For those of you who enjoy firsthand stories of strange encounters, I submit the following...

I'm convinced that my mother's house is haunted by at least two spirits - one good and the other evil. Strange activity comes and goes in waves. It was especially active during a renovation of the house. But the period of time that saw the highest level of activity was shortly after her soon-to-be new neighbors broke ground on a house and, in the process, dug up a coffin. The Gibson County Sheriffs Dept. and the Indiana State Police (along with, i'm pretty sure, other organizations) set up a trailer on the property to oversee the task of exhuming all the remains (they found 7 bodies in all and a few broken headstones) and moving them to another location. This may help explain where some of the paranormal activity originates. The following is a list of some of the things that have happened in the house:

While watching out the livingroom window as snow gently fell outside, I saw clearly the shadow a person walk into the carport (directly underneath where I was standing). This was not one of those "out of the corner of my eye" things. I went outside to investigate and found no one. Even stranger, there were no footprints in the snow.

Once, while home alone watching TV, I suddenly smelled a very strong aroma - a woman's perfume. I followed the scent across the room, then it disappeared. (I have heard that olfactory paranormal experiences are much less common than visual or auditory ones)

Mom, while washing dishes, was suddenly suprised to see a bunch of bananas rocking violently on the counter. They rocked a few more times then stopped abruptly.


The bells that hang on the inside of the back door ring without apparent cause.

Mom and my stepdad were moving a bureau when Mom felt a cold hand press firmly on her back. She set down her end of the bureau and turned, expecting to see her mother-in-law and instead saw no one. Looking down at the floor, she was startled to see that she had almost inadvertently stepped back into an uncovered duct. Mom swears that the benevolent spirit saved her from a possible broken ankle.

It is not unusual to hear phantom footsteps upstairs or see a dark shadow move across a room.

Most of us who have lived in that house have, at one time or another, felt a very dark and evil presence in the basement (and it's not one of those dingy, dirty basements - it's fully finished). It makes you feel icy, causes the hair to stand up on the back of your neck, and usually induces the flight reflex. One time though, after encountering this feeling Mom ran into her bedroom. As soon as she crossed the threshold of the door, she felt warmth and calm wash over her. She thinks that the benevolent spirit was guarding her from whatever else exists in that house.

Sorry if I am longwinded. I'm new and a bit excited!

I just remembered some other very strange things that happened in Mom's house. I hope you enjoy these too.

Little things, like nicknacks and pencils, sometimes go missing only to turn up a few days later in very unusual locations.

There is this one toy, a remote controlled cat with a spinning head, that occasionally starts moving on its own - without batteries!

One day, while I was the only person home, I had gone outside to smoke a cigarette. This was my first smoke in 3 days because I had been trying to quit. After having talked with my family about quitting, I was feeling a little guilty as I sat puffing away on the back deck. I put out my cigarette and headed for the door, but found that I was locked out - not by the lock on the knob, but by the deadbolt which can only be locked from the inside or with a key from the outside. I did not have my key with me. I couldn't help but think that the benevolent spirit in (the one who protected my mother from stepping into an open duct) had done this because she was angry that I had smoked.

Has anyone ever heard of or experienced anything like this - a protective spirit who watches over people?

Hey perm this sounds like a definite haunting!! the scnet of the womans perfume that comes and goes and the smell of smoke, i was wondering this other spirit sounds as if it is a male? could you please confirm this for me if it is he was probably the dark shdow that walked directly under you, keep me up to date thanks.
Enigma

Yeah the creepy one definitely strikes me as male. Thanks for posting. I was beginning to wonder if everyone thought I was nuts or something!

*cringes* Erf... finding 7 graves...

And they still built a house there? *shivers*


Very intresting accounts dear! Would deffinatly like to hear more!

Perm you are not going mad!! my house is situated in an estate which is built on old land, now whatever is under this land feels bad, because their are about 5 houses here that have paranormal goings on. mine being one of them, i see the shadows and dark figures when there is no-one ever about, so i can understand how you and your mumn are feeling!! And yes there are spirits that watch over you and they are not always deceased family members, but spirits that attatch themselves to you therefore looking out for you. Have you tried to contact these spirits? and find out their purpose for strolling around your house?

Steve

SilverCougar, I would tell you more stories if I had them. Most of the strange happenings in my mom's house just involve shadows and strange noises (especially the ringing bells and footsteps). The accounts I listed are definitely the best ones I can remember. Plus, I haven't lived there for over three years. Thanks for your interest though.

And yes, Enigma, my mom has talked to them a bit. Of course she never got a response or anything. She just told the female spirit that she is welcome in the house too, but please try not to frighten anyone especially the children (my niece and nephews). So far, her requests have been respected.

