We Lived in A “Haunted” House

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comSooo… you’re either going to think I’m crazy for sharing this post- or maybe you had a similar experience yourself and can relate. In the spirit of Halloween and the spooky month of October, I thought I’d share our experience living in a “haunted” house. That’s right- Emmett and I lived in a house where weird things occurred. You can click through to read about, if you’re into that sort of thing! I talk about all things home here… and this is kind of a crazy story, perfect for Halloween this week. 

Just a quick heads up- I’m not going to share any photos of the house I’m referring to in this post, for the privacy of our family (they still live there). Therefore, the images throughout are random photos from our formal living room. They are not at all connected or correlated with our experience in the home I’m discussing. 

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comWe lived with my parents for about a year while renovating our first home. Emmett and I were newly married, excited to be working on our first place together (after our regular 9-5 jobs), and were very happy to come home to a clean house with dinner on the table afterwards. It’s honestly the ideal way to tackle a renovation- don’t live amongst the mess and crash with family who will feed you, in an effort to maintain your sanity. Ha! Halfway joking. We were very lucky and thankful to have had a place to stay while we were working and renovating our house. My step dad joked that it would be “interesting” moving into his home and we could expect some abnormalities. I had no idea what he was talking about, laughed it off, and Emmett & I moved in shortly after.

We had our own bedroom, a bath, and it felt like living in luxury compared to what we were used to. The foreclosed home we had just purchased was an utter disaster. It was pretty neglected, to say the least. A hoarder had lived there, and while we had cleared out most of the junk, it wasn’t livable. Moving in with our parents for a short stint while we renovated felt like the right move. Fast forward to unboxing, moving in, and talk of ghosts (that I didn’t believe in), we were feeling pretty settled and focused. It didn’t take long after making ourselves at home for weird things to begin happening. I chalked it up to electrical and plumbing glitches. Lights would turn on and off, the shower also had a mind of its own, and we began to hear strange noises (footsteps, doors creaking & closing, etc). We just purchased an OLD home (our first house was built in the early 1900s), so I assumed this was familiar “old house sounds”. However, this house wasn’t old… in fact, it was pretty new.

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comLet’s rewind, so you can get the full story. Before my step father built his new home (the one we were living in), there was a very old farmhouse on the land that had been in his family for many generations. He raised his daughter there and she would often see things- or rather, people. As a toddler, she pointed to a photo and identified her late grandfather, and said “him.” Long story short, she would see him often throughout the home and identify “him” as the man in the photo, despite never having met him. These types of occurrences happened throughout their time living in the home. A couple decades later, my step dad decided to build a new house. The family farmhouse was in bad shape, so he decided to tear it down completely and build a new home in the same spot. Knowing that “family members” (I’m not quite sure what to call them- spirits, ghosts, grandpas?) inhabited the home, he “had a chat” with them (his words, not mine) and invited them to move into the house he was about to build. I mean- I guess it’s smart to inform your family what’s going on, so you don’t make any spirits mad? I don’t know.

He built his new home, moved in, continued experiencing weird encounters in the house, married my mother, and then she moved into the home with him. My mom is a special kind of human who likes things to be a certain way- SUPER tidy, organized, and extremely clean (which is probably why I am the way I am). Her moving into the home and reorganizing didn’t go super well with the spirits or ghosts. When moving in, my step dad put all of his utensils and kitchenware in the same location as his old house (think utensils to the left of sink, tupperware in the lower cabinet by the fridge, etc.) A week or so later, my mom spent a day rearranging the contents of the kitchen cabinetry, and they awoke to every single cabinet door and drawer wide open. My mom also likes to organize her toiletries in a certain way on the bathroom counter and shower niche. That wasn’t well received either, as her toiletries were pushed into the bathroom floor and adjacent hall. They were laying in bed and could hear the products being “thrown” off the counter, as my step dad describes it. Sure enough- everything was scattered across the floor. Eventually, she learned what was triggering, settled in, and things started to clam down, but her move-in initially caused some crazy occurrences.

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comSo- our parents are telling us this before we move in, and I absolutely don’t believe it. It sounds crazy. My step dad is also a bit of a prankster, so I assumed he was trying to freak me out. He has been known to swap art in my room for creepy portraits. Part of me was also a little concerned that weird stuff would happen immediately after we moved in, if any of this were true. I think you can guess what happened… we moved in, weird stuff happened, I now believe in this sort of stuff. I had to see it with my own two eyes, I suppose? Please don’t think I’m nuts. Yikes! Remind me again why I’m telling you this story?! Oh yes- Halloween. I do love a good ghost story.

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comAt first, I noticed noises… footsteps when nobody was home, the stairs creaking, and lights turned on or doors opened that I thought I had closed or switched off. I assumed this was in my head because I was freaked out from hearing previous stories. No big deal. Then larger things started happening. I was late for work on multiple occasions because of the garage doors. I was always the last person to leave the house for work. I would pull out of the garage, click the button on my garage remote, the door would shut, I would start to pull out of the driveway, and then the door would open again. The garage is pretty large- it has three bay doors, and they would all open and close on their own, as I was leaving for work- like musical garage doors.

