Ghostly Figures In The Rear View Mirror

This is the creepiest thing imaginable!

I don’t know anyone who would want to see a figure in their rear view mirror on a dark road late at night, but this is exactly what happened to John as he was returning home from a weekend at his cabin.

The radio was on Coast to Coast AM which is a talk radio program where they have guests discuss all kinds of topics, but especially about the paranormal and UFOs. It was a favorite of John’s. He enjoyed hearing about the experiences of others. It was better than the news and politics. This was his escape from all of that. He was listening to it while packing up to return home and continued listening in his car.

It was approaching midnight. The road was deserted and dark. His headlights cut through the darkness ahead of him. The radio program was about UFOs. John thought this would be the perfect time and setting to see something strange in the sky. Instead, he saw something white fly across the road in front of him. He immediately broke out in goose bumps.

He calmed himself by saying it was an owl. He tuned the radio to another station to listen to music. He wasn’t in the mood to have his imagination fed with a discussion of UFO abductions.

Before John got on the freeway for home, he decided to stop for a cup of coffee and a hamburger.

He heard something move in the backseat.

He adjusted his rear view mirror to see what had fallen when he got the scare of his life.

There was a child in a car seat and next to him was a woman he had never seen before. He didn’t know how they got into his car. He immediately pulled off the road to investigate.

When he turned around, the back seat had nothing except what he placed there.

He forgot about getting coffee and got on the freeway heading for home. Periodically, he checked his rear view mirror, but there were no people in his back seat.

When he arrived home, he checked his email and did a google search for any accidents on the road. He did find one of a young mother with her young son.

To this day he’s disturbed by this incident. A part of him wants to see those ghostly figures again.

John has become obsessed with this woman and her son. He found out that she was looking for property in the mountains. She was recently divorced and wanted to relocate. Unfortunately, according to her family she found nothing appropriate in her price range and was on her way to her parents house when the accident occurred.

Strange as it is, this accident occurred three years to the day of these ghostly apparitions appearing in John’s car.

Residual haunting? It would appear so. Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

I hope you did enjoy this Real Ghost Story.

Sharon

Haunted Hotel

There are plenty of stories about haunted places — especially hotels. Will anyone forget Stephen King’s The Shining?

Well, this isn’t about that book, movie or hotel. I met Paul and Paula with their parents at my local coffee shop. Paul and Paula were twins in their early 30’s. They were chefs. They worked in a hotel in Colorado and were here for a visit with their parents. They could prepare just about anything, but their love was pastries. They would one day love to have their own pastry shop or do catering, but they were happy where they were — even though the hotel was haunted.

The interesting thing about this hotel is that it’s foundation is on quartz.

Quartz is believed to attract paranormal activity.

The hotel is absolutely beautiful with a sense of history — and a sense that you are sharing a part of that history. Paula is more of a skeptic, but Paul is a true believer in the paranormal.

They heard stories of a stabbing in the dining room during a heated argument. And the man who slit the throat of the other with a steak knife hung himself in the stables out of guilt and remorse. There were stories of children who lost their lives falling down stairs or out of windows. There were also stories of lover’s quarrels that ended with one of them dead.

Paula admitted to feeling cold spots in the dining room. Paul reported to seeing ghostly images of well dressed couples milling about. They both commented about things in the kitchen being moved. There were also ghostly images of children running around the lobby and playing on the stairs.

“On minute they’re there and the next they’re gone,” Paula said.

“I would hear giggling and the footsteps of small running feet,” Paul added.

There were also times when dishes and glassware would break — like an explosion when no one was nearby. They also recalled being pushed when carrying hot sauces or pouring them onto food.

There was one time Paula burned her hand and she heard very clearly, “Are you all right?” She didn’t know if it was a man or a woman, but the voice was a whisper and did convey concern. In spite of herself she answered, “Yes, I’m fine.” She knew she was alone at that time in the kitchen.

Sunday brunches were popular at this hotel where the doors were open to the public. There were locals that would come every Sunday and others once a month or so. Paul and Paula were in and out of the kitchen and the dining room on these days to make sure everything was full, clean and appealing. This is when they could show off their pastries which were a definite hit. The hotel made excellent money boxing up their cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies.

