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Hamilton Apartment Poltergeist

 

In 2006 I moved into a high rise apartment building in Hamilton at the intersection of King Street East and Emerald Street North. The building was built in the 1970s and it served since then as a facility for government subsidized housing. Most of the tenants were on government support and many were elderly or mentally disturbed. I was not on assistance; I paid full market rent for my unit on the twenty first floor.

Almost immediately, strange things began to happen. The most common strange occurrences were an intense shaking of my bedroom closet door, strange footsteps, raspy voices, and the sound of a ball bouncing.

On various occasions I was woken up in the night be what sounded like a person punching and kicking the sliding doors on my closet. I would often yell at it to stop and it would immediately. This would happen about once or twice a month.

I took to leaving my fan on at night to drown out the strange noises. Almost every night, I would hear what sounded like feet shuffling around on the living room floor; as if an old man were trying to walk. Strange undecipherable whispers were often heard at night. I got used to the strange sounds and goings on but nothing would prepare me for what happened in February 2008.

That night my girlfriend was sleeping over when everything happened all at once. The door would rattle violently and we heard footsteps all over the apartment and bedroom. My girlfriend kept complaining of feeling a presence as if something evil was leaning over the bed staring at us. As I tried to calm her down and explain that these things happen all the time and that its never hurt me, I heard an old woman's voice scream in my ear as clear as day. I screamed in fear and we left that night to stay with a friend.

I would often have friends over from Waterloo on weekends who always seemed uneasy in the apartment. They refused to stay the night on the pull out couch due to strange noises they heard. Once I left them to go to the store, when I returned they were standing in the hallway looking uneasy. They told me that my place freaked them out and they wanted to go out for the night instead of staying at my place. It got to a point when friends didn't want to come over anymore.

Sometime in late 2007 I would hear what sounded like a ball bouncing. It was as if someone dropped a ball and let it bounce until it stopped. This would happen about the same time every night: 10:00 to 10:30 pm.

I moved out last winter and I have not experienced anything like that since. A friend of mine who came over several times recently told me that she heard distinct voices and heard footsteps when no one was there. We agreed that this was a poltergeist and not a ghost of the deceased.

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

Missmelanie04 (6 stories) (39 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-21)
I can understand why there would be so many spirits there. With it being a home for the mentally disturbed and elderly, there have probably been quite a few miserable people there and perhaps several deaths of the elderly people. Too bad there wasn't somebody you could ask about the history of your apartment.
restlessspirit20 (2 stories) (6 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-01-21)
Hey there. I know what that's like. My roommate and I have been living in an apartment where strange things happen as well. We would often hear someone talking or feel as if someone is watching us while we sleep. Many of our friends would rather not come over because they feel "strange" when they walk in the door. We have come to terms with whatever it is that has decided to live here with us. It is annoying but we can't just leave you know. Best of luck and thanks for sharing your story.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-12-02)
Depends on your point of view Kinger, how do you feel about the paranormal and such. If you are of the mind that these spirits/entities are all bad/evil then acknowledgment made the haunting worse. If however you feel that they may be 'trapped' souls looking for aid then your acknowledgment made them try harder to be 'helped'/'heard'.

As far as the area of the building itself being (begging) to be haunted it really depends on the history of the land itself. Depending on the lands history you can have anything from a residual haunting to a very active Spirit.

You seem to be of a mind to truly investigate something like this before jumping to the conclusion that it's paranormal in origin and for this I commend you. Research and hard facts win the day.

You stated that the building was used as housing for the elderly and mentally disturbed and this gives some credence to the idea that either as someone passsed they refused to believe it or possible were not even in a 'right' state of mind to know that they had passed on.

Again thanks for the story, and more so for coming back to talk about it some more.

Respectfully,

Rook
Kinger (1 stories) (4 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-12-01)
Thanks for your comments. I agree with Rockdygin that my girlfriend had some sort of affect on the ghost. She claims to be more sensitive to these sorts of things. The not being married thing could set off a spirit of an older generation or high moral fortitude.

The theory that the ghost or ghosts in the appartment were asking for my help is something I never considered. I guess the only way to find out how I could have helped was to attempt friendly open dialogue with them which would have involved a medium or Ouija board or something.

What do you think would have happened if I never acknowledged the spirit? By telling it to shut up, I must have encouraged it to attempt to communicate. Are you saying that I made the haunting worse by acknowledging it? I think I might have according to what Rhodes68 said.

I never thought that the manifestations were designed to drive me out of the appartment. I think it would have been much worse if that was it's aim. The whole time I lived there, I never gave much thought as to why this was happening. I spent much of my time trying to rationalize the events scientifically. In retrospect, I should have broght a "spiritualist" to the appartment to attempt open communication.

The building was built in one of the oldest parts of the city, surrounded by older homes predating 1900. I'm certain that people have lived on that site for over 100 years. This may have created a layering affect of spirits over the area from different eras. Just a thought. A region like that almost demands to be haunted.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-29)
"The building was built in the 1970s and it served since then as a facility for government subsidized housing. Most of the tenants were on government support and many were elderly or mentally disturbed."

