O'Neill's Ghostories This Week: Night to Remember

Night to Remember
from Dustin
Hailing From: Marion, Indiana
Where it Happened: A haunted house in Fairmount, Indiana

It happened a couple of years ago when I was 15. A few of my friends and I were sitting at their house bored out of our mind and so one of my friends said "hey lets go do something fun like walk in the woods or something", now, I am really hooked on doing things that could scare the pants of me or my friends so I suggested going to an old house on one of my other friends property and maybe set up a tent inside and see who would stay the whole night, and of course they loved the idea.

So my two friends and I went to the house and started deciding where each of us would sleep. It was a two story house so there was lots of room to chose from, and one of the ways you could tell it was so old was that there wasn't even any indoor plumbing.

I decided I would sleep in what appeared to have been a family room at one time and my other friends decided to sleep in two different bedrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs (now don't forget this house is extremely old, there is paint peeling and floors breaking and cracking and broken windows and stuff like that).

Well, we lit a fire in the fireplace and we all went off to our places to get some shuteye. I soon awoke to a cold breeze blowing down my back I had realized that I had tumbled out of my blanket and was freezing my backside off, so in the process of getting up to get warm next to the burning embers in the fireplace I decided to check on my friends and make sure they were O.K.

I walked into the closest bedroom only to find that there was no one there. I said to myself, "OK, its all right he is probably just had to go to the bathroom, or something." So then I walked upstairs to the upper bedroom where my other friend was sleeping, and once again I was met with an empty room.

Slightly rattled but more annoyed, I went outside the house and yelled, "OK the gag is up! This isn't funny anymore, come on out."

. . . yet nothing but silence answered me back.

Once again I shouted "OK guys this isn't funny anymore! I am really getting freaked out here. Come on out!"

And still, not a sound.

So at this point I am sure you can imagine that I was about to pee my pants. I ran out to where the car was parked and found nothing but tire tracks. The thought of them leaving me for a joke was quite sickening. I was beginning to think they had left for fun and games when I saw a note tacked to the tree next to where we parked that said, "Hey, Clint and I went for snacks. Its 3:30 a.m. now we will be right back"

I thought to myself, I'm going to kill them when they get back! They should have hung that note in the house. Still, I was relieved and so I return inside to get warm. But the worried scared feelings I had experienced before were nothing to compared to what I was about to experience in the events that followed.

About 10 minutes after I was back inside I heard the floor above me shudder a bit, but that didn't worry me much, after all, it was an extremely old house to begin with. Then I heard the only door that was on hinges on the closet in the room next to me slam shut. It scared me of course, but I only thought the wind was responsible.

Then to my horror I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the floor above me. I shouted, "Bob, Clint is that you up there?" But there was no answer.

I shouted again, and still no answer. I was really beginning to worry and the footsteps seemed to be going towards the staircase that led down to right to where I was. I stood up and looked up the staircase. I saw no one, but I could still hear the footsteps coming. So I did whatever any normal person would do, I ran! And I ran hard out of the house and down the old country road away from the old house.

I had no idea where I was going, all I knew for certain was that I was going to place as much distance between that old house and myself as humanly possible. I was in a dead heat when I saw headlights turn down the road I was standing on. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, and soon the beat up car that belonged to my friend Clint pulled to a stop beside me.

He asked, "What are you doing way out here man?" and after I caught my breath I told him what had happened. They took a moment, staring at each other, then looked back at me and said that they were really sorry they had left me there by myself without waking me. We went home after that and never even went back to the house to get our sleeping bags.

O'Neill's

A truly nice story, Dustin, thanks for sending it in. The only part I was surprised about was that you decided to split up to sleep once inside the old abandoned house. I guess I would have opted for the safety in numbers option, but then again I'm a big chicken anyway!

Summer Side Notes for my Readers:

I hope all of you have had a great summer, and for those of you who still have more vacation time left, enjoy!

I am finally back from the yearly outing, this time to Sacramento, Auburn, Placerville, Tahoe and Lone Pine, where the scenery was perfect and everyone we met was great. I was particularly pleased to find that the hills around Placerville ("Hangtown" and home to Thomas Kinkade) were graced by so many fabulous wineries nestled in almost storybook settings.

One in particular stood out from the rest, the Fitzpatrick Winery which had an unbelievable view of the valley farms and fields below. Another winery we visited had some of the nicest people working and visiting when we arrived, and that was the Chateau Rodin Winery. If you are ever in the "Hangtown" area (appropriately named for the plethora of claim jumpers and mule thieves hung by the neck on almost daily baisis during the California Gold Rush -- see the Hangtown pic below along with a couple others), be sure to set aside a day and visit these great places. You won't be disappointed. And to all those who extended their hospitality to us, I thank you. You made another wonderful vacation for my family and myself with memories we will treasure for a long, long time to come.

Have a great week everyone,

:-) Keno ... whose mind is wandering back to a small dock on the edge of Lake Havasu. I spent a lifetime there once...

Hangmans Tree

Ye Olde Hangmans Tree Historical Spot in Placerville, California

Sutter's Mill

History was made here! What it must have felt like to
snatch the first gold nugget out of this spot!
(visit the virtual reality website)

Fitzpatrick Winery View

The view from the railing at Fitzpatrick Winery
(visit their website)

Rodin Winery

Our new friend Raymond introducing the "grape" at Chateau Rodin Winery
(visit their website)

View of Lake Tahoe from the Tram

Don'tcha love high heights! The Tahoe Tram