Presence In The Parsonage

CRAZYPICLADY!... Ahem! I do believe all of this happened and I empathize with you. I was thinking about how you had only learned that your house had been a crematorium when you moved out? Often, I find, when people go through bad experience/s, particularly, where the supernatural is involved, they tend to draw their own conclusions from bits and pieces of information picked up here and there or make up something that make sense as to why their house was haunted. "A neighbour said...", "Somebody else in the area had bad experiences too", "remember the time the electrician came over and he said, those rooms were built just like a crematorium room would be?" People DO NOT like, not understanding a situation or feeling out-of-control of a situation, especially when it comes to their own home.
When something like this happens, you put together what happened in the house, with, what the electrician said... And BAM! You have an answer that kind-of makes sense, at least!

Karma point for Argette! For making me laugh while being super stressed.

Like, I hear ya, Tweed...

Seriously, this has been a most interesting thread. I'm still trying to imagine a second-floor crematorium.

...?

lol Argette, I still overuse 'like', like I'm all like, like and then like it was like, like ya know? For no reason other than it amuses me. 😆

I get the ellipsis stuff, it was only the mickey mouse use of it, reminded me of passing notes in class.

KikiGirl: I think you are mistaking the name of the OP, the author of this story is Craazypiclady, not Soggy.

After reading your last comment I did the unthinkable by rereading the whole thread again and I'm glad I did it because it is very funny! 😆

Soggy, I do believe all of this happened and I empathize with you. I was thinking about how you had only learned that your house had been a crematorium when you moved out? Often, I find, when people go through bad experience/s, particularly, where the supernatural is involved, they tend to draw their own conclusions from bits and pieces of information picked up here and there or make up something that make sense as to why their house was haunted. "A neighbour said...", "Somebody else in the area had bad experiences too", "remember the time the electrician came over and he said, those rooms were built just like a crematorium room would be?" People DO NOT like, not understanding a situation or feeling out-of-control of a situation, especially when it comes to their own home.
When something like this happens, you put together what happened in the house, with, what the electrician said... And BAM! You have an answer that kind-of makes sense, at least!

Karma point for Argette! For making me laugh while being super stressed.

Ooh, good point, Val!

I dunno, Tweed. I'm middle age and I still use ellipses, although I would not have done so in the sentence you cite. But you are right. There is something amiss, and it's not in the parsonage-cum-funeral home.

Oh for

I skipped this after the second paragraph because it seemed fake. Now that I've read it all, I agree there was a lot of hot air in the upstairs bedroom.

"Another day the water was running full force..."
No further description, ending on an ellipsis, very teeny bopper. Not indicative of middle aged adult as the age suggests.

The op feels male posing as female. Name 'Crazypiclady', somewhat random, possibly from looking up a bit of how's your father while signing up.
Profile reads:
"Just a normal woman who has experienced paranormal experiences"
Contextualised with the name and the story this feels reductive, disregard for online persona. Possible underlying misogyny.

I agree with everyone, doesn't sound like an average American.

I have an unhealthy obsession for ye good olde salted corn chips, who wants some?

Perhaps whether or not a funeral home is equipped with a crematorium, depends on the State/location? When my son was cremated (Il) the funeral home sent his body off site, however with my father (Ky) it was done on site.
A crematorium furnace is just that, a furnace large enough to accommodate a body. Even smaller house furnaces are located at ground level or below. So I believe someone was misinforming the OP on that account.

I am familiar with two funeral homes and I worked in another former funeral home. Every facility had cremation and undertaking facilities on the ground floor. No separate buildings, no off site buildings.

The building I worked in was a downtown brick building a large city. The other two are (1) A 1950s one-stores structure and (2) a converted mansion.

The story was interesting, but I'm sorry I cannot imagine a second story room used as a crematorium. Perhaps you were given some erroneous information?

Crazypiclady,

I can't wrap my head around the layout of your house. Where I come from the basement/cellar is where the bodies are prepped, not going into gory detail.

The first floor there are 2-3 large viewing rooms for the wake and services. The 2nd floor is the office for plans to be made. There are also rooms used as casket/urn showrooms. IF there was an attic it would be used for storage such as paper, file cabinets for invoices and prayer cards ready to be made up and and laminated. Crematoriums are either separate brick buildings or businesses. NEVER IN the funeral home.

