Childhood Home

Ihave had a lot of strange experiences in my life, most of which happened when I was a small child. I was raised by my Grandma, great aunt and her daughter in a modest, middle class house in a very nice neighborhood. But, I witnessed some unusual events during those early years. For instance, I remember waking up early on several occasions and hearing someone (I thought it was my Great Aunt) making up the fire in the kitchen fireplace. We heated with fireplaces until I was about 5 years old, at which time we switched to a big oil circulator which was later replaced by a furnace. Anyhow, I would hear newspaper being torn and balled up, coal being shoveled and kindling wood being set in place. But the sounds would just fade away and later I would hear my Great Aunt actually get up and build the fire.

I slept with my Grandma in a big wrought iron bed with vertical bars in the head and footboard. One night I awoke to see what appeared to be an arm without a hand extending from between the bars down between the pillows. I raised myself up on one elbow and just looked at it. I was afraid to wake up my Grandmother because I was afraid it would scare her so badly. So, I took my little finger and just pushed it up and out the headboard. I remember watching it pull itself down and it was gone. I never saw it again, but for years after that I would push the pillows close together before going to sleep.

Once I was sleeping with my Cousin in her room at the opposite end of the house. It was summertime and the window was up, but the screen was down. In the soft light of the street light outside, I saw what appeared to be a little gnome-like man, solid black, about 1 ft high with a little pointed hat on his head..the whole bit, climb in the window, walk around in front of the window a little and then disappear into the wardrobe nearby.

I remember having a conversation in this same room one day with a strange old lady who identified herself to me as "Granny Grunt" and sang that little folk song to me "Grandma Grunt said a curious thing...boys can whistle, but girls must sing." This happened when I was 3 or 4 years old and I never heard the song again until I was in grammar school. I remember at the time I was trying unsuccessfully to learn to whistle. Anyway, after the woman left the room I went out to try and find her and everyone told me there was no such person visiting in the house. I remember the incident really upset my cousin at the time.

But the scariest thing happened when I was around 4 years old. It was close around Christmas time and I was lying in bed looking out into the livingroom at the Christmas tree which was lit up with all the lights and decorations. Suddenly something dripped from the ceiling right beside my bed onto the floor. I remember wondering what it was and thinking in my childish mind that a star might have died and fallen through out roof. The whole thing just didn't seem right and scared me pretty bad. The next morning when it was light enough to see, I looked at it and saw that it was red like blood. Later, I heard my Grandmother, Aunt and Cousin in the room looking at it and discussing and wondering what on earth it could be. They finally just wiped it up and the incident was forgotten..by everybody but me. I still wonder.

Lots of other things happened to me as a child in that old house, but later on when I inherited the place and moved back in as an adult. Everything was quiet and I never saw or heard anything unusual.