There Was Something In The Basement

I have always believed in ghosts and spirits. Also, I thought that if I were to ever encounter one that I would not be that scared. I was right about the first statement and seriously wrong about the second. This is sort of long but every word is true.

It was the summer of 1996 and I had just graduated high school. It was an early day and a few of my friends and I decided to go for a drive on some of the many back roads surrounding our town. (this was a typical thing since there was little to do in our small town.) I was driving and my friends Ryan and Joe were with me. It wasn't unusual for me to stop paying attention and just drive. I always went by the saying "If you don't know where you're at and you don't care, you're not lost." It wasn't hard to get lost sometimes becasue there were a lot of roads that didn't even have street signs.

After about an hour we ended up well away from town and on a long stretch of dirt road with large endless fields on either side. After a few minutes on the road we spotted a single, two-story, farm house set about 50 yards from the road. The grass was tall all around and the two-track driveway was barely visible through the crabgrass. I was curious and decided to go ahead and drive up to it since it was surely abandon and we had nothing better to do.

As I pulled closer to the house more of the detail was visible. The front porch was barely intact and wooden boards were nailed up to prevent entry. Only a few of the windows were still in one piece and the wooden siding was chipping white paint. I remember my friend Joe saying saying that the place look haunted so I suggested that we go in and check it out.

*Now, I consider myself a pretty brave man. Growing up the son of a once respected Marine officer and a now decorated police officer taught me not to be easily scared or intimidated and that everything has a logical explanation. That was all about to be tossed aside.

It took the better half of ten minutes to try and convince my two friends that it would be OK to go inside. It was about 4:00pm and the sun was still shining bright. Finally we all got the guts and walked to the back door. It took only a touch to swing the door open, it was if the house welcomed us in. As soon as we entered I could feel the atmosphere change completely. It was if the air was thicker. Almost as if the air had a "grip" on you. The back door opened to a short narrow hallway. Just as the hallway opened up to a kitchen on the right, there was a door on the left. It was situated in such a way that you had to pass the door to open it because it would close off the hallway when opened.

As we all passed I opened it to see the darkened basement. It was terribly cold I thought for such a hot summer day but there was something else odd about it. The staircase had been cut or broken off after the third step down. It was dark because of no windows and I could not see the bottom.(it was almost as if it went on forever) I thought nothing much of it at the time and shut the door tightly. (an important fact to keep in mind)

As we went on through the kitchen and into a dinning room which open to the left into the front entry way and then further into the living room we noticed something else odd about the house. It was completely furnished. Tables, chairs, sofas and even an old piano were strung about. My friends tried to get me to leave, insisting that someone still lived there. I explained that there was a lot of dust on the hardwood floors and the tracks from our shoes were the only marks in it. (another important fact). They were getting bad feelings but I was curious so I told them we would leave shortly, right after we checked out the second story. That's when things got freaky.

There was a hallway going up the stairs directly in front of the front door. We went up and at the top was a narrow hallway were four doors, two on either side, all with there doors shut. I opened the first on the right and went in while my friends ventured further down the hall and into other rooms.

This room was at the front corner of the house and was well lit by two windows. There was nothing in the room except for a dresser and a hole in the floor next to it. It was as big around as a car tire and you could clearly see the first floor through it. I carefully got down on one knee to look through it and that's when it happened.

The thickness in the air was suddenly unbearable and I got this dreadful feeling of not being alone. Then I heard this noise coming from down stairs that I will never forget and recalling it now is giving me goose bumps. It first sounded like a long eerie yawn and then turned to this, it's hard to explain, unearthly gargling noise that slowly grew louder. My hands and feet turned ice cold and my heart felt like it was going to tear out of my chest. It lasted for about 5 seconds and then faded to nothing. The fear that was welling up inside me snapped me to my feet and bolted me out of the bedroom door faster than lightning. I made it out just in front of my friends who, by the look on their faces, had heard the same thing I had.

We raced down the stairs and when I reached the bottom I noticed something that made my blood turn cold. The tracks that we made in the dust had been wiped away by what looked like something being dragged across the floor. It started (or ended) at the foot of the stairs and followed the exact same path we all took from the back door only it didn't go all the way to the back door. It kept going right to, and through, the basement door which was now open.

I was almost in tears with fright as I reluctantly reached out to shut the door that was blocking our much needed exit. As I did I got this terrible feeling of evil, like something was going to reach out of the darkness and pull me in. I whimpered like a whipped puppy as I slammed that thing shut and continued steadily to the door and out to the yard.

I never even stopped to look if my friends were with me, all I could think about was that my car wasn't going to start like it does in the movies. But it did start and as quick as I could get it started and my friends piled in I raced out of there like our lives depended on it. As far as I was concerned, our lives did depend on it.

It took me a while to find my way back to town and the whole way not more than 5 words came out of any our mouths.

We seldom talk about it even now. I've told a few people here and there over the years and no one really believes me. A few friends tried to get me to take them there and show them but I don't think I could find that house again if I wanted. Not that I want to either, ever.