This happened a handful of times right after we moved in, and I couldn’t get my remote or the manual button INSIDE the garage to solve the problem. I called my step dad the first time this happened and he told me to, “tell them to stop messing with me.” I probably looked insane yelling “I’m going to work- please stop messing with me and SHUT THE GARAGE DOORS!” in the driveway (luckily there wasn’t close neighbors as I was surrounded by farmland). Sometimes in addition to the garage doors, a giant fan would also turn on and off. Coming from a construction family, there was a large, round construction fan on wheels in the garage- like you’d see in a high school gymnasium without A/C… it would also turn on and off as I was leaving for work.

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comA few times, I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn off the shower, which had turned on by itself. On one occasion, I walked in to turn off the water, and I watched the lever rotate and turn off on its own. Emmett and I both heard and watched cabinetry & interior doors open and close on their own, which felt mild in comparison to other things we witnessed.

One night, Emmett was having a whiskey with my step dad. They each had their heavy rocks glass sitting on a wide banister near the stairs, as they were standing and talking. I wasn’t there, but they both confirmed… they watched one of the glasses slide across the ledge (on its own), and spill & break onto the floor. Can you imagine watching a glass slide on its own? I’m kind of glad I didn’t witness that one.

We Lived in A "Haunted" House - roomfortuesday.comI could always sense when someone or something was close. However, my step dad told us not to be afraid- that these spirits were his family. While I did have moments of fear, confusion, and even panic, I was never fearful that they would do anything to me. Believe it or not- we lived in a “haunted” house. It was an interesting year of life, experiencing some strange things, and working tirelessly on our first home renovation, but I wouldn’t trade it! We made wonderful memories living in that home. I still enjoy spending time in that house with our family and visiting is always nice- especially now that I know what to expect.

Only our close friends & family know about these instances and this part of our life, so I hope you enjoyed reading about something different on the blog today… yet still home-related! Can you tell when a house has positive or negative energy? I absolutely can! I was working on a client project back in my interior design days, and a drywall contractor walked into a client’s historic house and refused to work there because it had “very bad energy”. I’m serious! I also believe that just because a house is haunted doesn’t mean it has negative energy. Maybe haunted isn’t even the right word to use? Do you have any spooky, haunted, or ghost stories? Do you think I’m totally crazy now? Haha! Maybe don’t answer that last one. I won’t share our other crazy stories- maybe I’ll save them for next Halloween (as you might imagine, we have quite a few).

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58 Comments

  1. What an amazing tale! I confess that I am the MOST skeptical non-believer of all time. Like I really don’t put my trust in anything. (#issues) However. I definitely have a friend who’s psychic and one who is an occasional medium. So there’s that. I actually love the idea of family staying with a home! I think I could eventually find it comforting. Can I be both skeptical and sentimental? Your step-dad’s matter of fact approach to the situation is charming and practical. Perfect!
    Sadly, I am not very adept at reading energy. At least, not in any way that I would articulate as such. I do sometimes feel drawn to a space or more relaxed in it. When my friend was house-hunting, we visited two different properties. One was charmingly renovated and staged- candles burning, fresh cookies. The other was in a state-electricity off (freezing!), construction debris, cheaply done flip elements. I loved the second home, but I could only point to physical features. My friend felt good energy. (And she’s been happily living there for over a year!)
    Fascinating and fun for a Wednesday! Thanks for the thought-provoking topic!💜👻

    1. That’s not an issue at all, Peggi. Haha! That’s you being YOU, which is the best version. I think everyone should believe and embrace what they want. I was very skeptical about ghost things until I experienced and witnessed it for myself, so I totally get the skepticism. I love that you have a physic and a medium friend- what a gifted circle you run in. I’ve had experiences with both, and they’ve always been pleasant and positive! There is a gal in my friend group who always gifts friends a session with a local physic medium, which I think is a pretty crazy / cool gift, that some would never buy on their own. Hilarious story- that same physic medium read me and thought I had been married twice (he thought I was in my second marriage), because he was connecting to Emmett’s current and previous name (I didn’t tell him either). He was SO confused when I told him I’ve only been married once, but it made perfect sense to me. It took all I had to not burst out laughing. Houses definitely feel good, neutral, or bad to me. During the many times we’ve house hunted, there have been times we’ve walked in and walked right back out (to our realtor’s dismay). Or times that I immediately felt comfortable and happy inside. It sounds like your friend made the best choice on her home! I find that topic super fascinating. Sometimes a house just “feels” right, and sometimes the home choose you. Even if it looks great on paper, the “perfect” house just might not have the right vibes or energy. Happy Wednesday!! :)

  2. I believe it! Goosebumps on me’ legs….

    PS: I chucked when you wrote how you SAW with your own eyes the shower knob turn off on its own (um, what the what?!), but thought seeing a glass move across a table by itself would be too much…..both those, to me, are spirits in action, in your presence – wowee!

