October 24, 2008

Get your spook on...


If you are just joining us, scroll down to the next post and see the wicked awesome prizes, plus the rules to the contest and welcome.

Don't be scared off by the rule list. Just come share your experiences and if you are a great writer, enter a story. If you're not a great writer, don't worry, just share what you have experienced. Your real encounters count too. Join in and let's share our spooky happenings and you could win a great prize for it. Remember to link to your blog in the comment box too.

Right- for those who know me in real life. Don't look at me different next time you see me. I am not crazy, this is all 100 % true. I don't lie or exaggerate (like Crash) or tell stories about crazy brain eating bugs. My stories are actual paranormal events.

To get things rolling, I have decided that for every 5 comments linking to your blog & story, I will tell another experience with the paranormal, and believe me I have tons! So join me, and don't make me feel embarrassed for telling these private stories that I have told only a few people about.

Let me begin by giving you some background on me. I was 13 when my family moved to England from the U.S. I ended up marrying a sexy Brit and we now have 3 GORGEOUS kids. While we lived in England I had a lot of my "experiences". I think it is because the history is so rich, and the amount of lives that have begun and ended there, is innumerable. It is a relatively small island, crammed full of people.

The weather only adds to the spookiness. The cold, damp, wet winters are long and bitter. It begins to get dark at 3 pm during the winter months and the winter is really 3/4 of the year. It is always raining in England.

So let's go back to one winter in Ascot, England.
Yes, Royal Ascot, where the famous horse races take place. The one where the women get to wear those big, cool, fancy hats and the men have to wear morning suits. You know, the ones with the tails at the back. And where the Queen comes riding in her royal carriage to begin the races. Think Eliza Dolittle. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, and all that silliness.






My sister Mary and I were asked to babysit for a family who lived near us. I was 16 and she was 18. Being that she was older, she was the real babysitter and I was her company. I know now, why they asked for both of us.

I had never been to this family's house. We were literally a stones throw from the raceway. As we turned into the drive I was shocked to see the size of the house. It was big, really big. Straight out of the movies. Huge stone pillars lined the drive. The back yard was like a local park and thick fog was covering the grounds. This huge, stately, and did I say huge home, was going to be our home, for the next 2 weeks. As we walked in, I got a little scared to be honest. There was definitely a "feeling" to the home. It's one of those things you can't explain.

The parents left and the first few days went by with no incidents. I was never comfortable there, but we managed to get by and the crazy kids helped keep our mind off of things. One night after the kids had been put to bed( hours before), we figured we would hit the sack. Our room was on the 3rd floor. We got settled into bed then heard what sounded like a harmonica playing on the 1st floor. I figured it was the kids trying to scare us, so we went to go tell them to knock it off and get back to bed.

We went to all their rooms, and all of them were fast asleep. We even waited in the hall way to see if they would pop out of bed thinking we were gone, and run downstairs to play that nasty trick on us again. I forgot to mention there were 2 stairways on either end of the house. They could have snuck down and done it, with out us seeing them. As we waited in the hall, WE HEARD IT PLAYING AGAIN!!! No one was out of their beds. We were the only other people in the house. We ran to our beds and got under the covers and tried to forget it happened, or tried to explain it away as being an alarm of something.

The next morning, once the sun had risen and given us our courage back, we got the kids up and asked them if it was them messing around. In this crazy house, there could have been secret passageways. They swore it wasn't them and we believed them. They all said that they had heard it before anyhow. Yikes!

As we were waiting for them to get their jackets and shoes on in the front foyer I looked at a shadow box on the wall, and what would be encased in it. Yeah- only a HARMONICA. That night I was scared of everything. I didn't want to be alone, or be at that house anymore really, but my sister couldn't be left alone in that house so I swallowed my fear and just tried to carry on as normal. We were waiting on my Dad, who was on his way over to come and make sure the house was secure and that we felt safe. As we waited for him to finish with a church meeting, we heard various other noises. Outside we heard what sounded like a shovel being dragged in the gravel driveway. We would watch as the motion sensor lights would come on and off whenever we would hear the noise. Various other things happened in those 2 weeks but nothing as scary as what would happen to me after my Dad had left.

