The Haunted House

Here's a story that I almost never tell honestly.

The reason I usually edit this story is because it is too freaking scary for my typical audience. Today, I am going to tell the unabridged version.

There's this abandoned mansion in my town. It's like it was put there as a special gift just for me. I remember sneaking in there with Gil one day. We were having fun looking around, when suddenly a melancholy tune drifted down from the upstairs piano. Scared spitless, Gil and I bolted out of there and found some bushy shrubbery to hide behind. Just moments after we had hidden, a very startled-looking teenage boy snuck out of the house and disappeared into the over-grown field grass surrounding the property. I wondered how often he let himself into that abandoned house, just to practice the piano.

Nicky and Jan and I decided to explore it a different day.

After a couple tries we were able to find an open door and squeeze in. The place is littered with garbage, broken furniture, old pictures... It's hard to tell what was once owned by this forgotten family, and what teenagers have dragged in.

I just can't comprehend leaving your personal pictures, books, papers, clothing, and expensive furnishings behind. Maybe you would ditch a house for financial reasons, but your family photos and documents? It's just too strange. At the time, I thought perhaps that was the reason the house had such an oppressive, eerie atmosphere.

The girls and I were enthusiastic at first, but things started to turn south very quickly. There was evidence of Satan-worship all over the place, and hints of violence. We weren't laughing any more. I suggested we just take a peek into the top story of the house and then go. We made it up the stairs. There was an unfinished attic on the left, and what looked like a shadowy den to the right. I remember peeking into the attic room, and then-- I froze.

I heard, coming from the darkness of one of the rooms, yet in my own ear at the same time, a breath-- of a man.

I'm going to go ahead and interrupt myself right now to say this: I know I have a reputation for loving spooky movies, Halloween, all that stuff. Heck, it's my dream to own a haunted bed and breakfast when I get old! Pretend haunted, know what I mean? That's the point. I love spooky things because it's pretend. This was not pretend. This was a very real voice breathing in a very real way into my ear, an ear that was not pointed toward any visible human's mouth. That's the 100% truth.

I grabbed Nicky's arm and pushed her gently at first down the stairs. Then we ran. We jumped over couches, skidded on debris, and all fought to get out the door at the same time. I did not feel safe until we were in my car, screeching away. I felt certain that they would think I was crazy, getting them out like that. I explained I had heard something and was floored to discover that they had too!

Nicky had heard the breathing in her left ear. Jan had heard it in her right ear, like me. All of us agreed, without coaching each other in any way, that we had each heard the same sound. I believe them absolutely, and I believe myself.

Two options, both of them horrible: the sound came from a living person who was close enough to us at the time to be audible but not visible (yikes), or- you know I have to say it- the sound came from a non-living person, which explains why I heard the breathing directly in my ear (YIKES.) Honestly, I'm leaning toward the ghost theory.

So there it is. Jess has finally cracked. Now you see why I don't share the honest version of this story very often, because it's TOO scary, and also I don't want to be committed.

Have any truly scary stories to share? Drop them in the comments! WBS- Jess