Dolls Creep Me Out

by | Apr 11, 2019

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

Whispered Message

by | Apr 9, 2019

We’ve all shared whispered thoughts, but have you heard a whispered warning and no one was around?

When I was in high school, I was waiting in the car while a friend was knocking on the door of another friend. We were going to the homecoming football game.

I heard someone whisper, get out, now.

It was a suggestion, not a command.

I opened the car door, got out, closed the door and walked toward the front of the car, but a few feet away.

I heard a loud “crack,” then a “crash” as the limb of the tree fell on the car, crushing the roof, breaking out the windshield and the passenger side window and crushing the passenger door.

Without a doubt, I would have been killed.

Since the wind is blowing outside, I thought I’d share with you a few “whisper” stories you may enjoy — maybe you have one of your own you’d like to share with us in the comments below — or send to us: admin@twocansonastring.com

Sarah received such a warning when she was out walking her dog.

When Sarah was twelve years old, she lived with her parents in a new housing track where new construction was actively taking place. All the workers had gone for the day and she and her dog, Henry, liked exploring the development. Occasionally, she would take a wagon on her walk to pick up wood scraps for their fireplace.

Sarah and Henry walked a couple of blocks away. It was now time for them to return home before dark.

On this particular day, Sarah was collecting wood scraps. The wagon was full, overflowing full. Henry was pulling at his leash, but Sarah had to walk slowly with her wagon.

They stopping for the few cars that were passing by before crossing the street.

Sarah heard, “Wait. A strange car without headlights is coming.”

She backed up her wagon into the driveway of the unoccupied house.

A car without headlights appeared, stopped at the curb, the passenger door and a man shouted, “Come here!”

Sarah left her wagon and she and Henry ran for help. They ran toward a porch light. Sarah breathlessly rang the doorbell and cried out, “Help!”

The door was opened. She just pointed at the car at the curb. The husband and wife who answered the door, immediately went into action. The man walked towards the car at the curb yelling at the man inside. He told him in no uncertain terms to get out. The man’s wife wrote down the license plate number and called the police.

Sarah never told anyone about the “warning” she heard, but she was grateful for it.

The police apprehended the man in his car a few blocks away just as he was grabbing a young girl and pulling her into his car.

Sarah’s warning helped two potential victims that late afternoon/early evening.

Residual Haunting, Perhaps.

I find this story interesting because of the possible historical implications.

Leslie was visiting her cousins one summer. She knew their house was haunted, but nothing scary ever happened to her there.

Her aunt set a mattress on the floor in the living room for Leslie and her sister to sleep on.

She felt warm and kicked off the covers. She tried to get back to sleep, but decided to get a glass of water. As she approached the kitchen, she heard a man say, “They can’t hide here.”  Then a woman answered, “They’re here and they’re staying.”

The kitchen light was off and neither voice sounded like her aunt or uncle.

She slowly backed away. She felt suddenly cold and wanted to get back to bed.

What really scared her was when the man said, “She heard us.”

She heard footsteps behind her and felt breathing down her neck.

Leslie’s screams awoke the whole household.

She learned that the house was part of the underground railway system for negro slaves who were seeking freedom. In the morning, her aunt showed her where the tunnel was blocked off, but she believed the house was still active with the spirits of those who lived there previously and those who passed through.

Whispers Coming From The Vents In The Condo.

Jon and Betty were hearing whispering voices from the vents in their condo. They became a little paranoid thinking that if they could hear others, others could hear them.

Jon went to talk to the on-site realtor and voice his concerns. He was basically told he was imagining things, because the vents were not connected to any of the other condos. Plus, each one was specifically built for privacy with sound proofing between all common walls ceiling and flooring.

The annoying thing was that neither Jon nor Betty could understand what was being said or if the whispers were male or female.

One evening, while watching a television program, Jon heard tapping on the vent. He muted the television and listened. There was a pattern. Three tap, tap, taps in quick progression. Then tap, pause, tap, pause, tap, pause. Followed by tap, tap, tap. Then the pattern repeated. He knew it was the universal code for “Help.”

Jon immediately called the association to have someone come immediately to check out the problem he was experiencing.

Albert, the man who answered Jon’s call walked in.

“I don’t hear anything,” he said curtly and turned around for the door.

