The Sallie House Haunting: A True Story (4 page)

About 10:50 p.m., I announced that I had to use the bathroom. I could tell that Tony and Karen were shocked that I would think about venturing upstairs, because they asked in synchronicity, “You’re going up there alone?”

Pretending to be brave, I said, “Yeah. Why?” They gave each other a look of disbelief.

“We’ll wait at the bottom of the stairs for you, OK?”

Whether standing at the bottom of the stairs was their way of keeping an eye on me or out for me, it was OK, because in all truth I was terrified.

If one of them had gone up with me, the other would have been left alone down stairs, and at that point none of us felt comfortable being too far from the others. We discussed this like a covert operation. If both of them followed me upstairs, they would be standing in the hallway just outside the nursery. Both were certain that they didn’t want to be in that position. It was agreed that since they could see the doorway to the nursery from the bottom of the stairs, they could also monitor my whereabouts and assure themselves that I wasn’t sneaking into the baby’s room.

I crept up the stairs while Tony and Karen observed my progress from below. Although scared myself, I decided that as soon as I could see into the nursery, I would peek in and assess the area. I knew I could do this a few steps before actually reaching the upper landing. Not really wanting to, but feeling compelled to do so, I quickly glanced into the room that was dimly lit by the light we had left on in the hall. What I saw sent a stroke of terror through me and in a low voice I said, “
The bear is on the floor again
.” Karen and Tony came bolting up the stairs to where I still stood staring motionless into the room. Karen said, “Oh, my God, not again.” The same bear—which had been, for days, comfortable in the cozy little wicker chair near the doorway—was once again lying in the middle of the floor face up. It was positioned exactly as it had been the last time we found it there.

By this time, our adrenaline was peaking, our blood was racing frantically, and our minds were floundering in a desperate attempt to explain the situation. Again, we carefully inspected the bear, the room, and the surrounding area. We found nothing; no strings tied here or there, no magnets hidden under the carpet or in the bear. We knew that no one had gotten in or out of the house since we last checked the upstairs. I briefly entertained the idea that we had imagined it all, but we knew it was preposterous to assume that all three of us could have imagined the same exact thing.

We stood there just looking at the bear in the middle of the floor. We understood, more solemnly than ever before, that we had likely been witness to the playful antics of a ghost. Speechless, we all stood close searching each other for some sign of what the others were feeling and desperately trying to fight the crazy thoughts that began to creep in. Ghosts do horrible things; they are mischievous, unpredictable and sometimes just plain nasty. What horrible things would this one do? Would it choose one of us to pick on? Who would it be? When would it start?

Perhaps we didn’t run because we still thought that there had to be some logical explanation for what was happening. Perhaps it was simply our curiosity or our unwillingness to be forced out of our own home. Then again, if this turned out to be a trick, we didn’t want to be seen running from the house like scared rabbits. We stayed put.

four

After the incident with the teddy bear, we decided that we needed someone with an objective point of view—not only someone intelligent and analytical to help us see what we were plainly missing, but someone who could console and calm us. We were sure there had to be a logical explanation for what had happened. We made our way down stairs and waited while Tony called his brother Larry. Tony had a hard time persuading him to come over. He explained the strange happenings since our earlier phone call to his wife and all but pleaded for him to come over, even if just for a few minutes. Very cautiously Larry asked, “Really? This isn’t a joke, right? You’re serious?” Tony assured him we were very serious and in desperate need of his help. When the conversation ended, Larry had agreed to come over and offer whatever help he could.

The three of us waited for what seemed like forever. None of us knew what to think or say, so we said nothing. Larry lived just a few minutes away and arrived shortly after 11:20 p.m. I can vividly remember the look of apprehension on his face as we tried to explain what had happened. Later that night he told us, “The only thing that stopped me from thinking that you were all crazy was the fact that I know all of you too well.”

After telling Larry our stories, we led him up to the nursery where the teddy bear still lay on the floor. He suggested that we put the bear back on its chair, turn out the light, and leave the room just as we had done before. We followed his instructions and headed down the stairs. We each took up a spot on the couch, Larry being the last to sit down. I’m sure he’d taken the time to sneak a look back up the stairs to be sure there was no funny business on our part.