Can I have a burger and whatever kind of cold drink there is please. I've got the watermelon soaking up the vodka and another alcohol free watermelon for the underage readers.

Red

Oh, my! I have been trying to steer away from submissions involving weird buildings... But the aroma of all the yummy food you guys are preparing is utterly irresistible.

First it was that hospital with the morgue in the sixth floor; then the house with 7' walls under a 5' roof and, now, a crematorium on a second floor?!

For crying out loud, what else is next? A house with a basement in the attic? 😐

Tem,

Fish is fine by me, Prawns and Tails? Or just a good solid salt water catch?

Kiki,

Actually you make an interesting point, two teenagers... One 13 the other 16... Mayhap some of the experiences were poltergeist in nature... Not an actual spirit type, but Psychokinetic outbursts based on stress or simply the body/mind changes that happen during puberty from one or both girls? It's another 'angle' to consider.

Respectfully,

Rook

Crazypiclady! The first thing I would like to do is say thank-you for sharing your story with us.
I do understand why everybody is asking questions about the house and when it had been a funeral home.
It is only natural to assume a funeral home is haunted, but, in actual fact, funeral homes are not strictly or resolutely haunted. Deeper studies into ghosts and hauntings are more currently believed to be related to an object, emotion or person. Were there pictures books or other possessions from the previous owners in the house? Was the house furnished when you purchased it?
As your experiences differ from handprints to moving objects and even, visible black, smokey demon-like characters, it seems that the general area where you lived could have some activity, whether other people reported or not.
You said your Sister was 16 years of age, did she dabble in-or-with anything that she shouldn't have?
Also, peoples emotions play a huge role in what goes on around them. Some people believe that our subconscious has the ability to create supernatural events, like seeing a ghost, or move something with our mind. You had just moved into your new house; were there any big changes that had just happened to you, your sister or in your parents lives? If your family wasn't going through a good time, a lot of what you saw and felt, and even so far as what your sister saw and felt could be related.

Make room for me! I'm on a liquid diet so make mine a double and hold the olives. 😆

Crazypiclady- Was it a parsonage or a patronage? If it was the latter, please explain that. I think the rest of it has been pretty much covered so I'll be waiting with the lawn chair loungers. I've done fences and I'm done with fences.

Hi CrazypicLady, I had the same questions to ask about the crematorium and your parents not bothering to check up on you guys, yet you were "crying and shaking" all night.

*In S.A we enjoy our snoek braais (BBQ's), am I allowed to bring Fish to this fence gathering?

With the sauerkraut, please, Rook; I am a traditionalist. 😉

Argette & elenoraemily: a smiling tip of my hat.

-Biblio.

Kraut and mustard, Rook, please. Naturally.

Biblio, that was an amazing comment. You raised excellent points/questions.

As a Wisconsin Badger, I'll take some, too, Rook.

Biblio, love your comments about Yankee ingenuity. I had the same thought. Frugality and ingenuity are two proud Yankee hallmarks. They work with Bagers, too.

Kielbasa!?! I would never disrespect my heritage by NOT preparing Kielbasa when grilling burgers and sausages. (Plates one up for Biblio. Would that be with or without kraut and/or mustard?)

I do hope the O/P returns and answers our questions...

Respectfully,

Rook

Greetings, Crazypiclady.

First, I'll apologize that my first two comments on here have been directed to other individuals' comments, and not to your account; sometimes I like to think about what I've read before commenting. I re-read your account twice as I mulled over the details.

Several of your grammatical errors are normal for Americans; however, "downstairs" and "threshold" are compound words, seldom separated into the constituent nouns. In the paragraph devoted to the peculiar behavior with regard to the mirror in your hallway, I'm interested as to how "the water was running full force." I'm going to presume there was a bathroom upstairs; did it contain large porcelain or steel tables? Were there any similar furnishings or pipes apparent in your sister's bedroom, if that had been the mortuary?

