(An A to Z 2013 Challenge Entry)
If there's one thing that can suck up a chunk of my time it's my passion for
researching paranormal activity and/or unsolved murders. These obsessive
studies come in waves, but once something has struck my interest I
become very consumed. I can spend many endless nights attempting to
garnish whatever information I can from an incident. From Wikipedia, to
articles, to documentaries, to discussions/debates on said topics.
There
are many unsolved murder cases that intrigue me; Jack the Ripper, Black
Dhalia, and even missing persons cases like Jacob Wetterling. As for
hauntings, well there are far too many to list. If I actually had cable
and watched TV from home, I’d likely be watching a constant stream of
paranormal shows/documentaries. I love almost all of them, though there
are some exceptions.
One exception is a show (not even going to respect it enough to look up the title), where the “investigators” look like bodybuilder juicers that are screaming and “challenging” the spirits to come at them. When I would see previews for upcoming episodes, while watching another paranormal series, they would irritate the hell out of me. I couldn’t help but ridicule it to anyone that happened to be around during the time of the viewing.
I
just see a scenario in my head with one of these guys yelling: “Come at
me, bro! You mad, bro?” I would love to see one of them get served by a
supernaturally-charged can of Whoop-Ass. I’d imagine the entity saying:
“Da fuck? Oh hell no, I was king of these stomping grounds long before
your granddaddy’s granddaddy even knew how to use his penis beyond a
fist pump!”
Unfortunately, any actual interaction
these guys claim to encounter I blow off as fake. I find it
ridiculous, and makes it hard for me to sit and enjoy the program. There
are a handful of series about the supernatural that seem to have
spawned for nothing more than hack entertainment to garnish the
all-mighty dollar. I will admit, though, even some of these are fun to
watch.
A Happy Home
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| I'd buy that for a dollar! Or 80k of them! |
One of my favorite haunting tales is The Amityville Horror.
Chances are you’ve heard of this story, as there are many books
and movies showcasing the events. I think only the first movies of any
series were attempting to portray some of the actual occurrences
experienced by the Lutz family; the rest just additional cash cowage.
I’ve never fully researched this, though. Maybe all the movies are
sprinkled with varying “true” accounts.
The
story is about the Lutz family and their newly purchased home in New
York; A neighborhood dubbed Amityville. The family — a husband, wife,
and their three children — struck one hell of a bargain when coming
across this house. For what they were getting, the price tag must have
seemed too good to be true. In the end, it likely was, since they only
lasted some twenty-eight days there.
Once
moving in, the family began to be plagued by countless supernatural
phenomena. From standard doors slamming, music playing, and property
damage to green ooze, secret rooms, and nightmares. These nightmares
supposedly played out the DeFeo Murders that had taken
place in the house just thirteen months before the Lutz family bought it.
These
murders consisted of Ronald DeFeo, Jr killing six members of his
family. Check out some of the details in the link, the
murders themselves seem shrouded in mystery (though, I'm expecting those familiar with Amityville know of this account). These murders are
the basis of which the supernatural occurrences are blamed. The
Lutz family had paranormal investigators come out to their property, as
well as priests for blessings.
Eventually
the family moved from the property, leaving behind their belongings.
There are rumors that incidents followed along with them for a period of
time before eventually stopping. The events that transpired eventually
lead to books, movies, and other commercial endeavors being made. There
are many criticisms about the Amityville House/Horror events, but
remaining members of the family hold to them as being accurate/true.
The
kicker to me is that the family was told about the previous murders in
the house. I don’t care how much of a bargain the price tag given on a
house is, if a place has a history like that
I am saying Hell-to-the-No! An ex of mine expressed a strong desire to
own a house with a barn-like front. I guess from my researching here
they are called Dutch Colonials? Every time I see a house of this style I
can’t help but think of this haunting. Thanks, but no thanks.
These are some trailers of upcoming movies that got me to thinking about this case:
My Amityville Horror:
The Conjuring:
Let Me Tell You a Story
Those
trailers and talking to a friend about her and a friend’s paranormal
encounters inspired me to make this entry about hauntings. I didn’t
expect to talk so much about the Amityville House, and honestly I
cut it down a ton. I’d like to describe some of the going-ons my family
and I experienced while living in the town of Stanchfield, MN.