Based on the quote above I feel that there were a great many 'cries' for either help or understanding happening while you lived in this Apartment. Some of them were directly linked to the Apartment itself, others made themselves known due to the fact you did offer acknowledgment to them.

I really like the fact you have considered all natural possible causes as well. One part of your story really stands out, and that is the old woman screaming in your ear and the feeling your girlfriend had the night she stayed over in Febuary. You mentioned that it was possibly a warning that she was pregnant because you both did not know it at this time. I think it more likly that the spirit that you heard was more likly upset that an unwed couple was sleeping in her old apartment. Just a gut feeling though.

Thanks for the great story.

Respectfully,

Rook
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-29)
Kinger hello and thank you for sharing your experience with us.

I have to wonder why you came to the conclusion that any of these experiences were poltergeist?

Reading though your description of the events carefully, I'm more inclined to believe that none of them were in any way related or "produced" by you.

The sound of the ball bouncing at a specific time at night would most likely point to residual energy probably that of a past resident but the rest of the noises, the voices, the wardrobe doors being "punched" or slammed and kicked, those were "cries for help".

Someone needed to attract your attention, to make sure you hear them...why? Maybe to be acknowledged first but I do believe that there was also and most importantly need for assistance. I believe that most of what went on in that house was a result of "intelligent haunting" and the energies as I gather were more than one-they were attempting communication with you.

Your previous "reaction" to the closet incident confirmed that you could hear them, your girlfriend's fear that "something evil" was watching you in bed was more confirmation, your leaving the house the night you heard the "woman's scream" was also confirmation!

Whoever was there sounds "stuck" to me, not evil. Just stuck, disoriented, and frightened. Any deceased individual finding themselves sharing their space with strangers all of a sudden, realizing that they are in a different dimension than the rest of the "room-mates" and being uncertain as to why, would panic and try to make themselves heard.

The way I see it is that house was peaked with energy-some of it must have been that of past residents, the rest... Well it must have been drawn along with "the others".

Too bad you were not able to offer them any assistance.
Tonith (1136 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-28)
If something like this has never happened before or since you moved out then chances are it was very real and subject to the place being haunted and not you being haunted. Whether poltergeist or disturbed human spirit it's unnerving to say the least. You did well with all of it considering how much of it was happening on a regular basis. Most people would have been out of there in a flash rather than deal with it. Kudos. Wonder if the next tenents had the same goings on? Would be interesting to find out. They might be relieved thinking they are not nuts if they are having the same encounters. On the down side they may not be able to rent that apartment if the word gets out its haunted.
Kinger (1 stories) (4 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-28)
Thanks everyone for your interest. Darkness - the scream in my ear was completely incomprehensible. It was long and drawn out which could mean that it was trying to say something but all I heard was a horrifying scream. Maybe it was trying to warn me that my girlfriend was pregnant as we did not know at the time. It might have been trying to stop her from smoking and drinking.

I have thought of various rational explanations for these events. The rattling and banging on the door could have been caused by a high pressure pipe behind the wall or vibrations from the street below or another unit. The footsteps and shufflings could have been from people in other apartments. When you live in an apartment building, noises from other units can filter their way in sometimes. The hysteria of the "night of terror" in February might well have been fear feeding my imagination. When I heard the scream, I was semi conscious and very tired. It could have been imagined. When something has a reputation for being haunted, people can misinterpret common things for the paranormal. Despite that, I think this was genuine and not natural.
Kinger (1 stories) (4 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-28)
Thanks Jmak for your comment. From what I know about poltergiests, I don't recall that they always cause physical harm. This happens to be the exception not the rule. Since I never saw a figure or a "ghost", and becuase the manifestations were noises and not visuals, my friend and I concluded that the haunting was more in line with poltergiest activity. Of all the poltergiest stories I've read, only a few involved people being physically harmed.

And yes I do believe there was a connection between the type of housing and the paranormal activity. I would love to find out more about the history of the property. My landlord was to look into the history of the unit to see if someone died in there.
ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-28)
Hi and thank you for sharring this story with us. I believe that its hard to determine if this was actually poltergeist activity or was it a normal haunting. I'm actually leaning forward to haunting. I might be wring but its the feeling. I realy enjoyed reading your story. Thanks for sharring. I hope to hear from you soon and take care
DARKNESS (3 stories) (2022 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-27)
Hey thanks for the story! Tho it seems more like a ghost then a Poltergeist as it wasn't violent and did not harm you in anyway! The scream in your ear was she screaming as to say somethn or just a scream?
Jmak (6 stories) (156 posts)
 
15 years ago (2008-11-27)
Hi Kinger,
First let me thank you for sharing your incredible experiences. I must ask, how did you and your friend come to the conclusion that this was a poltergeist and not a or several spirits? Given the type of housing this place was used for i.e. Elderly and mentaly disturbed, couldn't there be reason to believe that one if not several tragic deaths occured there? Did you research the building/property to see if anything like that occured? Your story is facinating, if you do research it please let us know what you find. God bless. 😊

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