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5 Bed House With Cheap Rent

 

Back when I was a young, broke college student, a friend and I thought we had stumbled upon the deal of a lifetime: A huge 5 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms for dirt cheap rent. The house was in a kind of out of the way place in Virginia, but it suited our needs and the rent was unbelievably cheap. Let me preface this by saying that in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there are no disclosure laws in real estate, meaning that the buyer/renter is not entitled to know the history of the house before signing on the dotted line.

Within a month of moving into this house, odd things began happening. The electricity didn't work very well. At first we attributed this to the fact that the house was very old, built in the early 1900's and the most recent re-wiring of the house had been done in the 50's. Also, the main breaker for the house was located outside in a barn that stood about 20 yards from the house itself and was connected by several crude-looking overhead wires. Whenever the breakers tripped (which was at least 4 times a week) we'd have to get the flashlight and go to the barn to flip them back on. The electricity wasn't the only problem. We had an answering machine that never recorded any messages. Sometimes the light would be blinking and when we'd push play, it was nothing but static. This was before DVR and we worked a lot of nights, so we would try to record our shows, but it never worked. Just static and white noise. We also found it odd that pictures never turned out in or around the house. We went though 13 rolls of film before finally giving up.

The first time we realized that we were dealing with more than just bad wiring was approximately 4 weeks after we moved in. As we were heading to the garage (which was only accessible through the door in the kitchen or the heavy old automatic door outside) we came to a dead stop. There was a man standing in our garage! He just stood there and was completely oblivious when we screamed. My friend slammed the door and locked it and called out to the man that we had a gun and were calling the cops. She retrieved the said gun and we opened the door again. The man was gone. Just poof, vanished. As previously stated, there were only 2 ways in - door through kitchen or automatic door outside. The automatic door was very noisy, so we would have heard it open and we had been in the kitchen all morning so there was no way he got in that way. We were baffled, but went about life like normal. That incident seemed to open the floodgates, because after that it really became obvious we were dealing with something not of this world.

We used to hear the sound of a baby crying, followed by the sound of a rocking chair up in the attic. We investigated and found nothing. Certain spots would always remain cold. Cold is not something you come across in Virginia in the summer. Numerous times we woke up to find all the contents of the pantry on the floor. There were dozens of other odd things that happened, but I'm just highlighting some of the more bizarre occurrences.

As things began to escalate, we got more and more nervous. The pinnacle was when we were sitting in the kitchen one evening, playing cards and waiting for some guests to arrive. Naturally, the lights went out, so we went out to trip the breaker. When we came out of the barn, we saw our friend running up the steps of the porch with a baseball bat. When we asked what he was doing, he told us that he saw a man standing in our living room then walk up the stairs! Scared, we crowded behind him and searched the house with the bat and a gun. Nothing!

About 2 weeks after that, my roommates boss asked her why she never returned his call about switching a shift. She said that she hadn't gotten any messages and he proceeded to tell her about the man that answered the phone and told her we were out! Upon further investigation, we discovered that several other people had the same experience when they called! We were thoroughly freaked out by this time, so we decided to ask some of the town's resident's about the house.

We found out that the house was always vacant within 6 months of it being rented out. Although we were scared, we still stayed because of how cheap it was.

One evening, we were in the living room watching TV. When we heard a huge thud against the basement door. When I say thud, I mean the whole wall shook and the door frame came loose. The door was locked, but we were scared and put a chair against it. We could hear growling on the other side and claws on the door, so we again got the gun. We figured at first that a wild animal must have gotten in there, so we went outside to check the entrance. It was bolted shut. We even checked the tiny windows, nothing broken.

We finally went back into the house and opened the basement door. Nothing there! I've never seen claw marks like that before or since. It was as if whatever had done it only had 3 toes! Besides, nothing that was indigenous to the area was 3 toed or could have gotten in there without opening the door or breaking the window! Not to mention, none of the local animals, say a bear, could have exerted that much force to warp a door frame! We moved a week later.

