Hi all-

Alright, I didn't know where to put this one, but I figured there might be a paranormal twist somewhere.

For those of you who have been following along with my Catskill experiences, this is the last big one in that region. It took place during winter break of 2002 (Freshman year in college), inbetween the apparition and the road sign story.

Julia and my exploration had started to interest our friends. Her sister, Lana, wanted to go for a drive with us and her boyfriend Chas decided to tag along. So we all piled into the truck and headed out into the mountains. As per usual, I took random roads. The snow which blankets the region most of the winter didn't get plowed as much the farther back on drives. About 30 minutes into driving, I made a turn down a gravel road which had been freshly plowed, which was strange.

So, it turns out this was a driveway. It dead ended into a circle in front of this very large victorian house. The house itself looked very well kept up, fresh paint job etc. Lace curtains hung in the windows. The only strange thing about the house was that the front door was wide open. Snow was blowing in through the door, coating the front hall.

I decided to keep driving and not stop. Lana started to make fuss, wanting to go exploring in the house. Chas and I thought it was a bad idea, I mean, that's blatantly breaking and entering. However, I am also an EMT, thus I kinda had to check and make sure that no one was hurt. Then Julia decided she wanted to be adventurous too. I caved and parked the truck on the far side of the circle. We all got out and made our way into the house. I went in first, calling out to see if anyone was around. The others followed me in. The door slammed shut behind us (almost definantly the wind... I hope). That of course scared the living hell out of everyone. I wanted to leave immediately (I started to get a strange feeling). The girls kept pressing on however, turning right into the diningroom of the house.

OK, here is where things get very strange. There was rotted food on the table, chairs pushed back, silverware scattered. Crystal glasses had the remains of evaporated red wine (I assume) along their sides and the bottom of the glass. Finally the girls had had enough and were getting creeped out. It was perhaps the most twilight zone experience of my life.

But everything was dusted in the house. There were no cobwebs. The driveway had been plowed sometime in the last 12 hours (the time since the last snow storm).

I got totally panicked (as I tend to do in these situations... my main weakness in the field of the paranormal/strange) and ran out of the house, the others right behind me. We hopped back into the truck and drove out back to the road.

Since then I have tried to figure out what exactly that whole deal was. My first thought was some type of museum. But I searched and searched for anything in that region, no museum is there.

This is one where I really have no idea what was going on or what the house was. Any thoughts would be very appreciated.

Thanks as Always-
Marty

that is trespassing, which is illegal.

On the surface, perhaps.

In addition, my intent was to see if anyone needed help, not to break into this house. Thus no mens rea (guilty mind). As trespassing in not a strict liability offense, the absence of mens rea negates the illegality of the action. (I was pre-Law at University and am attending Law School in the Fall)

Plus I'm an EMT, I'm required by law to assist anyone who needs help. Since the door was open a number of Supreme Court cases allow medical/police officals to enter if they feel someone may need assistance. In theory, if I had not entered the house (being an EMT) I would have been commiting criminal negligence.

Perhaps spouting off that what I did was illegal, one should look up the statutes and case law which is pertinent to the case at hand.

In fact your statement could be construed that I am a criminal, which is not that case. As a result, you have commited libel, which is very much a crime. However, since this is just a message board which is based on anonymous posting, I guess we will let it slide.

Think before acting.

Sorry if I came off too harsh, I just don't liked being called a criminal.

As a result, you have commited libel, which is very much a crime.

OK!

anywhoo,

when you are posting on a thread that is about the paranormal, and you are talking about walking into an "abandoned house", do you think i am going to think, hmmmm???is this guy an EMT??? does he have to "by law" enter a house that he passed and returned to at his girlfriends urging???? hmmm ???? by telling him that entering the house is trespassing is libel to me???

definition of libel-Definition: purposeful lie about someone


i don't think so

and being in the field, i have heard so many stories of people entering property without permission and it hurts everyone else in the long run. cemetary stomping and abandoned house entering IS illegal. so therefore i was stating a truth.

anyways, if you are not an EMT, should you have not called the police????


i am not going to have a back and forth with you, this is all i will say as it is just stupid to argue someone entering a house that looks "creepy".

the only two explanations i can think of would be that 1. the person in that house had died sometime within the last week, leaving their dishes on the table. (it is possible they hired someone to plow/shovel their driveway when it snowed, so that would explain why that was done.) or 2. that the person living there was just a very lousy housekeeper.

your stories are extremely intriguing. i really wish i lived in an area where such things occured.

