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Bump in the night

By CHRIS CONROY

It’s not always easy to get people to talk seriously about ghosts.

For many people, the topic of ghosts is something best left for campfire tales. For others, it’s a topic of considerably more substance. Even those who have real stories to tell are often hesitant to do so.

“You don’t want people to think you’re crazy,” said one person who declined to be identified.

With a little bit of digging and some hefty assurances of anonymity, it is possible to get some people to open up about their encounters with the paranormal. Below are a few stories that were gathered over the past two months.

Ed calls it “His house.”

Near the Minisink Battleground there is a house that has stood for many years. Its current occupant, whom we will call Kay, has lived there only a handful of years. When she first moved in, things were quiet in the 100-year-old home. That all changed when some other family members joined her.

Living in an upstairs bedroom, a young man had an encounter one night with the house’s former owner.

“He was in bed, not sleeping,” said Kay, “when a bright light filled the room.”

It was at that point that Ed, the former owner of the house, introduced himself.

From then on, little things would happen that would remind Kay and her family that they were not alone in the house. There would be ghostly knocks at the door, whispering overheard in the empty outside carport. Family members have even heard their names called by familiar voices only to find there’s no one else in the house. There have even been other sightings of Ed, usually as bright light soon replaced a shadowy figure.

“I still love the house,” Kay said, “but there’s been so much that’s gone on. There’s definitely something here.”

Now and then, Ed will tell stories of events that happened in the house.

“The ghost told [a relative of mine] that it doesn’t like loud music or cursing,” Kay said. “He calls it ‘his house.’”

Kay doesn’t feel threatened by the spirit in her home, but she definitely knows there’s something there.

“People say there’s no such thing as a ghost,” she said. “But how do you know until you see one?”

A woman in white (as related by Nancy)

Nancy passes on this tale of a ghostly encounter her niece had in Long Island. The setting is the only house left on an otherwise nonresidential, dead-end street. Before the below occurrence, feelings of “not being alone” in empty rooms and strange sounds had already been experienced by the residents.

Nancy writes:

One night… Lorraine awoke from her sleep. She looked at the time. It was midnight. Her eyes moved to her doorway. There was a woman standing there, dressed in a white night gown. The woman began walking into the bedroom, long white hair flowing. [The woman headed] toward the attic stairway in the corner of [the] bedroom. Lorraine did not move—but grabbed her husband’s arm and squeezed, hoping he would wake up. The white haired woman disappeared into the dark attic stairway. Lorraine pulled the covers over her head and went back to sleep.

Emanuel the nasty ghost (as told by Cheryl)

Cheryl tells this story of her own experience in her aunt’s haunted home in Long Island.

The truth about Aunt Bessie’s house became evident even before she moved in.

Aunt Bessie’s cute house, with its pretty garden was built on old Indian burial grounds, was adjacent to a cemetery and haunted by a very angry, nasty ghost.

Cheryl’s first encounter with this obnoxious spirit happened one evening just prior to moving in. She stood in the dimly lit living room when a very large, ugly, bearded face appeared at the other end of the room. As she stood frozen, this scowling face faded in and out for several minutes and then vanished.

Later, she recounted the events of the evening with her husband, Jim, and her parents. Her father, in a half-serious, half-joking manner said, “Oh, that’s Emanuel the Portuguese sailor. He was the old Snags who propositioned your grandmother. She beat him up with her umbrella. He has come back for revenge.”

There was no rest, comfort or peace living in that house. Cheryl constantly heard noises and disturbances in the house.

The last encounter with Emanuel came in the middle of the night. The family was awakened from a sound sleep to find every light in the house on. They knew full well that they had turned the lights off before turning in; Emanuel was letting his presence be known one more time.

Ultimately, Emanuel did have the last word. They moved.

More to come

The above stories are only a few of the many that are out there. Other than the standard haunted house, there are haunted bridges (Jeffersonville’s stone arch bridge is rumored to be home to the ghost of a man murdered there in 1882), roads, schools and, of course, cemeteries.

If you have any true stories of ghostly encounters or other strange occurrences, e-mail spooks@riverreporter.com, fax 845/252-3298 or call 845/252-7414, ext. 23.

[Chris Conroy has been studying ghosts and other paranormal occurrences things for over 12 years. He is currently looking for stories of Upper Delaware region ghosts and hauntings for inclusion in a soon-to-be-developed web site.]