Living in a haunted house.

[Irish Murdoch]

I could never work out why people get nervous, just because someone has died in a house.

Well, quite. My house was built in at least 1662. I imagine quite a few people will have died in it, and a fair few other nasty things would, I think, have happened in all that time. Never felt a thing.

However, in the interests of honesty, my mother has several times in her life got "feelings" in houses where it turns out things have happened. She is honest enough to admit that she hasn't known how that's happened, and certainly hasn't embraced ridiculous theories about afterlives. Neither, needless to say, have I. I remain a sceptic. On a couple of occasions, I was with her when she got these "feelings". I felt nothing.

Examples? Before my time, she had to leave a house her and my dad had visited in Liverpool, because she was overwhelmed with sadness. They later found out it the house that had perviouly stood on the spot had been a direct hit for the Luftwaffe in WWII, with afamily being killed outright. I don't know more than that, so can't provide any more detail.

We all, when I was a child, visited Chingle Hall in Cheshire--supposedly "Britain's most haunted house". On being shown around she froze in one particular room, and had to go out. We were then told (but who knows?) that this was the room where a priest had been murdered and stuck under the floorboards in the Reformation. Fair enough, my mum knew the house's reputation, so was primed to feel something somewhere in it. But we weren't told in advance about it. And she had no such experience in a room triumphantly labelled with the sign "The Haunted Bedroom".

Fast forward a few years. We are about to move into a house, and have been there lots decorating it. But every time my mother gets to the top of the stairs, she gets overcome by a feeling of depression. I have a memory of her sitting on the top step crying her eyes out, indeed. Much to my dad's annoyance, in the end she refuses to move into the house. We later here that two old women had lived in the house, and had been a bit potty. One had died, leaving the other on her own. the remaining one had fallen downstairs. (Now, interestingly, I seem to recall the detail being, as we were told the story, that she had "thrown herself downstairs". But how could anybody have known that?)

To clarify my position on all this: I am a sceptic, though probably of the soft variety. I personally draw no conclusion from these facts (but I assume them to have straightforward explanations, some of which I can already see the germs of--especially in the Chingle Hall case). Neither does my mum. But (a) they are facts, and (b) my mum is an honest person. I'm convinced she had the experiences she represented to us. But I don't know what those experiences show (nothing, I suspect). Anyway, I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts.

 

[William H.]

Over ten years ago, my girlfriend at the time moved into a house a few lots down from where her apt. was located, it was vacant because a forty year old guy killed his mother who lived there. I lived in that house for a year and it didn't bother me a bit.

When we moved in I mentioned it to a co-worker that sat next to me who read the bible during lunch and hummed hymns when he worked. He said he didn't think he could live in house where someone had just gotten killed. Since he had just moved into a new apartment, I pointed out that, "You never know who could have lived there before you, or what they did there."

His response, and he was dead serious when he said it, was, "Yeah, I guess there could have been some dope smokers or an unmarried couple living there".

 

[Tanja]

His response, and he was dead serious when he said it, was, "Yeah, I guess there could have been some dope smokers or an unmarried couple living there".

Replying to your co-worker as a joke "actually I think that a nice couple called George and Steve lived there until George ended up in prison after a drug bust" probably would not be well received by him...

 

[Suezoled]

So many people won't live in a house where someone died, but a lot of people will buy antiques. You would have no idea if some baby died in the cradle you just bought, or someone fell asleep and died in the old rocking chair, or if the gold ring you just bought was peeled off some chick's cold dead hands (literally), etc etc. But I guess antiques are okay, but living in the place where people died is not. Huh.

 

[Marian]

I have two haunted house stories.

The first being the house I currently own was owned by a man who was in his 70s who had spiralled down through alcoholism and drug addiction, so the house was basically a drug house (in a very nice neighborhood). He was in jail during escrow, and the neighbors were THRILLED to be getting rid of him (and really wanted us specifically to buy the house).

Shortly after moving in, one of our other neighbors who is also a police officer told my husband that when they served a warrent on the house, he did a walkthrough after everyone had been arrested so that he'd know the layout in case of future problems. One bedroom (which is the spare bedroom for us) was...well bizarre. It apparently had a pentagram on the floor or something, dead flowers and other dead things hanging on the walls, the walls were painted a dark color, and there were candles and other things, just very 'cultish' to him. He told my husband not to tell me in case I would be "upset" (My husband laughed and said, you don't know my wife). And they also told us that we might want to have a priest bless the house.

