My boyfriend (let's call him S) and I started to rent a tiny 400 year old thatched cottage two years ago. It is in the middle of the countryside, right next to the river and some forests in the middle of nowhere. Our cottage is number 4, in a row of 5.
All there is to our tiny little house is quite simple: You walk in to a small room which consists of our kitchen/dining/living room all in one. You go up the twisty little wooden stairs and what you see is one small bedroom and one small bathroom. The longest part of our house is 13foot long.
I'm not entirely sure where to start when it comes to the occurrences we have experienced in this little house. Some of them may be insignificant. I'm sorry if I'm rambling, this is my first story, please stick with me.
It started around a month after we moved in. I was home alone while S was at work. I was watching the Simpsons on TV and folding laundry. I went upstairs with my laundry and instantly felt like I was being watched. Of course, there was nobody there except for me, it creeped me out a little but I forced myself to continue putting my clothes away then started walking back downstairs.
As I turned the corner on my stairs which lead down to the living room I saw something that made me jump out of my skin. It was human shaped, but a pure black silhouette, leaning on the banister watching me. I only saw it in a flash, seeing it gave me such a fright I stumbled backwards, and I actually think I made this black thing jump too because it jumped back in a startled way then swooped off out of my sight, although it was out of sight I could hear the sound of long claws scuttling across my tile floor. I ran down the stairs after hearing the claws scratching my floor but saw absolutely nothing.
Another time, S and I were sitting in the living room chatting, he was sitting on the floor facing me and I was on the sofa facing him. The cupboard behind him had been open all day because I had a jumper draped over the door to dry. Suddenly the jumper slipped off the door and a game of operation fell out of the cupboard and onto the floor. We had left the cupboard like that for hours and neither of us had touched it, there was no reason for them to suddenly fall. As soon as the game of operation fell, I saw a gentle mist, almost like a gust of smoke, drift past behind S, coming away from the open cupboard.
Our row of cottages is so secluded, the only people who will walk past our window is our neighbours, as that is the only way they have access to their own house and garden. We have no back doors, so all the gardens, then the river, is all at the front of the house. It is not a public footpath. S and I regularly see someone walk past the window, always around the same time of night (when it's just starting to get dark). We go outside and there is nobody there. This happened with S first. He told me he saw someone walk past and go towards our neighbour's garden. We both went outside and there was nobody there at all. I was slightly sceptical until a few months later I saw the same thing. I was cooking dinner while S went to the shop to get some rice. While waiting for something to boil I leaned on the sink and stared out of my blinds. Suddenly I saw something white walk straight past. Right in front of my eyes! I thought it was S as he was wearing a white top that day. I thought he was strangely quick. I rushed to the door to let him in, but when I opened it there was nobody there, not even any sign of neighbours or anyone in their gardens.
Our bedroom is so small we can't have a door there, so in the doorway we just have a big floor-length curtain. One morning late last year, it was my day off, so while S was up and getting ready for work at 6am, I was snuggled up snoozing. He kissed me goodbye and off he went. It was a few hours later when a sound woke me up. I knew it was a few hours later because I could see now that there was sunlight coming through the curtains. The noise that woke me up sounded like someone opening a can of beer really loudly. I opened my eyes but I couldn't move. I couldn't move any part of me except for my eyeballs. I felt absolutely terrified as I looked desperately around my bedroom. I felt like I wasn't alone. Slowly, I could hear footsteps coming up the wooden stairs. Very, very slowly, creeping closer and louder. I could also hear heavy breathing along with the footsteps. There was around 4 seconds between each step coming up the stairs. I tried screaming but I couldn't, it just sounded like it echoed internally and didn't make a sound. I tried screaming for S (knowing he was at work) but I couldn't make a noise. All I could do was stare at my bedroom curtain, listening to the footsteps coming up the stairs closer and closer, until I knew it was right outside my bedroom. I held my breath and waited for this thing to come through my curtain. I can't explain the sheer terror that I felt, especially because I knew something was there, but I couldn't see it!
Suddenly I could move again. It all went away and I rolled over in bed and prayed so hard. I stayed out of the house as much as possible that day. I never want to experience sleep paralysis like this ever again.
We've tried talking to the neighbours and the owner of our house but everyone is very scared and closed off about it, nobody wants to talk about it and every time we try, they cut the conversation short and walk away. It's like they're all hiding things about the history of our house. There is only one of our neighbours who openly tells us what's going on with the area. She too sees the person walk past the window most nights, she told us some history of the house but nothing of significance other than how old the house really is, the fact that it is a gap filler, and that the whole area has such an enigma to it. There are no archives and no history to be found on this house at all, which makes it even stranger.
I have so many more stories and little bits to add but this is getting too long now. I will have to make a second entry. Thanks for reading and sorry for the long story!
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Do you know who owned the land that the cottages are built on? My first thought as you mentioned it is in the countryside, was that they could have belonged to a large estate and workers/tenant farmers were housed there. If so, there will be records somewhere for sure. I don't think census records go back that far, but for tax reasons landowners had to declare workers and properties (and in the 17th century they loooved showing off how much they had!).
I imagine if it's 400 years old that it could well be a listed building, in which case your local council or even the National Trust, might have some information too. I used to live in an old cottage which was turned into flats (think the structure of the building was about 200 years old) and was able to find out through land registry records that it belonged to the local manor house (now a private hotel and golf club). I even got the name of the architect who designed it. I think what Biblio suggests about the pub is good, as older people might be able to give you some information on the local area.
Do you think there is any malevolence in the spirit which is in your house? Certainly sounds like it is trying to get your attention, maybe he/she is just saying "hey, this is my house!". It sounds a bit like the one walking past is one which is just living out its daily routine. I would be interested to know if it walks past at a specific time of the day.
Think there's a strong case for saying that your neighbours and landlord are aware of the issue based on how you describe their reaction. I've often found when mentioning my own experiences, that people don't want to talk about things because they are embarrassed and worry about being judged. It's probably their way of dealing with it if they have lived there a while and it happens all the time!
Good luck with your search, hope you find some answers!