It's good to hear that the spirits ssem to have respected what your mother has asked them, as you probably know it takes an awful lot of energy for the spirits to even let us know that they are present, so i was wondering do you get tired whenever the spirits are about? The ringing of the bells and the footsteps sounds as if it is their way of letting you know they are present, lets just hope that they carry on to respect your wishes.
Thanks for the extra info, please keep the updates coming.

all the best
steve

Hi , I was wondeing if you have done any looking into the history of your Mothers house? If you check through the council records you can generally find out who else has lived in the house . The library can also provide you with old news stories or articles about the area your Mother lives in . How old were the headstones that were discovered and how old was the cemeterie that was uncovered .
Just a couple of questions . oh and the shadows are they allways a front on view or mainly out the corner of your eye . ?

great story
i liked it
thats crazy how you have
a good spirit and a bad spirit
in there

nice story perm. When I was younger my grandmothers house was occupied by a couple of spirits and I know one of them had a good heart. I was about 8yrs old and me and my cousin were playing in the kitchen and we knocked a spice rack off the wall. All the spice bottles went everywhere and one even spilled open on the floor. We ran outside to the backyard and told our grandmother we had an accident in the kitchen, when we returned back inside everything was back to normal. The bottles, the spilled mess, the rack was back on the wall. It was like it never happened. To this day my cousin and myself still talk about it. I remember once sleeping in her guest room and seeing a shadowy sillouhette at the foot of the bed.

Kismit, I don't think my mom has done any research on the history of the house or the area, but I'll check. I'd do my own research, but I live in California now and her house is in Indiana (about 2000 mile away). Also, I can't remember the age of the headstones, but I'll ask my mom about that, too. I should talk to her within the next few days and I'll let you know what I find out. As for the shadows, I've mostly noticed them out of the corner of my eye, but I have seen a few directly in front of me that were impossible to dismiss.

xgaryedgex, yours is also an interesting story!



EDIT: xgaryedgex, I just wanted to say that I truly agree with your signature quote. And Kismit, the quote under your avatar is the best one I have seen yet in these forums! I'm all for combining the two in an attempt to make a positive difference in this world!

wow, thats some interesting stuff, Im glad you posted it, thanks!

Ive rarely had any meetings with ghosts, only times I can remember are faint memories of my old house, where going up the stairs I always felt very scared, and always ran up them as fast as I could. I also remmeber waking up at night and feeling a presence there, this happend a few times, then I just started to say "go away" and the feeling went.

On other occasions, with my old hi-fi, in the middle of the night it would switch itself on, this only happend on a few occasions, and I find it very scary, but I am sure that the is probably some logical explanation for this, it freak me out though

The worst was when I woke up in the middle of the night (presumably from a nightmare) and I panicked and ran to my parents room, which was accross the landing. On the landing we also kept our computer, and I remember just getting to the computer, almost to my parents room, and I suddenly stopped moving, and I couldnt move, I tried to scream and run but i couldn't. It was awful, but then all of a sudden, as quickly as it had happend I was able to mvoe again. It kind of sounds like sleep paralysis, but I was awake and moving... it was wierd

Kismit, I talked to my mom tonight and she was able to give me a little more information. Here's what I got for ya:

According to the headstones, the people in the small cemetary died between the years 1890 and 1914.

Many years ago, my mom did obtain an abstract on her property, but it contained nothing out of the ordinary. The only things from the abstract she could recall offhand were the fact that the property was originally settled in 1815, the year before Indiana became a state, and that it was sold for $1 from a father to his new son-in-law. Mom's house was built in the 1920's.

She also told me of a few other strange happenings. Apparently, my step-dad sometimes hears a woman call his name when he is home alone. Also, they both have been smelling the perfume a lot lately. I wonder if the ghost is trying to flirt with my step-dad

moddysunday, thanks for sharing your stories. Those events must have been really scary for a little kid!

Permakid, on the contrary - sounds and smells are the most common ghostly encounters - it is touch and visions which are more rare.

I would suggest that, that the good-natured presence in the house might be someone who lived there previously, but the ill-natured one is someone or something associated with the land, rather than the house.

Sometimes we assume that just because there were no houses on the land that nothing lived there or held that place dear.

Thank you Permakid , for the lovely remark on the quote under my avatar . It's not really mine though, I pinched from some fella called Albert .
Thanks also for the reply to my questions , 4 years isn't a huge gap of time in between the age of the youngest headstone and the age of the house . Perhaps the original owners knew about the bodies that where buried next door ? . It seem particularly callouse to have covered over them so soon after the death ,when presumably the buried deceased would still have living and grieving relatives .
Any-way my main point of interest is the fact that you have two entities, that for some reason haven't moved on and may need help doing so .
Has your Dad ever had any other strange experiences . She may not be flirting with him , she may actually just find it easier to comunicate with him ,for some reason or another .