Mischievous Presence
From: Story type: Ghost Location: Carroll and Auburn, Iowa Source: Form Submission Date submitted: Fri Nov 2 14:40:49 2007
Writing this now, it's hard to know where to begin. We moved to our home in Carroll when I was just a year old. The home was an old Victorian style house well over one hundred years old. My bedroom at the time I began sensing a presence was at the far end of the hall on the second floor. I awoke one night to an odd sound--almost like a rocking chair on a wood floor--coming from my bedroom corner. My bed was placed against the wall and I lay there on my side looking at the wall. I was too afraid to turn over.
This began occuring more and more often. I was young, maybe 10 or 11, and my parents thought I was just making a story up. I remember clearly the night I proved them wrong.
The layout of our home in Carroll was similar to a shotgun layout. The living room opened into the dining room through an open archway, which opened into the kitchen. We rarely closed the door to the kitchen, letting more light into the dining room. My mother loves candles and potpourri and on that particular night had two ceramic potpourri burns burning--one in the kitchen and one in the living room. We were all in the kitchen, myself, my brother, and my parents. I was, again, recounting the story of the unusual sounds in my bedroom and my parents were, again, brushing the story off as fantasy. I became upset and frusterated yelling how I wished they could see that there was really a ghost in the house. At that exact instant, both potpourri burners simulaneously exploded on opposite ends of the house. Both had been lit less than five minutes. They didn't overheat. The Living room, dining room, and kitchen were directly below my bedroom.
From that moment on, the spirit showed itself in photographs taken within the house--more specifically of me. I have rolls and rolls of film with orbs or silhouettes on them, but most intriguing are two photos of myself and a close friend on our front porch. The pictures are distorted as if taken through a white-green swirling film. Upon closer inspection I concluded that the picture had been taken through the head of the spirit. The head's outline is clearly visible and the odd pattern on the film mimicks a woman's hair in an up-do. The porch is directly below my bedroom.
We moved from the home when I was seventeen. I returned to my old bedroom one last time and out of cuiosity, dislodged the carpet from the baseboards in that corner. Wood. With two grooves worn into the boards from a rocking chair. I was not frightened as my mother was. The Spirit had always been rather fond of me and I it. I almost missed the spirit when we moved to Auburn. But I needn't worry, it seems it followed me there. We've lived in this home in Auburn for nearly two years. Until recently, nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, but I always felt as if there was someone there with me, even when I was home alone.
I turned nineteen in October of 2007, one week before Halloween. My mother and I were watching a television show on ghosts and spirits in peoples' homes. Mom recounted the stories of the spirit in the home in Carroll. I stated loudly, "If there is a presence in this home, feel free to mess with us." The next day the water heater went out and no one could get it to relight. The day after that, the water heater was able to be lit again, but the washing machine quit working. The day after, it worked again. I was home sick, watching a show on the paranormal when it dawned on me. I had openly invited the spirit to mess with our belongings. I stated loudly that I acknoledged the spirit's presence and would it kindly leave our electronics alone. Since then, our friendly spirit just torments our dog. I don't blame it, I torment the dog too when I'm bored.
Today, our television in the dining room isn't working. I'm not worried, though. I know it will tomorrow.