He Likes Junk Yard Wars

By Cersed240
(2 stories) (26 posts) (the author is a middle age adult)
Date: 2016-12-28
Country: United States
State: California
Paranormal Category: Haunted Places

I have an experience that I would like to share, and I apologize if I ramble a little. I'm a firm believer in the paranormal, from various cryptids to spirits to ghosts. I also have a healthy dose of skepticism.

My parents live in the historic town of Niles in Fremont, California. If you are a fan of Charlie Chaplin, this was the site of the old Essenay Studios. Some of the houses have been there a long time. The house that my parents live in was built around the 30's though. It's a single story house with 2 bedrooms and a closed in porch that I used to live in. It was a very tight squeeze since I'm a tall guy. The house has a basement that is always cold and my Step-Dad likes to collect and build black powder rifles down there. You got the feeling someone is there whenever you go down there though.

The property was owned by my Step-Dad's Grandmother, and it passed to my parents when she died. Along with it came a ghost. There were several stories about this ghost, whom was either nicknamed, or in life called Mr. Walpert. I don't know how they got this information, but we have been unable to find any records of him.

This incident happened around the years 1999-2001. I was in my early 20's and I had hurt my back at work, so I ended up spending a lot of time at home with my parents. I was not in a very good mind set at the time, my back hurt, I was bored, and my Step-Dad and I were butting heads constantly. I know I'm getting a little long winded with all the history and all, but I just love telling people about it. There was one particular incident that stuck out in my mind all these years. Mr. Walpert liked Junk Yard Wars. We found out one day when it was time to have dinner. My parents were very strict about everyone stopping what they were doing, and coming to the dinner table when it was time to eat dinner.

I was in the living room at the time watching tv, and my Mom called us in for dinner. I was the last one to head in and the rule was to turn the tv off, the computer off, whatever you were doing, it was time to stop it. So I turn it off, and head in. The house had a dining room (which was used for special dinners) between the kitchen, where we ate, and the living room, where the tv was. I got about halfway through the dining room, and I notice the tv was back on. I could have sworn I turned it off. So I headed back in and turned it off again. And again I went back to the kitchen to have dinner with the family. I got about halfway there again, and the tv was back on! I knew I turned it off that time, so I went back and turned it off. By this time the rest of the family had taken notice of this because it was a straight shot from the living room to the kitchen. I've got 2 younger brothers, who were pretty young at this time.

I went back into the living room, and turned the tv off a final time. I look around for anything that could have done it. I even checked the remote to see if the power button was sticking. Nope. And of course, by the time I got to the kitchen it was back on. Mr. Walpert won. He got to watch the Junk Yard Wars marathon while we ate dinner. I'm a pretty big believer in the paranormal, and I know there were methods of taking over remote controls and such at the time, and that was the only time that had happened. I realize it would be hard to prove or disprove it was the ghost, but I didn't have any other explanation for it.

Thanks for reading.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

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, Cersed240, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Cersed240 (2 stories) (26 posts)

8 years ago (2017-01-05)

Thanks for your patience everybody. So far it looks like the house was actually listed as built in 1923. As far as the builder or original owner I haven't found anything on that yet. The only thing I've found was online sites listing the possible sale price for the house, and last owner.

Cerse.

spiritwaiting (42 stories) (843 posts)

8 years ago (2017-01-04)

Cersed240,

I enjoyed this one. I could see Mr. Walpert sitting on the couch going" Hey I want to watch that!"

And getting a kick out of you having to walk back each time to turn the t.v.off.

Thank you for sharing
I needed that laugh

Sincerely
Spiritwaiting

Manafon1 (7 stories) (722 posts)

8 years ago (2017-01-04)

Cersed240--Thanks for the added information, it does make the overall picture much clearer. Second-hand or not, these other reports make a paranormal explanation for the tv repeatedly turning on much more likely.

I am sure a search of town records would quickly reveal the name of the person who built the house. It would be worthwhile investigating that at some point to see if it was someone with the last name Walpert.

Again, thanks for the further info. Hopefully you can, one day, confirm who built the house!

Cersed240 (2 stories) (26 posts)

8 years ago (2017-01-04)

Sure Manafon.

From what my parents were told is Mr Walpert was the one who built the house. He supposedly built it for his daughter as a wedding present for his daughter. The daughter got into a car accident and died. He was distraught, and went to the basement and hung himself. There is one hole I see in this story though. I can't stand up straight in the basement without hitting my head hard (trust me, it happened many times before I learned to keep my head down). I'm 6'4". There could have been other ways of doing such act though, but it's an unknown.

I didn't add this next bit because it's third hand. They say he saved my aunts life as a child. As my G. Grandmother was walking to the bathroom, off to the left was the bedroom where my aunt was in her crib. She saw a man standing over the crib out of the corner of her eye. She did a double take, and he was gone. When she went over to investigate, my aunt was sick, and having an allergic reaction to some medicine.

There were also stories of how my G. Grandmother still didn't believe in him, and he would rearrange the furniture at night when she was asleep. Most of the other stuff was him hiding stuff, and putting it back where it belonged after a while though. I have another story of when my best friend stayed over too, but I'll post that one another time. And I do agree with possible interference, and it was the early 2000's where those multi remotes were starting, but I kind of hope it was him.

I almost forgot about this one though. My youngest brother decided he wanted to fly one time. He had to be around 5. He got up on the dresser and was about to jump off, and my mom heard in a mans voice "Hey!" right before my brother jumped, and she heard a loud thump. He got pretty banged up, but he was fine. That one was also third hand, so I couldn't add it, but as far as I know, he's kind of a protector of our family.

Thanks for commenting.
Cerse.

Manafon1 (7 stories) (722 posts)

8 years ago (2017-01-03)

Cersed240--The tv incident is a bit unusual but could have been a fluke, although the thought a ghost wanted to watch Junk Yard Wars is amusing. As it never happened again, even when that show was on, I would think it more likely the tv was receiving interference from a neighbor's remote or was a battery issue. I was curious what else happened in the house besides the cold and the feeling of being watched in the basement?

What were the other stories about "Mr. Walpert"? You state there were several but don't relate any of them. Did any of these other stories involve the tv being turned back on repeatedly? Answers to these couple of questions would help in deciding whether there is a ghost in that house or just a drafty basement and a tv that was goofy once.

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