He brought over one of his friends with him to make sure the house was locked and that there was no one on the property. I am sure they thought we were just young girls getting spooked in a big scary house. We were, except we weren't just getting spooked by our imagination, these things were truly happening. They came in and told us everything was locked and fine. We had a prayer and they said goodbye. I felt better and tried to convince myself that it was my just my imagination.

Mary went to the 3rd floor to go tan in the tanning bed (yeah- they had their own tanning room) and I went to go read by the fire in the enormous family room. The family room had an adjoining room that was used as the father's office. They didn't want anybody going in the room. So they locked the room from inside the office and then on the outside door, leading to the back garden before they left. So if you are with me, NO ONE could have been in the office that joined the family room.

As I sat reading my book I noticed how much colder and colder it kept getting. I put more logs on the fire and still, I was freezing. I sat up to go and get a blanket from my room, when I heard and saw this door leading to the office, shaking violently and loudly. It was being shaken like a bear was trying to get in and the old door knob kept spinning back and forth. I started screaming and in the back of my mind I thought Mary must have found a key and been trying to scare me. I bolted up the stairs with my heart in my throat and to my astonishment Mary was calmly walking out of the tanning room with her towel on. Unless she had the last name Houdini, Copperfield or Blaine, there was no way that was her in that office.

I don't think she really believed me, but that may have been a good thing. I couldn't hack it anymore and went home, leaving her to finish out the last week.
Sorry Mary- still to this day I feel so bad about that one. There were no further strange events at that house while she was there, and life went on for both of us. I never accepted babysitting jobs from them again (obviously). I still wonder what that was trying to get in. Why was something trying to scare me so bad?

My Dad went back the next day and everything was locked, no broken windows in the office. There was no way any living thing had been in there. My Dad later told the parents what had happened and the father said he had taken the keys to both doors with him. I guess they had experienced some strange events before that too. It would have been REALLY nice to know that before I accepted to babysit.

So the moral of my story is this: don't go babysit at old, HUGE houses in England, and don't leave your sister alone with spooky ghosts, no matter how scared you are. That was the start of many strange and scary things that have continued to happen to me in the last 13 years. Like I said, if you start to share I will continue to share my stories, my TRUE stories, unlike Crash's.

Sleep tight tonight,

xoxo Emily

25 comments:

Andrea said...

Crazy Old England Homes - I remember not to buy one.

Alyson | New England Living said...

So scary!! I would have freaked! I lived in England too (I wonder if we were there at the same time, by the way) and it is one haunted place and it seems like EVERYONE there believes in ghosts. I had one minor experience there, but nothing like yours.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us and I'll be emailing you soon! Oh, does Mary still look back on that experience and believe or has she explained it away?

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Holy Canoli! That was freaky.

But OMYGosh! Do you what your word verifier is spelling for me right now?

faking

That is even freakier than your freaky story. I seriously got chills from your story and from your word verifier.

I'm not lying about the faking either.

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Okay, I'm back because I want to make another comment to get it up to 5 so we can hear more.

And also so I could see what your word verifier says this time. It says:

pressith

That is kind of weird too.

Doo doo doo doo

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Okay, I'm back again because I'm totally fascinated by your word verifier. And I also want to know what Mary's side of the story is.

Now it says:

renti

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Okay that's at least 5. Tell us more!

And now it says sheader

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Now it just says

Pyintios

Emily Anne Leyland said...

I should ask her, but she laughs at me now for watching Ghost Hunters. I think I am more sensitive to that stuff than she is too, so we have a different point of view anyhow. I think the house she lives in now is haunted. Ooh- I forgot about that story....hehehe.

