How do I begin? This happened many years ago and is still as fresh in my mind as the night it happened. It was 1965. I belonged to a large family of four kids and as such, we required a big home. My parents searched and found a great deal on a house in the El Sobrante, California area. It was a bit run down but spacious enough for all us kids.
I have always had quite a bit of psychic ability. It is not unusual for me to know who is at the door or when the phone is going to ring, etc. As a small child, I often saw people that I thought were real, only to be teased by my older sister because the person was "unseen" by her.
Back to my account of this house. We went with our parents to see this wonderful house that was going to be all ours. Wow, no more apartments! The house was and still is, four bedrooms, two upstairs, two downstairs, a living room, large country kitchen, two car garage and a huge weeping willow in the ample backyard. The front yard was small and surrounded by a five foot tall hedge. Nevertheless, we were all excited.
We went into the house and immediately, I could barely breath. I could tell that we were being watched. I was especially leery of the smallest bedroom down stairs. It felt ominous. I knew that this house was bad. I was really, really uncomfortable.
While my parents signed the final papers and received the keys from the realtor, we busied ourselves in the yard. We met up with a couple of the local kids there that couldn't wait to tell us that a murder and suicide had occurred in the house the prior year. The house had been vacant since then.
It seems that the former owners had many marital problems because he was quite the drinker. He got drunk one day and shot his wife to death while she sat at the dining room table. The postman heard the shot and knocked on the door. I guess he must have figured that it was a car backfiring. It was 1965 after all, so backfiring was not unusual.
The postman left and the man proceeded to shoot his own head off right in the opening between the kitchen and the living room. All four of us kids were enraptured by the tale, but I have to admit it scared the daylights out of me.
When we moved in, my Mom removed the current living room drapes to put up her own. It was then that she noticed that the drapes hung much further along the wall than the window. She surmised it was to cover up an ugly stain on the wall next to the front door.
She set about painting the room to cover up the mark. It looked just like a handprint. It was the color of chocolate milk, so Mom told us someone had rubbed milk on the wall. I can't believe we were that gullible but we believed her. She painted and painted and painted that spot but it still bled through. She ended up having her new drapes made long enough to cover the mark, just like the old drapes had done.
As all this was going on we, of course, tried to settle into our new house. We heard footsteps from time to time on the floors while all of us were watching television. They were hardwood floors with area rugs, so the footsteps were distinctive. Of course, Mom and Dad put them off as the house settling. I guess ten year old houses still need to settle?
I became more and more frightened of the house. I was uncomfortable when I was in there alone during the day and down right terrified at night. We found all sorts of hidden full wine bottles in the attic and in the garage and other unusual items. Many times I sensed that all of us were being watched through the windows from the backyard.
I was originally assigned to the large downstairs bedroom with my younger sister. Many times, the closet opened up by itself during the night and I always felt that I was being watched.
My older sister was given the small bedroom downstairs. She became a perpetual furniture mover in an effort to make herself feel safe in the room. No matter where she put her bed, she felt uncomfortable. She became such an insomniac that Mom moved her into the room with my sister and put me in the scary room.
This didn't last long as I woke up my parents many nights screaming my head off that there was someone staring at me from the window. I know that someone was looking in but when Dad went outside, there was never any one there.
Finally Mom and Dad moved my older sister back to that room and me back with little sister. I will never ever forget that night.
I was soundly asleep and was awakened by the feeling of someone in the room. I looked toward the door and there was an older woman standing there in a long while flannel type nightgown. She was staring at me. I threw the covers over my head. After a minute or so, I peeled the blankets back and she was now standing right next to me. I was terrified!
I looked at her, she looked at me and then she turned around and walked, or floated, slowly out of the bedroom. I have no idea what possessed me to follow her, but I did. I was a skinny eleven year old girl. I should have been still shaking in my bed but I followed her through the living room and up the stairs to my brother's room. I saw her go in there but when I got into his room, there was no one but my sleeping brother in there.
Mom was awakened by the foot falls on the stairs and asked me what I was doing. I was so terrified I mumbled something incoherent. Mom just sent me back to my bed. I laid there shaking, all night long. I saw the woman a couple of other times and still 42 years later, dream occasionally of that house.
We had other odd occurrences and only lasted one year in that house before Mom and Dad sold it for less than they paid, just so we could leave.
I have sent a letter to the address telling them my story but never got any type of reply. No doubt, they chalked my letter up as some kind of nut. I am not a nut and have a professional job in Government. I just would like to finally put this ghost to rest.
Has anyone out there ever had a similar experience in an older house in El Sobrante?
Loading comments....