ANYWAYS,thats a very creepy story marty,you guys should have went upstairs,if there was an upstairs

Well, that's cool. I am, in fact an EMT, regardless of what you may personally think. I did not know the house was abandoned at the time. If you read my post I say very clearly that it looked kept up etc. I thought it was strange that the door was wide open and yes, regardless of where I am posting this story, I do have a responsibility to make sure people are ok. While others in my car wanted to go in, my motive was to check if anyone was hurt. I apologize for my empathetic personality.

In addition, libel can (and is regularly) expanded to include any statement which defames a persons character. By implying that I am a criminal, you 'defamed' my character, without knowing the full facts.

I didn't break anything to enter the house, nor did I disturb or take anything while inside. I understand your motives for pointing out that this *may* have been illegal, but you (through implication) called me a criminal.

That's all that I took offense to. Perhaps a better way of expressing yourself, (without stamping on anyones toes) would be the following:

"I personally do not condone entering a house without permission. A lot of people do this and end up breaking things, hurting themselves, or breaking the law." rather than your statement "thats trespassing, which is illegal."

I'm not trying to get into a flame contest with you, I have a history and tendency to be civil at all times.

I apologize for responding so vigorously to your intial statement and did not intend to attack you (if you took it that way).

anyways,back to the story please

Yes, sorry about that sidetrack...

do you think you could find the house again? (probably not, but no harm in asking, right?)
did you notice anything unusual about the place, other than the rotting food?
was there a car in the drive or anything indicating someone lived there other than the house's upkeep?
no pets, or anything?

wicked were back on track

No car in the drive, no pets, not even a post box.

And you were right, I have no idea how I got there or where it actually is... That's one of the side effects of random exploration, it's reaaally hard to do the same roads twice.

yeah, i suppose it would be difficult to retrace steps. how did you get back home, though? perhaps next time, if you find an interesting spot, have the person in the car with you make a map as you find your way back home. then, perhaps, you can go back another day. either that, or leave a jellybean trail

anyhow, the lack of signs of life is quite odd. the best explanation i can think of would be that the person living there had recently died and was either still in the house or had recently been removed, but that no one had come to clean up and gather belongings, etc. if the person had a heart attack or a sudden injury, perhaps dinner was interrupted, and the rest of the family rode to the hospital with said person in their own car, and in the big rush left the door open? so many possibilities! i love a good mystery. i just wish there were more to be solved around here! it's very boring...

apology accepted

i did not, in fact, want to start a flame war

with the onset of shows such as supernatural, there are many people out there , who think it is OK to enter anywhere they think looks creepy and it really gets me angry.

i really do not care what you did, its just that there are a lot of young minds who may take it wrong and i just wanted to state that entering a house is NOT cool without permission.

as you say i should have stated my case differently, maybe next time you should let the kiddo's out there know that entering houses or property without permission is wrong, and why you, in fact, did it yourself. that, in fact, you had a reason to, because as we all know, people will say, well if he did it, then i can too!!!!!

i absolutely ADORE supernatural.

though i do admit that, given a situation where i had the opportunity to enter an abandoned home/hospital/whatever, my curiosity would almost certainly get the best of me...

good thing i'm not a cat? lol

Very good, I will do so in future. Glad everything calmed down, there's nothing I dislike more than a fight. :-)

me too

Another interesting story Marty, thankyou for sharing. My thoughts on this one is rather mixed, so i will outline them as they come.

1. It is possible the snowplough had got 'lost' and ended up on route to the house where it was able to circle round and go back. (added to say I would have been intrigued then to follow the snowploughs fresh route)

2. The snowplough like rose ashes suggested could have been previously hired to do that route to the house.

3. Your attention and logic for detail and memory is good, The fact there was snow in the hall from the door being open suggest the door had been open for sometime. Can you remember if there was any foot prints in the snow? Despite the door being open in cold conditions was it possible to gage if the house was heated or not?

4. Did you explore every room in the house? Is it possible someone lived alone and could have died there?

that's what had originally crossed my mind. but i suppose we'll never know... unless you and i go on a road trip to hunt this house down and find out the truth.

gas prices are so high today, though, that i don't think that would work too well unless you happen to be a millionaire....

See, I'm the exact opposite most of the time. I get scared very easily by paranormal type things or anything even remotly creepy. 99 times out of 100 I would walk away and not look back.

I'm thinking that Marty needs to get GPS into his truck, so next time he finds himself exploring he can GPS his location for future follow ups:P

Alright.

No, we did not explore the whole house. I started to get a similar anxiety feeling as I tend to do when things are paranormal (assumption based on prior posts in this forum, not my own thoughts).

There were no footprints in the snow. Even if there had been I believe the wind would have covered them over with new snow.



I think both your ideas about the plowing are good. The odd part about it being that it was plowed better than the actual road. Which, if the guy plowing was hired, makes sense as he would do a more careful job.

(I drive a Honda Civic Hybrid now, traded in the truck a while back. Couldn't afford the 80$ fill ups anymore, lol)

if i'm by myself, i tend to be a bit of a chicken, but if there's someone else there, i'm extremely bold and confident. i have gotten myself and friends into quite some pickles with this attitude. problem is, most of my friends are chickens no matter what, so it doesn't really matter whether i'm afraid or not...
but as long as i had someone with me, i could probably face the scariest situation in the world and be pretty calm and rational throughout the ordeal.

and yes, i do agree that you need a gps system.

Now I feel like I should have gone straight home and called the police... maybe someone actually had died up there. Or, even worse, the plow guy killed them. Sigh, now I'm all intrigued with my own story. Damn.

Like I explained in your other post about what can cause these 'feelings' for a sensitive, it sounds like there was something needed to be known in this house.........

I think you find yourself in these situations for a 'reason'.... had you stuck around longer or explored further you would have got to the bottom of this this one. Just my feeling.....

There does seem to be something very extraordinary about the Catskills, anymore stories?

I guess so Anvil. I just have spent most of my life blowing things like this off, assuming that it was me being paranoid or something. I don't know.

And, so few of my 'experiences' fit into standard paranormal fare. I don't see things, I don't talk to ghosts, I don't believe in UFOs, vampires, or werewolves... I'm not nutso (at least I really really hope not). The other thing is, long periods of time pass inbetween these incidents. Like months or years. I haven't had one in almost a year and a half. Before spending all that time in the Catskills it was 5 years.

So, we're thinking the deal with me is I get led or guided to these places for a reason? I dunno about that, seems a little egomaniacle to me. A little too sci-fi. But maybe I'm wrong.

Any additional help with this new topic would be great.

Marty

There are a few more very minor ones. I usually don't even discuss them cause they are probably easily explained. Wierd feelings in some of the old buildings in the area, I was out fly fishing and ended up talking to this guy for a long time that hopped in a seriously old truck and drove off. He kept referencing some asassination that had just happened apparently (I have no idea which one he was talking about). Just wierd things like that.

argh, i do envy people like you who get to experience such intriguing situations! i'm a boring person living in a boring town... go figure.

Don't rose, it's really not that great and you're left with a lot of questions most of the time.

Well, these things don't happen with 1million fireworks going off with the sudden realisation or calling! LOL --- Now lets forget sci -fi and star trek stuff, that is off the wall and it is not what this topic entails.......I can tell that you are a grounded and neutrul thinking person and that some of this may be challenging your stand/view on things, perhaps a little uncomfortable?

The paranormal is a broad subject with many fields and it doesn't mean to accept one part of it means you have accept it all - ie ufo's, vampires, werewolves.

Ive used the term develop a few times now - developing in mediumship for instance will be easier if you have a natrual feel for it which you will only know from experinces, but without developing it and learning the practise and all it holds you would never further yourself or hone your ability for much use other than experincing the odd thing. Might make a great story and leave you confused, but that is all. You of course don't have to develop if you don't want to, that is your intirely your choice.

It is like martial arts or any art, Take a street fighter off the street and put him in the ring against a highly trained fighter in the arts - do you expect the street fighter to stand a chance? likewise developing the senses takes time, displine and respect, it is a journey within... Through developing you will let go of your fears and start to see it all in a different light. There are very very few people that are actualy born fully developed with all there senses intact with a full understanding of it. Infact probly none.... All I'm saying is perhaps later on at some point in your life you will return to this and decide it makes sense and you have a hunger to learn more and develop, at least you now know you can if you wish to. It's just another door that can opened.

May i ask if you find you get alot of mental imagery, pictures, random stuff like day dreaming but you just put it down to that and don't think anything of it? Any specific times like that just before you go to sleep like random faces of people, scenes playing themselfs? Ever felt any sensations like tingleing around your face/head in your hair? Most of 'seeing' is mentally visual (3rd eye) not so much as seeing physically - ie manifestations.

Well, I get a lot of stuff where I just know things. It's hard to explain, but here's a very mundane example. My buddy is over and we're watching TV. I'll just turn to him and say I can't believe you just said that or something along those lines. He'll look at me like I'm nuts and then I'll tell him what he said. Turns out he hadn't said it, but was thinking it.

I have tremendous trouble sleeping, I always have. I went in for a sleep study and they said my brain stayed extraordinarily active throughout the night. I dunno. When I attempt to sleep, most of the time I think about random things which don't make much sense. Thoughts about Northern Canada and then Vietnam. Then it will switch over to people I haven't met, like I'm just making them up.

I have had dreams about people before I met them. The list goes on.

I've always had (as my mother puts it) and overactive imagination in a lot of ways. Very quick with school in the study of history, theology, law, literature, etc. I dunno if any of this is what you were looking for.

Marty

This part is interesting - expand on the people part, do you see images of people?

The rest is relevant as well by the way....

Do people ever say you look like someone? Im seeing a young slim man brown hair layered, styled in a ruffled way, holds head in hand alot. Sorry couldn't help my self! lol

It's kindof hard to explain (I'm not being reticent). It's just random pictures flipping through my mind as I'm laying there. Thoughts just come to me about things, I'm not sure where they are. I never get voices or messages. Just pictures or general thoughts.

Like I'll be sitting there and I'll start thinking about a farm that I've never seen. And I'll see everything, the house, it's colour, the fenceline, the barn, animals in the field. Cars in the drive, down to what general model etc. How large the pourch is, what type of screen is on the front door. I visualize walking inside, the layout of the house. Whether something is on the stove or not (not smell it or anything, but see pots with steam etc). Sometimes certain rooms or spots in the landscape get blurry.

This type of thing happens all the time. That's why I always thought I just had an overactive imagination. When I was in HS, my short stories would always be descriptions of these various places with some sort of narrative attached.

Hope this helps.

Marty

Ok, goosebumps anvil. That's precisely me. I'm famous for always holding a cigarette in my left hand, elbow on my desk, forehead leaning on the hand.

yeh i thought it was you:) lets see, your desk is to the right hand side, you use a desklamp only, so the rest of ur room is darker, the name stuart is strongly presented but im not sure of the context of the name.

you can look around the area using that google earth thing

Ok this is what 'seeing' is like - Part of developing is learning what is your imagination and what is external information - your probly asking how this occurs ? Most of the time it is presented via spirit or from a guide. Other times its just straightfoward tuning into the engery of whatever.

do me anvil,not sexually,but you know what i mean

LOL --- In moment Juno I will try....I want to try something with Marty first if he is still around.

ok, now this is getting wierd. My desk is to the right. I have a desk lamp and nothing else. Stuart is a very old family name and closely associated with my mother. It is not, however, my name. Kinda wild here Anvil. My my.

sweet,i'll wait

Why do i want to say caviler and forrestor?

Anyway, Marty while I have this conection to you, If you would like to try and see in your mind if you can see what I look like. Try and clear your mind, take a deep breath and concentrate of the vibe you get from me through my posts, ask in your mind to see me. Im projecting my image mentally now to you. Just write down what comes to mind first however crazy it seems.

are you gonna do me next anvil?(once again,not the sexual way)

Blonde hair, cotton shirt, slender face, blue eyes, pajama pants.

Probably wrong but thats what came.

Do I have a beard or not? Do I wear Glasses?

while we are on this, I think this is stuart, he is plump and fair skinned, even pink skinned complexion, glasses, light sandy hair

And I can't get the word 'brighton' out of my head.

what about juno

Blonde hair - yes

cotton shirt - wearing a cotton hoody

Slender face - yes

blue eyes - yes

Pajama pants - no, but they are very similar, they are red thin fitted running pants



Beard - NO

Glasses - Yes, but you don't wear them all the time