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This Scared Me Silly... Not Sure Why

 

During the last eighteen months I lived at 1444 Broadway, all kinds of strange things happened, from the cold spot in the vacant apartment across the hall (if you stuck your hand in it, it felt ice-cold, although a thermometer registered no change in temperature) to the shadowy figure I'd seen walk through a closed closet door (one of the first manifestations), the place was, well, haunted.

I remember the first odd thing... At the time, I was renting a single room, at the front. I had no phone, so the landlord allowed me to give out his private number-he lived in a room at the rear of the repair shop.

If I received a phone call, John would take a broom, and rap on the floor with the handle. I'd take my walking stick, and rap, to let him know I was on my way down.

In the fall of '89, I was sitting in my room, watching the news. The sun was starting to set, and the shadows were lengthening.

Just then, I clearly heard three sharp raps through the floor. I grabbed my stick, rapped twice, and started out the door. I was all the way to the stairs when I remembered

That there was no one down there... John had passed a few weeks before, and the shop had been closed for a year!

As unsettling as that or other things were, the very worst, as far as its effect on me, happened in April of '91.

I'd just left my mother's apartment, and walked the ten blocks to my place. It was coming up on midnight, and I planned on falling asleep with the TV on, a habit I'd gotten into. I checked my mail at the front entrance, unlocked the door, and climbed the stairs.

My apartment door was locked, which was a relief, as I'd had two break-ins since I'd moved in. I walked into my living room, and noticed the light streaming in from the kitchen...

The overhead light, and the wall light, were both on, although I hadn't turned them on. Also, every cabinet, every drawer, and the refrigerator (including the freezer compartment), were standing wide open.

I stood gaping for a second, then turned around, and ran for the stairs-I don't remember if I bothered to pull the door shut. I power-walked south on Broadway several blocks, until I was in front of Shirley's, my second-favorite watering hole. I opened the door, and headed for my usual stool.

The fear must've shown on my face, because by the time I sat down, my usual tipple, a 151 and Coke, was in front of me... And it was a double.

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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, alandhopewell, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Miracles51031 (39 stories) (5000 posts) mod
+1
12 years ago (2012-08-15)
Alan and Pjod - zeus's comment was just rude enough that I thought it deserved being deleted. So, to those who wonder what Alan and Pjod are talking about, that would be it 😊
Pjod (3 stories) (978 posts)
+2
12 years ago (2012-08-15)
Zeus,
It's only been a year since this story posted-
How long we waited for the inspirational, moving and insightful post you contributed.
alandhopewell (28 stories) (145 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2012-08-15)
ZEUSetc- Just what brings you to this conclusion?
With all due respect, you have impunged my integrity, and I'd like to know your basis for this accusation.
Elephante81 (2 stories) (59 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-12)
Miracles, you are absolutely not the only one I have had the same thing happen to me with pets. I question it because I can't relate to the experience 😁
ILee (1 stories) (91 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
I don't believe it was an intruder. If it was an intruder, why would the intruder take the time to lock the door but not close all the drawers? If this person was in a hurry, locking the door was the last thing on their mind. AND if this intruder broke into John's apartment, stole the master keys, used the master keys to get into alandhopewell's apartment, wouldn't the master keys have been reported as missing along with the break-in to John's place? I'm sure by now John's son would have noticed that the keys were missing.
alandhopewell (28 stories) (145 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
Those of you who think the sound I heard from below was an intruder are forgetting "Eerie Crime"; when the policemen entered the shop (and when I did), it was clear that nothing had been disturbed since John had left. Also, all three entrances to the shop were deadbolted, two of which were also chained, and padlocked. The landlord's son had the only keys to the shop.

I might add as well, I not only heard, but FELT the "thumps" through the floor, just as I always did when John was letting me know I had a call.
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
Lou - judging by how celebrities live, I almost can't blame them! Man, if only I had my own personal trainer, personal cook, personal nutritionist, personal nanny, diamond-encrusted collars for my cats...etc...

I bet Celine Dion's money is better guarded than Fort Knox. 😉
LouSlips (10 stories) (979 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
D-A,
Hope your friend wasn't Celine Dion... They caught someone who had broken into her house cooking themselves a meal and drawing a bath.
Miracles, although I've had plenty of moments where I am faced with the reality that someone is really gone forever, I have never physically acted before realizing they were dead... So although I agree with your synopsis, I've never experienced it. As for the phone signal, I did not feel the burglar was signalling their presence, just that they inadvertently made a noise Alan mistook for the phone signal, as D-A mentioned.

