Personally I think the whole notion is bunk.
Oh yeah? Ya wanna bet?
I lived in haunted houses twice. One house in Genoa was haunted by something or other. I was there when a window moved on its own, and there were other things in the area that were a little strange. The most vivid recollection I have is a small cloth unicorn moving by itself, turning its head to look in my direction and wiggling its ears.
The second haunted house I lived in was in Florida. There was a shelf that you couldn’t keep anything on. Items placed on the shelf would be discovered later on lying on the floor. The most vivid occurrences in this house were the loud crashes that happened from time to time. This noise sounded like a length of chain or similar object being dropped on the floor, terminating in a loud crash. The noise generally came from the hall, around the bedroom doors, but it did originate in my bedroom once. I also heard someone come in the front door when there was no one home. There was one instance when no one was home in the middle of the afternoon the banging noises got to be so numerous and loud that the neighbors called the police. The police investigated and could find no intruders, and no source for the noise.
posted by madjack at 10:58 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
Offshore - I have to disagree with you.
I recently did a project for a local bank that required me to take photos of a piece of property that the bank had foreclosed on.
I took the exterior photos and then entered the building. I started taking the pictures and went from room to room. In one shot there was a heat vent grate with waves of color over the vent only visible in the viewfinder.
While photographing a bedroom in this building my assistant was in the kitchen and started yelling. A roll of tape had left the kitchen counter and landed squarely at his feet. It did not fall off and roll across the floor. Just one jump.
So we finished our project and I came home to upload the 67 photos I took. Only 5 photos came out - and they were of the exterior. The batteries were good in the camera, and when I had reviewed the photo inventory on disc before I left all was there.
I went BACK to the property and opened the front door - from there I yelled "I'm only here for a few minutes and I won't bother you." I commenced to take another round of photos. When I focused on the same heat grate the color waves got very strong and then subsided. The roll of tape was back on the counter (we did not put it there) and I finished and left.
On arriving home ALL the interior photos came out. I informed that particular bank that I would NOT be interested in going back into that house.
I got the uneasy feeling that something very unsavory had happened in that house at some time. And yes - it was being 'lived' in by something.
posted by DoknowDocare at 11:09 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
Here's a few links you might enjoy;
http://www.deadohio.com/
http://www.forgottenoh.com/
http://www.ohioparanormal.com/
posted by JeepMaker at 11:21 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
My belief system tells me that there are things going on I can't see. I know people who've had experiences. I have not ever seen a ghost.
And if I did, I'd probably break the land speed record. And require clean pants....
posted by katie82640 at 11:22 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
let me correct that statement. If I ever open my eyes and ghost was standing there? No 'probably' about it. I'd be gone like the wind baby...
posted by katie82640 at 11:24 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
Here's a site that lists haunted places in Ohio. I have personal familiarity with one of them -- Go to Bowling Green Area, and look up Holcomb Woods.
Here's the story: The Holcomb Woods are located on Holcomb Road, just off of 199 near Bowling Green. As the legend goes, a bus full of children was traveling down Holcomb Road when the driver grew incredibly angry and steered the bus into the woods, taking out a bunch of small trees and coming to rest at a large one. The driver was killed on impact. It is on this tree that the driver's face is seen. The bus burst into flames, killing all onboard. If you take Holcomb Road from 199 just past the edge of the woods, you'll need to turn your vehicle to face 199. Shortly after you turn off your headlights, radio stations will scramble and cell phones will lose signals. A single headlight will come straight at you and suddenly disappear when it reaches the tree.
Here're some photos and further info from another site
Here's the truth - Im from that area, and a distant relative bought an old school bus so he could put the motor in his farm truck. After that he junked the bus in a swampy area of land that he owned but couldnt farm because it was always too wet.
He's since passed on, and the new property owner had the wreck towed away a few years ago.
My cousin is married to a sherif's deputy who gets a real kick out of finding 'ghost hunters' out there honking their horns and flashing their lights. He doesnt bust them - theyre not really doing anything wrong. The road is pretty creepy when it goes thru the woods, but that's all it is - a dirt road thru a thick woods. Period.
It's become somewhat of a family joke.
posted by billy at 11:29 A.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
I can guarenteed there's at least one haunted place in NW Ohio. That's the Waterville Inn. I was shooting a story there a few years ago for a news segment called "Toledo Tales."
There were only three people in the business that day; the owner, my photographer and myself. The doors were locked and nobody came in after us.
Upstairs in the ballroom while we were shooting some pictures, the power went off, the door slammed shut and the sound of keys jingling echoed down the hallway. Again, I know we were the only three people in the building.