We've been here about 7 years, no problems. But I thought it was funny.

The other "ghost" story I have is a personal favorite. When I was in high school my family and 2 visiting cousins went on a trip and we stopped at a place I believe is called 'The Big Yellow House'. It was a resturant which had formerly been many other things, and was supposed to be 'haunted'. They had information about the hauntings up in the place, as well as on the menu. Well one of my cousins (who is an actress) is very much a walking woo woo. She was talking about feeling a 'cold spot' at our table. I told her to look up, she was under the a/c vent.

Anyway she and my mother went to the bathroom at the end of the meal and we were getting ready to resume our trip. I waited outside and noticed that there was a light switch OUTSIDE the bathroom.

An evil plot formed.

I'm about 5'9" and am pretty strong. My mother is 5'3"-ish and my cousin isn't as strong as I am. Mwhaha. So I used one hand to flip on and off the light switch and the other hand to bang on the outside of the door up and down the door hitting it various ways to make the 'banging' echo pretty well, and hopefully sound like it was all over the room. Then I flipped the lights off for about 10 seconds (well probably less as they had started screaming) and HELD the doorknob when they tried to get out. Then I flipped the light back on, and moved about 8 feet from the door and damn near bit my tongue in half to keep a straight face.

They came FLYING out, and didn't even suspect me. "DID YOU HEAR THAT?!" they screamed. I looked puzzled and said "Hear what?" and they related what had just happened with some embelishments. I pretended to be angry because they were putting me on. "No" they exclaimed, "there was a GHOST!"

We left, after they told the hostess (and everyone within hearing range) their experience, who solemnly nodded and said that the bathroom was haunted and they had had similar reports. I made it back into the car before I became hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing.

Both of them were pretty pissed off with me.

I wonder how many of those similar reports were people like me who saw and exploited an opportunity for personal amusement.

 

[Nigel]

That's pretty good Marian. Along those lines, has anyone heard of a fictional story like that? We all know about fiction where the ghosts and ghoulies and bumps in the night are real, but I wonder if anyone has come up with a scenario where it seems like the ghosts are real, but have a prosaic explanation at the end. (I'm actually trying to write that story, about a photojournalist who investigates a "haunted" house but finds nothing.) The trick is to make the end dramatic enough to keep the reader's interest, and not a "Oh, so that's all it was. That's boring," kind of thing.

BTW, I'm not trying to derail the thread, I also plan on bringing this up in the literary forum.

 

[Marian]

That's pretty good Marian. Along those lines, has anyone heard of a fictional story like that?

I do, and I don't remember the source or the author. I read it quite a long time ago in a book of 'ghost stories'. Perhaps someone here will recognize it. It was presented as a 'true' story though. The jist of it was that it took place in the 1800s. A young man and his sister (I imagine it to have been around the time of "Pride and Prejudice") had their cousin David visiting from America (the story took place in England). David was an obnoxious 'know-it-all', so they decided to get him. They told him about a ghost that haunted a room in their manor and that no one would sleep in the room (and that he couldn't tell their parents that they had told him, because they'd be upset as it was a secret). Anyway David of course proclaims there's no such thing as ghosts and he'll happily sleep in the room. He also warns them if they're thinking of playing tricks that he has a gun that he sleeps with.

That night a ghost appears, David shoots at the ghost, nothing happens. He faints. He was scheduled to leave either the next day or the day after and nothing was said of the ghost.

Ten years later the brother receives word that cousin David is once again in England. He and his sister go to meet him at the hotel. They haven't spoken to him since he stayed and they talk about the prank they played. David looks horrible, like an old man, very shaky movements. Anyway they tell him the truth, that there was no ghost. He says there has to be, what about the gun? He says that his sister had removed the bullets and placed blanks in the gun, and that he had played the part of the ghost. David sits back, lets out a small sigh, then grabs a knife from the table and slits the brother's throat. He then starts screaming and acting like a madman.

