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The Manson House And More

 

Hey Guys, it's been a while since my last post, I've been really busy finishing up exams at TAFE. Unfortunately I had to retire the Fairlane, as its transmission gave out, and it's now sitting under a tarp in my backyard, slowly gathering dust and rust. I think it's right that the fellas finally get some peace.

The first first experience I'd like to relay is one that happened at a local abandoned house, dubbed by my friends as "The Manson House" (God knows why, the people who lived in it had a German surname, but hey, teenagers.)

The story with the house is that an old widowed woman lived in it up until the late 1990s, when she passed away. She had no living relatives, so the house and land were passed on to the local council, who tried to sell it several time without success (it sits in a low-lying part of town that floods very easily). It's now an unkempt, unstable old wooden structure that no-one owns or maintains. Because both sets of stairs that lead to the house are either rotten or termite-ridden, the house has remained practically untouched. Now, a mate and I decided as a dare to spend the night in the place for $50 and a carton of beer. My mate being the skeptic he is called BS on the ghost thing and decided it would be easy money (and drinks). He was wrong.

We turned up in the overgrown driveway at about half past 5 in the afternoon, and things escalated quickly from there. The first thing I noticed from outside the house was that there was a light on inside. I knew this was impossible, as my dad switched the power off there in about 2005. My mate wrote it off as a reflection, and walked up the back steps. The first thing we noticed when we stepped inside was how freezing cold it was. It could have easily been 20 degrees inside, compared to the 42 degree summer heat we'd just been in. Next we saw just how long it'd been since someone had been inside. There was a 1999-2000 calendar on the wall, a pack of Camel Cigarettes on the table, a peeling fridge still full of food, a teacup on the coffee table and an old Hifi still switched to the on position, Hank Williams record sitting on the LP deck, covered in dust. We sat on the mouldy old couch and settled in.

The first hour or so was pretty uneventful, but then we noticed that every now and then we'd hear something like someone marching up and down the front stairs (that were laying in the overgrown garden downstairs, where they'd collapsed a few months earlier). As 9PM approached we cracked a few beers then settled down for the night. That was when things got really eerie. I'd just started to drift off to sleep when I saw a face out of the corner of my eye. I sat bolt upright, accidentally kicking my mate and waking him up. He yawned and then I saw every hair on his body stand up as he mumbled "F**k off" and looked in the same direction I'd seen the face. Standing in the hallway was a middle aged woman in a long, floral blouse, just staring blankly. I think we were out of there in under a minute. We ran back to my place (couldn't drive, as we'd been drinking) before we realised we'd left everything in the house. We walked back at about 4am, hoping that every thing had calmed down.

As we walked through the back door, we saw that everything had been thrown across the room, every beer bottle we'd opened was smashed, and my torch had somehow found its way into the kitchen. We very quickly grabbed our stuff then piled it into the car. My mate now refuses to go anywhere near the place.

The second experience was a bit less intense, but odd all the same. My band was playing at a hall that was supposedly haunted. Midway through our set, I noticed a young man standing at the back of the hall. Compared to the rest of the crowd, he seemed out of place. He was wearing a long-sleeved paisley shirt, faded jeans and comically large Buddy Holly-esque glasses. After we finished our set we go talking to the venue manager and asked about the guy in the back. Apparently he'd been standing at the back of the hall the whole time and hadn't seen anyone matching that description, but mentioned that we'd pretty much described Jimmy, the ghost who was supposed to be hanging around.

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, JohnnyG55, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

JohnnyG55 (4 stories) (8 posts)
-2
10 years ago (2015-01-02)
Thanks for commenting guys.

The thing that seems to be coming up most often is the "food" in the fridge. As you've said, it wouldn't be much more than black pulp, which is what it was. Aside from a pair of Wurst (very German town) which were still recogniseable, beer bottles, margarine tubs and such, everything was pretty much black or brown goo. I'll try to be a little more descriptive next time I post. 😊
BadJuuJuu (guest)
 
10 years ago (2015-01-02)
I think selling in as is condition is pretty common when a property is foreclosed on. I remember our realtor telling us not to even look at the foreclosed houses listed, that they were too messed up to be worth it. She said something along the lines of "they look like a bargain, but they aren't."
Griff84 (5 stories) (289 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2015-01-02)
I don't know if this has any relevance to this encounter or not, but local to the town I grew up in in the UK was an old abandoned rectory. The story goes the vicar came home to find his wife cheating and in a fit of rage killed her, her lover and himself... True or not I don't know, but the building was creepy.

As teenagers do, we went and 'investigated' and found the building in a similar state of disrepair as you have describes, we also found plates, cups and general household items, including a fridge. Inside was a large amount of black gunk, which I assume was once food, but it didn't have any real odour.