    Over the summer, one night at dinner, our family talked about the ouija board. As a kid/teen, we would use one with my mom and grandma (I’m a believer). So I was telling my kids about it (ages 7 and 8). During this time over the summer, they were attending camp at a Christian school. One of the moms texted me to “let me know” Annette (age 7) was talking about the ouija board at camp…..yikes. Not the time, not the place!

    1. I thought the same thing Karen. The faucet – NBD, the sliding glass – too much! Lol it’s all too much for me. I’m not a scaredy-cat but I’d have trouble staying there. Thanks for sharing your story. I can’t help but wonder about grandpa’s backstory now.

      1. Hah! I probably would’ve peed my pants watching the sliding glass- or ran straight out of the house. I also would love to learn more about grandpa Nolan’s backstory. I feel like he must have been an interesting guy! My step dad has promised to share some details and photos once we’re able to get back to Kentucky for a visit.

    2. Haha! Right?! Seeing the shower lever moving on its own was definitely one of the weirder things I’ve experienced and witnessed. It was really late- probably 2am when I heard the shower running, and being half asleep probably helped me keep composure, but I didn’t end up going back to sleep that night. I was pretty freaked out! I’m really glad I wasn’t there to watch the glass slide off the ledge. My step dad, being a perfectionist and in construction, built his home PERFECTLY level- including that railing ledge. The surface wasn’t wet or slippery- it was definitely being moved. I have to laugh about Annette and the ouija board (something I’ve never tried)! Lol! We’re also believers and I’m just imagining how that scene went down at church camp. Haha!! Happy Wednesday, Karen :)

  3. i don’t think you’re crazy, sarah!… here’s a story: when i was working in tokyo maybe 25 yrs ago, i went apartment hunting with a coworker. all 3 units on the floor in the small apartment building were empty, but i thought nothing of it. the first unit overlooked a construction site, so i moved on. the second unit overlooked a small cemetery. i moved on to the third. the third unit had a brownish stain on the tatami mat, but i figured i would just take it up with the landlord, if i had to. as i stepped in to the unit, i suddenly felt very heavy “pressure” on my chest and found it difficult to breathe. i immediately turned around and ran out of the building and yelled at my coworker to do the same. afterwards, i wondered if the stain i saw was dried blood. never saw a ghost or anything, but it definitely felt wrong. to this day, i have not experienced anything like it. but i definitely felt like that place would have been a very bad fit for me.

    1. First of all- very cool that you lived in Tokyo, Suzanne! Secondly, your encounter gave me goosebumps!! That sounds like some very BAD energy- something or someone was definitely up. When you get that weird, wrong feeling- I’ve come to learn, it’s usually always right. To physically feel the effects or energy in a space always freaks me out. I would’ve ran right out of that building, too! Whew!

  4. You’re not crazy, and this topic is one that I am always hesitant to discuss…but here goes. In the world of anxiety sufferers there are what are referred to as empaths. These are the people who watch a sad movie, read a news article, or hear about the experiences of another person, and the anxiety glitch in their brain is triggered in a way that makes them feel as if the experience is their own. I am one such person. But mine is different than most people…and now we usher in the crazy. Lol. My empath experiences have a wide range- everything from very vivid dreams to ummm, spirit communication. When Jeff and I moved into our first home we jokingly said that we might encounter strange experiences since the house was so old. Jeff was working late night shifts-1am to 9 or 10am. So I was alone during the wee hours, but I had Chino (a large pit bull that was the biggest lover). Chino never left the entrance of the hallway when Jeff was gone. (For reference, the bedrooms were contained to one side of the house, separated from the rest of it by only the hallway). Chino would pace the house from 2-4am. One day after we renovated the kitchen, I was standing at our corner sink doing dishes. From the corner of my eye I saw a little boy run down the driveway in my backyard. I immediately stopped and ran out back-there was no one there and the gate was closed and locked, so I chalked it up to my imagination and went back inside. This happened every day at the same time for a week. Finally the last day it happened, I opened the kitchen window and asked “Can I help you?” To my surprise, a little boy in red overalls came to the window and looked up. He said he wanted his red ball. I saw that little boy off and on over the next two years, always in the backyard. When I planted my rose tree next to our shed, I found a red ball buried deep in the dirt. I put it on our side porch in an empty pot, where I would see him running. I told Jeff about it so he wouldn’t throw it out and so we had extra eyes to see what happened next. The next day when I went outside, the pot had been moved and the ball was gone. I never saw that little boy again.
    After we renovated our bathroom, I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth. Behind me was the toilet, and we had a countertop mirror sitting on the tank. Through the mirror in front of me, I saw a mist cross the tank mirror. When I looked I saw the reflection of an old woman, wearing an old fashioned nightdress, hair bundled up in a bun on her head. She never communicated with me, but I would hear her walking down the hallway at night, and I think she was the reason Chino paced.
    I have so many experiences with spirits that I could tell. My brother, who passed when I was thirteen, visits frequently in actual spirit, and in dreams. He likes to move one of my precious moments figurines from when I was a child. He turns pictures of us toward the doorway instead of toward the room. There have been times he has hid something, and when I finally find it, I can hear him laughing from the next room. He has visited my kids. My son is named after him and when he was three, we were at my mom’s apartment. She has a large picture of my brother that my son had never seen. He stood in front of that picture just staring for about 10 minutes. When we got home that night, he asked me whose picture that was. I told him that was his uncle. He questioned “your brother that lives with Jesus?”, and I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that was the man who came to see him. That was the man that held him before he came to mama. 😭😭 I have been visited by my grandfather and grandmother on my mom’s side, Jeff’s dad, who stood guard at the driveway of our old house at night…the list goes on. I know by now you think I’m completely bonkers, and that’s ok. Some people believe strongly in that, some don’t at all, and that’s ok too. I don’t know how to explain it, and I don’t really question it anymore. For me it’s just a part of who I am and my experience with the world. When my anxiety is at its worst is when I’m the most sensitive to this sort of thing…I’ve seen spirits watching me from parking lots. For me it’s like seeing another world within our own, if that makes sense. So I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I think it’s cool when other people feel comfortable sharing their experiences, and it makes me feel like less of a crazy-b! Hahah! I loved reading about this Sarah, thank you for sharing with us, and hopefully no one thinks I’m completely off my rocker. Haha!! Great topic for Halloween! Have a happy Wednesday!

