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Old Farmhouse

 

The following experience was not my first encounter with unexplained events, or my last, but it is the one I would most like to discuss with others. I consider this to be unexplained and though I suspect "ghostly" activity behind it, I am not by any means 100% sold on that explanation. Further, if it was ghostly I do not presume to understand what that means. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas, both mundane and supernatural.

When I was around 12 years old, in the late 80s, my family rented an old farmhouse in rural Ohio from an older gentleman who had been a friend of my father's family for several years. The house had been built by his grandfather around 1900. Some member of his family had lived there until a few years before when he built a smaller home for himself about 3 miles away. It had been rented to one person before us.

The house was pretty large; all three girls (I & my two sisters) finally had our own rooms, all on the second floor, as was my parent's room. My bedroom was directly across from the stairs to the first floor. I immediately noticed a few strange things there. After I went to bed I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I assumed it was my mother staying up late to unpack until I noticed that not only did they not stop, the sound was only footsteps coming up the stairs never going down.

The footsteps continued all night until I fell asleep. But there was something else keeping me awake, all around my bed there were shadows of people, as if they were gathering to stare at me. It is somewhat difficult to describe what they looked like. They were the size of average adults, and looked like a shadow of someone standing in front of a fairly bright light, but with a strange blue "aura." The aura pulsed and had an electric look about it. Feeling quite unnerved I curled up in the middle of the bed, covered my head with my pillow and went to sleep telling myself I was just weirded out by new surroundings.

As both things continued to happen every night after about a week I decided I had to try to figure it out. I experimented a bit. If I left my light on would the shadows show up, if I moved my curtains or if I stayed sitting in bed instead of lying down would I still see them, etc. I found that I could see the shadows unless I had a lot of light on in the room and I could hear the footsteps unless I closed my door or left my radio on fairly loud. None of these were good options for getting good nights sleep; I have always had a thing about closed doors so even that wasn't a good option. I also found that the footsteps would not start until everyone in the house was in bed but the shadows appeared the instant I turned out my light no matter what else was going on in the house.

I was very frightened so I had to come up with some kind of logical explanation for these things. I decided that they were optical / aural illusions. That my eyes and ears were just affected by the dark and silence and I continued to hear things that I had heard during the day and see "residue" of people I had seen during the day. Sort of like the spots you see when you close your eyes after encountering a bright light. After all, I was pretty sure I had seen glimpses of these shadowy things before, though never like this. I was still a little scared but I had something to tell myself each night to help me get to sleep.

Shortly after moving in my little sister, about 5 years old, started having night terrors. Not just nightmares, but real terrors. About 3 or 4 times a week she would wake the household screaming and crying. It would take a few minutes to wake her up and get her to stop reacting to the dream, and several minutes more to get her calmed down enough to get back to sleep. Many of the nights that she did not wake us up with night terrors she would eventually come to my room saying she was scared and couldn't sleep, so I let her sleep with me. I am not convinced these were in any way connected to the house or the things I was experiencing, plenty of kids experience night terrors, but as you will see coincidences make me wonder.

We moved out of that house when I was 17. Immediately upon moving I noticed that I did not hear footsteps anymore which seemed odd considering my theory. There were also far fewer shadows, instead of seeing several every night I would only see one every once in a while. Unnerved, I decided it was simply a change in conditions that changed these illusions. Shortly after we moved my mother told me that at the old house she had been disturbed at night by the constant rattling of the attic door which led up from her bedroom. She firmly believes in ghosts and had wondered about it but we agreed it was probably just a draft.

It wasn't until about 5 years later when my confidence in my theory was seriously challenged in my mind. My sister was about 16 years old, her night terrors had significantly lessened as she got older, and coincidentally dwindling after we moved, but she still had them about once a month or so and refused to sleep without the TV in her room on. We were discussing her nighttime issues and she mentioned the people around her bed. Taken aback, I asked her what she meant and she described the same thing I had seen, and still saw on occasion.

I told her they weren't real they were just optical illusions, it happened to everyone sometimes. She informed me that she did not believe that to be the case, she had asked several of her friends over the years, all of whom had no idea what she was talking about. We decided to ask my mother about it, my (then) husband (now ex), and my friends. All of whom said they had never seen anything like that or heard of anyone else who had. At that point I was feeling serious doubts about my illusion theory; I mean optical illusions are pretty consistent with people. So I began to meditate before bed each night telling myself I would not see these things, whatever they were, anymore. It worked and I didn't see the shadows for several years.

