The Uninvited Guest..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

A few years ago a friend asked me to housesit while he and his wife were out of town.  After work I picked up some Wendy's and went to his house, which was out in the country.  Upon arriving I set my dinner in his kitchen and went into his den to turn on the football game.  Being that he had about a dozen remotes, I couldn't figure out how to get to the game.

 

With a burger in tow, I then went down the hall to their bedroom.  Passing the dining and living rooms I noticed several unpacked boxes from when they moved in several months ago, but didn't really think much of it.  Once in the bedroom I had a TV with a single remote and sat on the corner of the bed to watch the game.  Two bites into my hamburger I hurt a nose come from down the hall.  I muted the TV and listened.  Over the next few minutes I heard the distinct sounds of cardboard boxes being slid across their hardwood floors.  Being that the only two lights on in the house were in the kitchen and bedroom at opposite ends of the house, I couldn't see down the hall or the boxes moving.

 

"Ghost" didn't enter my mind.  I thought his house had been broken into and an intruder was present.  I flipped the light off, hoping my presence had miraculously gone undetected.  There was no exit from the end of the house I was in, so I began to slowly make my way back up the hall.  I slipped as slowly and quietly up the hall.  I guess it probably took me five minutes or more because I was stopping after every small step.  I thought I was sneaking up on burglars and was very frightened about the pending confrontation.  When I got to bathroom on my left, I slipped in and tried to find a weapon.  The only thing I could locate was an iron plant stand that was only slightly larger than my hand.

 

So back down the hall I went, all the while still hearing cardboard boxes moving somewhere ahead of me.  I literally had to make myself take ahead step ahead.  As I got closer I realized the sound was coming from both the living room on my left AND the dining room on my right just a few feet ahead of me.  Great! Two intruders, I thought.

 

However, when I sprang into the living room, nothing was there!  Both rooms were in relative disarray, but this was normal.  I then went into the dining room and found the same nothingness.  Only then did it dawn on me that I was likely dealing with a ghost.

 

I went into the kitchen to make sure I wasn't mistaking about the origin of the sounds.  No sooner than entering the kitchen, the sounds started back in the other two rooms.  It was then I believed a spirit was taunting me.

 

Since the noise was coming from the dark and I was still scared, I wanted to find somewhere I could hide in the light.  Just then I started hearing rummaging sounds coming from the garage, which connected to the kitchen.  I jumped over into the laundry room, which was also beside the kitchen.  From my hiding place could sit there in a snug room and look out toward the breakfast area.  The breakfast area was lined with windows, which conveniently doubled as mirrors for me, allowing me to view the entire kitchen area from my hiding space.  Over the next few minutes I continued to hear boxes slowly sliding around down the hall.

 

As I sat there scared out of my wits, I witnessed the door between the garage and kitchen rattle a little.  Then I watched the doorknob rotate and the door open all the way…then slowly close back.

 

With that the sounds ended.  I waited a couple of more minutes, and then exited my hiding spot.  I knew what I had just encountered, but knew I couldn't remain there that night.  However, since I'd promised to check on his house, I felt obliged to check things out before leaving.  I mustered all my courage and walked through the entire house, which included an upstairs.  Finally I walked around the outside of the house to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything…THEN I GOT THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we had moved to Mississippi, Dad returned to Cleveland many weekends to check on the house and property.  Since we had not sold the house yet, Dad returned to finish some of the remodeling projects he was working on.
Dad slept on a pallet in his old bedroom while home. 

Since there was no need to heat the entire house, Dad would close all the bedroom doors.  Shortly after lying down, Dad would hear the doors open one by one.  Thinking it was an error on his part, he would get back up and securely close all the doors.  Once again he'd lie down and hear all the doors open in sequence.  It was at that point that Dad concluded that Penny was determined to keep those doors open, so Dad gave up.

There were other nights where Dad would again awake to the sound of a sobbing child.  I don't know if he'd talk and try to console it, or if the sobbing tapered off on its own.

Barn Burning

Near the end of time living on Rabbit Valley Road, we arrived home from school to find our smaller barn on fire. There was only one room on fire, so the barn wasn't engulfed in flames.

In addition to our barn being on fire, our sheep had been attacked, presumably, by a pack of wild dogs. "Massacred" is probably a better term. The sheriff's department surmised the attack was caused by a pack of wild dogs, but no dogs were ever seen. The sheriff's department presumed our return home had scared the dogs off. Both the veterinarian (who had been summoned to the scene) and the deputies said it would have taken a large pack of beasts to wreak so much devastation is so little time.

When all was said and done, approximately 12 of our sheep had been slaughtered. Their wounds were also highly unusual. The main wounds were located just behind the front leg where a 3-4" chunk of flesh had been removed. My sister, who was a vet's assistant, described it looking like someone had taken a round cookie cutter and simply cut out a cylinder of flesh. The flesh has been more torn out than gnawed. A few of the other sheep victims had similar wounds (only deeper, 4-6" deep) at their rectum.

We cannot believe that wild dogs did this. These sheep weren't killed in a manner of a predator killing prey. The sheep did not have bite marks elsewhere on their bodies. One would expect to see bite marks on the backs of the sheep legs from being chased by predators. When pack animals kill, typically several will hold the prey while it is being killed. Our sheep didn't have wounds like this at all. Additionally, none of the sheep's flesh was consumed…not exactly a characteristic of a hungry predator.

Working with the fire department, the fire was extinguished and order was finally restored. Though they investigated, the fire department could not determine a cause of the fire. They eventually settled on "spontaneous combustion" as its probable cause.

Now let's dig a little deeper. What's the story about the dogs? The sheriff's department put out an APB for a pack of wild dogs or coyotes, but there were never any other reports elsewhere in our county. What became of them? If they attacked our livestock, they'd attack others. And what's the likelihood of this attack occurring during the one hour that my mom wasn't home?
Knowing that Penny's activities had been more frequent during that timeframe, we can't help but believe the supernatural played a roll in it. I don't know if Penny was directly responsible for it, but I doubt it. Besides the rock throwing incident (which I still think of as more playful than malicious), Penny had never acted violently towards us.

Personally, I believe that Penny was distraught that we were leaving. Perhaps all our anxiety about moving combined with Penny's negative energy about our leaving opened a channel for some evil spirits to attack. I honestly do not know.

As your boils and ghouls carve your jack-o-lanterns this week, heres a little Penny story to keep you warm at night...and perhaps keep you up at night.

I have read that jack-o-lanterns were originally used to ward off wandering spirits.  The pumpkins at the doorsteps  scared spirits away from the house.  I've never heard a modern claim to the jack-o-lantern's power, but after what we experienced one autumn, I have to say there must be something to it.

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In keeping with the Halloween tradition, we carved a jack-o-lantern and placed it in our den window.  When Dad awoke the next morning, the pumpkin was rotated so that it faced inward.  Dad just turned the pumpkin back and went about his business.  He was curious about it, but didn't say anything to us.

That night Dad went to bed later than the rest of us.  Before going to bed, though, he checked on the pumpkin, which was still in the proper position.  However, when Dad woke up the next morning, the jack-o-lantern was again facing inward. 

 

Dad was even more curious, but was still slightly dismissive.  He rotated the jack-o-lantern back into place and again said nothing to anyone.  Dad again made sure he was the last  one in bed and that the jack-o-lantern was facing outward again.

 

Dad awoke the third morning to find the jack-o-lantern had been moved to the other side of the room during the night.  At that point Dad realized that Penny didn't like that pumpkin in that particular window, so we moved it and had no more problems with it.

 

For what it's worth, Derek always said he believed Penny lived in our room but wandered the property at night.  He always felt that Penny left the house through the den (opposite corner of the house from our bedroom).  If this was indeed true, then perhaps the jack-o-lantern in the den window did offend Penny. 

 

Phantom Screams

On at least two summertime occasions Djuana and Mom heard the loudest, most blood-curdling screams of a woman coming from inside the barn.  The screams wouldn't stop, only ebb and flow.  After the initial shock, Mom and DJ surmised that the screams were possibly the cries of a mountain lion.    This was the only rational explanation they could come up with.  Fearing for the livestock, Djuana went down to the barn and fired her shotgun into the air.  With that, the screaming ceased.

 

Mountain lions are supposed to be extinct in that entire area.  However, it is entirely possible that it was a cougar in the barn.  None of our livestock were disturbed on either occasion (nor any other time, except noted later), so it seems unlikely that there was an actual mountain lion in our barn.  Further, none of our dogs reacted to the screams.  If the dogs had heard the wails, they'd have been on the defensive.

Besides, if it were a mountain lion, it would only be roaring if it was being harassed or threatened, but the dogs were non-responsive to its cries.  Also,  if it was a cougar stalking our sheep, it certainly would not have announcement its presence.

"Don't Let Penny Get You!"

As siblings tend to do, we'd often use the threat of Penny to scare one another.  If my brother was down in the basement, I'd turn off the lights, run upstairs, and yell, "Don't let Penny get you!"  My siblings were nice enough to return the favor to me, too.

One Saturday our family was working at our chicken barn.  Derek walked down to the house to use the bathroom.  While in the bathroom, he heard the front door open and assumed it was Ami.  Derek thought it'd be funny to scare Ami as he left the house a few minutes later.  So, as he went out the front door, he yelled, "Bye, Ami.  Don't let Penny get you."  A voice that sounded like Ami's replied, "Ok, I won't."  Derek slammed the front door and ran up to the barn.

He was excited to tell us about the dirty trick he'd just pulled on our little sister.  However, he soon found out the trick had been on him.  Dad informed him that all the girls had left to go to Hardee's to pick up lunch for everyone.  So, there was no one at the house to create the reply yelled to him.