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The Shadow Upstairs

 

This happened about 1995, I was 33 at the time. We lived in Tampa Florida in an apartment and my sister and her kids lived in the apartment right across the porch. Her kids ran back and forth between both places most of the time. I would babysit them when she and her husband went out, sometimes even over night.

Once the kids were in bed I would hear dishes clanking, like someone was putting the dishes away or moving them around. At first I thought my sister and her husband came back early, but once I was down stairs I saw no one. I went to the kitchen it was empty as well. I sat and watched T.V., and shrugged it off.

Later that night at about 11pm, I was snacking on chips and watching a story on T.V. I stopped because I smelled an odor. I sniffed trying to find out where it was coming from. I went upstairs and the smell got stronger. I began to panic I didn't want something to be on fire and I still couldn't find anything. Then the odor disappeared, I couldn't smell it any more. I went back downstairs but I was nervous and kept sniffing every once in a while to make sure that I didn't smell it again.

At about midnight my sister came home. I told her about the noises and the smell. She and her husband looked at each other and then said it was nothing. And I was quickly shown the door.

A few weeks later they asked if I could babysit her kids again. I said yes, not thinking about what happened last time. They said they would be out until about 2am this time. It was a weekend so I let the kids stay up a little past their bed time. At about 10pm I put them to bed and settled down on the couch and dozed off.

I woke up to the sound of dishes clanking together again in the kitchen. I got up and turned on the lights but no one was there. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I was unsure what to do. Then I smelled the odor again but this time I recognized the smell as cigarette smoke. I checked on the kids they were sleeping. I looked outside thinking someone was smoking on the porch, but again no one was there.

I sat on the couch and took a deep breath and tried to make sense out of what I was experiencing. I took a quick glance up the stairs and I froze. Standing at the top landing was a shadow of a man, then the smell hit me and I could see the tip of the cigarette glow red as he took a puff. Every thing was a shadow except the red tip. He looked in my direction then disappeared. I quickly checked on the kids and sat waiting for my sister and her husband to come home. I was trembling and kept looking up the stairs just waiting for him to come back.

When they came home I told them what I saw and this time I demanded they tell me what was going on. They said it was a ghost. It doesn't hurt anyone and all I have to do when I hear the dishes or see him is to tell him to stop and to leave. I asked them why they didn't tell me that before. They said they hoped that I wouldn't notice him. I was mad for a while at them but three months later they moved due to a job closer to where they wanted to live. I would sit on the porch at night and sometimes I would look up at the window. Sometimes I would see the shadow and his red tipped cigarette looking back. I moved a year later.

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

sds (14 stories) (1436 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2020-05-15)
Hello adove, thanks for the response. I asked the time because I was thinking wildly if it could be residual haunting. But I don't think so now.

That was quite an experience you had and a strange one. And I forgot to mention one aspect in my last comment. You said that your sister told that if they say to this shadow to go away and not to disturb them, it did vanish. It wasn't harmful anyway.

Regards and respects to you.

SDS
adove (6 stories) (12 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Tweed what you said is very interesting and I have started to read up on more sighting of this type. My sister and I never talked about hauntings of any kind. I have had many experiences in my lifetime of the paranormal that my siblings never knew of. Only in the last five years did I start to tell them bout them. Most were dismissed, others I were told that they were something else or my imagination and easily explained away.
adove (6 stories) (12 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
sds I only saw it at night between 11pm and 2am more or less. Many times I was at her place during the day and neither saw nor heard anything. I asked my sister if she saw it any other times beside when I saw it but she refused to talk about it. As for who staying there now I don't know.
adove (6 stories) (12 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Alina5 As far as I know there were no deaths or suicides in the apartment. I did ask my sister at the time if the landlord told her that there was anything strange about the place such as noises or smells but she said no. Once my sister moved the place was not rented. The reason is unknown.
adove (6 stories) (12 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Maria There was never anything out of place when I heard the noises and went to look.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+2
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Geese? Sorry, I just saw my comment in the preview thingum and geese have nothing to do with anything, I was trying to say 'geeze' but got autocorrected. How disruptive.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Hi Adove, geese this was an event and a half!

Really glad you shared this as shadow apparitions are an interest. Because of that I'm focused intently on the cigarette burning red/normal compared to the rest of his form. As for him having great strength to manifest all that he did, I agree with this, but would like to add my opinion: when the ghost of a human chooses to materialise it may take less energy to show up as dark/shadow only verses full coloured/detailed apparition. This is my opinion only based on what I believe is a pattern of similarities with other experiences shared on here. It also may explain his ability to manifest smell as well as appearance.
As scary as he was I think he was actually answering your unasked question of 'what's the smell?' Also get the impression he was probably doing the dishes, or used to around that time.

Did you and your sister talk about ghosts before this happened? Sometimes it can be hard to bring up the paranormal as a talking point, that may have been part of her reluctance to tell you about their haunting.

Thanks for sharing, hope you're now glad to have had this pretty scary but also very interesting experience.
sds (14 stories) (1436 posts)
+3
4 years ago (2020-05-14)
Hello adove, as silverthane said, it should have such an energy to show itself as well as to make you smell.

Having said that, I would like to know if there was any specific time when you sighted the shadow? Was there any interval of time between two sightings? And was the sighting visible on particulars days with regular intervals? Even though it is quite difficult to brand it as residual haunting, I just have a curiosity to ask these questions.

And by the way, do you happen to know who stays there now?

Awaiting your response.

Regards and respects to you.

SDS
Alina5 (3 stories) (136 posts)
+4
4 years ago (2020-05-13)
Hello adove,

Well, it is a terrifying to observe such a sight when you've expected it the least.

Did you ever find out anything regarding that shadow (like any deaths or suicides in the apartment)

What about the other tenants? Have they experienced the same thing?

The entity was nonetheless, a good attention-seeker. Yea, maybe he was bored having to stay there alone.

Peace
Lealeigh (5 stories) (512 posts)
+4
4 years ago (2020-05-12)
Hello adove,

This was really scary. Your story also triggers an emotional response from me that I can't really explain. I feel sad for the shadow.

Was there ever anything out of place in the kitchen, after you heard the noises?

- Maria
adove (6 stories) (12 posts)
+6
4 years ago (2020-05-12)
Silverthane61

For the year I was there before I moved, the place wasn't rented. I'm not sure of the reason why, except for the spirit.
silverthane61 (4 stories) (344 posts)
+4
4 years ago (2020-05-12)
Imagine the amount of energy that has to be used by a spirit to engage observers with sight, smell, and hearing! Did you tell the new tenants of the ghostly next door visitor?

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