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Experiences In The House I Grew Up In

 

I've been reading your amazing stories and I felt it was time to add mine so here goes. This story will be kind of long so bear with me please. Settle in with your popcorn and enjoy!

The weirdest story that has happened to me so far was when I was around 18. A little back story before I begin though. The house I grew up in (from when I was about 10 until I moved out at 22ish) is in the near western suburbs of Chicago. It was built sometime around the late 1800's and was actually the house my grandmother was born in so it was our family home.

Anyway, like I said I was about 18 or thereabouts and I was up watching TV in the living room late one night. My mother was sleeping (she's the type that can sleep through a plane crash - she actually did when she was a kid growing up near O'Hare Airport). My father was at work (he did overnight security) and my brother was out doing whatever it was he did in those days with his friends.

Getting back to the story, as I said it's late and I'm watching TV. I had finished a cigarette about 15 minutes before this happened (take it as you will but I feel it is kind of important to the story). I couldn't tell you what I was watching, but suddenly out the corner of my eye, I catch some movement directly below the light fixture in the living room. I turn my head to look and there, plain as day, was a smoky figure floating under the light, which is about seven and a half - eight feet off the floor. It appeared humanish. The head, torso, and arms being the most distinguishable features and it did have legs but it lacked hands, feet or any real facial features.

I have no idea how long I stared at it as it floated there, kind of waving its arms up and down out at its sides. I don't remember feeling scared or anything like that, more just freaked out that I was seeing what I was seeing as this was my first up close apparition.

I looked away for a second or two, then looked back and it was still there. I stared (I'm sure completely unblinking) for at least two full minutes. Then I blinked, shook my head, and rubbed my eyes but when I looked back it was gone.

I know some of you will say, "Well, you did just finish a cigarette" but cigarette smoke doesn't last for 15 minutes or get localized like that forming into a humanoid figure. And I do remember I was nowhere near tired.

I knew my house was haunted before that, as I stated earlier in my story. It was built in the late 1800's and was originally my great-grandparents' house.

Other things that I have noticed in that house were footsteps in the attic. Our attic was only used for storage and was totally cluttered with things which would prevent the rapid back and forth that I had heard.

Another time, I was in my room watching TV around 9 or 10 pm with my cat sleeping on my chest. My room back then was tiny, only seven foot by seven foot square. It contained my twin size bed, a dresser and my TV.

So I'm watching a Cubs game (I think) that night when Beavis (it was a vote with my brother's and my friends don't ask - Beavis won), my cat, wakes from a dead sleep and begins staring intently at my door. Then he slowly tracked his head from the door to the window never leaving my chest. When whatever he was staring at got to the window (jumped out? Disappeared? I couldn't see it, whatever it was), he shook his head, yawned and went back to sleep.

Another thing that happened was we had one of those 35 gallon Rubbermaid trashcans with the locking lid for our kitchen garbage. One day while heading from my room (which was just inside the dining room right off the living room) to the bathroom that was in the kitchen by the back porch door, the garbage can lid popped its lock, did a rather graceful two and a half flips, and landed on its top in the middle of the kitchen. I really had to use the bathroom at that point so I didn't care what it did. I just did my business then on the way back, I picked up the lid and put it back on the garbage can securely locking it back down.

The last of the oddities that I noticed about that house was about a year before I moved out. I was standing at the front gate talking to a friend. I kept glancing at the attic windows when a female figure with green eyes, red hair and a long white gown (the type that women used back in the late 1800's early 1900's as a dressing or sleep gown) slowly materialize then fade away. My friend didn't see her.

I was told that my great-grandmother used the attic as a bedroom when she and her husband - my great-grandfather - had arguments or something of that nature. I was also told that she died up there and, if I remember correctly from the family stories, she had green eyes and red hair. Of course her spending a lot of time in the attic could account for the footsteps that I had heard up there but they always sounded heavier than a woman's footsteps.

Well that's the story of the house I grew up in. I never felt scared while living there, maybe it was because the spirits were family. Believe my story if you want or don't, it won't bother me if you don't believe.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, hauntedhighways, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Swimsinfire (11 stories) (556 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-02-17)
Love to hear about family. That was such a sweet story. Can't wait to read your others. Thankyou much, and welcome to YGS.
hauntedhighways (1 stories) (5 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2014-02-14)
Thank you Triskaideka I never thought of it that way, that is a very good point. But alas we don't live there anymore. We sold the house about 15 years ago and before you ask, no it had nothing to do with the hauntings. Although while we were cleaning our things out of the house, while in the attic I did experence a kind of a watched sensation. Especially when I stood at the window where I saw the attic spirit (I won't say my great-grandmother because I'd never be sure if it was her or not). I did warn the new owners about things I had seen and heard but I kind of think it went in one ear and out the other, if you know what I mean. My mother had mentioned that she had heard the footsteps in the attic before and I know for a fact that it wasn't rodents. I have lived in a house that had a family of raccoons and they make a much different sound. Fighting and the like. Well I'm glad you liked my story and now that this one has finally been posted I'll post others.
Triskaideka (2 stories) (388 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2014-02-12)
Very interesting! For what it's worth, in old houses, even soft steps will sound really loud. So a small delicate woman may still sound as though she's stomping if she's not conscientious of her footsteps.

Perhaps your great grandmother is just checking up on you. 😊

I also wonder what is up in the attic. There's no way I'd leave everything up there untouched. Maybe she wants you to look. It's also possible there are simply rodents up there bouncing around and making noise. But it certainly sounds worth investigating!
lion_king99 (15 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-02-12)
Scary story. Do any other family members share similar stories? Did you ask them?

Regards,
Lion_king99

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