About 5 years later my daughter was 8 years old and she began having nightmares, which she had never seemed to have before. I tried talking to her to soothe her fears so I asked her what she was dreaming about, monsters, etc... She said she was dreaming about black and blue people coming to get her. This frightened me, but I didn't want her to know that so I did not ask her for more details. I bought her a dream catcher, empowered it to protect her from anything that would harm or frighten her and the nightmares stopped immediately. Recently, as she is now a teenager, I told her about what I saw when I was younger and what she told me when she was 8 years old. She says she does not remember it clearly enough to say if what she was seeing looked the same. She has kept the dream catcher hung above her bed all of these years but has decided not to take it with her when she goes to college in a few weeks.

I don't know what to think about the footsteps. Perhaps they were the result of something completely mundane, but I have never been able to shake the idea that they were always coming up the stairs. The shadows are more of an issue for me. I have sought out accounts of "shadow people" and other apparitions but nothing seems to sound like what I experienced. I am not sure if they felt threatening or if I was just scared because I didn't know what they were. A year or two ago I decided I wanted to remove the mental blocks I put up to see if I would see them again. I have caught occasional shadows in the night but they seem to be further away than they were when I was younger. As I said I would love to hear your thoughts and theories.

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

Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-03-31)
Well Nysa... You certainly have more willpower than I. And even though neither of us are the type that needs or asks for back up from anyone, I still miss having you around. No nonsense, straight forward, and funny as hell. No ego trip or silly schoolyard games.
If you are out there somewhere, stop by and give me a sign. Better yet, kick start that old broom and buzz the tower once or twice. Open up the throttle and make some freaking noise dammit!
You and I aren't the 'group hug' type, but I have much respect for you lady. How's about you get your hardass self on back here? It's just not the same without you.

Jav
~still kickin' butt and takin' names~
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-03-08)
Nyyyyyysaaaa...where are you? Come on woman, you've been gone for over a week. It's time to come home. There's a solar storm that's going mess with us on top of a full moon, you can't tell me those aren't tempting enough...

Jav 😉
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-01-02)
Thanks Javelina! A loom, that is interesting. I will have to seek that out. I have seen some antique looms set up in museums but never seen or heard one used. Oh I hope there is not a spirit stuck in that house spending every night weaving, that would be worse than stuck going up the stairs. Well, I suppose someone could have enjoyed weaving, but it sounds like boring work to me.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2012-01-02)
Nysa,
The sound of never ending footsteps going up the stairs? I heard something that reminded me of your experience with that sound. I was looking through some old books at an antique shop, and after a few minutes I realized there was a steady rhythmic sound of footsteps walking in place. I went around the corner and to the rear of the shop, following the sound. It ended up being an old, still functional loom. The owner was demonstrating how it worked to another couple in the shop. But it was the sound it made that drew me over. I don't know if it correlates with your experience, you would have to hear that sound yourself really.
Anyway, just thought I'd pass that on to you.

Jav
TIGERKING (2 stories) (60 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-10-09)
just to add to my last comment. I grew up in a house that had a strong energy field so I sort of compared it with that. At that house when it was dark, peoples energy was visible and I could see vapour trails left in the wake of movement. Certain places attract us and we are always destined to be a part of these things. You are obviously in tune and it's good you approach the situation with a level head and don't come across as a loon. But let's be honest, you know the reality of it. I don't know why its so hard for people to realise what is right there for us all to see... If we want to.
TIGERKING (2 stories) (60 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-10-09)
here's my theory. It sounds to me the old farm house had a powerful energy surrounding it so maybe it heightened the shall we say "force" and your third eye was at an advantage.

In my understanding, there are spirits all around us and that's just normal. I havn't seen heaps and heaps of spirits but I have seen them and generally they don't have a bad vibe. The ones that do are, in my understanding, to be respected and we need to check our thoughts/actions when they choose to warn us.

