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February 16, 2010

Things that GO BUMP In My (night) Life.

This is another next installment of my encounter with the mysterious visitor.

I was going to leave it as it was…with that little glimpse last week. But a few of you asked for more. I am, after all a giver. Albeit a giver of creepiness.

We lived in this town house for about 3 years.

Suz around 12

I wrote about my first memory of the visitor, and I don’t remember exactly, but this did not happen until we had lived here for a while, possibly within a year. I think. A lot of my memories about ‘time’ are fuzzy.

Remember I was around 13 at the time. I was really focused on boys, lip gloss and my new curling iron.

I do remember that night in those details.

And then, I remember this night in these details.

I think the time frame between that first visit and this one were only a few weeks apart, but like I said, my time frame is fuzzy.

On this next night of my memories, I was asleep on the couch. This was a 3 story townhouse. The living room, dining room and kitchen were on the second floor. Our bedrooms were on the third floor and the basement was, um, in the basement.

So I was asleep on the couch on the 2nd floor. I remember I must have fallen asleep reading or something, because I still had on my corduroy pants and a t-shirt. It was the middle of the night and dark.

Mom was now working nights.

I can’t recall if my brother was even home or if he was upstairs in his room with his headphones on sleeping to some funky music. (he loved techno before it was cool)

I remember waking up hearing the footsteps upstairs again.

Just like the previous visit, I could hear them start by my bedroom, go past my brothers room and head to my Mom’s room.

Then they went back in the same direction.

I did not know what to do. I had no bed to dive into this night.

I was on my own.

I reached down by my feet and pulled up my yellow fuzzy blanket. I was thinking…thinking about what I could do. Run out the front door? I could probably make it out there, but then what? Scream? Scream what? Murder?

I did nothing.

I froze.

I froze, hoping this would just stop.

Just go away.

I could hear the steps upstairs…going up and down the hall, the speed picking up just like that first night.

Back and forth.

Then, my worst fears were about to come to fruition.

The footsteps were now coming down the stairs.

Slowly.

My heart was in my throat.

I pulled the blanket up over my face.

I remember thinking: oh my gosh, I am going to be face to face with this, this thing. I was imagining it was a green alien creature. (Ever since I had seen Close Encounters of the Third kind I was terrified of aliens.)

The footsteps came down the stairs slowly, then stopped.

When I say you can hear every move in this wood framed town house, I am not exaggerating. You can hear every move.

The steps then slowly went back up the stairs.

ahhhh…maybe I would live after all.

I could hear the footsteps upstairs making the same back and forth track in front of our bedrooms…at a quicker pace again.

And then…

back down the stairs IT came.

Right towards me.

I don’t think I was breathing.

I had the blanket tight over my face. NOT moving. NOT breathing. My eyes shut tight.

My brain was screaming: GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!

But my mouth said nothing. Not a word.

I heard the steps come across the outside of the coffee table…then around the coffee table between the couch and the table.

I just knew if I opened my eyes I would see something through the fibers of my old blanket. I just knew it was standing RIGHT there in front of me!

But I could NOT open my eyes.

I wanted it to go away.

Leave me alone!!!!!

It moved past me.

It went back up the stairs…speedier.

Across the bedroom hall. Speedier.

Down the stairs. faster still. Around the coffee table..next to the couch and back up the stairs.

It was running through our house at a frantic pace.

It was not a pounding on the floor, it was just a constant creaking of steps. Light and steady steps.

I was terrified, I don’t remember how long this lasted…maybe 10 minutes or it could have been an hour.

But the visitor made the same pattern this whole time.

Up and down the stairs. Across the bedroom hallway.

Around the coffee table, next to the couch.

Then in an instant, it just stopped.

It just went back up the stairs and did not come back down.

I still could not move. I waited for it to start again.

It did not come back this night.

I could not get up from my safety spot.

I laid there with the blanket over my head until I could see the sun peeking through the window through my blanket.

My body was so stiff and sore because I had literally froze myself in fear. But, I survived.

33 comments:

  1. I can't even believe how terrifying this is!!! I don't know how you handled it!

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  2. What the heck! Did I miss something. Going to scope it out!

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  3. Did anyone else ever have an encounter?

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  4. I am already scared of the dark, now even moreso! I guess ghost stories scare me because I believe them, and wow, that one is a doozy! I can only imagine how terrified you were.

    Did you ever find out anything about that house?

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  5. I was holding my breath the whole time I read this and I could feel my pulse quicken. I don't know how you were able to keep it together, especially at such a young age; although I don't know if there is an age at which you could calmly handle a note from the visitor.

    Quick movements, repeated laps, sounds like the spirit of a child to me.

    I am ready for the next installment....

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  6. OMG...that is absolutely terrifying! I can't imagine what I would have done, probably the same as you, just hid under the blanket.

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  7. Don't leave us hanging like this!!!

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  8. I'm glad you survived, but now you're scaring me!

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  9. So my students are on their 10 minute break while I'm reading this. HOW AM I GOING TO TEACH HOW TO DOCUMENT A RESEARCH PAPER NOW? My hands are shaking. My breathing is quick and surely without proper oxygen. Who was the ghost? Holy cow. When is the next installment? And more importantly, how did you not have a heart attack? ('cause I might just be having one now.)

