This Old House

In 1972 my grandparents bought a house in South Attleboro, MA. The records show that the land was owned by a Peter Martinson and his wife Anna starting in 1890. The records also show that Peter built a house in 1902. This house was owned by the couple until their deaths and was left to their daughter Dagmar Martinson. She then sold the house to a man in 1970, which was sold to my grandparents in 1972.

Now, the stories begin with my father and my aunt Darlene. When they were teenagers they were into heavy metal and my aunt was into witchcraft. My father was just a troublemaker. There was a window in my aunt's room that led to the outside that she believes is a portal. She has seen entities come out of the window. When my aunt moved out of that room, my dad and his 3 brothers shared it. My uncle Billy, who was about 5 at the time, would have night terrors, sleep paralysis and also see horrible things come out of the window.

My uncle Kenny would hear people talking upstairs and occasionally hear the name "Anna." His daughter Hayley would start screaming at night for no reason when she was young... He would stay in the room with the window.

Anytime one of my cousins would stay over they would be afraid to sleep in that room. So we all dubbed it the "Boogeyman room".

My dad would stay there after my parents divorced and would wake up to his TV on and his door closed. He thought my grandfather would close it but he always denied ever closing the door.

There was a door leading up to the stairs that went upstairs where that room was and when it was open there was a feeling of unease in the house. When it was closed it was fine. On Christmas or Easter my grandmother would open the door and invite Anna to come hang out with the family. When one of my uncles, aunts or cousins started to feel uneasy or scared, they would call Anna and somehow the feelings would go away. There have been many many other stories about this house bit I'm not going to write a novel lol.

Now fastforward to 2013... My grandparents have been trying to sell the house for about 15 years now with no luck.

It's on commercially zoned land but is on a marshland so no one wants it... Well, they finally sold it. My grandparents went there to finish cleaning it out and when they were done my grandmother looked up and, while her eyes were tearing up, said "Goodbye Martinson family, this is the last time you will ever see us." And she took a picture of the house. When she looked at the picture there was a man and a dog (which looks exactly like my grandmother's dog Annie who is buried under the front steps) sitting on the roof and there was a man and a woman standing in the window of the Boogeyman room. I have the picture if anyone is interested.

But there is more... My grandfather had been sleeping in the house to make sure no one broke in. He stayed there every night for about 2 weeks while the paperwork for the sale went through. He decided one night that he didn't want to drive all the way to Attleboro from Rehoboth... Well a faulty wire that had been there for 50+ years decided to malfunction and the house caught fire... The one night my grandfather didn't stay there. The entire family, myself, my brothers, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were there while the fire dept put it out. My brother took a picture and there was a woman in the window.

I went there the next day to check out the damage... Every room was burnt and charred EXCEPT the Boogeyman room. And it felt like you were being watched from the hole in the ceiling which looked into that room. My girlfriend, who had never been in the house before, felt uneasy and went to the car.

The sun was setting and I decided to go outside, but before I did I went upstairs and looked around. I examined the Boogeyman room and there was no evidence that any flames touched it. It was perfectly preserved... I walked downstairs and as I walked out the door I said, "Goodbye, everyone. You all watched me grow up here and now it's time to go" and I took a picture from the backyard.

When I got home I was looking through the pictures I took and one caught my eye... The one from the backyard. I zoomed in and in the back door window, clear as day, was a woman standing there and she had a sad look on her face. A look of a mother sending her grown child into the world. I have all the pictures I mentioned and would love to show anyone interested...

The house has been knocked down and the land sold. But every time I drive by I look at the empty lot and I get a feeling of ease. I remember my childhood in that house. The two little boys that would appear and play with me when I was a little boy. The endless nights of "ghost hunting" with my cousins. Daring each other to spend one night in the Boogeyman room.

And now we believe the Martinson family is now at rest. I guess they couldn't stand the fact of not being with our family since they were for 40 years. Watching my grandparents have children and those children growing up and having their own children. We all believe that Anna and Peter set the house on fire the night my grandfather wasn't there. And they all came out to say goodbye in my grandmother's picture. Peter, Anna, my grandmother's dog Annie and another man (possibly a woman in a hat [Dagmar?])