PART II

There were so many things that happened in that house that were paranormal, but you ought to know what an otherwise normal setting these were cast against. Our little farmette took on a pregnant mama goat, who soon gave birth to twin kids. We allowed our chicken colony to grow to such a size that my dad was able to sell eggs at his work. We raised rabbits and geese, and cultivated a small food garden. That garden was my particular nemesis.. My parents had sworn off pesticides as part of their “WholeEarth back to nature” thing, and that meant that another way had to be found to deal with the bugs. The way they decided on was to have me go along each row of vegetables and pick off bugs! I put them in a jar of very hot water, which of course didn’t retain its heat all that long. It was a disgusting and demoralizing job and I hated it. To make matters worse, I had only just begun to feel accepted in my old school (we hadn’t been living there very long before we moved away) and now I had to start all over again, but this time with kids who seemed to be very different from me. They were very earthy.. Most of them were rabid hunters, for instance. I, on the other hand, still thought all animals were friends of Bambi.

Fortunately I was always a reader, and I did find I had a lot of time for reading in my new situation. I re-read The Lord of the Rings straight through one time.. Took me a day and a half as I recall, with no sleeping during the night. Well, I felt it was quite an accomplishment.

But injected into the loneliness was a new thing, and it frightened me more than ghosts probably. I was only twelve years old, after all. One of my next door neighbors turned out to be a very nice, very cute young lady of thirteen. She took a definite liking to me. Though I didn’t necessarily think she had the cooties, I was as mystified about her as I had been about the drawings in my closet. It seemed you could look at her two ways.. Only I didn’t really get the second way, and she seemed to get it very well. She kept trying to give me hints. Well, I wasn’t ready for that sort of thing. I’m grateful to her, though I’ve forgotten her name, for never putting me in an embarrassing position. She was very nice, really.

But she wasn’t the only girl who began to give me attention at that time. Shortly after the first episode with the people walking around my house, I began to hear a distinctly girlish voice who would say my name excitedly in my ear as I was dropping off to sleep. She never said anything else, but her amount of excitement would vary. Sometimes it sounded like she was simply teasing and having a laugh, but other times she would be quite loud and almost frantic. There I’d be, dropping off to sleep, and suddenly I’d hear, “Sidhe!” Of course it always woke me immediately and made me jump. And of course, always there’d be no one there.

I understand that this is said to be a common occurrence, but I do find it striking that it never happened to *me* anywhere but this house in Maryland.. It must’ve happened half a dozen times over a two year period.

Now, that won’t sound like much, but interspersed with that particular event were other events. Very often my bed would make a “jump” just like you’d get if a cat had leapt up to join you for the night. This would not have been strange, as we always had cats, but what *was* strange was that there was never a cat there. They just didn’t come upstairs for some reason. Not the living ones, anyway..

These sorts of things unnerved me, as you can imagine. I told my parents about them. “Too much sugar!” was the answer I got, and on top of having to endure a haunted room I now had to forgo all my favorite sweets! Oh my parents have a lot of atoning to do..

It got to the point that I couldn’t go to sleep at night. I began to leave the light on.. A hanging naked bulb in the middle of my ceiling. That worked for a while, until I began waking up in the middle of the night to find the light off. I cross examined everyone in the house, and no one admitted to doing it.

I didn’t like sleeping in the dark, but even less did I like waking up in the dark when I knew I’d left the light on, so, with a heart made numb with fear, I went back to having it off for bedtime. Then I’d wake up with the lights *on*! I remember the first time that happened, even though I was afraid, I had to laugh. There was no way to win! But at least it was nice to wake up with the lights on, so I stuck with that method.

During this time I had many disturbing dreams. One that has remained with me since that time I think is very instructive. I dreamed that my house was filling with water, which was seeping up even into my room. The bed would float, but it wasn’t very stable, and in the water, I saw to my horror, were sharks.

All of these experiences were building and building toward a sense of crescendo in me. I became more and more frightened through the time I was there. Two years, almost exactly. It became very hard for me to go to sleep--so much so that I had to develop a “magic ritual” to assure myself that I was safe. It was a silly little ritual, but I wasn’t very old, and for various reasons not yet the most critical of thinkers either. I used to make myself imagine the scariest thing I could, and when it didn’t happen, I’d be able to say to myself, “see? Nothing to be afraid of.”