Where in England were you? Crazy! Don't you just love it? I miss it so much, especially since all of our family is still there.

The Crash Test Dummy said...

And by the way, that bug burrowing into my brain story was true! How many times did I say that.

snibrias

I think your word verifier is trying to tell me something. Some sort of code.

If you put the last two word verifier words together and unscramble them, it honestly, not kidding spells:

Yo bra, it is spin sin. The Word Verifier is from Hawaii. Yo Bra gives that away. It is spin sin.

Faking and spin sin. Hmmmm

Did you make that story up?

I'm just asking.

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Dude- that is crazy about the word verifier.My story is totally true.

Are you serious that bug story was true? Yikers. Ben told me that in the school microwaves, there are roaches that will live through being microwaved!!!!!I could never live there after hearing about the roaches...EEEEEK.

I said 5 other experiences. So people better get sharing or these haunted lips are sealed...lol.

Alyson | New England Living said...

I lived in Sutton Coldfield. Yeah, I was a brummie, for a bit! I pick up accents very, very easily, so I was totally rockin' the Birmingham slang. I went on my own and lived with an LDS family when I was 16-17. Loved it! Really want to go back and visit.

J. Baxter said...

Umm, that was FREAKY!! I can't believe that happened to you! I honestly can't even imagine. I wouldn't have gone back either. Smart move.

Ginger said...

Alright, here I go. I hate telling or hearing any stories that make me feel anxious or make me loose sleep over it. I'm going to set all of that aside and tell my stories only because I want the prizes.

It all starts off with my brother Aaron, I don't remember the ages of when this all happened.

Aaron hated to sleep in his bedroom, I think it had to do with the Motley Crue poster that my older brother had hanging on the wall. So Aaron would sleep in on the family room floor.

One morning as we are sitting around the table having breakfast, Aaron askes my mom, "who was the man with the orange hat on and whistling to me last night?. All my mom could say was, "Aaron you were dreaming, there was no one in the house last night." Well Aaron swear up and down that there was some one whistling to him.

Two weeks had pasted and by that time I forgot all about that night.

I was in my bed sleeping facing the wall. Then I woke up without opening my eyes and I rolled over. As soon as I did that I heard a voice say, "whatever you do don't open your eyes." For some reason I rolled right back over to face the wall and started to here the whistling noises. What ever it was I do not want to know. It took all that I had to not open my eyes.

After a while this peacfull, calming feeling came over me and I was alseep.

I told my mom and my brother the next morning what had happened and Aaron pipes up, "see I told you!!!"

I will never forgot that whistling sound.

Emily Anne Leyland said...

A Brummie!?! Too funny. My sister nearly married a Brummie. Alyson-where are your stories?

Ginger- that was freaky!!!!Thanks for sharing.

K- I don't know if it is because I am thinking about spooky stuff constantly but last night when I was nursing Annabelle to sleep, in my pitch dark bedroom, I heard what sounded like my window shattering. It was soooo loud and I could have sworn that someone had thrown a huge rock at it. It scared Annabelle and we both just froze. I yelled for Dan to come up and look around. I couldn't move.

He turned the light on and nothing was out of place, no windows broken. I had major goose bumps. It was sooo loud, right there next to us. I tried to recreate the noise with things near my bed side table. I have big glass hurricane lamps with shells and a candle inside, on our bed side tables. I picked up one of the big pillar candles and dropped it into the shells from about 10 inches above, and that was the SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!! K- I am getting freaked out. What the crap!?!?!

J. Baxter said...

Ooops! Forgot my link last time - sorry:) Here you go-

http://jensjingle.blogspot.com/2008/10/psychic-drawings-and-sasquatch.html

Nutty Hamster Chick said...

Wow that was spooky. My real life is so scary, paranormal stuff never happens to me.

Ginger said...

http://inthehouseofginger.blogspot.com/
Another story, check it out.

Funny Farmer said...

ROFLMAO at The Dummy and the word verifier anagrams. You kill me!

