URBAN LEGENDS
MISSOURI - Home in Elmo
by: BriZilla
I've always been the sort to believe something when I see it. Tales of the mystical unknown from other people are always fun, but to me, that's exactly what they were. Tales. Tall tales. Only believing in what happened in MY life illustrated my arrogance.
Now, I've always believed that there were some things out there that defied any possible explanation. Before my current situation, I have to admit there were a few occurances that I can't explain. Being shunned for these experiences just made me think that maybe I had dreamed it up all along. Recently, I've discovered that the people who did the shunning were freaked out as much as I, and poo-pooed it. In their defense, I understand why.
Now, though, I have a witness. A whole other person who is seeing and experiencing the same damn things I am at the same time. Scary? A little. Gratifying? Hell yes.
Now that you know a bit about my belief-system, I will tell you the story of my little haunted farmhouse.
My husband and I live on 11 acres of pastureland in extreme northwest Missouri. This is just a fraction of what the land used to be, but oh well. The history of this land is a bit interesting. (You can scroll through this part of the story if ya wanna.)
The original deed to the land is dated 1857. Sarah Becker acquired it from a soldier (his name eludes me at the moment) who was in the Kentucky Infantry in the Civil War. I'm not going to go into every damn person who has owned it since then, but I thought it was interesting that a woman had land deeded to her in that time. Go Sarah!
Fast-forward to the turn of the century. The family who lived in my location was a prosperous one, and had a very large house built on this site. One day, a fire broke loose, and the house burned to the ground. I am not sure of the dates on this, but we have talked to locals who remembered the fire.
In 1937, during the Depression, another house was built on a corner of the foundation where the original house once stood. That would be my little house. The 150 year-old cedars that once served as a windbreak for the larger house still stand. It's amazing that none of them were destroyed during the fire.
Okay, speed up to about a year and a half ago. My husband bought this house in April of 2002. In August, I moved in, and weird stuff started happening.
Some of the first experiences where cold spots. My husband felt them numerous times in the bathroom. He'd be in the shower while a cold breeze blew by. It "chilled him to the damned bone." Shortly after that started happening, I started feeling them. Only occasionally, and only after 9 P.M.
Now, a cold breeze can be ANYTHING, and we chalked it up as such, until one night I was curled up on my couch, watching television. I heard a door slam, clear as day, and felt the breeze. It felt like it passed through me. It seemed to have continued through the wall out to the yard. Our dogs started barking crazily.
I jumped up and peeked at them through the front door. They were staring at the house just shrieking! They didn't stop for a good 10 minutes after that, either, oblivious to my choruses of "shut up's" and "quiet's".
After that night, we started hearing the door slam. It seems to occur between 11 P.M.-2 A.M. It only happens once a night, and we can't pinpoint the damn thing's location. It sounds the same regardless if we're in the living room or bedroom or kitchen, etc. People may think that we are dreaming this, because it happens so late, and I wouldn't blame them, but at times, this door slam wakes both of us up at the same instant.
My husband found an ancient door down in the cellar. It's quite beautiful with its intricate carvings and large oval of beveled-glass. He rescued it from the damp basement and is planning on restoring it. He noted how he would like to find the blueprints to the old house to see where this door might have hung. Who knows? It may be the door we are hearing at night.
Another thing that happens, although very occasionally, is voices. Sometimes, we'll be lying in bed, or reading, and we'll hear what sounds like five or six voices gibbering all at once. We can't make out what they say. This has only happened 4 times so far.
We got a new puppy in April, and he hears and sees invisible things all the time. He barks, growls and chases things we can't see. It only really disturbs me at night, when he peers out into the hallway from our bedroom and starts growling. He'll sit up and just stare. Many a night I've told Mike to shut the door so the dog stops growling. Like that would make a difference. Heh...
We recently remodeled the bathroom, and a discovery was made. Turns out, parts of our house were made from the charred remains of the original house. It sounds hokey, and maybe it is, but remember that the house was built during the Depression. People used what they could salvage for their new homes.
We began construction on July 5, and during that subsequent month, the activity seemed to reach a fevered-pitch. We heard the door slam at least three times daily, felt breezes, and one night, actually smelled old lilac perfume.
My husband started replumbing the house, and we had a temporary bathroom in the basement. One morning around 5, I had to go to the bathroom. I got halfway across the livingroom when all the sudden I heard a latch disengage and this long, God-awful creak coming from the basement door. I ran back to the bedroom and told my husband to check it out. No one was there.
During the entire time the plumbing was being worked on, we could NOT keep that door shut. It would constantly open by itself. Examining the latch itself, one can tell that SOMETHING had to have turned the knob for it to open. A breeze wouldn't be able to blow it open. After the plumbing was completed, the door remained closed. We haven't had it open by itself for a good month and a half now.
We finally completed the main objectives for the bathroom. It was during this time that I was washing my hands in our shiny new sink with the door open, and I saw a shadow move across the wall. I didn't have the bathroom light on, only the lamp in the bedroom was on, causing a slight projection of light on the bathroom wall. It's hard to explain what it looked like. It just moved through the light, as if someone was moving towards the bathroom at a quick pace. Mike was in bed, asleep, and I was the only one awake in the house at that time. Needless to say, I ran back to bed and flew under the covers. Speedy Gonzales with a bad burrito experience had NOTHING on me that night.
Activity has died down recently around here. We still hear the door slams and hear voices, and my dog still chases invisible cats, but other than that, nothing.
We've shared our stories, and people ask me if I'm ever afraid. I lie and say "no."
Naw, it's not that bad. Surprising and creepy, but not scary. I actually feel a little lucky to be experiencing these things. I now have a "tall-tale" of my very own. Go ahead! Poo-poo it all ya want!
...Then again, maybe just take my word for it.