Having grown up in a house that I suspected as being
haunted and having had many strange paranormal experiences
in my life, I have an open mind. However, hearing this
story from my Mother, a woman I have long known to be
skeptical in these matters, I was doubly intrigued.
I grew up in the country in the Midwest and as you may
know, there used to be little family cemeteries nearly
everywhere a century ago or so. One day my Mother and I
were discussing a strange experience of our own when she
related this story to me told to her by one of our long
time neighbors.
Mrs. Hiatt and her family have lived in the neighborhood
for as long as I can remember. They seemed like a
perfectly normal, well-balanced family. My Mother told me
that when visiting with Mrs. Hiatt one day she looked at my
Mother and asked her if she believed in spirits. I Mother
replied that she was unsure, then Mrs. Hiatt told her this
story.
It seems that when the Hiatts moved into their home, some
40 years ago or so they found a gravestone out in the
garden on their newly acquired property. It was so old
that only 1 name remained--Smith. The tombstone was just
laying there, unattached, so Mr. Hiatt put it in their
barn.
One day not long afterwards, Mrs. Hiatt said she saw
a strange man just walk through their house. It gave her
chills as she knew for certain this was no “earthly”
intruder! She did not mention this to her children, who
were around 8 and 10 at the time. Years later, her son
mentioned to her that he would look into the garden from
his bedroom at night and see a woman standing there
perfectly still. It frightened him so, but he did not want
to mention this to his parents or sister for fear of being
disbelieved.
To this day, Mrs. Hiatt and her husband have
a frequent “walk through” visitor to their home. My Mother
recognized the name on the tombstone that Mrs. Hiatt told
her about as the family who used to own the property when
my Mother was young. Could it be that the previous owners
have come back to check on their property? My Mother still
lives within a half mile of this property and it still
gives me chills when I go by there on my way for a visit.
I can't help taking a glance in the direction of the garden.
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