Then he heard the tapping. A flush came to his face and beads of sweat formed on his forehead and upper lip. He ran out of the condo.

Jon found him outside, leaning on a lamp post, muttering to himself. “It’s impossible. Impossible.”

Albert placed a call on his cell phone. Jon couldn’t hear what was being said, but Albert was gesturing wilding with his free hand. “Get over here, now!”

Upon seeing Jon, Albert straightened himself up and said, “I’ve called an exterminator, it could be a rodent in the vent. Is there a place you and your wife can stay for a few days?”

Jon knew Albert wasn’t being straight with him and had no intention of vacating his home.

As it turned out, Albert, “the exterminator ” and another man were all partners in financing the building of the condo complex. The other man was causing problems for Albert and his friend and found himself pushed down an open shaft and left for dead. It is unknown if the man died immediately or if he tried in vain to be rescued.

Eventually, he did die and the whispering and tapping was his way of getting attention in his afterlife of what had happened to him.

The remains of the unfortunate partner were recovered from the vent and Albert and “the exterminator” were sentenced for their crime.

As for Jon and Betty, they sold the condo and moved out of state to settle into a lovely house by a lake.

Whispered messages could be a blessing.

I hope you enjoyed these Real Ghost Stories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

My House Is Haunted

by | Apr 8, 2019

That’s right!!

It’s not something I like to admit . . . some of you may think I’m nutz!!

I may be . . . but I know what I know . . . and something strange is going on in my house!!

I have an antique music box . . . one of those with the metal disks.

It has been in our family for as long as I can remember . . . but it was previously owned by my great-aunt . . . who would always go to estate sales looking for bargains . . .

And along with some of her bargains she may have picked up a spirit or two and then passed it on to us . . .

So . . . this antique music box may have had several previous owners . . . 

A psychic friend of mine told me this music box was once owned by a man with a little girl and a very ill wife.

The little girl wanted to play the music box, but it only had one volume — LOUD!!

Since the little girl’s mother was ill, she wanted to play the music box for her, but her father told her not to play it while her mother was sleeping.

To be honest with you, I was all right with the little girl and her father’s spirits hanging out with the music box. It was no big deal to me.

But the other day . . .  

after bringing in my groceries from the car . . . and while in the kitchen putting them away  . . . quite a distance from the music box . . .

It started playing . . . not too loud, perhaps because the lid was down . . . and it played for a good 30 seconds to a full minute.

I was startled!!

In the past there have been random notes . . . but nothing like this!

I thought maybe the little girl turned it on . . . or my great-aunt did . . .  but why?

And why didn’t it play longer?

Maybe the little girl’s father turned it off . . . Residual Energy . . .  But why now . . . and not before?

Well . . . this kind of thinking and analyzing and wondering can make one nutz!!

It was just one of those paranormal experiences . . .

There are some creepy things out there . . . hopefully my music box isn’t one of them . . .

Have you had a paranormal experience you’d like to share? Please leave me a comment below.

And, if you know why my music box played “out of the blue”, please let me know by leaving a comment below. I’m still a bit creeped out by it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Are You Followed By A Ghost?

by | Apr 5, 2019

Some people seem to be plagued by a ghost that follows them around for years.

Why is this?

I usually think it could be a relative, but I’ve found it has more to do with the positive or negative energy one gives off that attracts spirits to them.

I feel very fortunate to have family spirits around me. I also have some who just like my energy and stop by from time to time to see what’s going on. They’ll play with the lights by turning them on and off, just to let me know they are there.  Sometimes a door will open and close. Nothing creepy or weird about it, at least not in my house.

Linda had the spirit of her best friend’s father visiting her regularly.

“My friend, Susan, and I were inseparable growing up. When her father died suddenly from a ruptured brain aneurysm he would visit in spirit form regularly at my house.”

Susan lived with her mother, but she didn’t have the same experiences at home as she did at Linda’s house.

Linda’s parents didn’t like the lights, television, computers, microwave, etc. turning on and off at odd hours of the day and night. They consults ghost hunters to assist them in solving their problem.

Yes, it was Susan’s father. They never did figure out why he would be at their house rather than their own.

Linda’s family moved several times, but Susan’s father followed them each time.

When Linda’s father got a promotion to move to another state, he thought this would sever the tie, his daughter had with Susan and her father, but it didn’t.

