The stuff in the wall

by anonymous
(anywhere)

We used to flip houses, that means we'd buy a house in poor condition, renovate it and then sell it for a profit. I never believed in hauntings, that seemed the stuff of fantasy to me until we bought a 100 plus year old house that seemed to let us know that it did not wish to be renovated. The previous owners were an elderly couple who both had died in the house and we bought the house for a cheap price "as is" from their heirs. The house had been empty for a few years but many of their things and furnishings were left in the house. It really felt like you were walking into a museum of the 1940's in this house. I kept a dresser, a vase and a glass case and sent the rest, a lot of furniture, old kitchen items, linens and clothing to a church donation shop that sold used things.

We began to renovate by pulling up layers of old fashioned worn carpet and linoleum tile. We next pulled off layers of old wallpaper and opened the stairway wall. In that wall we found the oddest things, an old button up shoe from the turn of the century, empty bottles, a religious medal,a crucifix and a key. I hung the crucifix on the wall and placed the other items in a glass case in the front parlor. Then the footsteps on the stairs began. Often you'd hear footsteps on the 2nd floor and then down the stairs to the landing. Yet no one was ever there. Our dog would stand at the foot of the stairs and bark at nothing up the stairway. The front door knob, an old fashioned crystal glass one would turn, yet no one was ever there either. The crucifix on a couple of occasions would be upside down on the wall when we returned to the house. Lights would turn on while we were gone and several people, even my mother, saw shadows. The tv would turn on. Small items would go missing and then you'd find them a week or two later in another place. An electrician rewired the house and he complained that he felt someone right behind him as he worked. Another repairman said the same thing after he worked in the basement. He said it felt like someone was breathing on him. Two people each said on different occasions that they heard muted voices, like a conversation was going on when no one was there. Sometimes a person would hear rocks hitting the roof and we couldn't ever find any rocks or pebbles that would have made the noise. The odd thing about this is that not everyone in the house would hear or see these things at the same time.

I had a clergyman bless the house and it calmed the activity for awhile. This clergyman had an experience at the house too while blessing it. He heard the rocks on the roof and we went out to look and we found none. Another member of the clergy said to bury the items I'd found in the house. I buried in the yard the small items that I had found in the wall and that were left in the house. I sent the dresser and glass case to the church shop. The house sold the morning I put it up for sale. I never heard of future activity in the house. The house was used as a business and people were not there overnight. I hope we calmed the restless spirits in that home. Yet I often wonder if the people who bought the other items at the resale shop brought activity into their home with those items.