31 Days of Spook – Special Guest

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 Squeals with piggy delight.  My friends I have scored the ultimate story for your today.   Mommy has helped me to get in touch with Mr. Dave Schrader.  If you know anything about the paranormal field, you will recognize the name.  Dave Schrader does a talk show where he is the host and producer of Darkness Radio.  If you haven’t heard of his show, you *must* check it out for chills and thrills.  Dave Schrader has also been seen on television with Zak Bagans on Ghost Adventures, co-hosted the show Paranormal Challenge with Zak Bagans and has made contributions to Ghost Hunters TAPS ParaMagazine.  Dave Schrader currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We are VERY excited to present a story from Dave Schrader today.  Now, settle back and enjoy my friends!

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It was August of 2005 and our radio show was entering its 8th month on the air when I received an invitation to be a part of a psychic and shamanic exploration at Thayer’s Bed and Breakfast in Annandale, MN.  Since I have no psychic bones in my body, I thought I would check it out and see if I could learn something new and tap into some psy experience for myself. I would be surrounded in a peaceful environment with mediums, psychics and shamans at a well known haunted location.  This might be my best chance yet to witness some interesting phenomena.

I say quietly watching people mill about, discussing what they were picking up on, what spirits they sensed and generally soaking in the atmosphere. During my observation, the resident cat – a large fluffy white beastie – decided I was its new friend and would not leave my side, lap or feet. It stuck to me like I was made of tuna. I stroked the cat like an evil Bond villain as I sat and watched a fascinating scene unfold before me of shared experiences, giddy claims of ghostly presence and some chilling moments as part of the group relayed a story about the creepy man on the top floor that leapt to the wall and skittered up and across the ceiling like a Victorian Spider-Man.

Next came an extraordinary experiment. We were all going to tap into ourselves, meet our spirit guides and do a Shamanic journey. We laid upon the ground, spread eagle and not touching ourselves or others nearby while Hanakia Zedek gently beat a drum to some soothing music and in his deep voice guided us to a meditative trance. By this time, the room lights had been dimmed and the room had been cleared of all cats, kids and other distractions.  We were to just BE in the moment and experience the darkness, the music and open ourselves to contact with our totem, spirit guides or loved ones.

As I lay trying to quiet my mind and the senseless chatter that usually clutters it, I found myself getting more restless, unable to attain the nirvana our leader wanted us to achieve.  That was when my furry friend found his way back to my side.  He would nuzzle my hip and flop on my hand seeking affection and attention. I would pet him for a few seconds than push him away so I could try to slip into a deep meditation, but my kitty companion wasn’t having it. He kept purring, nuzzling and pushing against me.

After 20 minutes or so all with my eyes closed, I finally relented and began giving him the love he craved. My hands scratching the deep fur bringing about even more purrs and nuzzles. I began to wonder how much longer this foray into futility would continue with our Shamanic leader. Obviously I was not going to become more enlightened or have a profound moment.  I opened my eyes and glanced down to see which cat was so desperately in need of my attention. My eyes widened, my hand stopped mid scratch and I froze. I could feel the cat purring, pushing against my leg and hand simultaneously but to my utter amazement, there was no cat there.

 I paused assuming my eyes were playing tricks on me and that they had just not adjusted properly to the low light setting.  I closed them tightly, drew in a deep breath and began digging deep into the fur of phantom friend once more. I opened my eyes a second time and there was my hand, hovering mid-air, stroking….emptiness. There was no cat to bee seen, but I could feel and hear it. Within moments, the drumming stopped and the lights began to lift as they adjusted the dimmer switch, our journey to the ether-world was at an end yet here I was stroking an imaginary cat.

The crowd milled about in a semi comatose state. My brain raced trying to make sense of what had just happened to me. I was afraid to speak up for fear of looking like a fool despite the wild claims I had heard from other experiencers all night long. Then I heard the group begin to discuss their personal reflections of the drumming and meditation when one of the people spoke up and said, “How about the ghost cat?” Many in the group admitted to seeing a ghostly cat all night long checking us out and stalking the room. Still I stood silent.

“He was sure curious about what we were doing. I heard the owner say her favorite cat passed away a few weeks back, its nice to know he still calls this home.:”  I was astounded, did I just spend 30 minutes petting a specter? I don’t even like cats I thought to myself, why did he mess with me?

