Lingering Great Grandparents

I live in a house built in 1940 by my great grandfather. It has been lived in by family since the passing of my great grandparents. One cousin actually had so many frightening experiences there, she left in a hurry, leaving behind many of her belongings. Another claimed that when he lived there, he frequently saw the ghost of my great grandfather.

As a backstory, my great grandmother, Roby, had a child who was burned to death. This I believe made her very wary of fire. In the years I have lived in the house (which has old gas heaters) we have, on several occasions, seen the heaters be turned off. Someone or something actually pushed down the knob and turned it from "pilot" to "off." I believe this is Roby's way of protecting me. But that's only the beginning.

An incredibly common experience in the house is the sound of something heavy, like furniture, being dragged down the long hallway. Many people have heard the sound and questioned me about why the hallway seems to be so active. I asked my grandfather (his parents built the house), "Is there any significance of someone dragging something down the hallway?" He just smiled, looked thoughtful and said, "Yes...yes there is..." and would not say anymore.

I've heard footsteps and knocking up and down the hallway so many times I've lost count. Many of my guests have heard heavy footsteps all throughout the house, but mainly in that long, creepy hallway.

The hallway clearly is a hotbed of activity. I assume by my grandfather's response that it was used a lot in the past 73 years.

But the hallway isn't where the most interesting activity has taken place.

On at least 3 occasions I came home from work to find my cat shut in a room, with no explanation. I lived alone at the time, so there was nobody to blame. The room has a set of French doors leading to one living room, which are very difficult to open and close, as well as 2 other doors, one leading into the hallway and one into the kitchen. There is no way my cat managed to shut and latch all of those doors.

More recently I came home to find TWO of my cats not only mysteriously inside the house, but shut in the spare room that is never used nor opened. I have no clue as to how they got inside the house, how that door got opened and then shut again. Perhaps my great grandparents hate cats?

Another area that has seen its share of activity is the carport. It all started when I had a dream that I saw a man standing at the edge of the carport. I had never seen him before but I knew it was my great grandfather, Papaw Fountain. I told my mom about the dream and described the man. She said it sounded exactly like Papaw Fountain and that he used to stand there a lot and spit tobacco in the grass.

One night I was laying on the couch and I heard a man cough on the carport. I thought it was my boyfriend, coming over to surprise me, so I waited for him to come inside. After several minutes I just assumed he must be smoking a cigarette and continued to wait. I once again heard a very distinct man's cough. At that point I got up and swung open the door, expecting to see my boyfriend, only to see nothing.

Months later my friend was coming over to hang out. She beat me to the house and I told her I would be there in just a few minutes. When I pulled into my driveway I saw a large man standing right beside her car, at the edge of the carport (like in my dream). My first thought was that it was just her fiance, probably peeing in the grass by the carport, since they could not get inside as it was locked. So as I continued up my driveway I just averted my eyes so as not to witness her fiance exposing himself.

I got out of my car and immediately unlocked my door and went inside and she followed. After several seconds without seeing her fiance come inside I asked where he was. She said, "Oh, he's at home." I decided I wouldn't tell her what I had seen.

The next day, however, we were talking about ghosts with some people and she said, "I need to tell you something... Last night... When I was waiting on you, I saw a man standing beside my car..." I almost had a heart attack as I screamed, "OMG I SAW HIM TOO!"

Until that point, she was a skeptic. But when we both saw a man in the same spot, at the same time... How could she deny it?

I knew that was my great grandfather, which I found fascinating. But I didn't tell many people so that people wouldn't be afraid to come over.

Then one night I had a small get together. As the house only has one bathroom, one guy went outside to pee in the yard. He came to tell me that even though it was dark, he saw a man in the yard and he was so shaken that he wouldn't go back out the rest of the night.

On another occasion a friend of mine was staying over on my couch. He was awake, looking at his computer when he heard footsteps and looked up. He saw a man walk from the hallway into the kitchen, stop briefly and then walk out. As my friend processed what he had just seen, the man walked back into the kitchen, stopped as if he had forgotten what he came in the kitchen for, and again turned around and disappeared into the hallway again.

On yet another occasion I had a few friends over who were in the room I mentioned before that has 3 sets of doors. My friend Chloe and I were sitting opposite the glass French doors when I saw a reflection in them of someone walk behind us in the den. I knew nobody was behind us so I didn't say anything, as Chloe had already been scared by some sounds in the house previously. I noticed she was acting strange all of a sudden though, so I said "What's wrong?...You saw that too, didn't you?" When she said yes, I could hear concern in her voice.

None of those experiences actually frightened me though. I always felt comforted by it, feeling like my great grandfather is just sticking around because that will always be his home that he built by hand, and because he never met me so maybe he is watching over me? And my great grandmother, who passed when I was 5, loved me dearly so I feel as though she is watching over me as well.

The only things that have freaked me out have happened in my bedroom, which was their bedroom. A few times I have felt the bed sink, like someone got into it with me. And that really bothered me.

There are a million other little things that myself or my friends have experienced but I have covered the bulk of it I believe.

Any feedback would be appreciated:)