    1. Lauren,
      This is so fascinating! I have two friends who both have significant anxiety. One is the “occasional medium” I mentioned in my comment. The other is THE most empathic person I have ever met. I sometimes fear she can read my mind! If you were closer, I’d definitely be inviting you to our book club.😍 You’re our kind of people.

      1. Aww thanks Peggi!! I’m intrigued to know the experiences of other people in my position. It always strangely comforting, and also insightful to a world that isn’t our own. Your friends sound like my kinda people-but let’s face it-YOU are my kinda people too, so that’s not surprising!😘

        1. And this!! I’m still trying to figure out a post-Covid, Room for Tuesday retreat where we all hang out in real life. How fun would that be?!

          1. Omg it would be the absolute best!!!

          2. I’m in!!!

          3. MOST definitely in!!

    2. Thank you for sharing, Lauren! I definitely don’t think you’re off your rocker. Ha! I feel like being an empath is a special gift. I got chills reading about the boy and his red ball- that is crazy (and cool)! I wonder what his story was or if you used to live in your home or neighborhood? I like learning about the history. The old lady would’ve freaked me out… there is something about seeing things in mirrors that seriously scares me. Maybe I can blame that on horror movies, since it’s a go-to move in Hollywood? Dogs and children just know! I always look to the dogs and try to understand what they’re seeing, if they’re on edge (Chino sounds like the best boy… what a sweetie). I absolutely loved reading about your brother! That feels super special, and I bet it brings you comfort knowing he’s around, with your family. I love how you phrased, “Who I am and my experience with the world.” I think whether you believe in this type of thing or not- it’s all about embracing whatever you want your world to look and feel like. To each his own! For the record, I do not think you’re bonkers or a crazy-B! Lol! Also- we are Scorpios and this feels very spot on. For some reason, I’m not a bit surprised. Ha! Have a great day :) xo

      1. The old lady in the mirror definitely startled me-but when they want their presence to be known, they will calm you. In this instance, it felt like a warm embrace. Her way of letting me know she wasn’t intending to harm. I had the feeling she was the boy’s grandmother-and I also had the feeling they were the original inhabitants. The dress was very spot on for the time period. Chino was the best boy! And occasionally I know he’s around because he’ll burst open my bedroom door at night and I hear his “slipper feet” on the carpet. Having visits from family is a very special feeling, and I feel comforted by their presence. I will say this-I have never had an experience with a harmful spirit. But since I was 12 I’ve prayed for “protection from evil both inside and outside my home”. I’m pretty sure that’s when all this started, and the reason I started praying for that. I kind of knew it wouldn’t surprise you at all, lol. I’m glad for that!

        1. So interesting!! That would make me feel much better. Very cool that you were able to read their relationship and background. I feel like if you were to dig into some old newspapers or historic documents, you’d be right. I had a bad / negative encounter with some evil feeling spirits once… again- with my step dad. Haha! He took us to tour a historic, civil war era home while I was in high school (I’ve always been into old houses), and I did NOT like the feeling of being in that place- I still remember it. I took some photos of the architecture, old furniture, and asked him to take a photo of Emmett & I standing on the grand staircase. In multiple images, we captured some CRAZY things in the background. In the image of us on the stairs, there was a very distinct figure of a man standing behind me, in a military uniform, with a very angry look on his face. I actually felt kind of sick in that house. Later the place was named one of Kentucky’s most haunted mansions. I don’t have the desire to go back there ever. It’s called the Butler-Turpin house and has been on multiple ghost television shows since our visit long ago. Maybe I need to follow your lead and pray for protection from evil spirits next time I go on old home tours.

