Aunt Linda's House

Knowing my family's love of ghost stories and the ghosts they've encountered in different places they've lived, it was no wonder my family would start sharing some stories.

I found one that really intrigued me, for the simple fact that it was my favorite place to stay during the summer, my Aunt Linda's house.

Her house was at one time a two family house, but when she bought the place they opened the house up. In the upstairs, there was a hallway connecting the two halves of the house and a small room at the center.

This room, for a long time, was my Uncle Ed's bedroom, (her younger brother). While cleaning up the house, they had found an old rocking chair in the attic. He had taken it and put it in a corner of his room, using it as a reading chair during the night. One night, after basketball practice, he lay down on his bed, across the room from the rocking chair and fell asleep.

About three in the morning, as he recalls, he woke to the sound of squeaking. Turning his head ever so slightly, so not as to frighten his sister, as he was sure it was her coming to check on him one last time before she went to work, he caught the rocking chair in mid-rock.

Shaking his head and trying to clear the sleep from it, he slowly sat up and watched as a smoky figure of a woman crossed from one doorway and sat down in the chair, a foggy bundle in her arms. As she sat and rocked, he began to hear the faint sounds of humming, singing.

He leaned forward, straining to hear what she was saying. He smiled as he heard her say, "It's okay Johnny, mama's got you now, sleep my little love." And fell back to sleep.

He later told Aunt Linda about it and she nodded saying, "Yeah, I guess some lady's baby son died of scarlet fever here a ways back. It must be her rocking chair. We can get rid of it if you want."

He only shook his head no and said, "Nah, I thought it was sweet..."