The sister returns home (without her brother who was dead) and finds a letter waiting from America, from David's father. It states that he's spent the last 10 years in a sanatarium in America and to please not mention the ghost, as the experience had driven him mad and he was still very fragile.

Then the story ended with the sister dropping the letter and it fluttered to the floor.

That's the only one I recall offhand (that I personally REALLY enjoyed) that was a "true" ghost story without a ghost. It was included in an anthology of other "real" ghost stories, but those had actual ghosts (I believe there was one with the mother who was buying milk for a baby and they found the coffin and she had given birth and then they found the empty milk bottles, stuff like that). I would have read this probably when I was in college so around 1992-ish? I don't believe it was a new publication though. Wish I could remember the author or title. :\ Perhaps someone will recognize it, it was well written.

 

[Nigel]

Sounds like a heckuva story, Marian. Thanks. My idea is strictly fiction and will be presented as such (if I do it, I'm having trouble with the opening. The rest is easy. ) I don't have a problem with "true" fictional ghost stories (included are all the monsters - vampires, and all that good stuff). They stand or fall on their own as stories. I just want to present a skeptical point of view to something like "The Shining". If nothing else, it'd be a good writing exercise in storytelling (which I need a lot of work on). I've written one draft, but I'm not terribly happy with it. Needs work. (Again, not trying to derail the thread here. Any other comments/questions I have will be put into the proper forum. There. Now you don't have to yell at me.)

Back to the point. In the town where I went to high school, there was an old broken down house, built probably at the turn of the 20th century or thereabouts. A bunch of my friends took another member of our gang, "Robbie", to the house, as kids do. Robbie didn't know I'd gone there earlier and was waiting for him upstairs. I stomped on the floor (it's a wonder the boards held!) and jangled my keys and anything else I could find to make Robbie think the place was haunted. He never got past the first floor. He ran out the front door and fell to his knees on the ground, shouting a ghost was in the house, because he heard noises! I came out, and he was saying things like, "I'm gonna get you guys for that!" Pretty funny (especially since we were about 17), and relatively harmless. Just a little embarrassing for Robbie.

Years later, the house was torn down and a new subdivision put in. I was sad, but not surprised.

 

[Gaga]

Hi
if memory doesn't fail me there's a novel of Jules Verne, Carpathian Castle (or The Castle of the Carpathians) that is a good reading about a (not so)haunted castle

 

[Nigel]

Hi
if memory doesn't fail me there's a novel of Jules Verne, Carpathian Castle (or The Castle of the Carpathians) that is a good reading about a (not so)haunted castle

I've not heard of that. Thanks for the tip. I'll look for it.

 

[Tanja]

Hi
if memory doesn't fail me there's a novel of Jules Verne, Carpathian Castle (or The Castle of the Carpathians) that is a good reading about a (not so)haunted castle

Hello, Gaga & Nigel!

I never read the novel, but there was an trully excellent Czech film made after the story. I think it is this one, called "The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians" . It is very simply made and really good. Luckily it was on TV quite often in Croatia (where I am originally from), but I am not sure if it ever made it outside Eastern Europe. Good skeptical film as well!

edited to confuse Nigel

 

[Nigel]

Rated 8.6 out of 10 on imdb. Thanks Tanja. (Even though you addressed your post to Gaga) I may have to track it down.

 

[Tanja]

Enjoy the film if you find it, Nigel!

(Notice I edited my previous post? )

 

[Lisa Simpson]

My sis-in-law insisted that her grandparents house was haunted, even though neither of her grandparents died there. it was due to the bad vibes left over from their combative marriage. Yeah. More likely, the noise and the smell was due to rats.

I've been on the Queen Mary tour, but haven't seen any ghosts there either.

http://www.ghostsandlegends.com/gl/index.php

 

[Nigel]

Enjoy the film if you find it, Nigel!

(Notice I edited my previous post? )

And you didn't even see my eyes welling up at being left out the first time! It's always nice to be included.... Thanks.
(Any sympathy I can get is good sympathy)

Seriously, I know I'd have to order the movie, but you never know. I found "Run Lola Run" and "The Dinner Game" (German and French, respectively, both with subtitles) in my local video store. But that's getting off topic again. Sorry. (Slaps wrist). I just can't help myself.