The crowd dispersed and a few days later I got an email from a girl that also attended the event. She had laid to my immediate right and she informed me she knew I had an experience and she had been petting that same cat all night. We had been ping ponging the cat between us for the evening when we would try to focus on the guided meditation and brush it off, it would move to the other one of us.
That was one of the first truly amazing experiences I ever had that was more than a fleeting moment that could easily be explained away and I will cherish that forever.

– Dave Schrader

---

Friends – we hope you enjoyed our special guest today.  We would also like to throw a great huge THANK YOU to Dave Schrader for taking time to share his story.  You rock!!

 

Boo! St. Augustine Lighthouse

Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?

During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower.  The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident.  The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront.  One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls.  Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.

There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds.  Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse.  On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help.  It was haunting to say the least.

Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house.  This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.

The lighthouse is now open to the public.  The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own.  Any takers?  I’m game.

 

31 Days of Spook – Dad’s Aunt Dorothy

Today’s spook tale is a real scary story, something that happened to my daddy when he was a young boy.  Are you ready for this?  Are you sure?  You might want to hold someone’s hand.

When dad was around was 10 years old, his mom’s Aunt Dorothy passed away.  She had a house in Blue Ridge, West Virginia.  It looked similar to this picture.  Up on a hill top, had a wrap around porch and was two stories with a full basement.  The house looked normal but had a little bit of an eerie factor… especially to a young child.  Let me give you a little bit background on some chilling history of the home.

Aunt Dorothy had a brother named John that also lived with her. There’s two different stories that circulated about what happened to dear poor John.  One was that Aunt Dorothy and John had dinner one night.  Afterwards, he stood up, crossed himself and then fell over dead.  They other story was they had a fight one day and Aunt Dorothy left the house.  When she returned from cooling down, he was dead.  No one knows which tale is how poor John really died.  Only one fact did remain – John was dead.  From that day forward, Aunt Dorothy locked his room and no one was ever allowed to enter his room.   And although the room was locked and she had the key, she would often mention how it sounded like someone was in the room at night walking around.

Upon Aunt Dorothy’s death, daddy’s mom and dad took him to the house so they could start cleaning some things up to sale the home.  They traveled out of state and got to Blue Ridge, West Virginia on a Thursday evening.  They went to Aunt Dorothy’s home the next day to start the clean up.  They went inside and it was cool inside, almost like goosebump kind of cool with the hair on your arms standing up.  This was strange because in that time during the 1970’s in this area, there really wasn’t central heating and air.  It was the middle of August and it was hot outside, in the 90’s plus.  Typical summer time weather – hot and very humid.  But, in the home it was cool and comfortable, almost ice cold.  They commented on how it was so cold that you could almost hang meat.  But they started to go through the home to see what they wanted, starting with the upstairs.

They found the key to the locked room that once belonged to Aunt Dorothy’s brother John.  The room had just been locked and never touched – as if he was returning back home one day and it was just frozen in time.  There was a book on the bedside table that was still marked where he had left off from reading.  Clothes were still scattered about the room.  The bed was still made.  There was a partial letter written on the desk to an old friend that was never finished.  The room had a eerie feeling like someone was still there and it was cold in this room as well.  One thing that was strange about the room.  There was no cob webs, no dust, nothing that looked like this room had been vacant for over 15 years. It was bizarre but they figured Aunt Dorothy had been in dusting.  But why dust and not pick up the scattered clothing?

Daddy’s father wanted him to go down into the basement alone to check for any tools that they possibly might want to bring home.  Daddy being all of 10 said sure.  How very brave of him.   Each step he took going down into the dark, cold and dank basement, he felt like he was being watched.  At times, it was like someone was following him but no one else was there when he looked around.  He found some things that they might possibly want and he gathered them up.  Slowly, he took everything upstairs with each step still feeling like he was being watched and followed.  And yes he was a child and you might be saying that he was scared because of his age.  Well, was he?  Let’s continue our story.

They stayed at the house on/off for the next couple of days cleaning.  They would go back to the hotel each night and return in the hot August weather with the coolness inside of the home.  Each day they were there cleaning and fixing things up, the house remained cool like there was an air conditioner on… but there wasn’t one. 

On the last day, dad’s mom asked him and his father to start cleaning up the living room area while she was starting in the parlor.  There was an old china cabinet that had french doors on the front.  When you looked through the glass panes, you could see a locked latch across the front.  Dad’s mom tried the doors, but she couldn’t get them open.  They were firmly locked.   Inside of the china cabinet, there was some sterling silver and china that dad’s mom wanted to take back home.