They consulted a psychic to find out what was going on with Linda’s connection to Susan’s father.

All the polite things were discussed between the psychic and Susan’s father. After that was exhausted and the psychic pressed him for an explanation, he admitted he was in love with Linda’s mother.

This didn’t set well with Linda’s parents. They were both kind to Susan and her father, but Linda’s mother never encouraged him in any way.

The psychic encouraged him to move on and leave Linda and her parents alone.

This worked out well for many years, until Linda went to college. There he was again, messing with electronic devices.

Linda lost touch with Susan after they moved out-of-state and found out her father’s love for Linda’s mother.

It seemed he continued to play out his fantasy of Linda, not Susan being his daughter. It may have been the confusion from his brain aneurysm.

Linda wanted to be kind to the confused ghost, but she also didn’t want to encourage him. She consulted a psychic to get him to move on. This worked for several years until she was expecting her first child.

Linda was afraid that Susan’s father’s spirit would go into her unborn child.

Linda’s husband thought she was crazy, but went along with his wife’s wishes. They had the house blessed and the unborn child blessed. Linda wanted to have a barrier between her family and that of Susan’s father’s spirit.

The birth of Linda’s son, was a spiritual experience.

Priests were present as was a psychic and family members. They were to be a barrier against Susan’s father’s spirit and Linda’s son.

Linda’s fears were proved accurate when the lights flickered in the delivery room. Doors rattled. The prayer group held fast to their task of keeping the unwanted spirit at bay. Many were pushed, hit and kicked, but they continued praying.

When they heard Linda’s son crying, they didn’t stop praying.

“My mother and father heard a loud pop, so did the psychic,” Linda said. “Then they saw a white light that almost blinded them. As they squinted, they saw the silhouette of a man walk into the light.”

Susan’s father finally gave up and went into the light.

Linda and her new family have had no paranormal experiences in their home. She is now the proud mother of three healthy sons.

It’s always nice to have a happy ending to a paranormal experience and it’s fortunate for Linda that it didn’t pass on to another generation.

Well … that was interesting,

What do you think? Please leave me a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Cemetery Scare

by | Apr 4, 2019

Karen couldn’t shake the desire to visit the cemetery.

She had no relatives buried there.

A few years ago she had a bad breakup and instead of going home to an empty house would go to the cemetery after work. She would walk among the headstones thinking about her life and the changes she had to make. She realized Kyle wasn’t the best boyfriend and since meeting him, she broke ties with friends . . . she now had some serious mending to do.

So, the cemetery was a quiet place for her to go and think.

Karen hadn’t been back for years . . . Why the sudden desire to visit?

She made dinner plans with a woman from work, Beth, who was grieving the loss of her husband.

Karen thought if she made plans for after work, then this crazy notion of going to the cemetery would stop weighing on her mind.

Beth walked in Karen’s office, “Hey, would you mind stopping at the cemetery with me before dinner? I want to place some flowers on his grave.”

Karen couldn’t believe it!! The cemetery!! Why on earth . . .

“Wouldn’t you rather go alone? I can meet you at the restaurant.”

“Oh! All right. I thought you liked going to the cemetery to clear your head.”

“I did when Kyle and I broke up . . . Beth, just this morning I felt this ‘pull’ to go to the cemetery . . . I know it sounds crazy, but I’m afraid to go . . . ”

“That’s strange. My daughter and I usually go on Sunday after church, but I felt a ‘pull’ to go today after work. Something strange is going on.”

Karen nodded.

“Well . . . aren’t you curious?”

“More afraid than curious.”

Karen called a psychic friend of hers. She needed answers.

Rachel, the psychic, listened to Karen’s concerns and began spreading out her Tarot cards.

“I see danger. Where were you when you started feeling pulled to visit the cemetery?”

“In the break room.”

“And where was your friend, Beth, when she felt pulled to put flowers on her husband’s grave?”

“I don’t know. Let me check.” She put Rachel on hold and called Beth.

“She was in the break room.”

“I’ll meet you after work in your office and ask Beth to join us.”

Karen and Beth were on needles and pins the rest of the work day.

They didn’t dare go into the break room. They sensed that Rachel sensed something sinister in there. They tried to figure out what was different from the previous day . . . Did someone bring something in?