I suppose that in a way it is like that relaxation technique that has you bunch up all your muscles as tight as you can, and then relax them slowly one by one. That way you learn the difference between a taut muscle and a relaxed one. But however it worked, it usually did, and I was able to go to sleep, though it did not in fact stop things from happening.

On one particular night I got “that feeling” very strong. It was the same feeling I had felt on first entering the house, but I hadn’t yet recognized it for what it was. I had thought of it as just a feeling of fear that I was creating myself, and not as a reaction, more than likely, to something that was really there. But in my youthful bravado, I decided to turn off my lights and try my ritual. No sooner had I scrambled under the covers than the feeling ratcheted up a notch. I wasn’t feeling particularly confident in my little ritual, and as I started it, at the last moment, instead of thinking of anything “really” scary, I thought, “the thing that lives under my bed could reach up and grab my middle toe.”

As soon as the thoughts had completed in my mind, I felt a definite pressure on my second toe, left foot, that squeezed to the point of almost pain, but not quite, gave two jiggles, and then slowly let go. It had obviously been designed to make certain I *knew* I had felt what I thought I had felt.

On the face of it I suppose that story is a little silly. I expect some of you may have had a laugh while reading it, but I assure you, had you been there, you would have been petrified with fear. I was frozen stiff. For a few long seconds my mind didn’t work at all, and when it did, all it said was, “lay very still. Don’t move. Pretend to be asleep.” I did that, though I did not actually fall asleep at all that night. Thankfully, it never occurred to me that whatever had done that to my toe had to have been able to read my thoughts..

There were other little things that happened there.. For instance, we got two collie mix puppies, as dumb as dirt they were. Until they were potty trained, as it was summertime, they stayed out on the front porch at night. One morning we went out to discover that one of them had had a bout of diarrhea.. But that wasn’t the strange bit. The strange bit was that they had somehow been able to spell the name “Schulz” with it! It didn’t occur to us then that it was a paranormal thing, though it bothered me at the time. We should have taken a picture of it. It was only recently that I finally figured out what was bothering me about it.. It was perfect--there were no puppy footprints in it at all, as there would *have* to have been had the thing been made in the conventional way.

As you can see, all of the events that happened there had a lot to do with humor. Whatever it was that was going on there, it had a funny side to it all the way through. I have half suspected that the pretty girl next door was “poltergeist”ing me. It fits the situation well. It mirrored her real world waking interest in me. And she had quite a healthy sense of humor, too.

Well that finishes the story from Maryland. It is my “favorite” haunting, as it was so harmless and obviously good humored, even though it was terrifying at the time. Other experiences have been either more “remote” or downright infernal. I suppose I’ll get around to telling of those too, eventually.

hehe, i really like your stories, Sidhe. had anyone asked me this morning if i thought i would read a story about dogs writing the name 'Schulz' with diarrhea, i would have told them no... but i would be wrong

nice job, looking forward to more.

You didn't disappoint, Sidhe! That was well worth
the time.

That was a great read sidhe i knew i wouldn't be dissapointed, but i do have to confess to something , i did giggle a bit when i read about the toe part, but only a bit.

Yeah yeah, yuck it up Neener! I bet you'da let slip some natural functions had you been there. *I* was able to retain control of my bladder, but just barely..

I had to pee so bad half way through the night, but I was NOT moving, no sir-ee..

I'm glad you guys liked it. I have two more I could write up. One is quite short and the other quite long! I think I'll take a break for a while though. It's someone else's turn to take the soapbox.

actually a nearly did loose control of my bladder-from laughing so hard at that toe part no seriously it was a great story and well written.

Very entertaining Sidhe ,
almost makes me want to re write my experience . I have a name for this Novel too.
The tactile toe pincher from small town America

Sidhe,

Thanks for sharing that with us - a very interesting read.

It might be worth looking into the name 'schulz' as a possibility for the source of the paranormal activities there. Perhaps the old man's name had been Schulz, or someone who'd lived there before him.

It could easily be linked to someone who'd either lived in or frequented the house in the past.