          1. Yes Sarah!! That would be beneficial, especially if you’ve had that experience! I had goosebumps reading that! I love old homes, but I’m always cautious. Seeing the evidence in pictures is always mind blowing to me! One day I’ll show you the picture of my son and I moments before he went into surgery for his tonsils. What a fantastic morning hearing all these experiences!!

    3. Very interesting stories and experiences! Would love to hear more about what happened in your step dad’s house Sarah. I don’t know if I can wait a year! I have heard people who have seen ghosts or experienced abnormalities in a home but never knew of anyone personally.
      In college, one of my roommates had an Ouija board. At that point I had never really heard about them. Thought it was just a game. Now you can’t get me to go near one. Nor do I ever want one in my home. It creeped me out. Strange things happened when we played with it.
      I too have high empathy like Lauren but have never experienced physical spirits. I grew up living and being raised by my grandparents. Sometimes I have such vivid dreams (unlike most dreams) when they are in them. They are the best but also so emotionally draining.
      I too love old homes and always wonder about their stories or who lived in them.
      I do not like to watch horror movies anymore. My daughter talked me into The Haunting of Hill House but I am not sure I can watch the new one.

      1. We’ve had lots of interesting encounters in that house. The next time I fly to Kentucky for a visit, I’ll have to ask my parents to share some of their stories on Instagram or something (if I can coax them in front of the camera). I’ve never used a Ouija board- I wouldn’t even know what to do! I’ve only seen it depicted on TV and in movies. It seems frightening though! So many people have had strange encounters with it. Seeing your loved ones in vivid dreams sounds comforting and bittersweet, but I can imagine it would also be emotionally taxing. I never remember my dreams- or maybe I just don’t have many. Emmett is the same way. Weird! In our first home, when renovating, we found lots of hand written notes, postcards, and letters in the walls from 1908-1910! It was really exciting. It was also fun to research the family who had built the home and see what it looked like back then. The homeowner who lived in the house before us actually died in the home (we later found out), so I was worried it would have bad energy, but I’m confident he didn’t hang around. It was always a happy, neutral energy home. I used to like horror movies as a teenager, but as an adult, they are just not my thing. I’m too jumpy and get frightened easily. Then I spend the week after, looking over my shoulder and being on edge. Haha! We probably shouldn’t be watching Bly Manor. Happy Wednesday Danna :)

    4. What crazy cool experiences, Lauren. I think I’d find those comforting, as well. I love the idea of our deceased loved ones still visiting us and being a part of our lives in ways we wouldn’t necessarily imagine. Definitely don’t think you’re a crazy-b. Thanks so much for sharing those!

      1. Thank you Anne! I second what Danna said: they are cool, especially the dreams, but they are very emotionally draining. Yay to not being crazy!!🤪🤣

    5. I loved reading this! Thanks so much for sharing!

  5. LOVE this! I got married this past May and moved in with my husband at the same time and his (now our) house definitely has some STUFF going on. His big sister passed away when he was a teenager and she was a prankster so any time something happens I hear my husband say things like, “Seriously Wendy! Go bother Mom!” It makes me laugh every time. My Mom also passed two years ago and I like to think that she and Wendy (they would have been the best of friends I think!) are ganging up on us and just cracking up every time they scare us!

    1. Ohh yeah, I believe in the “stuff” now, Anitra! I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s big sister and your mom. I love that your husband tells Wendy to go bother their mother, haha! That is hilarious! They are most definitely cracking up when they scare you two. Emmett also lost his teenage brother and he has freaked us out before in the house they grew up in. Typical!

  6. Wow! Goosebumps over and over on me. I don’t think I’d have the nerve to live somewhere that those things were happening. I am a scaredy-cat! But free lodging and hot meals would certainly make me try! 😆

    1. In all of the years my step dad has been apart of our family, I never believed his creepy house stories… until we moved in with him. Haha! Oddly enough, we eventually got used to the strange stuff. It makes me appreciate having a “boring” house, with no unique surprises. Lol!

  7. I love this story and everyone who wrote here. I think it’s hard for some to believe, especially if they have never experienced it (for example, my boyfriend absolutely doesn’t believe).

    I lived in an old, three-story Victorian growing up and weird stuff would happen all time. My brother and I would get blamed for things breaking (and we swear we didn’t do it); weird lights and heating/air stuff; doors/cabinets opening randomly; funning faucets; weird sounds, creaking, etc.

    My cousin lives in a farm house where his young children were able to see a child who had passed and would play with them, though the adults could never see them (heard this has to do something with being pure? Anyone else hear that?) . A room where someone unfortunately killed himself had lights and alarms go off; is extremely cold at times, weird noises, etc.