And there there was my experience just on the outskirts of London. I was sleeping in an old roadside motel/tavern. The place had to be at least 200-years old. In the middle of the night, I awoke to the feeling of someone jumping on me. I had to fight to open my eyes... and when when I was able to see... for just a second... I felt as if I was looking through someone elses eyes. Evrything was gray. At that, the weight was lifted but my body... from head to toe... tingled like a limb that had just fallen asleep.
In the morning I told the recptionist I should only have to pay half as I think a ghost shared my room with me. She replied by saying, "let me guess, someone jumped on you, your body went stiff and you had to fight to open your eyes. When you could see, everything was gray and then your body tingled for the next hour or two."
Shocked, I told her that's exactly what happened. Casually, she replied, "oh, that was just Jack, he's our resident ghost and does that all the time."
Ghosts do exist.
posted by NAVYLT at 05:03 P.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
I personally dont belive, but I do like a good ghost story - must be something left over from those old campouts with the scoutmaster telling his tales around the campfire. You all know the ones...
if you like Ghost stories, here's a good site.
posted by billy at 05:11 P.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
The Mansfield Reformatory is a neat tour. I did the overnight ghost hunt a few years ago and had fun.
http://www.mrps.org/
posted by MaumeeMom at 09:49 P.M. EST on Fri Oct 27, 2006 #
Moved into a new place and on 3 separate occasions, I've seen 'someone' in the area of the bathroom/hall/kitchen/computer room.
Had a guest one night that confirmed she felt 'someone' was in the bedroom with us. (Jeez...I hope it wasn't my Dad! How embarrassing!)
(And 'DoKnow', "That was f&%king weird...that was really f&%king weird" rings a bell.)
posted by Plantman at 12:16 P.M. EST on Sat Oct 28, 2006 #
Yes Plantman, those words do ring a bell! ;)
As for the 'visitor' in your place - his name is Michael. And I believe he's around 35 years old. He was there when the furnace was being worked on. Remember when I said I couldn't stay down in the basement anymore??
Be nice to him. He's lost.
posted by DoknowDocare at 02:01 P.M. EST on Sat Oct 28, 2006 #
That's it! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!
There is NO stinking way...NO WAY that I am going to be living here!
I AM NOT sharing my space with another guy!
At the LEAST he could grab the dust rag! I don't mind sweeping & doing the bathroom, but..jeezz...lost or not, pull some weight here guy!
(Wonder if Michael would mind 'trading places' with a female entity? Maybe blond, petite, 110#...)
posted by Plantman at 07:07 P.M. EST on Sat Oct 28, 2006 #
My parents live in Grand Rapids, Ohio - they built their home new there, about 20 yrs ago - but I guess it used to be Indian territory. They do have a ghost. I laughed it off at first - but too many things have happened there. Toilets flush upstairs when only they are home, downstairs. Wire hangers will start swinging like crazy in a closed closet - then stop immediately. They have a little table in the living room, across from where they sit in the evening - a good distance of 6 feet, and a full load of keys on a key ring will just 'jump' off the table onto the floor, like being thrown. They have sat there and watched the keys leap off the table. Has happened several times. They can hear loud footsteps when only they are home.
My husband grew up in Ida, Michigan. Him, along with 2 siblings had seen a woman in a red dress at different times in their lives as teens. None of them knew the others had seen this lady, until years later when they started talking about it. They each assumed the others would have thought they were nuts.
My daughter has a ghost - only in her bedroom. I teased her something awful for years (she's now 23), but have come to believe her. My daughter used to complain of some woman humming a song at night, keeping my daughter awake, and a very strong odor of vanilla. I have been hit hard in the face with this smell of vanilla when I walked into her room many times, and it disappears as fast as it comes. I literally searched her room for anything that may smell like vanilla and found nothing. My daughter was never afraid of her, and this ghost lady comes and goes, sometimes she stays away for a long time. Our house was built new, 18 years ago, sub division, not a haunting type of area at all. This ghost has been humming for about 12 years - about the same length of time as it's been that we stored some boxes of my nephews in our garage attic - directly beneath my daughter's bedroom. He had spent several months in Belize wiht National Geographic in the rain forest, on a reptile thing, and they happened upon an unexplored Mayan ruin. I saw his photos - you can see pots high up on a cave shelf, bones, etc. Anyway, he made a comment that nobody was supposed to take anything from that ruin, but he claims he brought back a skull, which is supposed to be in one of the boxes that are stored in our garage attic. My daughter insists her ghost showed up about the same time - said it's an old woman (how she knows, I have no idea). Very odd.
posted by starling02 at 07:34 P.M. EST on Sat Oct 28, 2006 #
Starling - I have always believed that there are those that aren't ready to leave. And when the move is forced on them they make it their business to 'stay' where they called home. Even though that home may have been 100 years before our time.