The whole idea of a parsonage (the home of a protestant minister, supplied as a perquisite by the church in which he or she works) having being used -at an earlier point in its history- as both a funeral home *and* as a crematorium does have the air of shrewd yankee ingenuity about it. However, I'm having difficulty with the issue Wish-Not, RC, Argette, elnoraemily (Hey, Glad you're back!) and Rook *all* raised: how does an upper level of a house support the weight of the furnace required to cremate a human body? Even if you were living in a brick house, the floors would be made of wood, which would strain under the weight and would become brittle from the heat transference. That said, **how** did you "find out" this information? Had your parents known the entire time, or did a neighbor reveal this tidbit as you were moving out? If your home was a parsonage, was one of your parents working as a minister? (If so, isn't a belief in the supernatural --like God, angels, and hyperactive evil shadow figures who sprint about in teenage girls' bedrooms-- a basic requirement of being a sincere minister?) Did your parents ever address why the mental/spiritual wellbeing of their children wasn't important enough a reason to climb a staircase?

So, Rook, have you got any kielbasa going? I'm in the mood for something spicy. Everyone else: budge over a bit to make room on the fence, would you? Thanks.

Biblio.

I'm staying off of this fence! I agree with everything said, but, as a child, I sat on a fence and fell over backwards hitting my head! Not a fun time! I will bring a lawn chair and have a coke and some chips! (And before someone says it, Yes! I am the Queen of Run On Sentences!

❤
Mother of Beagles

Oh, sorry, Biblio! Don't be mad!

Yup, agree with Zzsgranny. If you are on the first floor, you often refer to the basement as downstairs. At least at our house.:)

Born and raised in NE Ohio and a 2 story house has a downstairs, upstairs, basement/cellar, and an attic (although, of course, some have either/or/and basements/cellars and attics).

...And now Argette's beaten me to the questions I was going to ask. Dammit. 😜 -Biblio.

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the funeral parlor went bust due to poor planning... 😕
However, I had to grasp a lot of straws to even think of that "reason".
I would not mind a burger thanks!

Rook raised some good points. But where I live, we often call the ground floor the first floor and refer to it as downstairs.

A parsonage would likely require some alterations if it were to be used as a funeral home and vice versa. I think some research into the house's past is in order.

I cannot imagine not having done such research before even posting here.

I'll get the popcorn.

Rook: Mazz beat me to it by 50 minutes! Yes, you do mean "syntax." -Biblio. 😁

Ahoy,

Rook, I believe you mean syntax: how words are strung together to make sentences. I'm nowhere near the US, but the wording and syntax on this doesn't feel American - it actually feels a little Asian with the use of "the upstairs" and the layout of the house as described. To elaborate on the latter part of my comment: in the Philippines, the ground floor is the first floor.

I'm sitting on the fence here.
Mazz

A moment please... While I also have questions concerning this submission I would like to ask them of the OP before passing Judgment on their submission.

1st: What is your families heritage? Your writing style is hard to place... And I really do not 'get' born and raised Maine from your writing style nor terminology. (Biblio help me out because I know that is NOT the correct term for what I mean... Is it syntax?)

2nd: You describe the bedrooms as being...

"My parents chose a down stairs bedroom and my sister and I would shared the upstairs."

Is this a European 'wording' or attempt at wording? (ie: Ground floor, First floor, Second floor would describe a 3 story building? Or does downstairs mean 'basement' and upstairs refer to 'ground level'. Which leads me to my third question.

3rd: Even IF the Funeral Home was constructed with a Basement, Ground floor, First floor... This describing a 2 story building WITH a basement its likely the living quarters were on the First floor, the viewing and preparation rooms on the Ground floor and the Crematorium in the Basement. This is because of the heat generated and 'sheer weight' of the 'oven' needed for the task 'at hand'.

4th: If my children were still awake, standing in the hall on the threshold of a bedroom when I went to bed I would have come up and seen what they were 'playing' at... A speech from 'some time ago' downstairs' obviously was not enough, so time to see WHY my kids are still up, as you phrased it...

"My sister and I stayed awake all night me standing on the thresh hold but never crossing it Both of us crying and shaking, the shadow looming over her and the feeling it gave off was pure evil."

I have Puff on speed dial, but for now, as I await a response from the O/P, I will just set up the grill, Hamburgers and Sausages anyone?

Respectfully,

Rook