A Ghost Story for Halloween

(please see addendum under this post)

You all know that I like to watch Ghost Hunters on TV (though I am sceptical of them)... and Ghost Adventures, and the late, lamented Paranormal State.... but oddly enough, I am scared of Paranormal Witness, maybe because those are "regular people" who relate things that have happened to them.

 

I myself, have had several encounters with something unexplained in the past, and for Halloween, I'll talk about them.  You can remain sceptical, believe me!

 

About 15 years ago, I took myself on the only real vacation I had ever had in my life.  I grew up in a loving family, with parents who sent us to private schools, went to church weekly, had a rich family life with my cousins and friends, but did not believe in "fripperies"... we didn't go to the circus, to the ice shows... to vacations.  One time we planned a vacation, but by then my dad had had a heart attack and the doctor put the kibosh on it before it got very far along in the planning.

 

So, I was interested in Civil War history, and belonged to the Civil War Roundtable of Western Missouri.  I decided to go to Gettysburg.  This was a HUGE undertaking for me, because I not only had dogs and cats, but a flock of chickens as well.  I contacted a neighbor who agreed to farmsit for me for 10.00 a day. 

 

I duly made all my reservations and that April,  flew into a small airport in Maryland, rented a car, and drove up to Gettysburg. 

 

On the last day I was there, I wanted badly to ride across the battlefield, renting a horse from the local stable that advertised battlefield tours.  I was still riding regularly, and really wanted to do this to finish off my wonderful five days.  That morning it dawned rainy, and windy.  I was worried we would not be able to ride.

 

I got to the stable, and, when I told them I could ride... they put me on a horse that was a little fractious, and I rode at the end of a line of about ten riders and the guide.  We rode onto the battlefield from the campground, and each of us had been given headsets to listen to a recording about the terrain through which we rode.  It was raining lightly, but the strange thing was that fog had descended on the battlefield.  We rode along past the Peach Orchard, but I had turned my headset off... I wanted to just experience the battlefield.  Imagine my surprise when I heard what sounded like an explosion and shouting on my right.  I stopped the horse and turned to see what was happening... and heard pulsating yells and screaming again.... that lingered... but where I was looking, there was only fog and mist.  I did NOT have my headset on.... and I always wondered if I did, indeed, hear the yells from down through the years... my horse stood there and had his ears pricked forward, and then, seeing that the line of horses was disappearing into the fog, I turned him and we rode forward and joined them.

 

When my kids were little... we rented a house from a relative.  The boys were five and seven, respectively, and they each had their own room in this three bedroom house.  It was unusal in that it had not one but two doors on the staircase to the second floor, one from the living room, and just around the corner of the wall... one from the dining room.  The door at the bottom of the stairs into the living room looked right onto the front door when it was open.

 

After we had been there a couple of weeks... I heard some voices one night and thought they were coming from outdoors.  There had been some loud partying going on on that street, and it had kept me up at night, so I assumed it was more of the partyers.  I went to sleep and didn't think about it.

 

Then, it happened again, and I realized it was coming from directly below me, the living room.  The voices moved into the dining room, and I heard the chink of dishes being passed and used.  This didn't happen once, but many nights.  It finally got so that the last thing I did at night was make sure that the doors to the dining room and living room at the foot of the stairs were shut tightly. One night, I realized I had left the living room door open, and was scared to death to run down there and close it in the light from the hall above! 

 

This went on for some weeks, and then, one morning... I found oldest son Jim having convulsions in the bathroom.  He had become wedged in the doorway and I don't know how I found the strength to get it open, get him, and get him to the bed.  I called an ambulance and off we went to the hospital, where he stayed for 4 or 5 days. 

 

Soon after that, though I had NO money and moving was very, very hard for me... I found the wherewithall to get us out of that house. 

 

Years later, we were about to move into a wonderful little rental house and the landlords lived down the street from the above house. 

 

When I told them we had lived there, they exclaimed: "The Haunted House????"

 

It seems that the whole neighborhood knew of the "haunts"... but I had grown up two blocks away and had never heard of them!

 

The funny thing was, from the day we moved in, I would not go down the basement... and would not use the back porch.  The light in the kitchen was on the back wall... I would turn it off and run for the light of the living room, every night.  I have often wondered about that house, and what has happened it it since, but I have to tell you, I breathed a sigh of relief when we left it!

 

I leave you all to make up your minds on your own!

 

It is a beautiful day here at Calamity Acres, and we remember those who are not having a good Halloween.  Tonight we pray for the Poor Souls, and tomorrow, remember the Saints who have preceded us.

 

No, not my Halloween costume, but a leisure suit... circa 1972... remember those? 

Son Jim as Bullwinkle, aged four. 

Oh, so many Halloweens ago!

 

For a very amusing post, please go here and see what the
AMAZING Pea has done on her blog today to celebrate Halloween!
It's truly funny and inspiring!