Spring Break Horse And Buggy Ride

I don’t know what has been going on lately … but have you been experiencing more paranormal activity … Things going “bump” in the night?

Or sounds that have you jumping out of your skin … or feeling a bit anxious?

With some of the sounds I’ve been hearing I’m not sure if they are inside or outside the house. At first I thought there were car doors slamming … then I wasn’t sure. I usually don’t look out — That’s right, I’m afraid what I might see …

It does seem that many ghost hunters are experiencing more activity — sometimes needing to run out of places they’re exploring … Then going back … All I can say is that something different is going on …

I’ve been enjoying spring break and a buggy ride … and meeting some people …

I enjoy the old part of town.

There are modern shops, but there is evidence of the old depot and some of the old shops. I especially like the trees that grow in the parkway casting shadows along the walkway.  Listening to the wind blow through the trees gives an eerie sound that feed the imagination.

I have heard the clip-clop of horse hoofs and I have seen phantom horse drawn buggies among the modern traffic on the street from time to time.

Last week, I noticed a horse drawn wagon going through town. Spring Break comes at different times for the public schools and the private schools and the different colleges in the area. I don’t know if someone hired them or they were just out to see if there was an interest in a wagon ride. It’s nice when you have out-of-town guests visiting to treat them to a horse drawn wagon ride. It’s something they enjoy and will tell their friends and family back home.

I especially like it when there is a mix of people, young and old. On this particular day it seemed to be an impromptu group selected by the young man at the reins.

“Do you want a ride?” he called out.

Several people climbed on and my cousin and I decided to join them.

One man asked, “Do you do Haunted Hay Rides?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact we do. There is a favorite place we go that always gives everyone a scare. Do you want to go?”

Everyone seemed to be in agreement. We were headed toward the old movie theater. I had heard stories about how popular it was during the days of silent pictures and continued with the talkies. Today there are larger ones that have replaced it, but it is still used for private showings.

Since it was daylight, no one expected to see anything spooky, but our driver said it would give us a scare. I wondered what he had planned.  This may not have been as impromptu as I originally imagined.

One young woman spoke how at one time there was an element that would come to town (of course from Los Angeles). One of the projection rooms was used for gambling. One game got a bit out of hand and there was gun fire, but the movie watchers didn’t notice because the shots seemed to correspond to the gun shots of the western that was playing.

We were told to squint just a little and look at the front of the theater. I thought I saw a man in a suit with a hat — he looked like a private eye of days gone by. Others saw people coming out of the theater eating popcorn. One man pointed to the roof. He said there was a man up there smoking a cigar. It seemed strange, but several of us smelled cigar smoke. Power of suggestion or there was someone real or in spirit form smoking a cigar.

Not too far from the theater was the old hospital that many claim to be haunted. One woman spoke about the stories her grandmother told of the old haunted hospital. One man on the ride told about when he was a kid, he and some friends went out there one night and they heard screaming coming from the building. The woman confirmed that the third floor was for patients who received electroshock therapy. Even when the third floor was shut down, many of the nurses heard crying and screaming coming from the third floor.

I felt a sudden chill and others in the wagon remarked how they, too, felt cold. Neither my cousin nor I heard any screaming, crying or distress.

We just about jumped out of our skin when the driver’s cell phone started playing music. We were on our way back to the old part of town, our ride was coming to an end.

Many of us went to a restaurant to continue talking and telling stories. I’m always interested in the experiences of others or urban legends from other places.

Leo’s Story

Leo is from Vermont and is visiting his daughter and son-in-law. When he was a child, his mother took him shopping for school clothes. She was always looking for bargains and the basement seemed to have all the discounted clothes. They were going down in the basement when he began to feel ill. Before they got to the last step, he heard a man shout, “Run! Get Out!”

His mother started running up the stairs leaving him behind. He shouted, “Wait for me! Don’t leave me!”

She kept running right up the stairs and out of the store. Leo caught up to her at the bus stop. The look on his mother’s face told him not to say anything.

Days later, his grandmother came with bags of school clothes for him. His mother refused to go in that store again or any store for that matter. She was afraid from that moment to leave the house.