Brilliant story Sidhe.
You should definetly write some more, prehaps even send some short stories of to publishers.
Very Good. (Claps hands furiously)

Thank you thank you ::takes bow::

I actually do have some poems that have been published, but I don't really like writing fiction. Writing prose is hard and takes a long time! Grrr!

I have begun my next story, which takes place in Charlottesville Virginia, in 1991.. it's my latest experience. Since my wife is really afraid of ghosty things, I doubt I'll be living in any more haunted houses.. she's only going to live in brand new digs, she says..

As for the investigation of "Schulz.." I don't know the address and my parents never kept up with stuff like that. Well they wouldn't, since they liked moving every year or so! I only know it was on a rural route outside La Plata Maryland..

There is another house that ought to be investigated, but that one comes last. The Demon House of Zelzah Avenue, in Reseda California, c1985.

I wrote that one up once already, but I can't find it!

QUOTE (Sidhe @ Apr 23 2003, 12:30 PM)

I have begun my next story, which takes place in Charlottesville Virginia, in 1991.. it's my latest experience.  Since my wife is really afraid of ghosty things, I doubt I'll be living in any more haunted houses.. she's only going to live in brand new digs, she says..  :rolleyes:

There are some really great old houses in Charlottesville (at least when
I was there). I had never thought of them as haunted since I was
busy partying at the fraternity houses.


btw, has your wife seen the movie 'Poltergeist'? Weren't those
brand new houses built over a sacred burial ground?

How did you manage to read 'Lord Of The Rings' in the space of under 2 days?

It's taken me 5 months to read the 'Fellowship Of The Ring', never mind 'The Two Towers' and 'Return Of The King'....

he probably reads fast. i got The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. I for Christmas a couple of years back and had it finished by New Year's. i was begging for the other volumes, but alas, i still keep reading the same one over and over. come to think of it, every new book i get is usually done within a week. i probably read 70 pages everytime i take a bath. some smaller books only last me 2 nights and then i reread them for a week or two.

No I read pretty slow.. or at least at an average pace. I was just bound and detirmined to do it and I didn't stop for anything. I brought the books with me to meals, and I didn't sleep.

I couldn't do it now. You need the boundless energy of youth, and a quiet environment, neither of which I have now..

The internet seriously cuts into my reading time!

The quickest read I ever had was when I re-read 'Salem's Lot in the early 1990s. Three days that took me, but then again, I like to digest the words and the phrasings, and if I get onto Anne Rice or someone who is quite wordy and eloquent, it'll take me ages to finish it.

ya, i know what that is like. try reading Nietzsche. good God, that man's sentences feel like a page! i can reread his stuff twice then ask myself a question about it and draw a blank. way too deep.

Nietzsche is deep like a pile of dinosaur doo. Stay away from that stuff, it causes canker..

For literary twists and turns, try Hawthorne or Henry James. Them fellows never met a sentence they didn't like to extend on past mortal comprehension..

For mind boggling try the poetry of Wallace Stevens. It makes you go "wuh?" until you catch on to "the trick"..

Philosophy is fun, though I haven't had any straight since college. I do know that Nietzche offers a one way ticket into the black hole of self love.. WILL TO POWER!! I AM THE UBERMAN!! ALL KNEES BEND TO ME!!!!

No thank you!

I think I'll stick to my Robert Frost and my e.e. cummings, if it's all the same...

You have good taste LB!

when it comes to poetry, ive always enjoyed TS Eliot. when it comes to philosophy, ive always enjoyed Kant.

i love history. there are so many cool things to read- i especially love ancient history. one of the coolest things i read in Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was a story of the games and celebrations. things like an Emperor bringing in countless animals- i am talking thousands of animals. lions, tigers, bears, hippos, giraffes, whales, dolphins, dogs, wolves, crocodiles, etc... all for a show in the colosseum. the shows would have both land and sea. they would recreate naval battles complete with an ocean and sea animals- lasting for days. then they drained the sea and moved an entire forest into the colosseum, bringing in enough animals to watch them hunt and interact with each other- again for days on end. they would then stage days of hunts, celebrations, and feasts. they would eat until they vomited and then eat even more. i was struck by how fun life must have been in those days. i honestly cannot believe the things they did, it almost seems surreal to me.

reading is great fun

Haha Sidhe, great story!