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| Even back in the day I was elusive to the camera. |
I
lived in this house for most of my childhood; from third grade through
graduation. I am absent in the picture for some reason, but my brothers;
aunt; uncle; and some others are in it. The house was previously owned
by the Bieses (spelling uncertain after so long). They eventually bought
a larger property just down the road from this previous location.
In
the picture you can see the indent, where the door is located. That
whole section from there to the balcony was all added on by the previous
owners. I believe our doorway leading from one of the living rooms to
the kitchen was where the original doorway to the house was. They added a
lot to the house. During these additions, supposedly the Bieses
experienced some lesser paranormal activity. Things such as
doors/cabinets opening, closing, and locking. Furniture and/or
belongings being moved/shifted.
I
think about the Lutz, and can’t help but think my mother and (ex?)
step-father were likely told these things before moving in. Maybe it was
one heck of a deal? Perhaps money points make all the difference.
Anyway, some history of the house (trying to recollect from memory and
mind you never confirming anything - so all hearsay/rumor, but adds to
the flavor I guess): a murder, a suicide, and a funeral and/or wake service held inside the
house for a baby (which I guess was common practice sometimes back in
the day?). I have no idea; just know it involved the dead within the
house.
I
wish I had a picture of the gnarled, horrific creation of a tree
existing just outside the front porch. It always creeped me out, and
supposedly that is where the suicide occurred. This didn’t stop me from
climbing and playing on the damn thing. Kids can be so fucken stupid.
Anyway,
a handful of us experienced some activity in the house, and I remember
specifically telling my mother I felt that the house, or something
associated with it, was evil/negative. This was in the midst of a lot of
family strife mainly existing between our mother and ex step-father and
us children and ex step-father. I won’t go into much detail about that
here. I just blamed the house for a lot of those incidents.
One
of my younger brothers — the one just below me — has had many
experiences. He has seen a white outline of a person against the wall
(during a period of leaving his room in pitch blackness), which oddity was
heightened when our cat would go over to the specific spot to
investigate the next day. He also would see a young woman out in the
hallway wearing an old-fashioned yellow dress.
He
believed that the spirit(s) he was associating with were benevolent
(unlike my thoughts of the house). He claimed one — he believes was the
spirit of an older woman, the one outlined in white light on the wall —
would pat him on the head when he was going to sleep sometimes. I
believe also this entity would sit on the mattress. I’d have to
reconfirm that last part.
This
is the spirit he “invited” to come with him when he moved momentarily
into my apartment years ago. When he finally told me this (long since
after having moved out) I got upset, because during that period I had
the odd feeling of being watched fairly often. I don’t care if
supposedly benevolent, I wanted no attachment to that house after
finally leaving.
Another
of our brothers awoke in the living room, in the middle of the night,
to the static, white noise of the TV. When he was about to get up to
turn it off, he noticed a shadow (darker than the night outside)
standing just outside the bay window. The shadow then moved across the
length of the bay window and out of sight. He was too paralyzed to move
and stayed in the chair the entire night.
So
my own personal experiences? There are only two events that I was
“witness” to, aside from the pervasive intuitive feeling of negativity.
Who’s Your Daddy?
To
give a basic idea of the house’s layout, when you entered that door in
the picture there is a short hall leading to the kitchen. The entryway
to the left (leading to the first living room) is the doorway I
described as being the original door to enter the house before
additions. Directly to the left of entering the first living room was a
corner staircase to the second floor. All bedrooms were upstairs. Once
reach the top of the landing you could only go right. Straight ahead
from there was the two bedrooms my brothers and I occupied.
If you were to wrap around the railing there was a hall leading down to the bathroom and newly added master bedroom.
One day my brother (the one claiming all the benevolence of these freaky
deaky spirits) and I were playing with Legos in our bedroom. We usually
listened to cassette tapes or the radio as we played, but that day we
weren’t. We were home alone — at this point in time I can’t recollect if
our mother was working or just running errands; my brother would
remember I bet — and enjoying a lovely non-sibling rivalry moment.