    I have friends whose homes were “haunted” as well – and very weird things happened (my favorite was one of the ghosts threw a party – legit house looked like a rager!) Can you even imagine, and trying to tell the spirit to stop!?Everyone I know (myself included) never felt fearful or in danger. I haven’t heard from anyone (directly) who every felt in danger/unsafe.

    I love this post so much and very on time with my boyfriend and I watching the Haunting of Bly Manor.

    1. I used to be very skeptical, and it wasn’t until I had experiences myself that I started believing in these sort of things. I totally get it, JoNae! These days- I’m open to anything. Ha! Old houses have a way of stealing our hearts, and sometimes they come along with previous inhabitants… which I honestly think can be pretty cool (so long as they’re friendly). We’re on episode 6 of Bly Manor and I’m such a wimp- it scares me. Hahah!! I want to watch because the house / set is so amazing, the cinematography is great, and it’s highly-rated, but I definitely have a lot of jumpy moments when I see scary figures in the background. The lady with the black hair freaks me out. Emmett loves laughing at me and has now decided it’s fun to scare me. I’m tempted to go find a black wig and put on some big round sunglasses and pop up behind him in the mirror one day. LOL!! Maybe I need to video that. Happy Wednesday (and Halloween week)! xo

      1. OMG, no spoilers, but please, please do that!! I still have nightmares of Bent Neck Lady from the first season!

        1. HAHA!! If I do, I’ll post it :)

  8. Oh, my gosh, what a fantastic day to start diving back into the posts I missed since my surgery (now that I can mostly stay awake for longer than a couple of hours at a time)!! Disclaimer: Still on “drugs” though so cannot be held responsible for anything I say. LOL! As a feng shui devotee, I’ve always felt and been able to feel, when a space has positive or negative energy, but have always chalked it up to the way the space was laid out, what elements were represented in it and where, etc., but I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience of feeling an actual presence in a space. I’ve certainly never experienced a shower faucet turning off in front of my very eyes. Darn it! But the spiritual world has always fascinated me and while I don’t think I’ve ever had supernatural experiences, I totally believe others who have and don’t think they’re bonkers at all. Maybe just lucky! If the experiences haven’t been overly negative, of course. I personally would love to see the photo of you and E that you were talking about at the old haunted mansion. When you make it out to CO sometime, you’ll either want to visit or avoid, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park that appeared in The Shining. People regularly post photos with spirits in mirrors, behind them on stairs, and talk about what some of the prankster spirits did that they witnessed. The hotel totally leans into and even has a ghost tour. Totally creepy stuff. Again fascinated by it all, but not sure I’d elect to willingly stay overnight there! Glad to hear you’re “enjoying” Bly Manor, too as that’s next on deck for us. Did you watch the first one, Haunting of Hill House? Sooooo good and I’m a little afraid that Bly won’t live up to it’s predecessor. I love that you’re into the creepy and macabre decor, but genuinely creeped out by “the real thing”. I am, too! We just finished Lovecraft County and that show kept me up many a night! I loved this post, Sarah and especially loved hearing about others experiences, as well. Thanks for sharing! Totally perfect for Halloween week, although I may know need extra drugs to sleep tonight. ;-D

    1. Anne!! How are you feeling?! I’m so happy to hear from you. I hope everything went really well and you’re on the mend and are starting to feel better. I’m with you… I think a lot of that feeling has to do with the architecture, feng shui, and overall layout of a house, but I can definitely tell if something is spooky or the “energy” is off. Lots of homes I’ve been in just seem neutral and I don’t feel anything, but I’m not as tuned-in as someone like Lauren. I’m also fascinated by this stuff, but was very skeptical for a long time. I’ll have to dig out our old photos and see if I can locate the creepy military man in the background. It wasn’t one I enjoyed looking at because it made me feel uneasy. We also had a different family member (in a different home) hire a paranormal team to come out, observe, and try to connect after another family member passed away, which was a very interesting experience. I suppose I’ve had my fair share of exposure to these strange occurrences. Hah! Ooohh- part of me really wants to see the Stanley Hotel and part of me would be utterly terrified. I don’t think I could stay there- I’m kind of a wimp, when things actually get creepy. You’ll love Bly Manor! We did watch the Haunting of Hill House, which also freaked me out. You’re so right… I’m into the creepy decor, but when the real things happens, I’m out! You better believe I’m running or hiding my face. Hahaha! We haven’t watched Lovecraft County. If it kept you awake at night, it’s probably best I avoid that one. I hope you’re taking it easy, my friend! Feel better soon!! xo

  9. Totally believe it but what I really want to know is if the spirits closed the garage doors after you yelled at them to stop messing with you, haha!

    1. That surprisingly worked, Danae! Haha! I sternly asked, and the garage doors stopped doing their thing. I hit the button, they stayed put, and I was off to work. Although they continued to do it on different days, but asking them to stop usually solved the problem. Who knew?! So weird, I know. I sound like a crazy person.