We could never really come up with any idea of what happened in that house or why. To this day, it remains a mystery. And to this day, nobody lives there for more than 6 months before leaving.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

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

migelito23 (32 posts)
 
10 years ago (2015-04-09)
Hello jennus I read your scary story its very frightning and weird. Can
You tell us right here on this site how that ghost man looked like
, I'm glad that you moved out of
There, I will do the same thing without thinking it twice.
The crazy part its when your friend also saw the same man at the living room and follow it with a baseball bat and also the scratches from a beast I believed that house was poltergeist or witchcraftedand that's why your renter will rent you that house for cheap because no one wants to live
In that house. Can you describe this ghostman how he looked like
paranormal_alex (3 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-10-24)
Hello Jenn -

I am a producer from the show, Paranormal Witness on teh Syfy Network. I would love to speak to you about your experience if you are open to it. Please email me at alexandra.lacey [at] raw.co.uk if you are and we can arrange a time to talk.
Best,
Alex
owensnee1 (guest)
 
13 years ago (2011-10-21)
Great story! I'm 31 years old and for the last 30 years, Virginia has been my home. I would love to know what part of VA this took place!
retro_rose (2 stories) (12 posts)
 
14 years ago (2010-08-21)
Wow, fascinating story. I'm originally from Virginia myself-Norfolk is my hometown. I believe that unexplainable things DO happen, so I don't disbelieve the theory that something "supernatural" could have been present in your house, but is it also possible that a human being could have intentionally been trying to scare you out of the house? It's REALLY unnerving to read of some strange guy picking up your phone calls! I mean, it sounds to me like it COULD have been a scare/harassment campaign, just possibly.
kristine79 (1 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-09-24)
Great story.It gave me the chills when I was reading it. It was terrible that you were not let in on the info about the place.
eyelovehotdogs (7 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-09-07)
Nice story! I like it! That's the reason why it's so cheap, you need to share the house with spirits.😉
bunny (1 stories) (4 posts)
 
15 years ago (2009-05-29)
wow, that's the first story I ever read that gave me goosebumps. I also lived in a rental that was never rented long because of a spirit. What freaked me out the most was the man that answered the phone and took messages. SPOOKY
XDeMoNiCX_XAnGeL (6 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-05-01)
thats f-in scary! Omg wow I can't believe that you would even stay in that house! 😨
LETSPLAYxxPOISONxx (7 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-04-20)
wow that turned into a big debate... Well awesome story... Thanks 😁 also did you ever find out what happened?
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-21)
Im sorry but its not personal information. First the place was for rent - not personal they wanted someone to rent it. THen it was being torn down so that it could be sold. Again not personal information. Then it was sold to be turned into a gas station. Again not personal information.

