I grew up with ghosts. As an adult, it’s weird for me to hear someone say they don’t believe in ghosts. After experiencing the unexplained from a young age, I can say I’m a firm believer. If you don’t believe, it’s OK. Read on for some Halloween entertainment if nothing else (but just know these are true stories).
I was born and raised in Lakewood, Colorado (a western suburb of Denver). My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in. It’s a small, 4 bedroom brick home built in the 50’s. I remember unexplained things happening from a very early age.
Stairway To Heaven
My first memory of the unexplained happened one night in our kitchen. I was around 5 years old and was sitting at our kitchen table with my Mom and my older brother. My Dad worked the 2nd shift and was not home with us in the evenings. The staircase leading to our basement was right off the kitchen and the stairs were not carpeted. Suddenly, we all heard loud, heavy footsteps coming up the staircase from the basement. I will never forget the horrified look on my Mom’s face. She was obviously thinking we had an intruder, not a ghost. She hollered for us to run for the front door. We all ran to the neighbors house and huddled in their living room. After further inspection from our brave neighbor, he found…….absolutely nothing. No one was in the house but there was no mistaking what we had all heard. In the months following this incident, we heard these same heavy footsteps on many occasions. They would stop at the top of the stairs each time and seemed to belong to no one.
I Always Feel Like….Somebody’s Watchin’ Me…
One constant with our ghost encounters in this house was that the activity was focused in the basement. Everyone in our family frequently heard footsteps in the basement as well as the feeling that someone or something was following you and watching you. I felt this each time I was in the basement to do my laundry. A psychic friend of ours from the Boulder area suggested that I talk out loud to this spirit when I would feel them behind me. I tried it one day by saying, “Please don’t stand right behind me – you scare me when you do that.” Unbelievably, the feeling went away immediately. From that day on, I still felt the presence behind me, but not so “close” as before. It was a comfort to me that they heard me and obviously were not there to try to frighten me.
These Boots Were Made for Walkin’
Another memorable experience was with my Mom. My Mom decided to stay home from work one day. She went to the basement to lay down because she didn’t want to deal with my Dad asking why she had stayed home. Before she had fallen asleep, she heard footsteps walk into the basement bedroom. She said they sounded like cowboy boots on the floor. My Dad has always worn cowboy boots so she figured he was up and had come down to see what she was doing. After a few moments, the boot steps turned and left the room, but she never heard them go back upstairs. She decided to get up and see what my Dad was doing in the basement. He wasn’t there. She went upstairs and found my Dad still in bed. He had not been up yet that morning.
My Name Is
My brother seemed to be the real focal point for this spirit in the basement. My brother confided to my Mom one day that he conversed with this spirit frequently. He said it always happened when he was almost asleep. He couldn’t really recall most of the things that were said, like it was a dream that was difficult for him to remember. My brother said that he knew the ghosts’ name and what he looked like. My Mom said she did too. She didn’t know how, but just “felt” like she knew. We decided for fun to have them go in different rooms and write down their thoughts. I took both of their papers when they were finished and was blown away. They described the same person detail by detail yet they had never spoken to each other about it before. They both said it was a middle aged man who wore a plaid flannel shirt, blue jeans and cowboy boots. And the clincher was they both called him “Bud”.
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Our experiences continued for many more months and always happened in the basement. Items moved from their spots, we heard someone frequently whistling tunes, the frequent sound of footsteps, and always sensing someone was near. My Mom started to feel uncomfortable that this spirit seemed to be so interested in my brother. She contacted a paranormal group in Colorado to seek help. They gave her advice on some things to say and do to get this spirit to move on. It seemed to work. We didn’t sense him anymore although my parents’ basement still has a “feel” to it when we visit. It makes for some hilarious moments when our boys “venture” into Grandma and Grandpa’s basement for some spooky fun.
You’re Still The One
The experiences have not stopped now that I’m grown and have lived on my own for these past 20 years. I’ve had experiences in both of the homes that I’ve owned. In my first home, our dog barked and whined at blank corners and our thermostat would turn all the way up or all the way down on its own. Just this week in or current home, my husband saw a distinct shadow walk from our kitchen to the living room. We’ve seen this shadow many times from our living room in our basement too. Two night ago, something tapped the cymbal on my son’s drum kit three separate times while I was in the room. I checked to make sure a bug hadn’t landed on it, but found nothing. Our boys have also heard their names being called even though it’s not me or my husband calling for them.
The experiences have not stopped for my older brother either. He continues to have experiences in his home in Illinois. Is it that he and I attract spirits somehow? He has seen a short shadow move in his house on many occasions, sometimes right in front of him. He has also heard something say, “Hey”, behind him when he’s in his basement. His youngest has heard this too only in the upper levels of the house.
Thankfully, neither of us has ever felt truly frightened by these experiences. They are startling for sure, but not truly scary. I think the spirits we’ve encountered have been amiable, and maybe even someone we know (or I’d like to think so anyway).
So if you don’t believe, that is OK. I certainly don’t take offense and wouldn’t expect you to unless you’ve had first-hand experiences with the unexplained. But for those who have, what are your experiences? I’d love to hear your stories.
