The Haunted Church
Allyson, PA, USA
November 2003
This is a rather long story, but I can assure you that you will be entertained by it. Whenever I tell people about this they're always amazed, but they believe every word. Regardless of whether or not you choose to believe it, I hope you enjoy it.
This all happened to me during the summer of 2002.
I was home from college for the summer, working and spending time with my best friend, whom I will call Liz.
Liz and I were night owls, and as she and I were completely broke, there wasn't much to do at night other than drive around.
One night, she was driving and I was telling her where to go. We weren't going anywhere in particular; when we came to an intersection I would just tell her which way to turn on a whim. After about an hour of doing this, she and I ended up on a country road that was surrounded by corn fields on either side. The road began to slope downhill and curved to the left. When we came around the turn we saw an old church on the left side of the road. Liz and I love going "ghosthunting", and this church definitely looked like it could be haunted, so we pulled over and got out to explore.
The front door was boarded up, but the windows were not, so we peered inside.
There were some benches and an old pair of shoes on the floor, but nothing interesting. Liz and I started to get bored with the place, so she dared me to knock on the front door. I went and did so, laughing, and when nothing happened I turned and started to walk away. I was stopped by a sound coming from inside the church. It was a shuffling sound, almost as if something was dragging its feet across the floor and it was coming towards the door. I stood where I was, just staring at the boarded-up door, with Liz a bit behind me. The shuffling continued and then stopped right on the other side of the door. There was silence for a second and then something started pounding on the door. It sounded as if it was trying to break it down. Liz and I screamed and ran back to her car, only to find the doors locked. This is very strange because Liz never locks her car, and the only way to lock the passenger door is for the driver to lean over the seat and manually lock it. Luckily, Liz had taken her keys out of the ignition so she was able to unlock the car and let me in. All the while, I was casting terrified glances at the church, from where I could hear the pounding. Once in the car, Liz started it, peeled away and we were off.
Now, you may think that's the end of the story, but it's not. Let me just say that a smart person but probably not go back to the church, and I, evidently, am not a smart person.
Two nights later I was with my other friend, whom I will call Jim. Jim is very "in touch" with the spiritual world, and is very knowledgeable of paranormal experiences, so I knew that he would believe my story. He convinced me to take him to the church. On our way there, when we were driving past the corn fields, Jim asked me what I did the last time I was there to anger the spirits. When I asked him what he meant, he said, "Ally, it knows you, and it knows you're coming. I can feel it, can't you?" I had been feeling pressure on my chest and the top of my head, and when I told his this he confirmed that I was feeling the spirit.
Jim and I continued to drive, and I was getting more nervous by the second. The closer we got to the church, the more intense the pressure was on my chest and head. When the church finally came into view, Jim told me to slow down and drive past it slowly. I did so, and then turned around and drove past it again. Suddenly, Jim said, "Allyson, drive! Don't look back, just get out of here." I floored it and soon the church was out of sight and we were driving past the cornfields. "Just keep driving," Jim kept saying. "Whatever you do, don't look to your right." Being the smart person that I am, I automatically looked to my right. What I saw will send chills down my spine until the day I die. A large brown sheet was flying over the cornfield towards our car, probably about 5 feet above the top of the corn. (If you imagine someone holding a blanket by the corners, then holding it up over their head and running with it, you will a vague idea of what this looked like.) The "sheet" was very large, probably about 6 feet by 6 feet. There were ripples in it from the wind as it flew towards the car and it swooped and rolled in the air, all the while gaining ground. I screamed and pushed the accelerator to the floor. What seemed like hours later, Jim and I were parked outside of my house, but I could not shake the feeling that something was with us. "It's here, Jim, isn't it?" I asked. Jim nodded his head and told me that he didn't know what to do. I asked if he could tell anything about the presence. He took a deep breath. "I can only sense that it's a young boy and that he has an intense hatred for the church." I was amazed, but not surprised, that he could feel that, and I told him that I was scared to go into my house alone.
He came in with me, and as soon as we opened the door, we could feel it. A feeling of dread hung in the air and the pressure was still on my chest. I suggested to Jim that we get on-line and look into the history of the town where the church is. I thought that perhaps it could provide us with some insight as to how we would get rid of the presence. After searching for several hours, we eventually came across an article about the church, and how there were plans to tear it down in the near future. The article explained that the church had not been used since 1903, when a young boy had been found murdered in it. The article went on to say that it was later discovered that the reverend of the church was the murderer of the young boy, although he was never apprehended.
When Jim and I finished reading the article, we turned to each other, our eyes wide. What Jim had said about the presence being a young boy who hated the church made perfect sense. Eventually, as Jim and I talked about our discovery, the feeling began to dissipate and we knew that we were finally alone.
I have vowed never to go back to that church. I don't even know if it's still standing or if the proceedings to tear it down have commenced. I can only tell you that this was the most terrifying experience of my life, and I hope never to encounter something of that magnitude again.