question, but rather said, “No,
I’ll be ok, Clara. I’ll probably take an hour to get home as slow as I
plan to drive, but we’ll be fine now.”
“If you really think so, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, would you, Mike?”
“Not at all, mom. You sure you’re good, Paul?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, I feel, HA, normal right now.”
We all got a tickle from my response, but I did actually feel ‘normal.’
“As soon as we get home, I’ll call.” I said.
“I’d feel better if you would stop at Crosby’s to at least know you’d made it that far.”
“Ok, I will, thanks, Clara.”
“Debbie, honey, you alright.” Clara asked.
“Yeah, I guess I’m more upset at the way we had to leave. I wish this
big dummy didn’t have to feel things up here. You know what’s really
weird? Nothing bad happens when he has a feeling, we all just get
scared because he does.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say nothing happens, something is definitely happening to his mind, or thoughts.”
“I don’t think he had a mind!” Debbie exclaimed with a refreshing laugh.
“Hey, don’t talk like I’m not here, for Christ’s sake!” I said. “Ok,
we’re going to very slowly drive home. I’ll call you from Crosby’s, and
then again from home.
“Alright, please be careful!” Clara said.
Debbie and I thanked them and I began driving down Wagner Hill Road. I
felt like a little old man, I never went over 5 miles an hour all the
way to the Hinsdale highway, and no faster than 30 after reaching it. I
called Clara from Crosby’s as I said I would, and again when we got
home. I just simply didn’t get it - what was I, on the mental hit list?
In closing....
Make no mistake, this house was extremely active in the '70s. Several had taken up residence since only to move out in short time. The couple that lives there now have disturbances on occassion but have no intention of leaving. They are elderly, in their late seventies, and have no desire to allow the paranormal activity to disrupt their lives.
Investigations continue today, and with the new technology of EMF meters, digital photography, and thermal imaging, more data is being recorded. One never knows from one day to the next what type of energy will be displaced in and around the house. But whatever it is, I for one am always looking over my shoulder.
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Comments
Witty, thank you for your comment. I began writing the novel on the house in 1975 - wrote 30 pages, and shelved it until last year. I returned to Olean after living in Phoenix for 25 years and one of the first places I visited was the house. After meeting someone who was very interested in the house, I decided it was the proper time to attempt a personal acheivment and finish the book. I never expected it to be as involved as it became (667 pages), nor did I think I would attempt to publish. After Clara Miller, author of, "Echoes of a Haunting" read and edited my book, and told me it was good, (and this coming from her meant a lot!) I decided to send it to a publisher. Hopefully it will be out soon. I still have to raise the publishing fee and at the moment I'm outta work - lay off! I've since sent the first in a series to my publisher and am nearly finished with the second. Joining Hubpages has given me the inner drive to continue writing, if not only for myself! Wow, what a drawn out rendition to a thank you, eh? :)
Hi Paul, where can I purchase your book?
It's not available as of yet, but I'm hoping soon... I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday i came home and my daughter was wathing "A Haunting" on tv about a haunted house 70 miles south of Buffalo. Never said where or have an address. I said maybe Cuba or Olean. Never thought about Hinsdale. And had never heard about it till yesterday. I knew when they mentioned a priest visited the home from a local Catholic University had to be St. Bonaventure. Then today as i was having breakfast and opened up the Olean Times Herald, there it was in black & white. An article about the haunted house in Hinsdale. So now here i am searching it on my computer. I would love to purchase your book. Is it out now? I have always lived in the area and never knew about this house. Thoughts went through my head to take a drive up there just to see, but i wouldn't expect to see anything im sure. Does make me curious though!
Yes, Suzi, it is available on several sites. Here are a couple links for you.
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Know-Theyre-Here-Paul-Kenyon
Barnes and Noble - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/You-Know-TheyRe-H
Thank you so much for your interest! I hope you like it.
Regards,
Paul
Hi Paul, I have read Clara's book about 5 times. I have been up to the house about 5 times as well. Each time I have had an experience. The 1st time I went up with a buddy I got a very uneasy feeling and something told me to turn around. Making a left on wager hill road from mcmahon our brakes gave out, (he just got new brakes put on his car a week prior). My buddy was literally pressing down with all his might on the brakes to get the car to slow down, finally near 446 road, it went back to normal. Another time we went up there, I held my cross necklace in my hands that was around my neck saying a prayer when I felt uneasy, then I heard something walking behind me in the woods along mcmahon road and I jumped and yelled out to whatever it was. I then reached around my neck for my necklace and it was gone, I looked everywhere for it, it just dissappeared off of my neck, one of the wierdest things to ever happen to me. Just wanted to share a few things with you. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Would like to know your thoughts on this.
Shawn,
Thanks for sharing these incidents with me. I was away from the area for 25 years and began visiting the house immediately after returning to Olean. Recently, a recreation was produced at the house and many strange things happened - in the physical sense. In the 70s, when the Dandy's lived at the house, which is what my novel is about, the only physical aspect was three members being burned and items UNDER other items falling onto Mike. This past summer proved to be more malevolent. I always had a hard time believing in the two planes crossing in the sense of physical, but no longer. Are you from the Olean area, Shawn? Again, thanks for the story - very interesting!
Paul
Thanks for your response, Yes I've lived in Olean for 20 some years, and the paranormal is something i'm very into and curious about. I would love to be involved in a ghost hunt or evp sessions at the property if it were to ever happen, please keep me posted Paul...Thanks!!











wittywriter says:
7 months ago
Wow, I want your book. I usually look for these kind of things on the Discovery Channel. I must have missed it. What a rush. Great hub.