Taz, the name is Lou... You can use it when you disagree with me... I won't get all teary-eyed.:)

Lou
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (5000 posts) mod
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
Devious - thank you for not leaving me out there by myself 😊 I was beginning to think I might actually be the only one 😉
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-08)
Miracles - I totally agree with you. In the same way, sometimes after losing a pet you see a glimpse of a stray running by or a phantom image of your lost pet and think it is them. Or you might get up in the morning and call them for breakfast, only to realize that they are not there. I have done that before, even caught myself calling one of the new pets after the old pet's name many years later.

Taz - whereas I agree that the person breaking in would probably not know the phone call signal, and would not intentionally alert him to their presence, they may have knocked or hit something and it made a very coincidental sound. Or that may have even been residual, a way of the Landlord letting him know that the apartment was being broken into. As for the thief only pulling out drawers and not completely trashing the place, he/she may have heard someone coming or panicked and just got out of there before they got caught. One thing I have learned is to never underestimate either the intelligence or the stupidity of criminals. They are capable of extreme amounts of either, or both.

I know it sounds like the weirdest thing, but I have actually known at least one person who believed that if their house was ever broken into, the last place a thief would look would be the freezer, so they would magnet a stash of bills into the back behind some frozen foods. Weird, but also brilliant.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
That was a really complete answer to my timeline question, that really puts it in order. Thanks. Now I am going to read your other accounts I am curious about this house's paranormal "life."
taz890 (12 stories) (1380 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
interesting story thanks for adding 😊
Have to say there are one or 2 comments I don't agree with, you had a signal for a phone call set and on hearing that signal you automaticlly respond without thinking totaly natural, now someone robbing the flat below would not know this signal or use it to get your attention, someone robbing a place would not advertise there presence~ go figure!
Now I have never personaly been broken in to but I know people who have, unless this was the neatest thief ever then why does the op not say the kitchen was trashed? Or the rest of the flat? Someone breaking in will not care about the things there, will trash the place looking for any thing of value and not just open doors or the fridge and freezer.
Ok could have been a bit peckish but I don't think so.

Ok got that out of my system!
Thanks for adding a great post alandhopewell quite enjoyed reading it sorry for that bit above though
Carl
alandhopewell (28 stories) (145 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
MIRACLES51031- Thank you. My best friend from grade school has been dead for twenty-three years, and my mother for almost twenty, but I still catch myself, especially when I encounter something (one) new, and interesting, wondering what they'll think when I tell them about it.
alandhopewell (28 stories) (145 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
NYSA: I tend to relate these stories as I think of them, not in any chronological order; sometimes, I remember to date them, but sometimes I don't.

A general timeline would be this...
June, 1987- I move into 1444 Broadway; at the time, I rented a single room, and both three-room apartments were occupied. The landlord, John, was still living downstairs in the rear of the repair shop. At this point, no unusual occurrences.

November, 1988-By this time, the building is vacant except for me. John had fallen ill, and had gone into a nursing home, where he died, around mid-December.

January (?) 1989- Shadow figure emerges from closet.

February (?) 1989-Phantom rap on floor. Intermittent footsteps in hallway.

November 1989- Strong negative "vibe" in apartment at night. Faint voice-like sounds.

January 1990-Moved into three-room apartment, with permission of John's son.

The occurrences I've already published happened between January of 1990 and July of 1991, when I moved.
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (5000 posts) mod
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
Lou and Elephante81 - ah, you know I'm not arguing with y'all here, just playing devil's advocate 😉.

Haven't you ever lost someone, even just a friend, and had something happen that just for a few minutes made you forget they were gone? Or walked into a room and expected to see them there, even though you knew they weren't going to be there? Picked up the telephone to dial their number, and remembered they weren't going to answer? I honestly don't see how this is any different. He heard the tapping and his mind just took him to that "familiar" place. It doesn't mean that he forgot his friend was dead. It just means that for a few minutes, things were as they were before. Familiar, normal. And then reality set in.

