Our Haunted House
The story begins in October 1996 with the death of Bob Snyder. Events in the home took a turn for the worse, as the house was overrun by a gang of drugged out, partying kids who trashed the house and had it repossessed. Heather and I bought the home in December 2000. Apparently it was still possessed by one of the previous owners.
Our first clue that something was wrong was the pantry. Written on the wall inside was a list of those who lived there before. Next to Bob, it said "died". I did a little research and found Bob's obituary online. He died in the house exactly 5 years before we first looked at it.
My first ghostly encounter with Bob was in February 2001. At that time we didn't have a doorknob on the loose-fitting front door, just a simple latch and a padlock. I was alone at the house, doing some work and waiting for my dad to come over and help. While inside, I kept getting this overwhelming urge to leave. So periodically I would step outside to shovel some snow. After I got tired of that I went back in and worked a little more. Finally, I had to go to the bathroom. I noticed shadows moving back and forth under the door while I was in there, and thought it was my dad. Remember, the door didn't was loose-fitting, so if he did show up, I wouldn't have heard the door open and close. When I came out, I was still alone.
Most of the other happenings were typical ghosty annoyances. Things like footsteps and the puzzling sound of something like a marble falling and rolling on a bare wooden floor upstairs-our was carpeted. I don't know how many times Heather woke me up and told me she heard something move in the third bedroom. We came home one summer evening, and I noticed the blinds in the kitchen were open, letting full sun blast the house. I was about to ask Heather why she left the blinds open during the summer, in the full sun. Just as I opened my mouth she asked me the same question!
Another time, we were on our way somewhere, and I had to run back inside for something. I made a point of turning on the living room lamp since I knew we would be back after dark. When we got back, the lamp was off.
In June of 2001 Heather's dad was visiting from Washington. He stayed in the third bedroom, which was painted black from ceiling to carpet when we moved in. He woke up during the night ROASTING. The heat in the room (on the wall, away from the bed) was turned all the way to 90 degrees. Keep in mind that's how hot it gets during the day in Pennsylvania on a typical June day. He also did some work for us and reported a very uneasy feeling in the attic.
Bob doesn't like our choice in music. He repeatedly changed the radio station on us. It wasn't like if you move slightly you'll pick up a different station from another city. We were physically turning the dial to get back to our station. We finally gave up and let him have his way.
We have two sightings of Bob. Heather was first. She saw a black form in the upstairs hall. I saw a gray- I don't know how to describe it, not mist, but not human- form also in the hall. I had Alicia laying down in the middle of our bed sleeping, and I saw Bob move past the doorway, toward the third bedroom. I knew it wasn't Heather, but I went and checked all the upstairs rooms anyway. I wanted to let her know there was a sleeping baby in the middle of the bed.
The most disturbing incident happened during the night and led us to move out. Heather woke me up, she was shaking and almost crying. She said she felt a presence (she didn't think it was Bob) come out of the phone jack on the wall facing Alicia's room. It came and was just about touching her and she got very cold and couldn't move. She thinks it said something to her like "You think you're so smart". Not quite sure of the wording. When she woke me up, she was very cold. I wasn't. So I got Alicia out of her room and she spent the night with us. I didn't sleep the rest of the night.
Then we had what I like to call a time-warp. Alicia was potty training, and I had her in the upstairs bathroom. Heather came up and said, "There you are. Didn't you hear me calling you?" I said no, and she told me she was wondering what all the commotion was. I told her we were in the bathroom potty training. She heard footsteps, like someone running around upstairs. I heard nothing, no footsteps, no Heather. Bob had a little girl, and I wonder if Heather heard her running around sometime in the past. I also wonder if back in the day, Heather's voice calling me could be heard coming up the steps....
My last incident with Bob was the night we moved the last of our stuff out. I was bringing things down from the attic and I had the radio on in the upstairs hallway. After I was done in the attic I was boxing up a few things and some static came across the radio then was gone. It did that a few times periodically. It was the kind of static you get when someone walks in front of the radio and causes some interference. Only I was sitting in one place.
On a final note, I also had an encounter with the neighborhood ghost. A little girl, who I believe is attached to the land the development is built on. I know at least 2 other people in the development who have seen or heard a little girl in the houses, and one of those people is the original owner of their house. I came home from work one day, and took a nap. Heather and Alicia went to the store. I woke up when I heard a little girl laughing. It sounded like it came from the top of the steps, right outside the bedroom. I thought Heather and Alicia were home already, even though it wasn't Alicia's laugh. Still alone. I looked outside, and to my surprise there were no kids playing in the cul-de-sac.