The more Paul and Paula spoke about the hotel and their experiences, I could see their mother getting uncomfortable, especially when they spoke of something evil about the place. It seemed that they would hear voices luring them upstairs. Many of the maids and the night workers spoke of being told to check a window and would feel themselves being pushed down the stairs or towards opened spaces. Many people with such experiences didn’t stay past their two week notice.

“Daddy and I are doing well with out investments and we would like to see you more,” she began.

“Yes,” her husband added. “Why not fulfill your dream of a bakery now, close by?”

“We will help you get started,” their mother added.

The twins were dumbfounded. They didn’t know what to say. I felt like I was in the way and took my leave.

I did see them again at a country club event. Paul and Paula were catering the affair.

They seemed happy and both were engaged to be married in the summer. They worked at different restaurants part time and rented a place where they could do their cooking, baking and catering. There were several events that kept them busy and making money.

They’re located in the old part of town and deliver lunches to the local merchants. They also do a wheels on meals type of thing for some elderly acquaintances of their parents. Their business is doing quite well and have plans to repay their parent’s generosity of relocating them and setting them up with their own business.

Paula is engaged to a local attorney who helped them with their culinary business plan. Paul is engaged to a nurse at the local hospital.

“Until we spoke to you, we didn’t realize how potentially dangerous the old hotel may have been,” Paula said.

“There were accidents that happened there regularly with employees and guests. They would say they didn’t know what possessed them to do the things they did,” Paul said. “It was like they were sleepwalking.”

“Children drowned in the pool,” Paula said. “That was the last straw for me.”

Paul nodded. “The lifeguard was just watching with a strange expression on his face. Of course, he was too late to rescue them. He was brought up on charges of endangering the children.”

Old places with antiques and those with water and lots of wood seem to attract the paranormal — evil and otherwise. The problem is that the evil entities can be so helpful and caring until they gain your trust and then things get out of control with possession.

My great-aunt at one time was the telephone operator with the old fashioned switchboards that connected with the rooms in the hotel where she worked. She would say at times lights on her switchboard would go on for rooms that were unoccupied. She would send someone up there from time to time and they would report how they could see the indentation of someone sitting or laying on the bed or sitting in a chair. There were times when the desk and the hotel stationery would be messed up with ink splotches. There were also rooms guests would report feeling watched and having their luggage gone through. They would request another room or check out.

So much is possible to observe when one is open to the paranormal. Yes, there are logical explanations, too, but I wouldn’t rule out the paranormal.

Well, this was quite exciting for a Real Ghost Story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Thumping On The Wall

The imagination goes a bit wild when in the dead of night there is thumping on the wall.

There have been several stories where people have been buried in the wall of a basement or in a wall of the house, perhaps sealing a closet. It’s not something I like to think about or consider, but . . .

Rosie joined us at the coffee shop one morning to tell us her story.

“I know this is a strange story, but it is 100% true,” she said. “It was about 11:30 at night. I was awakened by the sound of thumping on the wall.”

Rosie’s husband Charlie was watching a movie in the living room when he ran up the stairs when the thumping started. It echoed through the house. He was afraid something had happened to Rosie.

They sat on the bed listening. Then they heard, “Please, let me out.”

They opened the sliding closet doors, dresser and chest drawers, but there was nothing they could see stuck inside. Charlie checked the back of the closet and noticed a place where it had been patched.

Although it was close to midnight or just after, Charlie used a hammer to break out the drywall in the back of the closet. In between hammering and pulling out the pieces of drywall, they heard, “No, no, no escape.”

Rosie said it was such a pitiful sound that she couldn’t help answering. “We’re opening the wall, be patient. We’re helping you get out.”

They got the back of the closet opened to the studs, but found nothing.  Rosie was disappointed.

Again, they heard, “I’m still here, but you can’t find me,” coming from behind the studs. That was the closet of the room next door.

Again they broke through the drywall to expose the other closet.

Nothing. But there was thumping and crying.

Charlie and Rosie couldn’t stand to stay in the house. They packed an overnight bag and stayed in a motel.

They didn’t want to go home. It unnerved them enough to think about putting the house on the market to sell, but they needed to replace the drywall and paint inside the closet.

