Strange encounters with the little people

[Mark One]

Ive decided to share here on the UM forum some family related experiences with the paranormal that involve what would be better described as something to do with fairy folk   I`ll start with my grandmothers tale.

Nans story.

The first account takes place in the early 1950s, a few weeks after the birth of her first daughter.  The house where it took place had long been associated with the paranormal.  All who lived there often heard unknown footsteps upstairs, strange knocking sounds on the walls and an occasional commotion that always seemed to take place after midnight somewhere in the kitchen.  It always sounded like someone or something was shifting things around in there, in search of something.  Annoyed late night investigations were always met with a sudden chilling silence whenever anyone reached the closed kitchen door.  The kitchen itself was always found to be just how it had been left before bed, with nothing out of place. Everyone initially suspected rats but the annoyingly high volume of the strange noises plus the lack of any evidence all pointed towards something else.  The family dog was then placed in the kitchen at night. 

But this measure didnt deter the midnight prankster and the poor dog became terrified.  Many a night the household would be awakened to the same noises and their terrified pet who was both howling and also trying to scratch its way through the kitchen door.  Now none of this unhinged my Nan, she was always a strong women and in the end she resorted to shouting at whatever it was with dire warnings of what she would do if she ever caught it.  This eventually seemed to do the trick.  The kitchen ghost or, "effin" Horace, as she nicknamed it somehow must have got the message because eventually all the stamping and banging stopped.  This didn't mean everything strange and spooky went away though.  There would still be other weirdness including apparitions and even her brothers old chest, but they are other stories for some other time.

Nans close encounter with something strange came long after the kitchen spook and seemingly left her house.  It was evening and the house was generally cold. (Central heating was still something only a lucky few had.)  Grandad was on nights at the colliery, Nan and her baby were alone in the house.  She took my mother to the bedroom and placed her in the cot by her side of the bed.  Nan then got under the bed covers and then sang sweet songs to her.  At some point whilst doing this she became aware of strange sounds out on the landing.  Her first suspicion led her to assume it was the dog because the tip-tap sounds seemed to be coming from the floor.  She soon dismissed any concerns about the sounds because the bedroom door was shut.  So, there she is minding her own business, smiling at and singing to her beautiful baby daughter. when something from behind alarmed her.  The tip-tap sounds were now clearly in the bedroom!  She felt sure that she had closed the door and also knew it had not been opened.  To prevent upsetting her baby she continued to hum a nursery rhyme as her keen and angered ears took notice of the weird sounds on the floor.  Her only conclusion was that there was a rat in the house.  It was at this point that she felt something trying to climb up onto the bed.  Now, she still had her slippers on and her plan was to turn over ever so slowly, grab one and then wack what ever it was into oblivion.  This is when she noticed her baby daughters eyes which Nan described as looking like saucers (old slang for, wide open)  The baby had clearly seen what Nan was soon to deal with.  And to Nans horror she suddenly felt its pressure upon her lower back.  That was it!  Nan was having none of this and quickly spun around to kill the suspected rat.  What she actually saw, froze her in place with shock.  It wasn't a rat at all.  It was infact a little tiny man who was now leaping off of the bed and back onto the floor.  It was tiny, unclothed and very obese along its squashed looking torso.  She watched in disbelief as the thing she referred to as `the potato man` ran for its life back towards the closed bedroom door. which it then past straight through  The increased tip-tapping sound of its tiny feet could be heard as it ran out along the landing and then onto the stairs.

Nan always used to bring up that tale from her past and she never changed her story.  As I got older and more fascinated with the encounter I used to quiz her about its shape, its look etc.  She never saw its face but did describe its hairless head as having a human shape.  Both the arms and legs were described as skinny or bony.  She even saw its "behind" and the crease inbetween which she often spoke of wishing to have wacked (or tanned) with her slipper.  What ever it was never came back.

At some point in this discussion I will be adding some drawings of the creature described both here and the others that shall be described later. 

Please feel free to share anything similar that you too have witnessed or experienced.

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to any replies or questions.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Mark One

[little_dreamer]

Several years ago someone told me that someone we both knew (now deceased) had the problem with the kitchen cabinet doors opening and closing at night.  The man would yell "Stop it" or "knock it off" and it would usually stop.  Nothing was seen if he went into the kitchen.  This happened in the USA, probably the northeastern part.

[Mark One]

The location in the UK where my Nans encounter took place was situated not far from a quarry that had previously been filled in and turned into an allotment site.  That little snippet of information led me into thinking about those reports of nature spirits who own or live within rocks - and how they can become trouble makers if their homes are disturbed.

[+ouija ouija]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Mark.

'effin Horace' ....... did you mean to type elfin Horace?  

[DebDandelion]

1 hour ago, Mark One said:

Ive decided to share here on the UM forum some family related experiences with the paranormal that involve what would be better described as something to do with fairy folk   I`ll start with my grandmothers tale.

Nans story.

The first account takes place in the early 1950s, a few weeks after the birth of her first daughter.  The house where it took place had long been associated with the paranormal.  All who lived there often heard unknown footsteps upstairs, strange knocking sounds on the walls and an occasional commotion that always seemed to take place after midnight somewhere in the kitchen.  It always sounded like someone or something was shifting things around in there, in search of something.  Annoyed late night investigations were always met with a sudden chilling silence whenever anyone reached the closed kitchen door.  The kitchen itself was always found to be just how it had been left before bed, with nothing out of place. Everyone initially suspected rats but the annoyingly high volume of the strange noises plus the lack of any evidence all pointed towards something else.  The family dog was then placed in the kitchen at night. 