She didn’t want to break the doors in hopes of selling the antique furniture.  On the opposite side of the wall, there was a hutch.  She asked for the boys to come over to possibly help find a key to the china cabinet.  While the boys were searching the hutch, all of a sudden dad’s mom let out a chilling scream.

They turned around immediately and the french doors to the china cabinet were standing wide open as if someone had opened them both at the same time.  Dad’s mom took full advantage of the opportunity and removed the pieces she wanted.  Afterwards, she pushed the doors back together and the cabinet locked itself back up.  You could hear the click-click sound of the latch going right back to where it was previously.

We took the items we wanted out to the car while dad’s father took the trash out.  We came back into the house to lock it up to leave our final time.  We noticed that the house had lost the coolness feeling that it had and had become hot just like it was outside in the August air.  Three days of air conditioning, goosebump coolness, hair standing on your arms and now hot humid heat.  We left that day and never returned.

 

31 Days of Spook – St Augustine Lighthouse

Shivers – today’s post brings me shivers just thinking about it.

Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?

During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower.  The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident.  The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront.  One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls.  Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.

There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds.  Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse.  On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help.  It was haunting to say the least.

Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house.  This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.

The lighthouse is now open to the public.  The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own.  Any takers?  I’m game.

 

31 Days of Spook – Special Guest

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 Squeals with piggy delight.  My friends I have scored the ultimate story for your today to officially start my 31 Days of Spook.   Mommy has helped me to get in touch with Mr. Dave Schrader.  If you know anything about the paranormal field, you will recognize the name.  Dave Schrader does a talk show where he is the host and producer of Darkness Radio.  If you haven’t heard of his show, you *must* check it out for chills and thrills.  Dave Schrader has also been seen on television with Zak Bagans on Ghost Adventures, co-hosted the show Paranormal Challenge with Zak Bagans and has made contributions to Ghost Hunters TAPS ParaMagazine.  Dave Schrader currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We are VERY excited to present a story from Dave Schrader today.  Now, settle back and enjoy my friends!

---

It was August of 2005 and our radio show was entering its 8th month on the air when I received an invitation to be a part of a psychic and shamanic exploration at Thayer’s Bed and Breakfast in Annandale, MN.  Since I have no psychic bones in my body, I thought I would check it out and see if I could learn something new and tap into some psy experience for myself. I would be surrounded in a peaceful environment with mediums, psychics and shamans at a well known haunted location.  This might be my best chance yet to witness some interesting phenomena.

I say quietly watching people mill about, discussing what they were picking up on, what spirits they sensed and generally soaking in the atmosphere. During my observation, the resident cat – a large fluffy white beastie – decided I was its new friend and would not leave my side, lap or feet. It stuck to me like I was made of tuna. I stroked the cat like an evil Bond villain as I sat and watched a fascinating scene unfold before me of shared experiences, giddy claims of ghostly presence and some chilling moments as part of the group relayed a story about the creepy man on the top floor that leapt to the wall and skittered up and across the ceiling like a Victorian Spider-Man.

Next came an extraordinary experiment. We were all going to tap into ourselves, meet our spirit guides and do a Shamanic journey. We laid upon the ground, spread eagle and not touching ourselves or others nearby while Hanakia Zedek gently beat a drum to some soothing music and in his deep voice guided us to a meditative trance. By this time, the room lights had been dimmed and the room had been cleared of all cats, kids and other distractions.  We were to just BE in the moment and experience the darkness, the music and open ourselves to contact with our totem, spirit guides or loved ones.

As I lay trying to quiet my mind and the senseless chatter that usually clutters it, I found myself getting more restless, unable to attain the nirvana our leader wanted us to achieve.  That was when my furry friend found his way back to my side.  He would nuzzle my hip and flop on my hand seeking affection and attention. I would pet him for a few seconds than push him away so I could try to slip into a deep meditation, but my kitty companion wasn’t having it. He kept purring, nuzzling and pushing against me.

After 20 minutes or so all with my eyes closed, I finally relented and began giving him the love he craved. My hands scratching the deep fur bringing about even more purrs and nuzzles. I began to wonder how much longer this foray into futility would continue with our Shamanic leader. Obviously I was not going to become more enlightened or have a profound moment.  I opened my eyes and glanced down to see which cat was so desperately in need of my attention. My eyes widened, my hand stopped mid scratch and I froze. I could feel the cat purring, pushing against my leg and hand simultaneously but to my utter amazement, there was no cat there.