Whatever, great story.
JennusDemenus (1 stories) (7 posts)
+3
16 years ago (2009-02-20)
Wolf - Please stop asking for the address, I will not post personal information. That is not why I posted the story, okay? It's a bit pushy of you to expect me to post such information on a public site.
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-19)
Hmmm... I never would have guessed that something like that would happen.
Still I would like to do a little research on the area. So if you can give me the exact address of the area, you should have it since you lived there. I can then go check county records and see who built the house etc even though its torn down.
Address please.
JennusDemenus (1 stories) (7 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-18)
Oh, and to answer the questions about the bat and the phantom phone answerer: The man with the bat was a baseball player. Of course he had a bat in his car. And I never said that I got fired. The phone call wasn't for me - it was for my roommate and no, she did not get fired. Her manager mearly inquired as to why his message was not returned.
JennusDemenus (1 stories) (7 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-18)
It was located on the outskirts of Ashland, VA. Sorry to let you down, but they've already began demolition on it. We found out the owners son sold the property to B.P., so there might be a haunted gas station coming to the area soon, if you are interested. Maybe I should have dug deeper into the mystery, but once we left, we never looked back. The funny part of it all is that the exprience in that house opened the floodgates - I've been senstive ever since to haunted locations. I never was before I lived there.
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-16)
bette31 - odd that. Any idea why? NM I already know. In any case I currently reside in Middleburge VA. Its about 40 miles west of DC. As I am sure you probably realize this area is ripe with Ghost stories. A lot of the civil war troops moved through this area back in the day. One of the restarunts I visit swore up and down they had a ghost, they had been tell their customers for years you could here it \ them at certains times during the summer. I eventually was allowed to investigate and found that the "Noises" of the dead where really a loose AC unit vent grating. They asked me not to tell anyone and did not. TO this day they tell their customers its a ghost... Bah.
bette31 (9 stories) (127 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-16)
WolfReal-It doesn't look like we are ever going to find out the location of your dream home. If you don't mind me asking, what part of VA are you from? If you don't want to post it, you can always email me. The reason I ask is because I am also from VA and am interested in others who have had experiences that are in VA.
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-15)
Im interested in buying the place before this person levels it. Please let me know what the address is soon so that I can contact them. And... Why would the owner choose to level it rather then the person that buys the land...? There is more cost involved. Does not make a lot of sense. Address please.
bette31 (9 stories) (127 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-15)
WolfReal-JennusDemenus commented that she received an email from her roommate that stated that the owner of the house had died and his son was going to level the house and sell the land. Looks like you will need to find another cheap place to live. I would still like to know what town the house is located in.
Succubussed (guest)
+1
16 years ago (2009-02-15)
Good story, well told. I lived in a haunted house for almost two years, and it wasn't until I moved away from it that it was apparent to me that it was odd to have stayed. I can understand you and your roommate not moving right away.
troyarn (5 stories) (479 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-15)
Excellent read! I truly doubt I could have lasted six months in that place. Thanks for sharing this with us and I look forward to more of your stories.
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
bette31 - JennusDemenus has indicated that this house is still for rent. Giving an exact address should be possible as I am sure they are looking for renters. I am waiting for JennusDemenus to given me the address so once that is given you should know. I'm thinking about moving in. I need a cheap vaction \ place to live.
bette31 (9 stories) (127 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
Thanks for a very interesting story. If you don't mind me asking, what part of Virginia was this house located?
reneespring (148 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
Your friend happened to have a bat when he arrived at your house? And you got fired because a man answered your phone?
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
surya - in the real world kicking the butt of a sheriff on or off duty is not a smart thing to do. I suggest against this and quite honestly am appalled you would suggest anyone do this.
Surya (39 stories) (867 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
Amazing isn't it, the sheriff obviously new something was not right and still let your two rent the place, I would have kicked his butt 😠
rhodes68 (14 stories) (1596 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-14)
You certainly had me pinned in my chair while reading this story-what an experience to live in such a house!

From what I gather, you must have been dealing with a "past owner" in part (the man apparition) and a very obstinate and "not very negotiable" energy connected to the land but not necessarily to the past owner per ce. So, two energies in total! Wonderful 😨.

It's very distressing you didn't not come up with any answers when searching about the history of that place but just the fact that the new owner has decided to demolish the old house is enough evidence that he had very little choice.

I very much doubt the new construction-whatever that may be-will have better luck than the previous one. Just a hunch...
Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-13)
Welcome to the site and thanks for sharing your experience with us, JennusDemenus. Do you think that man climbing the stairs and the one in the garage were the same? Do you have any details on his dress or appearance? Honestly, what baffles me that most is that the breaker was in the barn!
AussieRedDog (27 stories) (87 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-13)
Like a house I knew of when travelling through Ireland. Wow, that's one freaky damned story. You shoulkd try and find old records on the place. First thing I'd be doing, which I've did to one house I used to live... And that's a story I'm going to post up! 😨
WolfReal (1 stories) (140 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-13)
Can you give me the address? Id like to move in if its so cheap. What were you paying every month?
Sinobiah (1 stories) (13 posts)
 
16 years ago (2009-02-13)
Really freaky story! Sounds like some angry spirit in the basement. You should just for interests sake investigate the history of the house, and try get photos of any men that died in a violent death.

Angry Spirits come from people who have evil beliefs or that have died in a really violent way. Resulting in so much anger that they do horrible things to get attention.

Maybe they needed help? Try see if you could possibly get pics of the previous owners and compare it to the man you saw? Would be interesting! Good luck! As for the animal, it could have been a really peed off spirit!

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