But this measure didnt deter the midnight prankster and the poor dog became terrified.  Many a night the household would be awakened to the same noises and their terrified pet who was both howling and also trying to scratch its way through the kitchen door.  Now none of this unhinged my Nan, she was always a strong women and in the end she resorted to shouting at whatever it was with dire warnings of what she would do if she ever caught it.  This eventually seemed to do the trick.  The kitchen ghost or, "effin" Horace, as she nicknamed it somehow must have got the message because eventually all the stamping and banging stopped.  This didn't mean everything strange and spooky went away though.  There would still be other weirdness including apparitions and even her brothers old chest, but they are other stories for some other time.

Nans close encounter with something strange came long after the kitchen spook and seemingly left her house.  It was evening and the house was generally cold. (Central heating was still something only a lucky few had.)  Grandad was on nights at the colliery, Nan and her baby were alone in the house.  She took my mother to the bedroom and placed her in the cot by her side of the bed.  Nan then got under the bed covers and then sang sweet songs to her.  At some point whilst doing this she became aware of strange sounds out on the landing.  Her first suspicion led her to assume it was the dog because the tip-tap sounds seemed to be coming from the floor.  She soon dismissed any concerns about the sounds because the bedroom door was shut.  So, there she is minding her own business, smiling at and singing to her beautiful baby daughter. when something from behind alarmed her.  The tip-tap sounds were now clearly in the bedroom!  She felt sure that she had closed the door and also knew it had not been opened.  To prevent upsetting her baby she continued to hum a nursery rhyme as her keen and angered ears took notice of the weird sounds on the floor.  Her only conclusion was that there was a rat in the house.  It was at this point that she felt something trying to climb up onto the bed.  Now, she still had her slippers on and her plan was to turn over ever so slowly, grab one and then wack what ever it was into oblivion.  This is when she noticed her baby daughters eyes which Nan described as looking like saucers (old slang for, wide open)  The baby had clearly seen what Nan was soon to deal with.  And to Nans horror she suddenly felt its pressure upon her lower back.  That was it!  Nan was having none of this and quickly spun around to kill the suspected rat.  What she actually saw, froze her in place with shock.  It wasn't a rat at all.  It was infact a little tiny man who was now leaping off of the bed and back onto the floor.  It was tiny, unclothed and very obese along its squashed looking torso.  She watched in disbelief as the thing she referred to as `the potato man` ran for its life back towards the closed bedroom door. which it then past straight through  The increased tip-tapping sound of its tiny feet could be heard as it ran out along the landing and then onto the stairs.

Nan always used to bring up that tale from her past and she never changed her story.  As I got older and more fascinated with the encounter I used to quiz her about its shape, its look etc.  She never saw its face but did describe its hairless head as having a human shape.  Both the arms and legs were described as skinny or bony.  She even saw its "behind" and the crease inbetween which she often spoke of wishing to have wacked (or tanned) with her slipper.  What ever it was never came back.

At some point in this discussion I will be adding some drawings of the creature described both here and the others that shall be described later. 

Please feel free to share anything similar that you too have witnessed or experienced.

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to any replies or questions.

I have no similar stories. But heck I like ur gran!

[papageorge1]

3 hours ago, Mark One said:

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to any replies or questions.

Thanks for sharing. I have heard enough stories about little people/elves/fairies/other-terms to be a believer in the phenomena. I believe them to be denizens of the ethereal plane of nature which is the plane closest to the physical. And they can pop in and out of our reality at times. Got to love this mysterious universe!

[Mark One]

My mothers experience:  The thing on the hearth.

 

My mothers encounter takes place when she around 6-7yrs of age.  Its a sunny summer afternoon, shes been down the road playing a game with her friends and is now rushing home for her lunch.  When she entered the house (same one as mentioned in first account) she began to notice a strange atmosphere.  She recalls the hallway and a strange, weird feeling.  As she rushed into the front room (lounge area) she described seeing something sat on the hearth. At first she thought it was some peculiar looking doll and so, briefly turned her attention back towards Nan (who was sat near the window with a magazine.) The thing on the hearth began to move slightly (from side to side) and this is when my mother looked back at it and then screamed.

 

When ever my mother has spoken about that experience she has always referred to the thing on the hearth as - The Elf. It was sat cross legged, leaning forward with its face cupped inside its joined hands – imagine a V shape. She estimated its overall size to that of a 3-4 year old child, its body was very slim and it wore tight looking clothing. Its trouser/leggings looked like they had been woven by a thick line of wool – the colour was a dark brown or black. It was the trousers that had led my mother originally to believe it was a toy who someone had knitted clothing for. It wore tiny slip on shoes which also looked dirty. The torso of the elf was covered with a long sleeved tunic, its colour – a dirty looking burgundy. She doesnt recall seeing a belt and it didnt wear a hat. Now whilst its body looked young, the face didnt. She described its horrid face as similar to that of a wizened old man. Its dark eyes which turned to look at her appeared larger than ours. The image below of a Lebanese elderly gentleman was what my mother said loosely matched what she can recall.  But as mentioned the eyes were larger and the bridge of its nose was far slimmer than that shown in the image.  She doesn't remember seeing any hair on its head either.

https://ak1.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/13269431/thumb/1.jpg

And so, my mother ran back outside and onto the back yard in shock.  Nan goes outside to see what all the fuss is about, takes my mother back inside to then find that the elf is now no-longer there.

[DebDandelion]

Interesting!