His grandmother tried to find out what happened that day, but his mother wouldn’t talk about it. Leo told her that he wasn’t feeling well as they were going down in the basement. He heard a man yelling to run and get out. His mother ran, forgetting all about him.

This remained a mystery until a few years ago when there was an article in the newspaper about it being the 100th year anniversary that a man committed suicide in the basement of that store. His mother must have heard what he heard and perhaps saw the ghost of the dead man, which he hadn’t seen.

That was a bit creepy for a Real Ghost Story. I hope you enjoyed it!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Crazy Ritual Urban Legend Gone Wrong

There Are All Kinds Of Urban Legends As Well As Scary Rituals People Perform …

Below I have two videos of the LaLlorona Legend. They were both taken the same night, but with different perspectives.

It is quite a sad legend of a woman who was married to a wealthy man and they had twins, a boy and a girl. When the wife/mother found that her husband had been unfaithful she did the unthinkable — she drowned her children … Now she is cursed for eternity searching for them …

There is another part of the legend that I don’t know is actually true (You know how urban legends seem to be expanded over the years). It is said that LaLlorona searches for children. When she finds one that is not her own … she eats it … Mothers tell their children of this legend to keep them safe whenever they are near lakes.

Another creepy thing is when you hear a woman scream, run for your life!!

Video Searching For La Llorona:

 

Same Night, Different Perspective:

 

It’s Always Good To Be Able To See Ghost Hunters In Action.

I don’t believe it is wise to summon urban legends or to perform a ritual when you’re not completely sure what you’re doing. But we all get caught up in doing something different — usually with the best of intentions.

It seems Ghost Hunting is dangerous enough — we usually don’t know what we’ll find … or what will find us …

In the videos above there were sounds and paranormal activity — perhaps some things could be explained, but then there were others … Perhaps being scared out in the woods and maybe even lost was a bit of an issue. I just know that I wouldn’t want to be out in the woods during the wee morning hours. But … if you live for adventure and getting scared silly … By all means do what makes you happy.

Thanks for stopping by. This was a bit different kind of Real Ghost Story. I thought it was worthwhile to share. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Sharon

Did You Hear That?

Jill was attending a party with some of her co-workers.

She was fascinated by the house more than mingling with the party attendees.

There was an elderly man sitting at the top of the stairs.

“This is a lovely old house,” Jill said, hoping to learn more about it.

“Yes, it is. It’s been in my family for generations, but my grandson, Jerod, doesn’t seem to like it much. He’d be comfortable in an apartment . . . which I just may get for him.” The elderly man drifted off in thought.

Jerod, who was Jerod? Jill wondered. She went in search of him when she suddenly heard, “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!”

Jill and three others promptly ran for the door . . . but the majority of the party guests continued talking, laughing and drinking.

Jill left the party with her three new friends. They stopped at a coffee shop to discuss their experience. Evidently, they were the only ones who heard the old gentleman’s request.

Jill told them about talking with the elderly man at the top of the stairs.

“Jill, I saw you standing at the top of the stairs . . . talking to yourself. There was no elderly gentleman.”

“He told me he was Jerod’s grandfather.”

“Jerod’s grandfather has been dead for 20 plus years.”

Jill realized she was talking to a ghost. She was getting those side-eyed glances people give you when you talk about ghosts and hauntings and such.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Jill demanded. “What made you run to the door? You heard it, too, didn’t you?”

They slowly agreed, but that was different from conversing with a ghost . . .

Jill thought about it over the weekend. She did some research on the house and Jerod’s family history.

Monday morning she was ready to find Jerod and receive an explanation.

Well, she found that Jerod was no longer working . . . he had been confined to a wheel chair after being hit crossing the street. He was currently residing in a nursing home.

After work Jill went to pay him a visit.

She learned that Jerod’s younger brother worked at the office in the mail room. He was looking after the house until Jerod could return home. He was supposed to be making it handicap ready instead of throwing parties.

Jill, told him about meeting his grandfather and hearing him bellow from the top of the stairs to get out.

“Oh, so you heard it, too!!  Did you hear anything else . . . the women talking in the kitchen . . . the bouncing ball in the driveway . . . “

Everyday after work, Jill went to visit Jerod. They spoke of other things besides his grandfather.

