Haunted house

[Ori82]

My mum told me about the house her and my dad lived in before I was born. It had a high wooden balcony overlooking the hallway and an abandoned nursery on the second floor.

She said both her and dad were creeped out by the place - they were renting at the time. She said three times she saw the figure of a woman wearing a black cowl, above her on the balcony, with a pale face peering over the railings. Each time she saw her, the woman moved closer and closer, from the balcony (first time,) to the landing (second time) and then the third time she was standing on the stairwell, coming down the stairs.

The nursery had old wallpaper and was always freezing cold. Neither of them would go in there - it had a bad feel apparently.

My dad interrupted the story at this point and said that he would purposefully wait after finishing work (he was a teacher at a local college) until he knew mum would be going home so they could go to the house together. He said he would always try never to be there on his own. He's not the kind of person to believe in supernatural things and he's definitely not easily spooked. I've never heard him say anything like this before.

They moved not soon after mum saw the woman with the pale face for the third time coming down the stairs. She said she couldn't sleep there anymore.

Have you ever been in a haunted house or experienced anything strange? What's the creepiest thing that's happened to you?

Quacks2020 maybe "she" is your baby and is finally with you!

Bump

We have had various things happen in our house, just over the past few years. Mainly voices, dd2 and I both heard someone giggle in our hall, I thought it was her, she thought it was me. Another time dd2 was talking to me thinking i was in my bedroom and i answered her! But I was in the kitchen through a closed door and couldn’t hear her. Dd1 thought I called her by her name, I thought she called out mum, all at the same time. Neither of us called each other!

There was another time, a few years ago now, where I woke up thinking I heard someone put a glass down on a table we have, it’s a cast iron table so makes a distinctive sound if you put a glass down on it. Thinking one of the girls were up I got up to check but there was nobody about, checked on kids then went back to bed. The next day dd1 asked why I’d been in her room in the middle of the night. Turned out she’d also heard the sound of a glass being put down on the table but pretended to be asleep when I checked in on her. She could also hear someone moving around in the kitchen , through the wall from her room, after that sounding like they were putting down glasses/cups on counter top..

Today, well yesterday now, dh was in our bedroom and saw someone walk past the bedroom door down the hall, dd1 and I were both in the living room at the time and nobody else was in the house!

F

At our old house which was an older ex council probably about 70 years old there used to be lots of strange things happen, the elderly couple before our family had died in it. The TV in my room would come on at random times and just be a fuzzy screen, we always heard odd noises, one time I was coming down the stairs and my dad in the living room and the hoover, not plugged in, shot across the hallway into the living room wall and when my sister was very little she would stand in the front porch and talk to what she would call the 'nice lady' might have just been imagination but was very creepy.

Also my aunties house is probably haunted, the first day she moved in no windows or doors were open and the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, when staying there in certain rooms it feels like you are being watched, often it feels like someone is lingering nearby, you'll catch a black mass moving out of the corner of your eye, the weirdest thing that has happened to me there is I was house sitting and the doorbell kept going off, thought it was electrics so removed it. At about 2 am there was a loud knocking at the door, obviously didn't answer peered out the window and couldn't see anyone, when we checked back on the cctv there was noone there.

My dad use to rent a house when we're kids. I came home from my Saturday job. No one was in. I decided to have a bath. Once I was in I heard my little brother crying on the landing. I assumed he and dad had come home and dad had said no to a toy he wanted, hence why he was crying. I got out of the bath put my dressing gown on and as I walked toward the bathroom door I could still here him crying. I called out to him and asked him what was wrong? I opened the bathroom door and he wasn't there. The crying instantly had stopped. I called out to him and walked downstairs. The house was empty. My little brother and my dad returned home some time later and I told dad what happened. Dad pulled a strange looking face. Apparently dad had wanted to purchase the property but the Landlady refused. Her son had died of meningitis in the house.

At my old uni, I used to live in a very old halls type of building. We were about 300 girls living there. I used to get the worst sleep paralysis while living there and haven't had it again since leaving. One evening towards the end of the academic year, my friend and I were one of the lasts to finish exams - the rest of the building was almost empty. The building's layout was long hallways with stairs in the middle and then at both sides. I was standing in my friend's doorway, chatting away and looked down the hallway to see someone running down the stairs at the end. I asked her if she knew if there's anyone still in the building, she didn't. The following night I was walking to her room when I again saw a shadow run down the stairs. I was much closer this time but still couldn't make out who it was. I spoke to my friend about it and we thought it's most likely shadows from the next building and didn't speak to anyone about it further. It did freak me out at the time. When we came back from break, other girls on the hallway has called a priest to come pray over those stairs. I avoided it and also avoided looking down the hallway at night. There is definitely something wrong. Even writing it now, I'm getting chills and my eyes are streaming!

We have just moved into a Victorian 'do er upper' with a wooden balcony overlooking the landing and two attic rooms. One of which gives me a funny feel... Thanks OP!

@Newgirl20

Also my aunties house is probably haunted, the first day she moved in no windows or doors were open and the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, when staying there in certain rooms it feels like you are being watched, often it feels like someone is lingering nearby, you'll catch a black mass moving out of the corner of your eye, the weirdest thing that has happened to me there is I was house sitting and the doorbell kept going off, thought it was electrics so removed it. At about 2 am there was a loud knocking at the door, obviously didn't answer peered out the window and couldn't see anyone, when we checked back on the cctv there was noone there.

Some of this might be being caused by infrasound - sound below the normal range that the ear can hear. It's known to cause vibrations that cause hallucinations especially out of the corner of your eye because of the effect of the vibrations on your eyes, and to induce feelings of uneasiness as well.

We stayed with friends who warned us our room was haunted by a woman who came through the wall where there used to be a doorway.
I stayed awake nearly all night hoping to see her but no luck. Was disappointed and very tired in the morning. (:

Bump

Posted this a long while back under a different name.
Moved into our house about 22 yrs ago.
We have had . Doors opening.foot steps up the stairs. Knocking on front door. Dodgy atmosphere but only in dining room noted by guests as well.
Kids used to see an old lady coming to check they were in bed.
I've spoken to 'it' and had a mans voice reply! Actually heard a mans voice often . Not husband.
Saw him out of the corner of my eye.
Had beer cans crumple. Lighters light but not burn the furniture.
Woken by dark shape leaning over me in bed.
A hand come up over the side of the bed (wasn't dreaming, wide awake).
And finally the weirdest, being woken by a newborn crying. Both me and husband. No baby in house. Childless couple on side, old couple the other. Couldn't explain it.
House 70+ yrs old.

We own Victorian farmhouse. We have not had any bad experiences but a few odd things have happened in our years here. All of us have had lights turn off and on. We have seen and heard the light switch moving.
My daughter and I were in the kitchen chatting one morning when we were interrupted by a male voice saying “Hello” very clearly from the living room. We were alone at the time.

Our cats love to freak us out by all staring at something as it moves across the room. They never seem disturbed only interested.

Oh and I hear 40’s dance music playing very faintly. We are on our own 2 acres of land. Our visible neighbours do play music but it is loud Latin and Reggae.

Knock wood, our house has a nice, welcoming vibe.

I think even the seemingly creepiest phenomena usually have quite tame explanations. But I'm not so arrogant as to assume anything existing beyond the scope of human perception simply doesn't exist, full-stop.

Houses have given me 'feelings' before - sometimes very strong ones - which I believe are more about my own perceptions than the actual place. There was one holiday let we took out a couple of years ago - oldish place on the south coast - in which the upper story had a long hallway and properly gave me cold shudders. I was astounded one night when DS requested I close his bedroom door 'so nothing can come in from the hallway'. Evidently whatever it was spooked me about the place also spooked him.

I loved 'Most Haunted' (their histrionics were the most brilliant unintentional humour going) and I love these Mumsnet threads, because like most of us I enjoy a good spooky story. I also love history, old ruins and the tales associated with them. Thanks for posting and long may the stories keep coming!

@WorraLiberty

Ha! I was just reading through before posting the same question. I’m sceptical, and it does nothing to change that position when people do have strange experiences, when they’re peppered with fanciful emotive suggestions like, “abandoned nursery”.

I know, it sounds like a horror writers retreat...

Agree with everyone else that has queried this...an abandoned nursery sounds so much more spooky than just your bog standard abandoned room - you never hear of abandoned toilets, for example.... How did they even know it used to be a nursery, let alone that it was 'abandoned.' (and abandoned by whom?)How big was this house that they could afford to leave abandoned rooms abandoned rather than immediately turning it into the guest bedroom/home office/games room/junk room?

@serendippitty I would have agreed with that however I'm a science masters and we have ruled out any other issues, she's now selling the house after years and we only recently found out from her neighbours that a woman and her daughter were murdered in the house in the 60's its searchable online just, which is weird we just never knew.

Sorry that meant to say 80's, 84 oops

Bump (in the night ha)

Agree with everyone else that has queried this...an abandoned nursery sounds so much more spooky than just your bog standard abandoned room

^

Can we stop splitting feathers and just post more spooky tales please ☺

My current home has at least one if not two ghosts. Its over 220 years old and was originally 4 cottages

One is a young girl who is on the landing in the main part of the house- she's been seen by a number of visitors and DD recently admitted that she would never leave her room at night as the landing felt too weird. I've had some strange experiences there but never had any direct manifestations.

The other one is actually more troublesome - it's in a part of the house we use less but specialises in going bump in the night and the moving around of things!

Maybe I should be scared but I'm much more scared by living people than I am of the dead

Bump

Yes, more stories!

My lovely friend has a doll she keeps in a glass case. When she is not enclosed she tends to wander the house. I believe her as both she and dh are scientists.

@labellesusage

Posted this a long while back under a different name. Moved into our house about 22 yrs ago. We have had . Doors opening.foot steps up the stairs. Knocking on front door. Dodgy atmosphere but only in dining room noted by guests as well. Kids used to see an old lady coming to check they were in bed. I've spoken to 'it' and had a mans voice reply! Actually heard a mans voice often . Not husband. Saw him out of the corner of my eye. Had beer cans crumple. Lighters light but not burn the furniture. Woken by dark shape leaning over me in bed. A hand come up over the side of the bed (wasn't dreaming, wide awake). And finally the weirdest, being woken by a newborn crying. Both me and husband. No baby in house. Childless couple on side, old couple the other. Couldn't explain it. House 70+ yrs old.

A hand come up over the side of the bed (wasn't dreaming, wide awake).

! That would have been enough for me! What did you do? What happened next?!

@73kittycat73
Screamed , jumped lying flat onto my husband , son came running in the room.
Nothing there. I saw every detail on that hand from finger nails to the dirt in the palm creases.

What pissed me off more was that the dark shape that leaned over me in bed and woke me up. My husband had seen it stood at the end of the bed and not told me.