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  10. Giving us this story to share
    Leaving us on the edge of our chair
    Give us more before you forget
    I wonder if your pants you wet?

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  11. amazing stuff, although i know it was quite terrifying for you at the time.
    i wonder why all the running around. did anyone besides you experience anything? i hope so, i hope you weren't alone in this. i know in the house i grew up in as a young child, several people experienced the paranormal there, so it was never just one person having the experiences and thinking they were crazy. everyone had an experience, even visitors.
    i can't wait for the next installment.
    thanks for sharing this, i am a total believer. i just wonder, what really is a ghost and why are they here, etc. fascinating!

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  12. Write a book asap please! I would buy it. read it. pee my pants. and love it!!!!


    (hugs to you at 13! how scary!!!!)

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  13. Okay, so now I get why you said you try to stay as far away from anything "ghostly" as you can when you toured St. Augustine.
    So glad they've stayed in "the past".
    M.L.

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  14. Yipes---that IS scary... Is there more to the story???
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  15. Oh Suz, I can just imagine how scared you must have been. I think if you go on the offensive with a ghost it puts them in their place. You know, become the Alpha!

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  16. you have such a wonderful way of telling a story and keeping your readers gripped.
    was this one of your family members, did you ever find out who was scaring the hell out of you? maybe what it really sounds like is a stray cat got into your house and nobody noticed but you.

    no wonder your a dog person!!

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  17. Literally a ball of ice in my chest as I read this. I had to remind myself to breathe. If I'm struck scared reading this now, I don't even know how you made it through the night without wetting the couch. I would have peed all over that thang.

    You do have a way with words. Extremely well written, I felt as if I were right there with you. (I wish I would have been, we could have kicked som @$$!!!!) Your writing is a gift.

    On pins and needles waiting now. I won't story stalk. :-)

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  18. I am scared now, but I know that you lived to tell the tale, because here you are, telling it. I can hardly wait to find out how it gets resolved.

    P.S. I have what you had on V-Day, and I hope you are over it. Spent half the day in bed today. I do NOT like to be out of commission! So inefficient! Ggrrrr.

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  19. This is such an "on the edge of your seat" story! I can only imagine how terrified you must have been!
    And to make matter worse, I watched the movie Paranormal Activity last night. If you haven't seen it, don't. It would really freak you out.

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  20. Oh my... I anm totally freaked out. What a great story teller you are!! So what was it???

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  21. It wasn't a dream, eh?

    That's a very strong apparition, if that's the correct term. You're lucky, most of us only hear about such things and now you know about it first-hand!

    Of course at the time I'll bet it didn't feel so cool... :-o

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  22. Keep telling us more!

    Were all your encounters at the same house? Did anyone else in your family experience the same thing? Did you even mention The Vistor to anyone else?

    Do you have any contact with the people at that house presently? Do you know if anyone there has experienced any 'visits'? Or did The Visitor follow you whenever you moved? Or did The Visitor just disappear eventually?

    This is sooooo interesting!

    Wouldn't it have been great if TAPS (Ghost Hunters) were around back then to come over and investigate? I wonder what they would have found...

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  23. SPOOKY!!!!!
    Do you think you were really awake?
    I've had things happen while going to sleep and I mean creepy things and I can't move or react- scared stiff!
    But I swear I am awake and even then next day and to this day I swear I was awake.
    and by creepy, I mean invisible happenings, even the bed shaking.
    Usually these occurred at a stressful times. weird.

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  24. I picture you telling us this in a darkened room.... we're all sitting around you in a circle... and you're telling the story with a flashlight shining up under your chin to make it "Extra Scary"! I just love a good ghost story!

    Looking forward to Episode Three!!

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  25. was it a dog? or some sort of animal? There is more to this story and I want to know what!

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  26. phew!
    I had to read this twice.
    The first time fast, scanning quickly until I got to the end and found out what it was. I couldn't bare to linger over the words or images, just had to get to the end FAST!
    then I went back and read it again.
    slowly.
    It's 7 a.m. and there's a cold shiver running down my back.
    did anything else happen?
    I'm with Lindsey.
    "There is more to this story and we want to know WHAT!"
    ;-)

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  27. I actually have little hairs standing up on my arms reading this. I feel the fear...cause I have been there. Sitting nursing my second daughter. Whew.

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  28. oh my god how scary for a young girl! i would certainly have wet myself or worse...

    i DO believe in this stuff cuz i have had experiences, as well.

    i will write about them sometime on my blog...


    i got shivers now....


    c

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  29. hmmm. I don't believe in "ghosts" per se. (I'll send you an email one of these days.Remind me!!) I'm just glad that your visitor didn't scare the life from you!! I am curious if any other family members experienced this.

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  30. I just want you to know that I dreamed about this last night. Only, of course, it was happening to me. Lucky for me I've only had a nightmare once, and my mind likes to turn my dreams to the odd and funny side rather than the scary, and that is the turn it took. But, I have no doubt the idea was there from this post.

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