Hauntings - Giving Out The Wrong Information Is A Problem

Hauntings have always been my passion. I’ve always grown up in a house that I’m not sure I can deem as “Haunted”, more as “active”, but I’ll save the details for another hub. Whenever I’ve told someone about one of my experiences, I’ve always made sure the information I told was correct as not to be disrespectful to anyone or anything. It can be a huge nuisance to the people who may work, live, or play in an area or place that everyone is saying to be haunted.

There is one story in particular that comes to mind when I think about people giving out incorrect information. I’ll start off with giving a few details and telling the stories I’ve heard about a house in my neighborhood. Everyone who grew up here knew the story about the house on “X” and “X” (I’m choosing to leave out the address for reasons to follow), whether they lived in the area or not, young or old. I think this was one of the first stories we ever heard when we were growing up. This house was famous, and being in our area, we passed it on quite a bit of occasions on the way to the grocery store or to a couple of popular restaurants. This house was said to have been occupied by a demon, which caused a man to murder his wife and children and then commit suicide. The bodies of his wife and son were found buried on the property, but the body of his daughter was never found. The next incident happened when the new owners moved in. The neighbors heard the couple inside the house, screaming, and thought the husband and wife were getting into a domestic altercation. When the police arrived, they heard the couple screaming and proceeded to make their way to the house. What they saw was the couple being flown through the air, their bodies slamming against the walls. “Why didn’t the police do anything,” you ask? What could they do? Something they could not see was tossing these two people around like rag dolls. The house lay vacant for years, even decades (I’m not sure exactly how many decades as I’ve only been alive a couple of decades myself).

So what’s so wrong about everyone telling stories about this house? “Everyone does it!” The problem with this is the information given about the whereabouts of this house is incorrect. There were people trespassing on this location for years, bothering the owner as they walk around the yard, bang on the walls, doors, windows, trying to break into the house, and even throwing items at the house or onto the property. This house is said to be located on the corner of a well-traveled road and a smaller street. The house that is located there, though it looked like it was falling apart and the insides were dark for years, is not the one in the story. How do I know? This particular house was up for sell for years while I was growing up. The owner never found anyone to buy it because of its reputation. When the owner finally got an offer on the house, he accepted, but the people who put in the offer decided to pull out at the last minute. Because of the reputation of its address, not its actual activities, the house sat vacant for years despite the efforts its owner put into it. The only things wrong with this house were that the yard was unkempt, the house was starting to decay in areas, and the insides needed some revamping. There was nothing wrong with this house as many people have visited and had nothing happen. The other thing that makes me believe this is not the house is because someone eventually did buy the house. The current owners have been living there for over 10 years and seem to be happy where they are. That is, until someone comes by trying to get a scare.

The other problem with sharing wrong information is that it causes a nuisance. I’ve heard of many people going to the house on “X” and “X” throughout the year, but mostly on Halloween night to get a good scare. Because it’s not the actual house that’s haunted, the only thing everyone did was bother its owners. There is even a sign on one of the houses near that house that has a sign on its fence reading, “This is not the haunted house”. The house at one time had a dog running around the yard, the fence was fixed up to keep out intruders (though not very well as the height of it isn’t very high), and the new owners were trying to make the house and yard look decent. Still, there are thrill seekers who make their way to this location to try and get some entertainment.

The other problem with giving out the wrong information is when it is printed, it causes people to get upset. A very well-known author of ghost stories and ghost tours had written a book some years ago with this story in it, including the address “X” and “X”. A lawsuit arose after the book was published and the author was sued. The author was eventually forced to write an apology and explain the address of the house on “X” and “X” was incorrect and for people not to go by that house, trying to look for a thrill. Of course, not everyone reads the newspaper, so not everyone saw his apology and plea for people not to disturb the occupants of the house.

Giving out the wrong information affects more than just one person. It can cause people to lose money, lose sleep, and possibly lose a home they love. It’s one thing to visit an old, abandoned home everyone says is haunted, but when the house is still being occupied, can we all give a little respect and not disturb the people there?

Note: The actual house that is haunted was located down the road from the house on “X” and “X”. It was located on a smaller lot and just looked abandoned if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Why do I say “was”? About 5 years ago, the actual haunted house was torn down and a new one built in its place. Luckily for those people, not very many people know that was the house. Unluckily for the people living on “X” and “X”, people are still coming by to see “the haunted house”.