They hired someone to replace the drywall, but while he was working he heard, “Help me, please.”

He called the police.  The police came to investigate, but just saw a house that had drywall removed from inside a closet.

Before the police left there were thumps on the wall in the living room. There was no voice, but it was evident that something was in the wall wanting to get out.  With an axe, the living room wall was opened up. If that wasn’t enough, there were more thumps. Before long the whole house was gutted down to the studs.

Nothing was found, but the thumping continued.

The foundation of the house was excavated and Rosie and Charlie contacted the contractor and the realtor. They were wondering if they had a poltergeist situation.

This wasn’t something Rosie and Charlie could keep from the neighbors.

Rosie and Charlie’s house was leveled and a bare lot with evidence of lots of digging and then filling in. They were looking for answers and also needed a place to stay. They rented a house on the other side of town.

After several months, other houses in the neighborhood were destroyed. Others were hearing the thumping on the walls of their houses. There was no explanation, but the neighborhood that was built up just a few years prior was now barren land.

Some paranormal investigators were brought in and, of course, with that many crack pots.

There was a class-action lawsuit brought against the housing development, the contractors and anyone else they could name. It was not a suitable settlement for the homeowners, because there was no explanation to the thumping on the walls. The homeowners volunteered to open up the walls and to open up the foundation. They also voluntarily gutted their homes.

It makes you wonder if it was mass hysteria or an overactive imagination. If you heard thumping on the wall in the middle of the night and during the day, would you open up the walls or would you bless the house?

There are a few houses standing on the outskirts of the neighborhood. They opted to bless their house and set the trapped spirit free.

Rosie and Charlie agree they may have acted rashly, but you had to have heard the pleading voice. And once you experienced this, would you be able to live in that house?

This story is just too real . . . It may have happened in other neighborhoods, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

The Lizzy Borden Story

Lizzy Borden’s life and trial have been discussed over the years with divided beliefs of her guilt in murdering her father and step-mother that fateful day in August, 1892.

In 1975 there was a movie made with a possible means of how Lizzy Borden committed the crimes and was able to leave no evidence behind for the authorities to find.

I got caught up in it once again by watching a variety of YouTube videos to get a clear picture of what happened. My quest started when I watched a Paranormal Investigation of the Lizzy Borden Bed and Breakfast.

But for this post, I believe it is best to begin with a documentary of Lizzy Borden.

It’s always important to discover what was going on in the Borden residence prior to the murders.

Each documentary brings forth evidence regarding Lizzy, but is that the complete story?

I do like the dramatization of this documentary . .. but some aspects of the story seem to be left out . . . Lizzy and her thoughts and feelings.

Later on you’ll hear some EVPs that state Lizzy was “spoiled”. Wouldn’t that indicate that she always got her way and thus would have no reason to murder her step-mother and father?

And what is the truth . . . something we’ll never know for sure.

Lizzy Borden Documentary:

Did Lizzy murder her step-mother and father? Was it motivated by greed?

Given the “personal” nature of the attacks, it seems likely Lizzy Borden did do the deadly deed . . . But what is the truth?

Paranormal Investigators FAM and Lou Rock decided to visit the Bed and Breakfast to see what they could learn from the haunting that seems to be taking place.

There is definitely some creepy stuff going on and the spirit box EVPs do give one a bit of a chill.

The Paranormal Investigation Video

What do you think?

There were definite disturbances in the basement.

It has been documented that Mr. Borden had once been in the furniture business and later became a mortician.

However, there is no evidence that he conducted any “mortuary” business in his home or that his home had ever been a mortuary.

That would be too easy to explain the “hauntings” . . . Yet, I do wonder what spirits came into the house when the home across the street had been burned own. It is said children came to stay, but was there more?

Did something evil come into the house — maybe possessing Lizzy?

No offense to these paranormal investigators, but I decided to go a bit farther and wanted to see what Amy Allan and the Dead Files had to say about Lizzy Borden and the house that was turned into a Bed and Breakfast.

This took a bit of a turn to my way of thinking.

It does shed more light on Mr. Borden and how he ran his home.

Dead Files Investigate The Lizzy Borden House

What wasn’t Amy revealing?

Lizzy Borden Documentary:

Does this add clarity or muddy the water a bit more?