And Plantman? Have you forgotten what happens every time you find one of those petite blondes???? You might find that Michael is blonde, but alas, not female.
posted by DoknowDocare at 10:50 P.M. EST on Sat Oct 28, 2006 #
The Columbian House restaurant was haunted (Is it still open?) in grand rapids (or Waterville) Ohio. Lots of publicity on that one - a lot of people claim to have seen a woman walking down the stairs, candles blow out for no reason. The candles wouldn't sway me at all - unless they lit by themselves.
posted by starling02 at 06:18 P.M. EST on Sun Oct 29, 2006 #
I remember hearing stories about the old Linck Inn formerly the Chadwyck Inn being haunted.
At first I didn't believe them but too many people said they experienced things.
posted by MikeyA at 07:03 P.M. EST on Sun Oct 29, 2006 #
Back when I was married-pretty terrifying itself-we lived in a trailer, the Southwest corner of Hill and Byrne. I'll say 1991 or so. We heard an older lady lived there previously, you know the joke, she died there, the place is haunted boogy boogy haha.
So one late night the wife and I are sitting in the kitchen, she's facing me and the living room/hall. As a goof she asks the old lady to show herself if she's still there. The wife turned pale-as a ghost-got big eyed, and insisted she saw the old lady staring at her from the hall. I'm pretty skeptical, sure I say.
But.
She decides no way she's staying home that night-she's way freaked out, calls some friends a few trailers away. Nothing, the phone doesn't work. All static, a clicking noise now and than. She hangs up, I try-same thing. No dial tone, just static and clicking. This is an old fashioned corded phone, no radio stuff. We're outta there.
If it wasn't for the phone going on the fritz I wouldn't even mention the incident. For that one time and one time only-at the same time she said the old lady appeared to her-the phone went crazy. We went back the next day, but didn't ask for the old lady again. I know the trailer number, no I'm not telling.
posted by Bruno at 08:44 P.M. EST on Sun Oct 29, 2006 #
Before we moved into our house in 85' I wanted to spend the night in the old empty house by myself. I set up a cot in the living room under the bare window so I would have the moonlight shining on me. I turned off the overhead light and settled in. A few moments later the light popped back on. I got up and turned it off again only to have it pop back on one more time. The third time I turned it off it stayed.
Did I mention that my house was built in 1867 and still had the push button light switches? :)
OK here is one that really is spooky. Shortly after we moved into the house, my then 9 year old son was upstairs in his new room. He came flying down the steps and ran to me and hugged me for dear life. It seems that someone kissed him on the cheek. I smiled and told him it was just grandma. I'm not sure which Grandma it was as my mother had just died the previous year and the house we moved into belonged to my mom's grandmother.
posted by SherryET at 02:19 P.M. EST on Mon Oct 30, 2006 #
I remember hearing stories about the old Linck Inn formerly the Chadwyck Inn being haunted.
The owners helped with those stories too. Ive never had an experience there, but we always sat in the bar. man do i miss that place! they had the BEST new york strips! and remember those homemade, right out of the oven chocolate chip muffins? mmm ok now im hungry 8-)
posted by tm at 02:43 P.M. EST on Mon Oct 30, 2006 #
I once had a ojia (spelling?) board tell me to go to hell and do the figure 8 around the board real fast. And no my friend didnt do it either, she was so scared she acually went home.
posted by tm at 02:45 P.M. EST on Mon Oct 30, 2006 #
http://www.damnedgames.com/cf_ouijastories.html
I had to look it up. Ouija...
posted by katie82640 at 04:28 P.M. EST on Mon Oct 30, 2006 #
For the gullible:
Many people report physical changes in haunted places, especially a feeling of a presence accompanied by temperature drop and hearing unaccountable sounds. They are not imagining things. Most hauntings occur in old buildings, which tend to be drafty. Scientists who have investigated haunted places account for both the temperature changes and the sounds by finding physical sources of the drafts, such as empty spaces behind walls or currents set in motion by low frequency sound waves (infrasound) produced by such mundane objects as extraction fans. SkepDic.com
Or try: The Ghost in My House: An Exercise in Self-Deception by Bertram Rothschild, Skeptical Inquirer, Jan/Feb 2000
Happy Halloween!
posted by Offshore at 08:25 A.M. EST on Tue Oct 31, 2006 #
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