They no longer pondered the possibility when Hank came in with a relic . . .

“I’ve been looking high and low for my good luck charm I got from one of my professors when I graduated from college. My day was going nowhere. I had cancelled appointments and a couple of clients quit and told me they were going elsewhere. I retraced my steps . . . ”

Karen stopped listening . . . Hank must have dropped it in the break room.

But how could Hank’s good luck charm be giving out messages to both Karen and Beth?

Rachel arrived while Hank was still rambling on about his good luck charm and his run of bad luck since losing it.

“Hank, why do you think this is a good luck charm?”

“It gives me hunches . . . ever since I received it. First, it was to apply here for a job. Then finding my wife. Do you believe it, she was eating lunch in the park, just like I planned to do . . .”

“Have these hunches always been right?” asked Rachel.

“Yes . . . ” Then he paused. “Come to think of it last winter I felt a strong desire to go to the cemetery and then strange things happened. It was freezing cold and I just wanted to lay down on the grave of my professor and die. I almost did, but I had this . . . guy help me to my car . . . once I got warm I drove home. I never told anyone what happened . . . not even my wife.”

“We can cleanse this . . . or you can return it to your deceased professor . . .”

Hank didn’t wait for any other suggestions . . . “I’m going to the cemetery and returning it!!”

“Wait!!!” Rachel, Karen and Beth yelled simultaneously.

Rachel got to work. She cleansed the amulet, put a protective shield around Hank, Karen, Beth and herself. Then they left the office and went to the cemetery.

Rachel saw the apparition of the professor.

“What do you want?” Rachel asked.

“I want Hank to know he doesn’t need a good luck charm. He has what it takes.”

“But why lure Karen and Beth into this?”

“And what about my cancelled appointments and the lost clients . . . and almost freezing to death last winter?” Hank wanted to know.

The professor admitted there was a downside to the amulet and it was time to get rid of it, but not give it to someone else. Since it was cleansed, it may do no more harm, but it was time to let go of it. So Hank buried it on the professors grave.

Then Karen started to laugh.

“Here I am at the cemetery . . . the absolute last place I wanted to be today.”

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon

Haunted Farm House

by | Mar 31, 2019

When Rick was six years old he moved into an old farm house in Georgia with his parents, grandparents and siblings.

 

It was exactly what one would imagine a haunted house to look like. When they first arrived to their new home, Rick and his brother were excited about the old barn, out houses and sheds that were in the back of the house. His sisters were interested in the house and choosing their rooms.

This old farm house had a tin roof. The interior was wood, wood floors, wood walls, wood stairs and banister. The woodwork was extraordinary, but there were small images in the wood that somehow seemed creepy. Rick’s father didn’t notice it when he saw the house. He was interested in the 500 acres and the barn. He also noticed that the farmhouse was huge with six bedrooms and four bathrooms. There was a huge family kitchen he knew his wife would love. Some improvements were made to the house without taking away the charm of the original woodwork. There was also a three bedroom house on the property for his parents and another that would be great as a guest house for his brother and his family.  The price was a factor that made this farmhouse an absolute bargain.

There was going to be a lot of work in clearing away debris in the yard, but Rick’s father was planning to start out small by planting a garden near the house and to build a chicken coop for fresh eggs and buying a cow for fresh milk. He didn’t think beyond that, but he believed he had plenty of time to decide. First he had to move his family from California to Georgia.

Rick and his siblings didn’t like the idea. Their mother was concerned, but she had every confidence in her husband and father-in-law. She thought a farm would be a great place to raise her children.

Rick’s grandfather had recently retired and sold his construction business. He thought a farm in Georgia was perfect for his retirement. They liked the idea that they would have a house of their own close to their son and grandchildren.

They arrived on a cloudy, windy day. By evening, it started raining. They noticed the roof leaked and the wind and rain seeped through the windows. There were eerie creaking sounds from the floors and the walls. Although the electrical wiring and plumbing were only about five years old, there were problems due to the house being empty for a couple of years.

The strange thing was that the house was fully furnished. It looked as though someone had packed up what they could take in their car and left, never to return.

That first night was an experience they would never forget with lights turning on and off and toilets flushing and faucets turning on and off. Not to mention mopping up the rainwater under the windows and emptying the buckets to catch the drips from the ceiling. And, of course, the creaking of the house.