Like they say everything has a cause-reason-result, so we must think of our influence on the world and others around us.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-27)
My daughter has started college. She has been living in the apartment she is sharing with 3 other girls for about a week and a half. She has not seen any shadows but a new element has come up which I will post separately since it is a different issue.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-13)
I have wondered about the portal theory. Stairways & hallways do seem to be featured often in reports of sightings. And since both my sister & I saw fewer after we left the house I have wondered if there was something about the location. It did almost seem as busy as a train station!
caj (3 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-13)
It's believed that staircases can have a portal, a doorway to the otherside. Could it be this farmhouse was a passage of some sort? In one of our houses the stairs were extremely active.
BlueTurtle (3 stories) (176 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-13)
I find this story fascinating and it's interesting that your daughter has had similar experiences. It is quite possible that they were 'shadow people' though, apart from their haunting of the farm house, I'm not sure why they were drawn to you or your sister.
In situations like these when you're hesitant to fully accept the paranormal it's easy to assume that the noises you heard during the night were more like the house settling or the wood-work creaking, since it was an old house. But foosteps up stairs are, at least in my mind, pretty distinctive and it would always freak me out when I would hear them in my parent's house in the middle of the night. But my father was always a hard worker and often went downstairs to check on things or perform some midnight work in his office, so I attributed the sounds to that. Thinking about it, however, kind of scares me.
The shadows certainly seemed benign and they could very well have been only curious about your presence. In any case, I'm glad that things seem to be peaceful now.
hiya_hayz (5 stories) (66 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-13)
Spirits of all kinds seem to be drawn to younger children. Perhaps this is the reason you are not able to see them as clearly as you once could. To me they do not sound harmful, if anything they almost seemed curius at first. Though that opinion may change should you remember anything else about it.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-13)
When trying to come up with possible explanations I did consider ancestors, & hope that is what they were rather than something scary. It never occurred to me to think of the auras as actual auras rather than something aura-like that was just part of their being. Thanks!
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-12)
Nysa, thank you for sharing your experience. This is a very fascinating situation. Not only did you see something strange, but someone else saw it and validated your experience by describing the same thing without being told about it. I think what you two were seeing were possibly spirits and their auras. I do not think these people were hostile, because a blue aura indicates relaxation. I think you both were being observed and perhaps protected by ancestors or guardian spirits of some sort.
Medial (2 stories) (25 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-12)
I'm glad to hear nothing 'bad' has come of this. But it must have been terribly unsettling to experiences apparitions watching you as you went to sleep. The mere thought of it makes my stomach flip!

It's also very interesting to hear that they continued when you let them back in. This is something I've experienced as well. Spirits tend to know when they've been coaxed or invited.
DragonStorm80 (1 stories) (440 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-12)
I'm agreeing with others here that the footseps do sound residual and in no way meant to cause harm towards you, and the "shadows" you saw were attracted to you and your sister/s, Perhaps older members of a family that used to live there that just wanted to watch over the "sleeping babes"? They certainly don't sound like they would cause you any harm, and maybe the uncertainty of it was what caused you that original fear as you said 😊

I look forward to hearing your updates.
taz890 (12 stories) (1380 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-11)
interesting post thanks for sharing 😊
It does sound like these shadows were some how attracted to you and your sister and I would be surprised if your other sister had not seen something but refused to believe it happened.
After reading the comments I can't get that picture out of my head, real famous optical illusion of never ending stairs!
Looking forward to the update if anything happens with your daughter going to college
Carl
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-11)
I know what you mean. I keep picturing someone going up the the wrong side of the escalator. Like walking in place. How very odd.

Jav
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
+1
13 years ago (2011-09-11)
I agree, I don't believe the rattling door can account for the footstep noise. The footsteps have always made me think of "someone" stuck, always trying to get somewhere but forever trudging up the steps without arriving.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-11)
Nysa,
I'm assuming the rattling of the attic door couldn't have been what you heard as footsteps, seeing as it was on the other side of the room.
What is so bizarre about the footsteps for me is the 'never ending' quality that you have described. Where the hell were they going? That is so strange.

Jav
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-11)
My older sister refuses to even participate in discussions about unexplained events. She told my younger sister & I she never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary in the house when we pressed her about it a few years ago.

I will try to explain the layout. A long, wide stairway led to a wide (3 to 4 ft) hallway for the second floor. Upon reaching the top of the steps you could walk that 3-4 ft to my door directly in front of you. Or you could turn right & my parents door would be directly on your right - if you went in their room you would have to walk to the other side of the room to get to the attic door. Back at the top of the stairs, if you turned left you would walk 5 or 6 steps to get to my older sister's door. If you did not enter that room you would have to turn left again to continue down the hall. Several yards down that hall on the right was the door to my younger sister's room. If you did not turn into her room you walked a few more steps into the bathroom. It sounds like a labrynth when described that way but it was just a big house & was a little weird because it had a large stairway in the middle of the house. My parent's bedroom shared a wall with the stairway, but my mother told me she never heard the footsteps, maybe because their bed was across the room against the opposite wall.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Nysa,
I just re-read your account of what occurred at the farmhouse along with comments and I'm wondering about your other sister now. Had she ever experienced anything as far as the footsteps are concerned? Also, where was your parents bedroom in relation to yours?