 I paused assuming my eyes were playing tricks on me and that they had just not adjusted properly to the low light setting.  I closed them tightly, drew in a deep breath and began digging deep into the fur of phantom friend once more. I opened my eyes a second time and there was my hand, hovering mid-air, stroking….emptiness. There was no cat to bee seen, but I could feel and hear it. Within moments, the drumming stopped and the lights began to lift as they adjusted the dimmer switch, our journey to the ether-world was at an end yet here I was stroking an imaginary cat.

The crowd milled about in a semi comatose state. My brain raced trying to make sense of what had just happened to me. I was afraid to speak up for fear of looking like a fool despite the wild claims I had heard from other experiencers all night long. Then I heard the group begin to discuss their personal reflections of the drumming and meditation when one of the people spoke up and said, “How about the ghost cat?” Many in the group admitted to seeing a ghostly cat all night long checking us out and stalking the room. Still I stood silent.

“He was sure curious about what we were doing. I heard the owner say her favorite cat passed away a few weeks back, its nice to know he still calls this home.:”  I was astounded, did I just spend 30 minutes petting a specter? I don’t even like cats I thought to myself, why did he mess with me?

The crowd dispersed and a few days later I got an email from a girl that also attended the event. She had laid to my immediate right and she informed me she knew I had an experience and she had been petting that same cat all night. We had been ping ponging the cat between us for the evening when we would try to focus on the guided meditation and brush it off, it would move to the other one of us.
That was one of the first truly amazing experiences I ever had that was more than a fleeting moment that could easily be explained away and I will cherish that forever.

– Dave Schrader

---

Friends – we hope you enjoyed our special guest today.  We would also like to throw a great huge THANK YOU to Dave Schrader for taking time to share his story.  You rock!!

 

Favorite Shows?

Snorts and oinks friends to a happy and wonderful Friday!  I think my buddy Maxwell says it best in this video clip – bring on the weekend!

So today on this fine Friday, I wanted to ask you an important question.  You see mom and dad were discussing their favorite shows on television last night and it got me to thinking.  Why don’t I ask all of you my friends so that maybe we can highlight a show that someone else might want to watch.  Makes sense huh?

So I’m going to start with our three favorite shows to watch here at the Hotel Thompson (in no particular order).

Mountain Monsters – Now this is a show that we didn’t watch right off when it came on the Destination American channel.  But one night mom did and she has been hooked every since.  The AIMS team (which stands for Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings) goes all over looking for monsters in the woods.  AIMS was founded by team members Trapper John Tice, Jeff Headlee and Willy McQuillian.  There is also Buck, Wild Bill and Huckleberry.  Awesome names huh?  They have done shows on everything from the Jersey Devil to the mysterious Bigfoot.

Investigative Discovery – Or as you may know and recognize it – the I.D. Channel.  Anything that is related to murder is on the channel.  And my mom – she considers herself an inspector in trying to figure out the show endings before the television tells you.  It’s really interesting to see how people think they can “get away” with murder.  Never a dull moment and trust me, you won’t be able to just watch ‘one’ show and leave.  Oh no, you will be hooked!

Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Brothers and Dead Files – Okay I hooked all of these up in one posting because they all deal with the paranormal, the afterlife, the what bumps in the middle of the night and keeps you on your toes kind of television shows.  Mom and dad both love this stuff and yeah I have to admit that it’s grown on me.  I’m not as afraid of things in the middle of the night anymore.  Houdini though – he’s another story.

So tell me my friends, what are your favorite shows?

 

Bacon’s Tales of Terror – Special Guest

 Squeals with piggy delight.  My friends I have scored the ultimate story for your today on my Bacon’s Tales of Terror.  Mommy has helped me to get in touch with Mr. Dave Schrader.  If you know anything about the paranormal field, you will recognize the name.  Dave Schrader does a talk show where he is the host and producer of Darkness Radio.  If you haven’t heard of his show, you *must* check it out for chills and thrills.  Dave Schrader has also been seen on television with Zak Bagans on Ghost Adventures, co-hosted the show Paranormal Challenge with Zak Bagans and has made contributions to Ghost Hunters TAPS ParaMagazine.  Dave Schrader currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We are VERY excited to present a story from Dave Schrader today on our Bacon’s Tales of Terror.  Now, settle back and enjoy my friends!

---

It was August of 2005 and our radio show was entering its 8th month on the air when I received an invitation to be a part of a psychic and shamanic exploration at Thayer’s Bed and Breakfast in Annandale, MN.  Since I have no psychic bones in my body, I thought I would check it out and see if I could learn something new and tap into some psy experience for myself. I would be surrounded in a peaceful environment with mediums, psychics and shamans at a well known haunted location.  This might be my best chance yet to witness some interesting phenomena.

