In 2007 my partner and I moved into an older home in the outskirts of the historic district of Gainesville, GA. It was modest but also very charming to us, just perfect for our first house purchase together.
The house had only two bedrooms and just one bathroom, something very common of the homes built in the time period that it was built in this neighborhood. There was a very small but cute kitchen with a deep wash sink and vintage style cabinets. The living area and dining area were adjoined to make up one portion of the "L" shape of the home, and the two bedrooms and the bathroom made up the other part of the "L". There was also a basement under one half of the house with a fireplace that shared a chimney with the upstairs fireplace in the living room.
Our ghostly encounters began, even though we didn't realize it completely then, the very first day we moved to the house. After making the last trip from the neighboring town to the new house from the old, we unloaded the moving truck and left a pile bungee ties on the driveway edge. We were planning on putting the bungee ties away in a bit, so we closed up the empty moving truck, went into the new house and put some things away, came back out and forgot about the bungees and left in the moving truck to take it back to the rental shop and drove in the car back to the old house to get a few more items that would fit into the car.
When we arrived at the old house and opened the door, to our shock the pile of bungee ties were laying just inside the door on the floor! We thought there must be some kind of mistake or we thought we left some we didn't see or something. But, when we got home to our new house, the pile of straps we left at the new house were no longer on the edge of the driveway. Someone... Or something had taken them and put them inside our old house.
Very shortly after we got settled into the new home, I began noticing things being out of place when I was almost certain they were not out of place before. I didn't think much of it at first, then I began noticing our animals, the cat and the dogs, following something with their heads, as if watching something walk by in the rooms. This was strange, because they would all do this at the same time in unison. Then I began seeing it. It was usually when I would be sitting at the piano playing, I would see a shadowy figure flow slowly by, or stand by, as if watching or listening. I was not usually alarmed or scared. I saw no details, just a shadowy figure.
My mother came for a visit and I told her about what I was experiencing. My mother said she felt as though the presence had a feminine quality to it. She said she could feel a nurturing, benevolent energy at the house. Another evening my mother's brother was visiting and he said he saw a "woman" walk slowly down our hallway towards the bedroom. There was no woman in the house. Just us.
One evening one of my dogs had to be rushed to the ER because of a seizure he had and my mother came to spend the night with me after we got home, so we could both keep a close eye on the dog through the night. Mother slept in my bed (it was a big king-sized bed) with me. She was lying on her left side facing the wall and I was lying on my left side facing my mother's back. I was wide awake thinking of the events of the night when I saw the shadowy figure flow into the room and go over to my mother's side of the bed and stay there. It was like she was looking at my mother. I thought mother was sleeping so I whispered, "Mother...mother!" She said, "I see her." Then "The Lady" disappeared.
Other little things that happened were many. Things such as the washing machine being turned on with no clothes - full cycles being run with no explanation. The basement lights being turned on or off with no explanation. The basement door latch being latched or unlatched with no explanation. The exercise pen for the dogs being opened and the dogs being set free in the basement when no one was home! We ended up putting snaps on the latches to make sure the dogs weren't popping the latches open. The snaps were being unsnapped and moved over to another portion of the pen and resnapped! I don't think she liked the dogs being confined. The dogs LOVED her!
One day after work I took my work keys out of my scrubs and put them on the shelf outside the bathroom, right in front of a large bottle of lavender oil. The next morning they were not there. I searched high and low through that cabinet and found nothing. We searched the house over for almost two weeks when we had the chance, as these keys had important keys on the key chain. One morning I was getting ready for work and opened the cabinet and the keys were in front of the lavender oil just as I had left them! But they were not there for two weeks. I had looked at that same spot for two weeks every day.
We lived in that house for three years. We ended up moving to a new home because of the expense of keeping up an older home. But, I actually miss "The Lady" a lot. I miss her antics. I miss seeing her on occasion. I miss her love of music and animals. I miss her sense of humor.
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