All
of a sudden there was a kid shouting “Daddy!?” at the top of the landing
straight across from where our bedroom was. Our door was open and we
were both playing in sight of the landing. I will admit neither of us
bothered to look at first. The initial scream scared the shit out of us
and we threw blankets over ourselves almost instantly. Then the call for
daddy came from what sounded like the kitchen. Soon after, another
from what sounded like out in the field (we owned a bit of land). No
door slam, no footsteps, and to get out into the field in between the
timing of the shouts impossible.
We
both eventually got out from under the covers and ran down to the
master bedroom to look out the window which overlooked the field.
Nothing, of course. In my panicked adrenaline bound craze I thought I
saw the reflection of a kid in the window, screamed, and we both hid
under my mother's covers a moment.
We
couldn't tell if it was the shouts of a little girl or boy, but there was
no questioning who they were looking for. So this is where I eventually
thought maybe it was the spirit of someone who had passed away in the
house. I’d only known of a baby (supposedly) and so that didn’t make
sense as ghosts don’t age. Perhaps it was a young child? Or, in addition
to the baby, there had eventually been a child passing there.
My
brother and I never found out, as these are how these things usually
play out. The next occurrence involved multiple people. It’s funny how
much more reasonable things sound when you know you didn’t experience
them alone.
The Guardians
On
this given evening, the majority of my family and my mother’s friend
were sitting in the first living room. I can’t recall the conversations,
and one of the biggest memory gaps (unfortunately) being whether or not it was storming. I think my mother recalls there being
a storm, but I definitely do not. In fact, the lack of the storm is
what made this stand out so much to me.
Our
house was older, as I’m sure was the wiring, so random little pocket
flutters of lights dimming wasn’t uncommon. They weren’t overly
frequent, however, either. This night we were gathered in the living
room we had a flicker of the lights, but no one thought anything of it. I
think having the flickering lights is what makes my mom think there was
a storm, maybe?
After
a while there was a static feeling in the air and the lights flickered a
lot, to where I thought we were actually going to lose power. I can’t
fully describe how the air "felt," or the exact feeling I had overcome
me. I’ve already explained how I sensed negativity surrounding the house
in general.
With
this flicker/outage of the electricity, though, the dogs suddenly
bolted up and began barking. Not only that, but they raced to the
hallway leading to the front door. The dogs weren’t alone either. At the
same time as the power fluxed and the dogs riled up our cats did the
same. They didn’t meow or hiss, but they became... involved.
One
of the creepiest moments for me was when I passed through the entryway
to the kitchen, and turned to the right to look down the hall towards
the front door. I wish I could say I saw some sort of glowing demon eyes
(okay, no I freakin’ don’t) or some apparition, but this impacted me
just as much.
Our
two dogs — one a Saint Bernard — were silently sitting side-by-side staring at
the front door. Just behind them, one behind each dog, our cats were
side-by-side doing the same. They were just sitting there; all
four of them. We are talking pets that didn’t get along with their own
feline/canine brethren, let alone crosswise. Yet, there they all were lined
up and side-by-side.
With
the pervasive feeling combined with that incident, I can’t help but
think they were guarding us from something. Something evil. As though
nothing else mattered, all “differences” set aside as they joined forces
for one common goal: Protect.
So that is the freakiest moment I had in the house, regardless of screaming ghost children and all.
Sorry,
this was such a long post! I will try to make them shorter soon (but I
and J are likely to be lengthy, as well). Hope you’ve enjoyed these
tales of hauntings that my family and I have encountered. There are
more, but these are the most prominent with myself and that house. Screw
that place. My ex step-father still lives there, but is a skeptic and
doesn’t believe in ghosts; our experiences discarded. I wonder
if he's encountered any phenomena over the years. If he has, he likely
wouldn’t admit it.
In closing, I have to be honest, as much as I want to see
a ghost I don’t think I would be able to handle it. I‘m fine being
limited to the experiences I’ve had with no direct confrontation!
Do you believe in the supernatural? If so, any personal experiences? Have any favorite haunting lore/stories? Do you believe animals can sense the presence of ghosts and supernatural phenomena?
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