The Ghosts of Stephen's Branch
I once lived, for a short time, in a haunted house. Many readers
may be skeptical of this "story" but I assure you that it is
true. I have been fascinated with ghosts and the unknown since I
was a child. True, a clear explanation of just what ghosts are
isn't easy to come up with, but the answer to whether or not
ghosts are real can be found.
I was doing odd jobs for a retired couple. They had a house up
for sale and needed some maintenance work done around the place.
The couple made an offer to me to exchange some work for living
in the house rent free. I was asked to tear down and remove an
old barn, cut some trees, clear the weeds and keep the grass
cut.
The house was a three story including the attic that had been
converted into two bedrooms. The stairs ascended through all
three floors. My wife and I wondered why the house had stood
vacant for so long. We were told that no one had lived in the
house for years. The owners of the house lived in a smaller
place. Why didnt they live in the better one?
One night, shortly after we moved in, we were laying in bed when
I heard some sounds coming from downstairs. It sounded like a
party was going on. Music was playing. It was old fashioned Big
Band type music and sounded as though it were from the 1940's. I
could hear a lot of voices talking. Suddenly there were two
voices that got louder. A man and a woman were arguing. Even
though I could not make out the actual words that were being
said somehow I knew that they were arguing.
I asked my wife is she could her anything. When she said "yes"
it sent chills down my spine. I asked her to tell me what she
was hearing. She described to me the very same thing that I
myself had heard!
We got out of bed and I turned on the light. We could still hear
the sounds from downstairs. As we went down the steps we turned
the lights on as soon as we came to the switches. When we got to
the second floor landing the sounds stopped.
We looked in all the rooms downstairs and were talking about
what had happened when the sounds stated up once again. This
time they seemed to be coming from upstairs. We decided to get
our daughter from her room and all sleep downstairs for the
night.
Several days later I was talking to an old man who had lived in
the area for most of his life. I asked him if there were any
strange stories to do with the house. I didnt tell him about my
experience yet. He said that a long time ago there had been a
murder in the house. He didnt remember the details of what had
happened.
It wasnt long before the owners of the house asked us to move
out. When I asked for an explanation they only said that they
didnt think it was a good idea for anyone to live there. I think
they heard about my conversation with the old man - they did
know each other.
I may never know what happened in that house sometime long ago
but I am convinced that there was a ghostly presence there. Both
of us were wide awake and heard the very same things that night.
Take it from me, Ghosts are Real!