  10. Jessica Morgan says:

    People with empathic abilities fascinate me! Three days after my husband’s grandfather died, my husband was at work bartending when a woman came up to him and asked to talk to him for a few minutes. He didn’t know her and hadn’t seen her in the restaurant before. She said she was from out of town and just there for a day, but when she sat down at her table to eat, she saw him and had to come talk to him. She said he had a huge presence surrounding him, a father-figure who needed Kurt to know that he was doing a good job raising his daughters and that he was very proud of him. She asked if yellow roses were important to him as that might be a clue as to who it was that was “covering him.” His grandfather had a Yellow Rose of Texas tattoo on his arm. Kurt told her he couldn’t talk to her anymore or he was going to break down crying at work, so she just smiled and left him alone. Kurt asked his co-workers if anyone else had talked to her and if they’d said anything to her about his grandfather, but no one had. The only person who knew his grandfather had passed was his manager who wasn’t working that night.

    1. Such a wonderfully incredible story Jessica!! Thank you for sharing! Once my brother visited me in a dream-involving his last girlfriend. She was in my grade and we were friends. She was his girlfriend when he passed away, and me being so young at the time, I never really thought about her or how she was affected. We’re still friends 23 years later, and she’s happily married with kids. He gave me a specific message for her in that dream. The next day I could hear him whispering “tell her” in my ear, over and over. So I reluctantly reached out. Turns out the day prior she was going through old boxes preparing to move, and had come across the last letter he ever wrote her, and was struggling emotionally. Needless to say, they have a way of being persistent when they want a message to get across!

      1. Awww!!! This is incredible, Lauren. It’s so nice that you two are still friends and you listened to your brother and reached out to her!

        1. Yes, looking back on it, the experience was very sweet! At the time I was nervous and scared. It was the first time I ever had to give a specific message to someone living. And afterwards I remember being scared of myself for a few weeks. The only thing he wanted me to tell her was “I meant every word”. 😳😳

          1. I can only imagine that would’ve been very scary and vulnerable for you!

    2. Me too, Jessica! Your husband’s story gives me chills. What a special moment. I would hope that if an empath noticed something like that surrounding me or my life, they would clue me in. What an incredible gift! It sounds like you two are doing an excellent job raising your daughters, and your husband’s grandfather is very proud :) xo

  11. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, but I do believe that sort of stuff happens. My two best friends in high school (sisters) had once lived in a house with docile ghosts…footsteps, doors opening & closing, furniture moving occasionally. I don’t understand it or know how it fits in with my other beliefs, but I definitely think ghosts/spirits/whatever exist!

    1. Same, Erin! It’s also confusing for me and my beliefs, but these days- I’m pretty much accepting of everything. I’m sure somehow it’s all correlated and we’ll figure it out (or not) eventually. Haha! Hope you’re having a great day :) xo

  12. Sarah, this was fascinating and I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s stories. I have always been interested in the super natural but never experienced anything myself. I love ghost tours and the history behind them – so interesting!

    1. Me too, Monica! It’s such an interesting topic- I also enjoy the tours and history behind it… I’m just kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to something weird or scary actually happening. Haha!

  13. ahhh!! i love this topic!! we currently live in a “haunted” house. it was built in 1937. we also used to chalk it up to old house noises until we actually witnessed movement. we’ve heard footsteps, we were laying bed and watched my closet door open in the middle of the night, lights go and off, things are mysteriously on the ground from the mantle or countertops, I walked in one time to find a pocket knife on its side slowly spinning in circles… it’s never felt harmful. i looked up the history of our home and found an old couple that I think died in the house, robert & grace.. so we call the ghost robert. his wife died about a year before him. we’ve been here 11 years. several years in I decided to save the house and looked up how to actually do it, mantras and all. while I was in our front bedroom where a lot of the activity happens, I lifted the sage up to the corners of the room and I heard our front door open. i ran to the living room where my husband was sitting on the couch just staring at the door. i asked him what happened and he said it had to be the wind. when he said that, the lamp right next to him clicked off. that one was terrifying so I actually apologized to Robert and told him I’d respect him if he respected us. it sounds crazy to everyone else but until you experience it yourself, you can’t understand! thanks for sharing! I’m going to have to deep dive these comments!

    1. sage*** the house. that’s what I get for commenting on my phone!

    2. Me too, Jana! I’ve been loving everyone’s stories and reading more on this topic. I would’ve panicked seeing the spinning pocket knife! So cool that you researched how to save the house. I’ve used sage in all of our homes, but that was the extent of it. Is Robert still around after your ritual / sage and everything? I feel like apologizing and talking it out was probably a good call. Ha! xo

  14. I love these kinds of stories. I very much believe spirits reside right here with us.

    My grandma had a brain aneurysm 55 years ago. She had 6 young children ages 6 months-14 years. She was taken to the hospital and in a coma for a couple days. My grandpa got home from the hospital late one night and laid in bed. Just then my grandma walked into the bedroom in her nightgown. My grandpa asked her what she was doing and said she was supposed to be in the hospital. She said “don’t you worry. Everything will be okay.” As she climbed into bed with him. She leaned over him and turned off the lamp. Just then the phone rang. It was the hospital calling to tell my grandpa she had passed away.