The next day was cloudy, but no rain. Rick’s mother took them to register for school. Although they wanted to go back to the farm and get settled before starting school, they did begin that day. There was also a bus that dropped them off after school at the long driveway to their property. It would be there at 7:30 the next morning.

While the kids were busy at school, repairs were made on the farmhouse. There was a crew of workers packing up when the kids arrived home from school.

The overgrown grass and weeds were cleared away.  The old farmhouse didn’t look quite as scary as it had when they arrived.

The smells coming from the kitchen were inviting to four hungry children.

After dinner the children settled down to do homework in front of the television. Their grandparents sat at the table playing cards. By 9 PM they went to their house. Their house came furnished as did the guest house. These two houses were in better shape than the farmhouse because they were not as old.

There were the regular creaks from the house, but Rick was tired from school and not getting enough sleep the night before.

He did wake up in the middle of the night. He felt a weight sitting on his chest. He tried to move, but it was impossible. He couldn’t even open his eyes which scared him. He tried to yell, but he couldn’t open his mouth. He remembered praying for Jesus to help him. In a few minutes the weight was off of him and he was able to move. He jumped out of bed and ran to his parent’s room, turning on the lights in his bedroom and the hallway and in his parent’s bedroom.

He told his parents of his experience, they checked his room, but found nothing and left the light on in the hallway.

He slept through the rest of the night undisturbed.

At breakfast in the morning he thought it had been a bad dream as his mother suggested.

The kids got on the bus and were off to school. Rick learned from one of his new friends that the old farmhouse had a dark history. They said it was built by an old ship builder, but his wife was a witch. Rick liked the idea of an old ship builder building the house, but he didn’t know what to make of a witch living in his house at one time. Then he thought about the creepy symbols carved in the wood.

Rick’s older sister was way ahead of him. She heard the story, too, and went into the library to look up some of the symbols she remembered seeing repeated throughout the house. She discovered these were for protection, but didn’t know what they needed protection from. She was level-headed for a 12-year-old and didn’t allow her imagination to run wild.

Rick’s 14-year-old brother looked up old newspapers articles from two years previous when the old farmhouse was abandoned. He was told about the murder of a small boy in the house and how the parents ran off leaving their son dead in the house. He couldn’t believe it and had to check it out for himself.

There it was in black and white. A picture of the old farmhouse, a black body bag on a gurney, policemen on the front porch and he noticed something dark looking out of an upstairs window. He made a copy of the article.

Soon Rick’s parents learned some history of the house. It is interesting how people seem to enjoy telling tales after someone moves into a haunted place, but no one is to be found to warn them from buying it and moving their family into it.

They had the house blessed, but that seemed to bring the stories into reality.

From what the family experienced that Friday night, they knew the little boy was not beaten to death by his parents, but some evil entity was in the house and did a repeat performance on Rick, but, fortunately, he didn’t die. His brother heard strange growling sounds coming from Rick’s bedroom and got up to check on him. He saw something dark on the bed hitting his little brother. He tried to grab it and throw it off him, but there was nothing for him to grasp. He was shouting for it to stop, walking up the whole house. His father came in and rush for his young son and was able to get him away from the dark entity.

It then turned on the elder son. His father returned with a shovel, swung it at the entity, hit it several times before it finally left through the ceiling.

It was tempting to leave the farmhouse, just as the previous owners had, but they decided to defeat this thing and banish it from the house.

The family moved into the guest house.

With help from the priest and church members, all the furniture was removed from the house, including the basement and attic. It was taken out into a pit the grandfather made in the middle of the field and burned. The fire department was there to make sure the blaze didn’t get out of hand.

There were plenty of witnesses to hear the screams, growls and cries from the burning pile of furniture and boxes left by previous owners.

The house was blessed again and the family slowly bought furniture and returned to live in the old farmhouse.

Rick was still bruised from his ordeal, but he returned to school. He became a bit of a hero among his peers for surviving the demon’s attack.

The girls seemed most reluctant to return to the farmhouse. They stayed with their grandparents at night, but did have dinner in the farmhouse. Eventually, they decided the farmhouse was safe for them.

The houses and buildings on the property were free from demons, but as for the woods, that’s another story entirely.

That was truly a creepy Real Ghost Story!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon