I am brand new to this site, but have loved reading it so far. I was actually late to work today I got so caught up reading about the 1960 overpass and the Blue Light Cemetery.
As I was reading I recalled this place that my old roommate and I found a couple years ago. We were driving around late at night and ended up getting lost on some backroad near the Wal-Mart on West Road. I was driving and I am horrible at directions, so it was inevitable that we become lost and then in trying to get un-lost we just got ourselves in even worse a situation. In an attempt to turn around I pulled onto a dark residential street and we noticed that all the houses were gutted and ruined. Our curiousity piqued we continued down the street and then drove around some of the other streets. As far as we could tell the entire neighborhood was abandoned, save two houses. There were only two people living in the entire place.
It was late at night and we were young and adventurous at that time so we decided to park and investigate. Generally not a smart idea! We approached a modest house at the end of a cul-de-sac that had been thoroughly ransacked and was wide open (garage doors torn down, front door kicked in, etc.). I wasn't expecting anything supernatural to happen. In fact I was more concerned about running into some homeless people or something and so we armed ourselves with useless debris before we went in. The house was sad and strange inside. There was broken furniture everywhere and some plates and silverwear and other household items. We did find signs of recent hobo occupation, but luckily no one was there at that time.
The creepy part happened once we left the house. My car was parked in the street right in front of the house and we left our stick weapons on a pile of rubble in the garage and then walked to the car. Once we were inside and had the doors closed suddenly there was a loud slam on the passenger door, which was facing the house. It was a real hit too. There was the sound of some heavy creature slamming itself into the middle of the door and the car rocked slightly. The engine was still off and nothing in the car was on and Rachel and I were sitting still inside. Nothing either of us were doing could have or would have caused the noise and shaking. The impact and the noise was like something the size of a large dog had run into the car, but there was no dog. I actually thought that a dog had been chasing us. That was my first thought. I was confused by how a dog had been running towards us without us hearing or seeing it, but that was exactly what the noise was like and so I was just about to ask her if there was a dog out there when I saw Rachel turn back to me from looking out the window, confused. She reported that there was nothing there. It was dark, but it was still light enough to see that nothing was standing outside our car. And she looked too quickly for anything that size to have had time to flee. Being in the driver's seat I wasn't in a position to look out myself. I was busy getting my keys and getting the car started to get out of there as fast as possible.
It was very strange. What made it even stranger was that we weren't even there looking for ghosts. I know a lot of times when people go hunting for the paranormal they sometimes experience things that they perceive as such because they're hoping so much that something will happen that they sort of turn ordinary events into extraordinary ones, but in this case we were just being nosy and then BAM! Very bizarre.
I'm not totally sure where this place is right now. It's been a couple years since I've been there. Rachel and I went out there one other night after that incident, but we only stated for a couple minutes (we did not get out of the car this time!) and nothing happened. But like I said we were only there for a couple minutes and we remained firmly planted inside the car. If anyone is interested I will find out exactly where it is as it is very to my house. It's a weird and creepy place that some ghost hunters might find interesting. After reading this site I think I'm going to try to get Rachel to agree to go back out there again sometime. This time we'll take some extra people however as I know that two women exploring abandoned houses is about the stupidest thing we could ever do. Ha.
Sorry this post is so long, but I wanted to tell the complete tale of my strange experience.

Christina

Welcome to UM! What a great story. Have you ever been able to find out why such a wide area was abdandoned? Seems really strange that many people would leave. Not to mention the house you checked out still had furniture and dishes in it. It is a wonder that you were able to even think of possiblities about the hit to your car. That is great that your friend was able to look and witness that nothing was there! Always remember safety first.
Have you ever been in the neighborhood during daylight hours just to get a better look at the surroundings?(Not in the houses)

I wouldve been P.O if there was a dent in my car! jj, anyway it is interesting, and I probably at the time wouldn't have thought to look it up as to why no one was there, but now since I am more aware and interested in these things I would. I can understand if and why you didn't, but how 'bout now?

Why don't you look it up on the net and see if something happened? Or if you work up the nerve go and knock on the door of the people who do live there, if its still an abandoned neighbourhood. I would.

Hi Christina and welcome to UM. I recall there being quite a few neighborhoods that were evacuated after the floods that Tropical Storm Alison caused in 2001. A co-worker of mine had to abandon her house with all the contents for fear of mold etc. Perhaps this is one of those areas that previously flooded? It would be great if you can get the exact location. Maybe we can check it out while we're in the area doing the 1960 investigation.

I'm wondering if it might have been a boar or hog that ran into your door. They would be low enough to the ground that you wouldn't have been able to see them through the window. You mentioned reading the 1960 thread, so I'm sure you're aware that there are some in the area.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

My brother lives 2-3 miles to the northwest of that Walmart. During Alison he got 42" of water in his house and just south of him the houses were up to the roofs. I bet Jules is exactly right. I bet the houses are abandoned flood damage. I'm going to go looking for them next time I go to Frye's.

If this place is in the same state, and there are no signs saying "NO TRESSPASSING," I would go back to see if there are any valuables. I would've done that right away.

What?

After you find out how long the house has been evacuated, geez.

Oh ya, one more thing. Maybe the people who were actually living there got annoyed because of all the "tresspassers" and threw something at your car? You became so scared you didn't even think to look under or around the car for an object of some sort.

I agree. Why some people take the least probable explanation first, ghosts, is beyond me.

"One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything." -- William of Occam.

Hazzard, If you had read what I wrote you would have seen that I assumed it was a dog that hit the car and not a ghost. We were not even there looking for ghosts. I guess dogs count as ghosts now somehow. If someone threw a rock at my car it would have made a hard banging noise that would have emanated from small spot. If a homeowner threw a brick or something else larger than a rock it would have made a noise much louder than what we heard and would have left obvious damage to the car. This was a slam in a large area of the car door that rocked the car slightly. I have still not ruled out that it was something perfectly normal and natural. I just figured this was a website about strange occurances and it was a strange occurance. The other reason why it would actually be impossible for the object to have been thrown by someone was: I stated that the street was a cul-de-sac. This house was in the circle on the right side and my passenger door was facing the house, so that my car was facing out of the cul-de-sac. For someone to have thrown something they would have had to have walked over to our car in plain view to get on the passenger side and throw something. Thanks.
Jules, I doubt that it was a boar or pig. I know there are a lot of them in the woods around Houston. My fiance lives out past Conroe and you can see a bunch of pig runs out there through the brush. The only reason why I doubt it is that Rachel looked out the window and she didn't see a dog and a boar/hog would be at least the size of a dog or larger. But it is possible. However if a boar was chasing us I think it would have got us! Those things are clever and mean as hell. It probably would have cornered us in the house if it wanted to get us. Ha.
Becca, I thought about trying to look up what happened there, but the task seemed larger than the amount of time and energy I was willing to spend. At the time I really wasn't that interested. The flooding that was mentioned in the replies is the best guess. It did look like there was some sort of bayou or something behind the neighborhood, but we didn't investigate.
I will clarify the thing about the furniture. The furniture was within the realm of what people sometimes abandon when they move. The house was not full like the people disappeared or anything. I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking that the houses are full. There was a chair here and an endtable there. A matress. Just junk mostly that people would leave behind when they're moving.

Thanks Jules and RollingThunder for the welcome!

Christina

LOL, Well, now that is solved. Kudos Organgrinder.

I agree, she never said its a ghost.

Organgrinder, I'm enjoying this thread. I like that you seem to be doing nothing more than relating a strange incident, and trying to find logical explainations before jumping to conclusions about paranormal things. Also, that you seem to be honest about what happened (the furniture thing, for example). Paranormal or not, I thought this was a very interesting read.

The bad storm answers why it was abandoned. That part really bugged me. I totally agree with AriKiya's post.

Hi Christina,

I think what hit your car was either a bird or bat. They can impact in full force and not cause a major dent in your vehicle. Welcome to the board.

You think you could pinpoint the area on Google Earth?

Hello Christina and welcome to the forum!

This is a very interesting story about your incident at the abandoned house. Makes you wonder if it was a ghost of a dog that used to live there and was protecting its owners..

Hi Christina,

Where is this house located? I will try to do some research of this place and any known wildlife that frequent the area. Any info will help out. Look foward to hearing from you.

I didn't even check to see if there were replies to this thread! So sorry everyone. I was not ignoring it. I just got so interested in reading everyone else's threads I forgot about mine.
Tonecop,
It's weird you mentioned the bird because that was one of things that I thought of after I turned off my computer. I know that birds, most species, are almost completely blind at night so I considered that maybe we might have startled one that was sleeping somewhere in the garage for example and then in a panic it crashed into the panel while trying to avoid the reflective car window. It's an unusual scenario, but totally possible.
Thanks Arikiya. The chances of it being a ghost are probably slim, but I figured it was a good story. Ha. It was creepy, though there is probably a perfectly logical explanation. I mean it's technically possible that it might have been my roommate who made the noise to create some fun and excitement. I seriously doubt that she would do that, but it is possible.
Rachel made a joke about it being a ghost dog. Ha. It was fun. I'll try to find out where the place was again. I'll write down street names and get you guys a Google map. I meant to go out today and do it, but didn't have time and I want to do it while it's still light. Maybe I will go tomorrow and then post the info. Hopefully the place hasn't been re-developed or anything since then.

Christina

I found the general area on Google maps, but I am completely inept at using maps, so I'll drive by tomorrow. So stay tuned everyone!

C.

Just let us know when you obtain that information. Also use extreme caution when returning to this area.

Yeah. I don't plan on going alone at night or getting out of the car. I 'll just do a drive by during the day to find out there the place. I tried to find it on the map. I found my house. Our horrible roof is actually visible from outer space. There is something mildly depressing about that notion. Ha. Aliens are zooming by my house going, "Holy crap! Those people need a new roof."
I got a little off subject...Map to arrive soon.

Christina

Take your time and good luck.

I used to love finding an old abandoned house. Me and nephew when we were kids would just go in and check them out. A few times we found them full of furniture and still set up as if people were still living in it. We found one in Chattanooga once near were my Grandmother lived that had been sitting for years. This time me and two of my nephews went looking around. My nephews are near my age. We were what I would call good kids. We never broke anything or took anything we just enjoyed the thrill. The inside checked out ok and it is funny how I can remember this like it was yesterday as it was about 30 years ago. The house had steps going down into the basement. We did not have anything as far as a flashlight goes not even a match. So we went on down the steps and had enough light from the door to see most of the basement. I still remember the smell of mildew and dirt. This basement was like a crawl space that had been dug out. No windows or light as it was under ground. The house was built on the side of very large hill. But anyway as we checked out this dug out area my nephew pointed out a door in the wall a very big door about 6 foot tall by 5 foot wide. He snatched it open and we stood there all three looking into total darkness. As I was thinking about how cool it would have been to of brought a flashlight with us and how next time I would carry one with us so we could check this part of the house out we heard what sounded like someone picking themself up from the ground to stand up on two legs. And at that very moment a burst of ice cold air came out of that door enough air to blow and whip your cloths around. Well my nephew turned and looked at me and as I looked at him we all three slammed that door and nearly ran over each other going up those steps and we didn't stop running until we got home. I took years to tell my Father about it as he grew up across the street from that old house. When I told him he laughed so hard he had to take his glasses off and wipe his tears away. After his laughter passed he said son that house has a active spring under it. And it works sorta like an old toilet water would build up in the spring up the hill and when it went down the hill it gained pressure. And that was what you heard nothing more.

Then years latter I found one on the side of the road one day in Buford Ga and I just pulled up the driveway and parked. It was a cool old house and had some cool junk still laying around. Newspapers that were dated nearly 20 years before my little expedition. Now this house was also built into the side of a hill and had an open basement on one end. This I did not know at the time. I found a trap door in the kitchen floor and when I opened it up about 8 sets of eyes were looking back at me and then I figured out this was 8 very big dogs sleeping under this old house. 8 very not so friendly dogs that were very upset with me. I slammed the door and hauled my body out as fast as my legs would carry me. As I came out the front door 3 of these dogs were turning the corner attempting to beat me to my truck and then I heard the other 5 jumping in windows of the house as they were all just wide open. I made it to my truck but I had a moment there I doubted it possible.

When I read your second story it reminded me of the movie Cujo.....LMAO. Very interesting stories....thanks for sharing

Your first story was really creepy. Sounds like your dad had a good laugh at your expense. I always wished that I lived somewhere with basements. For some reason owning a house with a basement has always been a dream of mine. Ha. I guess you always want what you don't have. Even if it is something as mundane as a basement. They're something of a rarity here in Houston.

Christina

Those were interesting and entertaining stories! I laughed picturing you running from the dogs, although you couldve been killed! I wouldve been so scared.

I feel you are very lucky that you escaped. What you encountered are known as feral dogs. They are domesticated dogs that eventually turned wild and roam around areas looking for food sources. These dogs have eventually taken shelter in the abandoned house. Here is a website that explains what they are http://icwdm.org/handbook/carnivor/FeralDog.asp.

Hey Christina,

Cool story, do you live near the Wal-Mart on West Road? I live across the freeway from that Wal-Mart. I would like to drive by that area u saw, I bet I could find it on Google Earth and then use Mapquest for that. Try giving us an update since it appears very close to my house. Later


Sniper06

Hi Sniper,

Where is West Road located? What part of Houston is this connecting?

Hi Tonecop45,
Do you live in Houston? I so West Road is located in North Houston running across I-45. On the corner of a Wal-Mart. If you take I-45 exit West Road and u should see a Wal-Mart or on the other side a Macdonalds. According to Organgrinder the abandoned neighborhood was somewhere near Wal-Mart possibly in the back part towards the right side near hom depot, but I've had to check with Christina.


Sniper06

By the way Christina,
You said something about basements, Houston doesnt have houses with basements due to flodding which Im sure your familiar with aka Allison, Rita, etc.

Sniper06

yeahhh... she said in her post that Houston doesn't have basements.

So Christina.. you don't remember any more details about where you were? Did you turn off of West road?

Hi Sniper06,

I might have clue on where this neighborhood is at. I will do some map checking right now. Thanks for the info.

I think I've got the location nailed down.

I'm going to go see this weekend.