Jerod’s physical therapy was going well and soon he would be out of his wheel chair and walking with crutches and later with a cane.

They eventually married and moved into the lovely old house along with the resident ghosts . . . and may I add . . . they all lived happily . . .

This was a fun Real Ghost Story!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

How Weird Are You?

Many of us have superstitions. But do they prevent us from doing as we please?

There are the well-known superstitions we’re all familiar with:

  • An apple a day, keeps the doctor away
  • Opening an umbrella in the house is bad luck
  • Friday the 13th
  • Black cat crossing your path
  • Walking on a crack in the sidewalk
  • Throwing spilt salt over your shoulder
  • Walking under a ladder
  • Bewitching hours 9PM to 6AM (times do vary)
  • Wishing on a star
  • Breaking a mirror — 7 years bad luck
  • A rabbit’s foot and a horseshoe are good luck as is finding a four leaf clover
  • Garlic protects you from evil and vampires
  • You can break a curse by turning 7 times in a clockwise circle
  • There’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow
  • An itchy palm means money, an itchy foot means travel

Of course I’ve only scratched the surface here when it comes to superstitions. Many people from different cultures have different ones. Some people have made up their own, associating something they’ve done with an event they either want or don’t want to happen. There are even family traditions that could be placed in this superstition category, although they wouldn’t claim it to be.

My point is that we all have strong beliefs about something based on what we’ve learned, heard or done.

I truly love hearing the beliefs of others. They may seem strange, but I respect them.

Carrie’s story concerns her family’s belief that has been passed down through generations.

“Our elders always told us not to be out past midnight, because there were things out in the night between midnight and 5 in the morning that claimed the streets.” Carrie paused.

I don’t know if she wanted a reaction, but I thought it logical that she had a curfew, we all did at one time. I encouraged her to continue.

“If we did enter the house during those hours, we were told to enter the house facing the street, with our backs to the door. That way nothing could follow us into the house.”

Carrie’s generation accepted it, not that they liked it. They saw it practiced by their parents and grandparents. It was just what they did.

Carrie’s children accepted it as a strange house rule, but her nieces and nephews didn’t give it much thought.

One night her niece came home after midnight. She didn’t think about turning around before entering her apartment. She lived alone. She opened the door and locked it, turned off the porch light, turned on the television, went into the kitchen, washed her hands and grabbed a bag of chips, a few cookies and a soda out of the refrigerator.

She settled in front of the television with her snack and watched the end of a program that was playing.

After turning off the television, she returned to the kitchen to wash her dinner dishes and tidy up. Then went to the bathroom, washed her hands and face and settled in front of her computer to check email and her social networks.

By 3 in the morning, her niece decided to go to bed.

While laying in bed, she heard footsteps in the entry. She heard the click of the locks on the door, the click of the switch on the porch light. The television turned on. She heard footsteps in the kitchen, the faucet turn on and the refrigerator door open.

She heard the creek of her favorite chair as the intruder reclined in her chair as she had earlier.

She was sure she had an intruder in the house. She didn’t know why the television was on. If she was going to rob a place, she’d want to be as quiet as possible. And why sit and watch television. This didn’t make any sense.

She didn’t feel brave enough to confront the intruder in her house. She didn’t call 9-1-1, because the behavior seemed so odd.

As she thought about it, the intruder was following her actions a few hours earlier.

She heard the television turn off. The footsteps returned to the kitchen, then to the bathroom. She heard her computer chair roll, the click of the computer turning on. She could see by the glow of the screen (it was in her bedroom), but no one was sitting in front of the computer screen.

Her fear subsided, replaced by curiosity. She turned on her bedside lamp, got out of bed, checked throughout the house, but found nothing disturbed and no intruder. She also checked the locks on the doors and windows.

Puzzled, the next morning she called her mother to tell her of her experience.

The first thing her mother asked was, “Did you walk into your house backwards?”

She admitted she had not.

Her mother’s response was only, “Uh hum.”

Carrie’s niece got the message load and clear. From that moment forward she entered her house back first so nothing from the street could follow her into her apartment, just as her parents and grandparents taught her.

I’m always curious to know just a little bit more about the stories I hear.

What about the “thing” she heard, was it still in the apartment?