I believe more information is necessary in the form of another documentary.

This documentary discusses Lizzy’s life after the trial and how she and her sister did move to a mansion on the hill. Lizzy named it Maplecroft and this was where she could live a lavish life — evidently the life her father could afford, but didn’t want to live — even for the future welfare of his daughters.

It also debunks Lizzy’s killing of animals in order to hold a funeral — and all the implications associated with harming animals to a criminal mind.

Yet, what is behind the statement that Lizzy was “peculiar” or “odd” what was the evidence of this? Was it how she was raised . . . yet she did church work . . . or was this after the trial? Or was this because of her shoplifting?

You can decide later what is truly relevant and what isn’t in order to seek the truth about Lizzy Borden and the murders of 1892.

In light of all of this . . . I’m wondering . . .

Emma may have had a lot of resentment of having to care for her sister, or she may have welcomed it.

Yet both women didn’t have the opportunity to meet gentlemen and back then, the only way for a woman to leave home was to marry. So, both Lizzy and Emma may have resented their father for not allowing them to attend fancy balls or for their father to host one.

Without a mother — a true mother who would have seen to it that her daughters were given every opportunity to meet suitable suitors, these women were really nothing more than house servants in their own home.

If there had been “abuse” in the home, then it seems reasonable Mr. Borden would want to hold a tight rein on his daughters — to keep his secret . . . or was it the sister’s secret . . . or was something else at play in the house . . . 

I can understand how Lizzy Borden could have gone “mad” . . . but why continue living in that small town — or did Lizzy Borden have something to prove to the townfolk?

And what did she prove?

I would suggest that instead of asking Lizzy if she did the crime, why not ask her for her story and who she was with her goals and aspirations . . . Her feelings of how everything went terribly wrong . . .

I believe there is more to this story. And I believe this rings true with the second Biographical Documentary. There are definitely more questions that haven’t been answered.

Yet I do believe, too, that Lizzy and others who “haunt” the bed and breakfast are tired of being asked the same questions over and over again . . . and may just say “yes” to commiting the murders in order to be done with it.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

Sharon

But wait . . .

And what could be said for Maplecroft — Lizzy’s last known residence?

Surely Lizzy Borden would haunt that place moreso than the residence where her father and step-mother were murdered.

I would definitely not want to haunt the old house, but haunt my home, the home where I was free to live and entertain as I pleased.

I would think Mr. & Mrs. Borden would haunt the bed and breakfast and Lizzy would haunt Maplecroft . . . but what do I know . . .

Maplecroft:

A beautiful place, but I don’t know if I’d like to live there.

I don’t know about operating a bed and breakfast out of Maplecroft Mansion, but I think a quaint little paranormal bookstore would be lovely selling crystals and other items of interest.

I wouldn’t really want to do seances in the home other than to discuss Lizzy’s life without mentioning the murders.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe the Lizzy Borden story is a lot more interesting than the murders and the trial.

I’m going a bit soft on thinking of buying such a house with a history . . . it could be a selling point or drop the price down . . . I do wonder what stories this house has to tell . . . since there were several previous owners . . .

Just something to think about . . .

Thanks for indulging me in my search for the Lizzy Borden story.

Sharon

Brenda and Carl’s Haunted Life

I met Carl and Brenda at my local coffee shop.

They have lived in 4 different houses and each and everyone has been haunted. They believe since both of them are sensitive to spirits that they may be attracting them into their lives.

Carl recalls seeing a ghost when he was just a child. He went into his bedroom one day to play with his toys and found a little boy playing on the floor with his cars. He went running to tell his mother and when they returned to his room, the little boy was gone. As the years went on, he would see spirits from time to time and accepted them as his normal day to day routine.

Brenda’s first encounter with the paranormal was after the death of her beloved grandfather. She would see him in his favorite rocking chair on the front porch of their house, smoking a cigar. She would play with her dolls next to the rocking chair for hours just to be near her grandfather. The family cat would curl up in her ghostly grandfather’s lap, just as when he was alive. Brenda knew her friends couldn’t see her grandfather in the rocking chair and she didn’t mention it to them. Her mother did sense him, but didn’t make a big deal about it. It was just accepted.