Emily - I think maybe you are some kind of ghost magnet or something. Very freaky and nerve wracking. Yikes!

"apotin"

binks said...

Well, I posted this before your contest so I will link you up. Posting other scary stories this week. I'll have to go over the rules and post the scariest one.
Here is the scary story .

Emily Anne Leyland said...

That was scary. Oh my heck. Go read these stories everyone.....ahhhhhhhhh!

Crash-n-Sewl said...

Sent in by Deedra Levy of Canada
(these are spookilicious)


#1
My grandparents owned this big old house in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Apparently neither of them experienced anything weird, but their kids did.

One time, my Aunt who lives in Florida came up to visit and were staying at the house while my grandparents were away. Well, she got home when it was already dark. She washes up and climbs into bed. She hears the faucet turn on in the guest bathroom. She figures she just left it on somehow and went to turn it off. She got back into bed and heard some noises. She figured one of her sisters were coming to stay at the house, too, so she just dismissed it again. Well, a couple minutes later, she feels the bed move beside her, as if someone has crawled into bed beside her. She feels around and there's NOTHING there. Just the indent in the bed.

She high-tailed it out of there.

#2
My Mom went to stay at my grandparents house when they were away. She decided she would sleep on the couch downstairs because frankly, upstairs scared the snot out of her. Well, it's dusk and she's reading her book. All of a sudden, she hears the sound of feet dragging down the stairs. She said she could just feel bad energy.

She high-tailed it out of there.

#3

We had an old farm house in Wye Bridge, Ontario when I was a little girl. My Mom was reading (hmm, I see a pattern here...maybe my mom should just stop reading and these things would stop happening to her! lol) in bed, and she looked up to see a woman all dressed in white putting away her clothes. Weird, huh?

#4 My parents had a house in Calgary, Alberta. My Aunt (a little insight into this woman's personality is that she is an awful, mean, evil woman) was staying with them. They all left the house that day. Don't know where they went. All that's known is that when they were gone, my Aunt's bedroom burned down. Nothing more, nothing less. Just her room.

#5 This story comes from a friend of mine. She and her brother used to share this bedroom. Two twin beds in the bedroom. Anyway, every single morning, her brother would wake up, having wet the bed some time during the night. Their mother found it most frustrating, and would often get the little boy in trouble. Anyhow, one night, in the middle of the night, my friend woke up, and saw why her brother kept wetting his bed. Floating above him was an angryfemale ghost. Inches above his face. The little boy lay there paralyzed staring at this apparation. So scared, was he, that he wet his bed every single time she appeared.

#6 This is about the ghost of a little girl. Some people I know moved into an old house and every now and then would see this little girl run across the room, only, when she was running, she was a foot above the actual floor. No one could understand it until they realized that since the house was old, it had settled almost a foot. A little girl died there when the house was new.

Alyson | New England Living said...

Hi Emily! I will write about my experiences, but I've been in Sleepy Hollow all weekend. Will start on it tonight.

Emily Anne Leyland said...

Ooooh- I am majorly jealous!! How fun. We eagerly await you freaky stories ;)

Funny Farmer said...

Ok - here's mine:

http://boks-funnyfarm.blogspot.com/2008/10/exorcism-day-keeps-blues-away-or-funny.html

And I wanna know how binks got it to be a real link instead of the ugly url all hanging out everywhere. Do tell!

dougboyle said...

Emily, it is not just you or our family. I mentioned what had happened in a conference I was leading, and several people came up after and said that they routinely had "Visitors" walking on their balcony, that they could see them going through the walls. Not just once or twice, but routinely. Also, you didn't mention what happened when Rick and I were there, about the lights in the garage going on and off, with no one out there. Nor did you mention about Lindridge House and the voices calling out for our Australian friend who was watching the house while we were gone, remember that? And other funny happenings in that house. England is such an interesting place to live and visit. Good blog, I love this one as well as your family blog