The Preoccupied Rental

In the latter part of 1979, my then boyfriend had rented a small, one bedroom house. He wasn't home much as we were young and had lots to do. I remember the first time he took me over to this new place to show me around...I didn't feel entirely comfortable there. I noticed that the old Michigan basement had a rather deep hole that went into the earth from one of the side walls. It was rather strange, and I commented to him that it was creepy. His reply was that the house was probably filled with animals, and this was how they got in and out. When he moved in he had a small dog, who was very protective as well as loveable, her name was Tonya. This dog was a brave soul and would protect her people from anything, but she would not stay in this house. He would leave, and she would go right through the screens and go back to where his sister lived, about 6 blocks away. Mind you it was summer, and he had just moved to this new place from his sister's house. He finally had to give Tonya to his sister, because she just refused to stay there, and was afraid that she would get killed travelling the roads between his and his sister's homes.

Shortly after the dog had moved back to his sisters house, he had a bunch of us over for a small cookout. The back yard was really long, and we were toward the back of it. Even with our backs to the house, I kept feeling like we were being watched. I kept having to look back at the house, but was not able to see anything. Much Later, I discovered that quite a few of the people who were there had felt the same way. Then, one night I had decided to stay over with him, and we had been out pretty late. We had been in bed about an hour or so, each thinking that the other was asleep (dead sober)...The front door opened, and footsteps could be heard approaching the bedroom (which was all on one floor).They stopped just before you would expect to see them in the doorway, turned and went to the back of the house through the kitchen. The basement was through the kitchen, but I didn't hear the footsteps going down the stairs.

The next morning, I didn't bring up what I had experienced to my boyfriend, because I figured he would think I was off my rocker. But as I was doing the breakfast dishes, he was right behind me in the driveway, working on his motorcycle. I could watch him through the window, if I turned around. I got the strangest feeling, that someone was in the room with me, but couldn't see a thing. This feeling was not just one of unease, but quite unsettling. I left the room and ran outside, and was surprised to hear that he had felt like he was being watched too?!!! Needless to say that was the last time I went to the house again, and he moved out within a week. We've been married for 17 years now and both remember this story very well. What a house!!!