They were now living in their 8th house in as many years and shared with me their story.

Shortly after they were married, they moved into Carl’s grandmother’s house.

He didn’t want to bring his new bride there, because his grandmother had a strong dislike for him. It wasn’t anything he did, she just never liked him. Brenda loved the old Victorian and thought it was just perfect for them and for the family they wanted eventually.

It didn’t take long for Grandma to make an appearance — maybe not physically, but by turning up the burners on the stove or changing the temperature of the oven to ruin any meal Brenda made. She was able to interfere with the television by changing channels and turning it on or off. These were not necessarily dangerous pranks, but annoying. When Brenda and Carl were able to save enough money, they moved out and rented another house.

They moved into a duplex.

For the first few months, everything was calm and peaceful, but soon they found something was messing with the thermostat on the heater. At night it would get well above 80 degrees in the house. They would turn it down to 60 before going to bed. Brenda immediately thought of Carl’s grandmother and wondered if she followed them, but she was able to cook a meal without interference in the duplex.

Carl came home from work one day and found Brenda unconscious in the kitchen. She claims she was pushed and hit her head on the counter.

Brenda became more and more uncomfortable living in the duplex. She would hear loud music coming from the attached unit next door when no one was home. When the place became infested with rats, they moved.

Carl and Brenda found a lovely townhouse by a lake.

It seemed perfect for them. It was as though they were on a second honeymoon. There were no disturbances in the house or on the trails around the lake and the wooded area.

Things got a bit uncomfortable for them when some strange neighbors moved in next door to them. It started with their car being scraped while it was in the carport. Next there were strange odors coming from next door into their townhouse. The door to the bathroom would not stay closed. It was always coming opened, even when the door was locked. Next, they experienced shadows moving through the walls and drifting up to the ceiling watching them.

It became so uncomfortable for them that they had to move.

They found a newly built house that was a model home.

They believed this would be perfect for them. No previous owners and no wall that was shared with a neighbor. It didn’t take long for there to be disturbances. Drawers were spilled out in the kitchen. Water would turn on at various times day or night. The lights would flicker. They heard a telephone ringing continuously. There were also loud arguments between two ghostly men. They would hear a gunshot which ended the argument followed by running feet and the slam of the front door. This scenario played out several times a week.

They did research on the house and found that one of the owners was murdered by the contractor in the back bedroom Carl used as an office. It was always disturbed with desk and file drawers being opened. Pens, paper and paperclips were thrown off the desk and scattered around the room.

They were able to break their lease and moved out only two months after moving in.

Brenda was pregnant and sought professional help.

They moved back into Carl’s grandmother’s Victorian house. They called in a psychic to bless the house and to also do a reading for them. They did want to contact Carl’s grandmother to ask her permission to live there and to raise their family. Brenda and Carl planted flowers and also a vegetable garden. The landscaping was beautiful when they finished — similar to how he remembered it when his grandmother lived there.

Carl’s parents kept the grandmother’s furniture in the house and used it as a guest house for out of town guests. They didn’t want to sell it and didn’t want to rent it — other than to Carl and Brenda, which they would eventually inherit if they wanted it.

The psychic was able to find out that the Grandmother didn’t like men since she learned her husband of fifty plus years had been cheating on her since the beginning of their marriage. When she saw Brenda fixing dinner for Carl, Grandma decided he didn’t deserve a well cooked meal and messed with the oven and stove. She also didn’t believe he deserved a comfortable night’s sleep and messed with the thermostat. She did what she could to get them out of her house and make Carl’s life miserable.

Carl told his grandmother how sorry he was that his grandfather was such a womanizer and treated her so poorly, but he assured her that his father and he did not share their father’s and grandfather’s behavior. He wanted to prove it to her by living in her house with Brenda and their new baby who would be born in a few months.

Fortunately, the baby was a girl and they named her after Carl’s grandmother.

Everything seems to be working out well for the couple. They know the older woman is around. They have seen her sitting in a rocking chair in the nursery singing to the baby while she sleeps.

They have noticed things moved in the house, but Brenda is able to cook without interference. The thermostat remains where it was set.

They’re finding it is possible to live peaceably with a resident ghost.

Thaniks for stopping by!!

Sharon