I've done this and I'd bet if most of you are truthful, you'd say the same. If not, oh well, maybe I'm just different.
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
I think Lou's explanation seems very plausible... Was anything missing from the apartment? It sounds like someone got in there in a rush, pulled everything open looking for cash or jewels, didn't find anything and just bailed before you got home. If they had the keys from breaking into your landlord's apartment then they could have easily locked the door behind them so that you wouldn't think anything was wrong until you got inside.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
I am getting confused by the time line, sorry I am not a linear thinker. All the events took place in the same house? Are you still in the same place? I think I have cousins in Lorain, small paranormal world.
alandhopewell (28 stories) (145 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
It was just the kitchen, on that occasion; I had experiences where things were moved, or vanished only to turn up somewhere they couldn't have been the whole time...4-X...

October of 1990, I went with my mother and youngest brother up to Sandusky to attend my middle brother's wedding. I'm not a dressy person-I've been dresing like a head / rocker since about 1972-but I decided to at least wear a suit for the occasion, and I took off my medallion, bracelet, and most of my rings, leaving one ring and my watch on. Everything else, I put in my dresser drawer.

We left on Friday, the wedding was Saturday afternoon, and we were back in Lorain by six Sunday evening.

I showered, changed back into my usuals, and opened the drawer to get my jewelry... The bracelet was missing. Now, I distinctly remembered putting it in the drawer with everything else, but to be on the safe side, I checked all over the apartment-nada.

Thinking that perhaps I'd left it at my mother's somehow, I grabbed up my jacket, and put it on. As I did so, I felt something strike my side... I reached into the side pocket, and there was the bracelet. I know it wasn't in the pocket the whole time, because I tend to stick my hands in my pockets when I walk, and I would've found it before.
Elephante81 (2 stories) (59 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
Good call, LouSlips... I was thinking the same thing of how the author didn't realize John had passed right away. Although I suppose if it was a force of habit, I can understand a little. I also have to mirror LouSlips and wonder about another break-in. He brings up a good point. Was anything else opened in your apartment or just the compartments in the kitchen?
LouSlips (10 stories) (979 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
alan,

I understand your feelings and I'm not here to prove you wrong. I guess I can understand you momentarily forgetting John had passed away when you heard what you thought was your signal for a phone call... Although it seems like something you would not forget easily.
You had two break-ins in the past, and you were relieved to see your door was locked when you arrived on this particular day/night. When you entered you saw the kitchen in disarray, almost as if another break-in had occurred. Well, guess what?...a third break-in did occur... The only difference being that now the intruder had a key to your apartment. The noise you heard from John's apartment was not your "phone signal", it was John's apartment being broken into... You know, YOUR LANDLORD, who had a key to every apartment.

Lou
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (5000 posts) mod
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-07)
AlandDHopewell - Even though I know your opinion on these things, I'm going to tell you my opinion. I believe the tapping to have been a residual haunting (in my opinion this is not a bad thing, nor is it a demonic encounter). You and your friend John did this for a long time. I think you've been on this site and researched long enough to know that when an act is repeated, this same situation can replay after death. I believe this is what happened that day. Maybe it was an isolated event, maybe not. Only you know that.

As for the light in the kitchen being on and the cabinet drawers and all that being open. Here's another opinion. Did you share your thoughts with John about ghosts? 😉 If you are sure there wasn't another break-in, maybe John was giving you proof that ghosts do exist. After all, the evidence shook you up enough that you needed a double.
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-06)
Yes, Mr. Hopewell has some other stories posted... Their listed just under this post: Other hauntings by alandhopewell... The reason I googled it is because I'm from Northeast Ohio originally, and was interested in viewing the house...
Mountaineer (4 stories) (176 posts)
-2
13 years ago (2011-09-06)
[at] zzsgranny: Ok so it is a real address... Can I ask why you googled it "a long time ago?" Was it in another story?
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
 
13 years ago (2011-09-06)
Mountaineer: Just google the address, I did a long time ago!...It's in Loraine, Ohio... And the typo wasn't me this time.:P...

This comment from Mountaineer is hidden due to low rating. Show comment

zetafornow (4 stories) (447 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-06)
Hi alan:

Very interesting story to say the least. Do you think this may have been your neighbor John coming back to say his farewells? Also, you mentioned two previous break-ins...what's to say that is not what this was? Just wondering, zeta.

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