The main staircase was collapsed, and internal walls were crumbling. Anyway, the house and land was for sale in almost a sold as seen method, and I recently drove by to see full renovations being carried out. So I guess estate agents do sell properties and their contents regardless of the state of the building, safe or not.
Damali (5 posts)
+1
10 years ago (2015-01-01)
Swimsinfire, the food still in the fridge struck me as odd too, lol. Ah well.
Swimsinfire (11 stories) (556 posts)
+2
10 years ago (2014-12-29)
No get-ee. Why do people always mention either they "felt their hair stand up" on the back of their neck no less, because we all have a lot of neck hair. What does this feel like? Or they see it on their friends. I've had some pretty hairy knuckled friends, (pelt down the back even,) and never saw this phenomina. And, having done some estate clean-ups, I know that food left in a powered off fridge liquifies after 6 months or so. So hmm. You sure you guys weren't just young drunk guys doing young drunk guy things? Sorry to hear the Fairlane is down. Let us know if the guys are still doing their thing.
H2olily (5 stories) (158 posts)
-1
10 years ago (2014-12-28)
Hey, I had a similar experience with a cold room in the middle of very warm house in mid-summer. Very strange experience when there's no air-conditioning, and in your case, no power at all. I submitted my story here and several people were very skeptical!
Nectarvore (1 stories) (226 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-12-28)
I don't really think this sounds embellished... Personally. I don't know enough about unclaimed deceased estate or condemned housing to comment on the facts... But I do think people tend to nitpick a bit on here. I mean, I've seen people spook... And you can physically see it when a person is in a state of primal fear. Their pupils either pin or dilate, they go pale. If you were sitting close enough to a person, close enough to touch, then why couldn't you see the hair on their arms stand up? Yeah... Just saying.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3190 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
JohnnyG: the lady you saw could had been a squatter living in the abandoned house; that would explain the lights and the beer bottles thrown all over the place. Of course she would want you out of "her house".

Perhaps the fridge would not smell after 15 years, you might be right, but I still do not understand why to call it "a peeling fridge still full of food,"...surely you mean 'the fridge was still full of empty Tupperware containers' -right?
Or even better 'the fridge was still full of Tupperware containers still holding some dubious food residue'. 😕

I do not know, but for such a good writer your omissions are a bit...disappointing?
JohnnyG55 (4 stories) (8 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
[at] Lady-glow I'd only had 2 beers, and was hardly affected.

[at] elnoraemily As I stated in a previous comment, there was a torch on at the time.

And in regards to the fridge, the seals had rotted and the fridge was open a crack. I know how bad things left in fridges can be (cleaning out a fridge my Dad bought home that'd been used by a local farmer to store lamb), but after 10-15 years with exposure to air, the smell would be pretty much gone.

The house was condemned not long after the owner died, and the council tried to sell the land and the cars and motorbikes in the back yard. The yard went under in the '11 and '13 Queensland floods, so no new permanent structures can be built on the land. The council have plans to demolish it and use it as a machinery yard.
terranigma (9 stories) (71 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
Awesome story, you write very well & I enjoyed your story. If I were with you guys at that house I would flat out refuse to go back into the house after seeing that lady.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3190 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
...And you had been drinking, what makes me wonder how much of what you remember was real or just your imagination. 😐
elnoraemily (guest)
+1
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
I think the question still stands- how do you notice arm hair in the darkness? While you admit exaggeration, that part is still a bit hard to believe. This is a true story site, one where honesty is applauded. Don't try to make the story sound more impressive or scary.

Also, a fridge filled with food after years would have been like opening a time bomb of horrible scents. I find it odd that the smell of decay and the horrifying appearance of years of rot has no mention, but arm hair does. I once broke into an abandoned house in a remote part of my state and there were plates with food on them, cabinets full of rotting food, but the stench because of it in that part of the house Made us run away. I feel like that as well maybe was just placed in this story for atmospheric effect.

I would also hope the house was not trying to be sold with rotted out stairs, because that house should be labeled as condemned. If the conditions are that unsafe, you basically have to sell the land.

While I really liked your writing style, please don't embellish. That's not what this place is for. Honesty is the best policy.
JohnnyG55 (4 stories) (8 posts)
-2
10 years ago (2014-12-26)
[at] Lady-glow The only access to the house is up a set of stairs that is missing most of its steps and was deemed unsafe to live in. I doubt most real estate agents, especially the ones in my area, would risk their lives trying to get into a house that is a decent storm away from falling off its stumps.

[at] glow and PoliexterLy It might sound silly but I have trouble sleeping without a light on, and always have. There was a torch/lantern on at the time. I may have exaggerated about 'every hair' but his arm hairs were going mental (and because they're so thick and coarse, they kind of stand out).
PoliexterLy (2 stories) (92 posts)
+3
10 years ago (2014-12-25)
I've never heard of someone saying that they've actually SEEN every hair on someone stand up. Plus... If it was dark, how could you have seen that major detail?
Your story almost sounds like it's planned out so it's hard for me to take it seriously. 🤔
lady-glow (16 stories) (3190 posts)
+3
10 years ago (2014-12-25)
I have trouble believing the part about the fridge being still full of food after at least five years if "... The house and land were passed on to the local council, who tried to sell it several time without success..."
Really? What self-respected Realtor would show a house without doing at least a little bit of cleaning? -No wonder the house didn't sell!🤔

And then: "... I saw every hair on his body stand up as he mumbled "F**k off..."
OMG! -Is your friend a cat that got all puffy out of fear? Or was he completely naked? 😆 😆
No wonder the ghost wanted you both out of her house ASAP.

But you are a very good writer, that I can not deny.

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