I say quietly watching people mill about, discussing what they were picking up on, what spirits they sensed and generally soaking in the atmosphere. During my observation, the resident cat – a large fluffy white beastie – decided I was its new friend and would not leave my side, lap or feet. It stuck to me like I was made of tuna. I stroked the cat like an evil Bond villain as I sat and watched a fascinating scene unfold before me of shared experiences, giddy claims of ghostly presence and some chilling moments as part of the group relayed a story about the creepy man on the top floor that leapt to the wall and skittered up and across the ceiling like a Victorian Spider-Man.

Next came an extraordinary experiment. We were all going to tap into ourselves, meet our spirit guides and do a Shamanic journey. We laid upon the ground, spread eagle and not touching ourselves or others nearby while Hanakia Zedek gently beat a drum to some soothing music and in his deep voice guided us to a meditative trance. By this time, the room lights had been dimmed and the room had been cleared of all cats, kids and other distractions.  We were to just BE in the moment and experience the darkness, the music and open ourselves to contact with our totem, spirit guides or loved ones.

As I lay trying to quiet my mind and the senseless chatter that usually clutters it, I found myself getting more restless, unable to attain the nirvana our leader wanted us to achieve.  That was when my furry friend found his way back to my side.  He would nuzzle my hip and flop on my hand seeking affection and attention. I would pet him for a few seconds than push him away so I could try to slip into a deep meditation, but my kitty companion wasn’t having it. He kept purring, nuzzling and pushing against me.

After 20 minutes or so all with my eyes closed, I finally relented and began giving him the love he craved. My hands scratching the deep fur bringing about even more purrs and nuzzles. I began to wonder how much longer this foray into futility would continue with our Shamanic leader. Obviously I was not going to become more enlightened or have a profound moment.  I opened my eyes and glanced down to see which cat was so desperately in need of my attention. My eyes widened, my hand stopped mid scratch and I froze. I could feel the cat purring, pushing against my leg and hand simultaneously but to my utter amazement, there was no cat there.

 I paused assuming my eyes were playing tricks on me and that they had just not adjusted properly to the low light setting.  I closed them tightly, drew in a deep breath and began digging deep into the fur of phantom friend once more. I opened my eyes a second time and there was my hand, hovering mid-air, stroking….emptiness. There was no cat to bee seen, but I could feel and hear it. Within moments, the drumming stopped and the lights began to lift as they adjusted the dimmer switch, our journey to the ether-world was at an end yet here I was stroking an imaginary cat.

The crowd milled about in a semi comatose state. My brain raced trying to make sense of what had just happened to me. I was afraid to speak up for fear of looking like a fool despite the wild claims I had heard from other experiencers all night long. Then I heard the group begin to discuss their personal reflections of the drumming and meditation when one of the people spoke up and said, “How about the ghost cat?” Many in the group admitted to seeing a ghostly cat all night long checking us out and stalking the room. Still I stood silent.

“He was sure curious about what we were doing. I heard the owner say her favorite cat passed away a few weeks back, its nice to know he still calls this home.:”  I was astounded, did I just spend 30 minutes petting a specter? I don’t even like cats I thought to myself, why did he mess with me?

The crowd dispersed and a few days later I got an email from a girl that also attended the event. She had laid to my immediate right and she informed me she knew I had an experience and she had been petting that same cat all night. We had been ping ponging the cat between us for the evening when we would try to focus on the guided meditation and brush it off, it would move to the other one of us.
That was one of the first truly amazing experiences I ever had that was more than a fleeting moment that could easily be explained away and I will cherish that forever.

– Dave Schrader

---

Friends – we hope you enjoyed our special guest today.  We would also like to throw a great huge THANK YOU to Dave Schrader for taking time to share his story.  You rock!!

 

31 Days of Spook – St Augustine Lighthouse

Shivers – today’s post brings me shivers just thinking about it.

Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?

During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower.  The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident.  The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront.  One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls.  Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.

There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds.  Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse.  On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help.  It was haunting to say the least.

Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house.  This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.

The lighthouse is now open to the public.  The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own.  Any takers?  I’m game.

 

31 Days of Spook – Dad’s Aunt Dorothy

Today’s spook tale is a real scary story, something that happened to my daddy when he was a young boy.  Are you ready for this?  Are you sure?  You might want to hold someone’s hand.