Carrie said it was gone. She believed it had a window from midnight to 5 in the morning, then it returned to the street.

She gave me the impression it was like a vampire who had to return to its coffin before dawn, but was it that tidy?

I always have unresolved questions, but I accept what I’m told as fact, since this was not my experience.

My experience, however, has been once something gets into the house, it finds a cozy place to stay during the day and comes out when it wants to interact and cause trouble, but this “thing” must be entirely different.

I hope you enjoyed this Real Ghost Story.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Dolls Creep Me Out

I may not be alone — dolls creep me out.

I felt this way before Chucky! There has always been something creepy about them.

But a Raggedy Ann doll?  What could be creepy about it?

It’s not the doll, but what’s in the doll.

Ed and Lorraine Warren renowned demonologists and paranormal investigators have Annabelle locked up in their private creepy Occult Museum in their house in Monroe, Connecticut.  Ed Warren passed in 2006, but Lorraine Warren continues with paranormal investigations.

The story of Annabelle is well known, but for those who may not know I’ll give a brief history. In the 1970’s a woman bought a Raggedy Ann doll at a hobby shop for her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter was an adult and a nursing student. It seemed lots of young girls liked having dolls and stuffed toys on their beds — perhaps a connection to their childhood and home. And, I remember how popular these dolls were to make in all sizes.

As you can see from the picture above, Annabelle was a fairly large Raggedy Ann doll.

As the story goes, two nursing students shared an apartment and the Raggedy Ann doll was a prominent figure in the house. As long as it was a doll and behaved as a doll, everything was all right, but it didn’t.  There were “messages” written on parchment paper — which the girls did not have in their apartment. The doll would move from one bedroom to the living room . . . and was seen standing on her own.

Of course, this frightened the girls and they consulted a psychic.  They were told how a little girl, Annabelle, died on the property and her soul was in the doll. They were also told that the little girl wanted to stay and live with the young nursing students. They agreed and were very sympathetic to the story.

As time passed, the doll’s behavior got more erratic and violent until the Warren’s were called in and the doll had to be removed. The doll had a demon inside, not a child. This demon was biding its time until it would eventually possess one of the nursing students.

This possession thing is what creeps me out. I try not to think about demons, but they are very much a part of the paranormal as angels. And, too, often they are encountered in antiques.

We, as collectors, have a kind of romantic attachment to stories and wanting to preserve the old, but we do, at times, encounter things that we can’t handle or don’t want to handle.

I’ve never really liked puppets or marionettes.  I thought they were just creepy.

My brother got a Howdy Doody Marionette for Christmas one year and I stayed away from it.  Gary got good at manipulating the strings and having him walk around and up and down the stairs and even do a little dance, but I wasn’t amused, I was afraid of it — it just wasn’t natural.

I’m not claiming it was possessed, I’m just saying I didn’t like it. Howdy Doody was fine on television, but not in the same room with me. And it was fine for my brother to have as long as he kept it in his room.

Well, it seemed this toy would be in other parts of the house. Maybe my brother was trying to scare me, but he claimed he left it in his room.  I guess one day, this little marionette got in my mother’s way and it was put out in the trash.

As my mother admitted decades later when I asked her what happened to Howdy Doody, she admitted to throwing it out. “That thing kept staring at me. I swear it moved, crossing its legs and folding its arms.”

Throughout the day she kept hearing something in Gary’s room. She thought maybe there was a mouse in the house, but all she saw was that marionette.  She studied it as it seemed to study her each time she went into the room.  She moved it in the closet and it returned to the desk.

She got a paper bag out of the drawer and put Howdy Doody in it and put it in the trash. When my brother and I came home from school, she had some cookies for us.  We did go out to play for awhile, but after dinner when we were doing our homework, nothing was said about the missing Howdy Doody doll.

I asked my brother about it and he just shrugged and said, “One day it was gone. I was glad to see it go.”  Then he leaned closer and said, “You were right, that thing was creepy.”

Sometimes there are real demons possessing items and sometimes things are just creepy with the help of our imaginations . . . or . . . not.

I hope you liked this post about creepy dolls — maybe you have a story or two of your own. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below or you can email me: admin@twocansonastring.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon