Friday 30 October 2015

Hallowe'en Ghost Story...

We may have gone overboard this year.



We're not having a party, more of a Haunted House experience for our Trick or Treaters. We don't normally get any as we're on the edge of town so I have leafleted the area to lure people over here. Connie and her friends will have lines to say. Should be fun... if anyone comes. If they don't, we have a lot of sweets to eat. It's a win/win situation.



Shall I tell you my ghost story? It happened four or five years ago I think. It was between Hallowe'en and Christmas.



One evening my husband was out. My daughter was upstairs sleeping. I was in the living room with the cats. The telly was on.



Suddenly both cats jerked their heads up to look at something in the hall outside. There was nothing there. The cats were frozen as whatever they saw really caught their attention. And held it. They stared, transfixed for over a minute, then finally relaxed and looked away again, settling down. A minute can be a long time.



The point they were staring at was at the height where an adults head might be if they were coming down the stairs. But no one was coming down the stairs. I was a bit puzzled by their behaviour so I went out into the hallway. Just to check if there was anything there that I couldn't see from the sofa.



What I found in the hallway was an overpowering smell of mens aftershave. No mistaking the smell. It was intense. I went upstairs to check on my daughter and she was sleeping soundly. I wasn't frightened. I just thought it was really odd.



I spent two years with a man from Kosovo who thought it was a good idea to wear two aftershaves at once.
You know, mix it up a little.
Create a little blend.
Yes, I did. Two whole years.
I am an incredibly tolerant human being.



When I smelled this overpowering fragrance I actually wondered if he had died and come to say goodbye. You know, apologise for being a total dick. Something along those lines.
(Our love did not end well.)



He hadn't died according to his facebook account a few days later. It wasn't him.



I have my suspicions about people who used to live here. I've heard stories from several sources. I wonder if it was one of them.



It's never reoccurred. I have occasionally felt afraid when going to bed but I tend to be rational and practical for the most part.



I had an odd thing happen in my last house too. Every night I'd shut my door, get into bed and turn out the light and the door would open, just a little. The door mechanism was one of those little roller ball catches, you only had to push the door open or closed, not turn a handle. But still, it was odd. Was it an ill fitting door frame do you think? Or some spirit who liked the door left open? Who knows? Again, that was never frightening either. Just puzzling.



I'm definitely a believer in the supernatural. I've had many experiences. Known things I've had no rational way of knowing but known them nonetheless. Like I know that blue is blue. An absolute certainty.
I have a friend who has felt the same thing. Once, we might have been burned at the stake as witches. Nowadays, we'd be medicated. Times change but understanding hasn't moved on a great deal.

I'd love you to share your spooky stories in the comments below.

I must away, there are pumpkins to be carved and fairy lights to unravel. I wish you all a fun filled Hallowe'en with more treats than tricks.

Linking with...
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17 comments:

  1. fab atmosphere in your house :D

    my favourite Halloween was a party my parents gave when I was 12 or so, among other things there was a plastic tub full of sawdust with lots of wrapped presents hiding in it. What no one including me knew, was my dad had cut a hole in the bottom of the tub, and in the table it was standing on. He crawled under the table and when each girl put her hand in the tub to feel for a present a big spooky daddy hand grabbed her hand .....

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  2. Excellent! We are SO doing that next year!

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  3. I appreciate your ghostly happenings. Not long after I moved into my house, my cat & I were on sofa & heard many dishes crashing in the kitchen right behind us. It's a small kitchen. Nothing had fallen over. Many years later, same cat & I heard a stack of cardboard boxes tumbling over with a big thud. I had boxes of stuff sitting in other rooms while walls were being painted. I looked all over - twice - & nothing was out of place. Per internet search, crashing dishes sound is kind of common paranormal experience. I was never afraid. If cat had not also reacted to it, I would think I was imagining it. Have no idea of the history of former residents of my house. I love your Haunted House! thanks

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    1. Wierd! Our cats are as sensitive as we are to sppoky goings on. Perhaps even more so!

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  4. Oh my goodness! You've transformed your home into a set for one of those movies I watch through parted fingers over my eyes! And of course your documentary accompanying the photos is quite entertaining, too. hehe Still laughing about the old boyfriend.

    I do believe spirits haunt old homes. I'm not the only one who's heard music coming from our basement, only to go down the stairs and nobody's there. And our dog used to peek under the armoire (the one I just sold) and wag her tail at.....I don't know! Hopefully it was a spirit and not a mouse.

    My mother had a jewelry box lined with cotton batting and she cut a hole in the bottom to insert her bloody (ketchup) finger. I still have nightmares about bloody finger in a box. Happy Halloween!

    Truly impressive and creative Halloween decorating!

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    1. Thank you, I really enjoyed it! The bloody finger trick sounds great! I wonder if the new owners of the Armoire have any strange reactions from their pets! Happy Hallowe'en!

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  5. Loved your post Emma-Kate! I still read your posts but don't write my marmalade and catmint blog anymore having defected to Instagram! I've just spent the last half hour reading some old posts which I've loved. Anyway just wanted to say hello x

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    1. Hello Anne and Happy Hallowe'en! Hope all is well with you! x

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  6. Big happenings here ....my birthday is on Halloween!!!!.....my first husband used to say" that would be right... you are a bit of a witch"

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  7. Your house looks amazing, hope you get lots of visitors!
    Never had a single weird experience, ever. Clearly the spirit world knows I'm not a believer! xxx

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  8. Your house is a fabulous example of Halloween! Well done! There is no point in subtlety with this holiday - I'm sure Connie and her friends loved it. If you made the tombstones in the garden please do a tutorial.

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    1. Thank you. No tutorial I'm afraid as I didn't take pictures along the way. I got large pieces of polstyrene, (putting a shout out on our towns facebook page - someone had a skip full!) drew the gravestones on, cut them out with an electric carving knife, wrote RIP on them and kind of gouged out the letters, painted the letters in black, the whole thing in dark grey, then sponged on a lighter grey, and finally white to highlight. I hammered stakes into the garden and wired through the polystyrene to attach them to the stakes. A few solar lights and a pile of leaves in front of each stone and you're done. I used my daughters acrylic craft paints. Hope this helps!

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  9. Bless you, loved reading this post and seeing how much work you had put into decorating the house it looked amazing :-) I never went that far when the boys were younger but always dressed up the front of and the house and I used to do them up Halloween goody bags with all sorts in side. They are grown up now and no one knocks on the door so its peaceful again sad in some ways but think its better that way for the dogs now. Hope you got lots of trick and treaters who appreciated all your hard work, dee xx

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  10. That looks amazing, hope you had loads of visitors.
    I don't believe in it which makes spooky happenings a million times worse, I'm not only scared but convinced I'm losing the plot. xxx

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  11. your house looks INCREDIBLE. The ghost stories gave me shivers xxx

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  12. I'm a non believer too but your house looks fab....I bet the kids loved it.

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