    1. Me too, Bre! It has been really fun reading about everyone’s experiences and encounters. The story of your grandmother gave me goosebumps, but I bet that was such a sad (yet sweet) moment for your grandpa that he’ll never forget- she was letting him know, and saying her goodbye. I also believe in spirits.

  15. I lived in a Haunted farmhouse as a kid. Definite weird energy, and odd things happening, especially at night. The scariest was our first night there. I had shell necklaces (from a trip to Hawaii) around the bedpost at the foot of my bed. I wasn’t asleep yet, and opened my eyes when hearing a strange noise. The necklaces were moving around the bed post as though someone was pulling them. I sat up, expecting to see a cat playing with them (a strange cat lived at the house when we moved in). There was nothing, just necklaces floating in air! I screamed, ran downstairs and slept on the couch for the next few nights. Another time, I heard the cat speaking words to me. I know it sounds completely insane. Friends of the previous owners and many people in town had wild stories about the place. One person told me they regularly saw a man surrounded by light walking down the road in front of the house. Turns out the cat was named after a man who died in the house several years before.

    1. OMG!! I would’ve ran out of there, Susie! Also, I can only envision Sabrina the Teenage Witch, after hearing about the cat. Haha! I always loved Salem, but probably would’ve been extremely freaked out if that would’ve happened to me. Thanks for sharing!

  16. My house and I love old stuff. So one day, my husband bought a home VIETNAM WAR fighting knife. The man who sold the knife to my husband said that someone most likely met their demise with knife. I looked at my husband like ‘like really, and you still bought it’. Anyways I didn’t think anything of it. He put the knife near his bed in case we have an intruder (we had an in incident in the house that prompted him to be protective). After a while, I forgot about the knife. But Strange things started to happen to me. I was started to have weird vivid dreams of war, knives, distress, and just really horrific, sad dreams, and my husband would wake up with scratches on his body. I started having intense thoughts and feelings towards knives. I thought I was going crazy or having anxiety that I went to see a therapist. I thought my PSTD from my abusive past relationship was coming back to haunt me. But the current knife situation had nothing to do with my past, but with the war knife in my bedroom. One day, while my husband was in bed already attempting to sleep he hears his phone fall off the bed. I was in the bathroom and I heard it fall too. My husband didn’t think anything of it. Then the remote fell off the bed. Next thing I knew, I hear my husband get off from his bed and starts yelling like a crazy person. I asked him what’s going on, who he was yelling at. He said when he glanced back to see what had fallen off the bed he saw a black silhouette of a little person wearing a Asian conical type-of-hat at the edge of the bed. My husband started screaming to this “thing” to leave him alone and that he’s trying to sleep. The next day, We put my war-like dreams, my intense feelings towards the knife, and his scratches together and realized it was the knife he bought from the flea market. We got rid of it and never again had I had a war dream or any weird feeling towards a knife again!

    1. That is wild, Diana! I haven’t had any experiences with haunted objects, but this would have been terrifying. I’m so happy the two of you figured it out!

  17. I also grew up in a haunted house. The previous owner was an elderly woman who died (I think in the house). We had the glass move experience. I wasn’t there but my parents were with family when it happened and they all freaked out. Little things would happen like a brand new bar of soap being whittled down to a nub the next morning, my little brothers sit on firetruck that he had to push with his legs came on, lights on, moved across the room, hit the wall, backed up and stopped. Hair dryers would come on. But the worst was the antique bed my mom purchased with the home. She loved it when she saw it so she asked for it to be included. I eventually wound up with the bed and it would shake on occasion. My windows would rattle at the same time as if a subway was underneath the house (we live in Florida…no subways!). I always thought I was nuts (this happened before the other things started to happen) so I never told anyone. When I was older, my mom told me that when she slept in that bed, it would shake and that she would talk to the woman and remind her that she was taking very good care of her home. At least I knew I wasn’t crazy! LOL I’ve also had freaky things happen in my current home, which I built in a typical cookie cutter subdivision so I can’t make sense of who could possibly be here. I’ve seen 2 men (a very tall one and a dwarf, almost like circus characters) and my husband always made fun of me for it. I always saw them going from our living room into the kitchen while I was in bed. One day, we were in bed watching TV and I saw a look on my husband’s face that told me he saw it too. He didn’t want to admit it and blamed it on lighting but he stopped teasing me after that. We later had strange things happen when my dad died but that only lasted about a year. We can also hear our dead cat walk through the house at night just like she did when she was alive. My husband has admitted to hearing that. Needless to say, I do NOT think you’re crazy, but it’s funny when you talk about your experiences how it makes you think “what in the WORLD?!?!” LOL!

    1. Right?! I’ve loved reading about everyone’s experiences! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your stories, Kara. I’m fascinated and definitely would’ve freaked out at some of these situations. Haha! xo