When dad was around was 10 years old, his mom’s Aunt Dorothy passed away.  She had a house in Blue Ridge, West Virginia.  It looked similar to this picture.  Up on a hill top, had a wrap around porch and was two stories with a full basement.  The house looked normal but had a little bit of an eerie factor… especially to a young child.  Let me give you a little bit background on some chilling history of the home.

Aunt Dorothy had a brother named John that also lived with her. There’s two different stories that circulated about what happened to dear poor John.  One was that Aunt Dorothy and John had dinner one night.  Afterwards, he stood up, crossed himself and then fell over dead.  They other story was they had a fight one day and Aunt Dorothy left the house.  When she returned from cooling down, he was dead.  No one knows which tale is how poor John really died.  Only one fact did remain – John was dead.  From that day forward, Aunt Dorothy locked his room and no one was ever allowed to enter his room.   And although the room was locked and she had the key, she would often mention how it sounded like someone was in the room at night walking around.

Upon Aunt Dorothy’s death, daddy’s mom and dad took him to the house so they could start cleaning some things up to sale the home.  They traveled out of state and got to Blue Ridge, West Virginia on a Thursday evening.  They went to Aunt Dorothy’s home the next day to start the clean up.  They went inside and it was cool inside, almost like goosebump kind of cool with the hair on your arms standing up.  This was strange because in that time during the 1970’s in this area, there really wasn’t central heating and air.  It was the middle of August and it was hot outside, in the 90’s plus.  Typical summer time weather – hot and very humid.  But, in the home it was cool and comfortable, almost ice cold.  They commented on how it was so cold that you could almost hang meat.  But they started to go through the home to see what they wanted, starting with the upstairs.

They found the key to the locked room that once belonged to Aunt Dorothy’s brother John.  The room had just been locked and never touched – as if he was returning back home one day and it was just frozen in time.  There was a book on the bedside table that was still marked where he had left off from reading.  Clothes were still scattered about the room.  The bed was still made.  There was a partial letter written on the desk to an old friend that was never finished.  The room had a eerie feeling like someone was still there and it was cold in this room as well.  One thing that was strange about the room.  There was no cob webs, no dust, nothing that looked like this room had been vacant for over 15 years. It was bizarre but they figured Aunt Dorothy had been in dusting.  But why dust and not pick up the scattered clothing?

Daddy’s father wanted him to go down into the basement alone to check for any tools that they possibly might want to bring home.  Daddy being all of 10 said sure.  How very brave of him.   Each step he took going down into the dark, cold and dank basement, he felt like he was being watched.  At times, it was like someone was following him but no one else was there when he looked around.  He found some things that they might possibly want and he gathered them up.  Slowly, he took everything upstairs with each step still feeling like he was being watched and followed.  And yes he was a child and you might be saying that he was scared because of his age.  Well, was he?  Let’s continue our story.

They stayed at the house on/off for the next couple of days cleaning.  They would go back to the hotel each night and return in the hot August weather with the coolness inside of the home.  Each day they were there cleaning and fixing things up, the house remained cool like there was an air conditioner on… but there wasn’t one. 

On the last day, dad’s mom asked him and his father to start cleaning up the living room area while she was starting in the parlor.  There was an old china cabinet that had french doors on the front.  When you looked through the glass panes, you could see a locked latch across the front.  Dad’s mom tried the doors, but she couldn’t get them open.  They were firmly locked.   Inside of the china cabinet, there was some sterling silver and china that dad’s mom wanted to take back home.

She didn’t want to break the doors in hopes of selling the antique furniture.  On the opposite side of the wall, there was a hutch.  She asked for the boys to come over to possibly help find a key to the china cabinet.  While the boys were searching the hutch, all of a sudden dad’s mom let out a chilling scream.

They turned around immediately and the french doors to the china cabinet were standing wide open as if someone had opened them both at the same time.  Dad’s mom took full advantage of the opportunity and removed the pieces she wanted.  Afterwards, she pushed the doors back together and the cabinet locked itself back up.  You could hear the click-click sound of the latch going right back to where it was previously.

We took the items we wanted out to the car while dad’s father took the trash out.  We came back into the house to lock it up to leave our final time.  We noticed that the house had lost the coolness feeling that it had and had become hot just like it was outside in the August air.  Three days of air conditioning, goosebump coolness, hair standing on your arms and now hot humid heat.  We left that day and never returned.

 

31 Days of Spook – Make a Noise