Thank you,
Jav
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
That is a possibility pjod though it's also more than possible that the rattling attic door was not part of whatever I was hearing, we got bats in the attic from time to time & if they could get in than it seems it would be drafty enough to rattle a very old door. Also I did not hear the pause I would expect between the footsteps & heading into my parents room to go through the attic door.

Jws I forgot to thank you for your advice earlier. I don't really feel we need protected from them. I am glad I was able to block them out & stop my daughter being scared, but I mostly just want to try to figure out what they were, why there were so many when I lived at the farmhouse, and why they would want to spend hours just staring at us. If I ever come to feel threatened again, I am confident I can protect myself & my family, though I might ask the assistance of a protective deity too.

I did speak to my sister this afternoon. She told me that leaving the tv on helped when she was a teen, though she still saw the shadows sometimes. When she and her boyfriend (now husband) moved in together she bought a statue of Kwan Yin & asked for protection. She has not seen any shadows since.
Pjod (3 stories) (978 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
up the stairs, through your parents room, rattling the attic door as they passed through it. Seems to make sense, if I understand the lay out of this old farm house.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
I have been close to two of my cousins since childhood, they were amongst the friends I asked after the conversation with my sister, they had never seen anything like it. I have never asked my cousins on my mother's side. I hadn't thought of that, now I am curious.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Nysa,
Just out of curiosity, have you spoken to any of your cousins about this visual phenomenon at all? It always fascinates me when incidents, such as the one you and your sister shared, may have occurred across familial lines.

Jav
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Javelina

The footsteps have always struck me as residual in nature because it was so constant & unchanging. I have not talked to my sister about the shadows in a long time, I will ask her about it. And I will update with what my daughter reports when she gets moved in down there.
Nysa (4 stories) (685 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Indigo

I don't think we have had any of those problems in excess. Definitely no pituitary or thyroid issues, or any chronic medical issues. We don't drain watch batteries & I don't think we accumulate more static electricity than most people do. I cannot think of any exceptional electrical issues in the house. If there are any other things you would like to know more about fire away. I would love to help with any theory if I can.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Nysa,
I find it interesting that you heard the footsteps going up but never going down. Also, those footsteps going up coinciding with your mother hearing the rattling of the attic door makes me wonder if these two incidents were connected? They do seem oddly consistent, and it isn't out of the realm of possibility for mother and daughter to have shared experiences, but it is because it is a shared experience that makes me believe it may be residual in nature. Of course, not being there myself, I wouldn't know if the timing of the two incidents was fluid (one following the other) or not. And since you and your mother hadn't discussed this until after you had moved out of the house, the answer may never be known for certain. The only roadblock to that theory, that I can see, is if you had continued to hear the footsteps after moving out of the farmhouse.
That theory does extend to the visual phenomenon you experienced there. That, in my opinion, is something completely separate. I am wondering if you may have actually found a passive solution to the problem, in your case anyway, with your meditation working for you, and the Dream catcher working for your daughter. And by solution, I don't mean to say you found a way to eradicate the existence of what you saw, only that you found a way to keep from seeing them.
You don't say if your sister had found her own solution so I'm wondering if she still sees them? And if not, is there something she did to stop them or did it stop on it's own?
Either way, it will be interesting to hear how your daughter does once she is away at college without the Dream catcher. There is still a chance she may not have been experiencing the same phenomenon that you had. After all, your mother didn't have the same visual type experience either.

Jav
Indigo (263 posts)
+2
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
Nysa, do you or your sister drain watch batteries or have built up static electricity in your bodies, or did you at the time? Any thyroid or pituitary problems? Do you remember any noticeable electrical problems inside the home, dry air, humid air, standing water, dry skin? I have a theory on the shadow people and glow... And I'm trying to learn more before I try finishing figuring it out. Wanna help?
jws (2 posts)
 
13 years ago (2011-09-10)
I would encourage you to pray about it. That these spirits/demons whatever they are won't follow your daughter or you anymore if that's the case. 😊

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