Although we tried to engage in small talk to pass the time while we waited, the conversation returned to the strange things that had already happened. Several times during the conversation, we would all get up and go to the nursery to check for activity. Each time, we found things just the way we’d left them. We began to feel very foolish.

Finding things unchanged on the third trip to the nursery, Larry suggested putting the items in the same positions as we had found them. “Maybe then something will happen,” he said loudly. I know he was trying hard to give us all the benefit of his doubt. We arranged all the teddy bears as we had originally found them and once again headed down the stairs. Larry continued asking us questions we had already asked ourselves several times. Could the cats have done it? Had anyone else been in the house? Could a breeze or a gust of wind through an open window topple the toys into their positions? And the biggest question of all: had any of us been out of each other’s sight?

He was trying to make sense of it all and at the same time trying to catch us off guard, but he came up just as empty-handed as we had. Eventually, he ran out of reasonable explanations for what we had witnessed. Larry seemed to be quite puzzled about the whole situation, and was probably convinced that it was all a big joke at his expense. After twenty more minutes or so, we all went back upstairs to again find things just as we had left them.

To give our ghost a little more time to “show off” I stood in the middle of the baby’s room and hesitantly spoke into the air. “It’s OK, you can play now.” It was a desperate attempt to get the action we were hoping for so we could confirm the fact that we weren’t all crazy. I felt ridiculous and I know I must have looked the part as well. We returned to the first floor and the couch. Suddenly Tony pointed to a stuffed beanbag teddy bear he had given to me as a Christmas gift the year before. It weighed about a pound and stood about twelve inches high. Normally it sat next to the television, facing the room. Now it was facing the wall.

Tony asked, “Who turned it to the wall?”

Of course, all conversation immediately stopped, and in thin, disbelieving voices we each took turns saying, “I didn’t.” My heart jumped into my throat, my body throbbed with a new surge of adrenaline, and all the nerves that had finally settled down since Larry’s arrival were once again standing at attention. Larry was the only one who remained calm and skeptical. He asked for our assurance that none of us had moved it and questioned whether it hadn’t been that way earlier.

Karen was quick to tell him, “The last time we were all downstairs, I remember looking at it and it was facing forward.” As she continued to speak, the bear in question never left her sight because she glared at it from the corner of her eye, almost daring it to move again. “The bear was facing forward. I swear!” she said with the strength of her conviction.

The three of us just sat there, unable to move or speak for several minutes. During this silence Larry went over and picked up the bear, and then broke the silence. Surprised, he said, “Boy, it’s heavy!” Then he put it back down, making sure it was facing forward. Although he didn’t want to admit to the possibility of a ghost, he did acknowledge that there was definitely something weird going on in the house. What it was he didn’t know, but he could tell from how shaken the three of us appeared, that we were genuinely upset and in need of some answers.

Larry offered to talk to his boss’ sister, Barbara, who was coming to town. She was a well-known psychic who had grown up in town but currently lived in California. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow,” he said, as he closed the front door, leaving us in complete silence.

Not knowing what to do next, we sat quietly. Our eyes roamed the room, watching for some sort of movement. Restless and wanting to talk to someone, Tony phoned his mother and told her what had happened. She suggested that we pack up a few things and spend the night with her. Tony told her that if anything more happened, it would be our first move.

None of us felt right about imposing on her with four unexpected guests for the night, and I didn’t want the added hassle of packing all the things we would need to take with us. “There’s nothing wrong,” we thought. “We’re strong, nothing really bad has happened. We are perfectly fine because all of this might just be in our heads.”

Although we were willing to stay in the house, we had to figure out new sleeping arrangements. Karen did not want to sleep alone on the couch as she had been doing. Without thinking, I blurted out, “Perhaps Tony or I could sleep downstairs with you.” Tony’s instant response was, “Don’t think you’re going to leave me upstairs alone!” We laughed. The laughter helped eased the tension, but none of us wanted to be alone. Eventually we decided that the safest, most comforting place to sleep would be behind locked doors in the master bedroom.

To this day, each of us laughs at how stupid and childish our reasoning had become by that point of the evening. It’s funny that we thought a locked door would stop a ghost. There was really nothing that would stop it from coming into the room with us.

It was now 1:35 a.m. When we had gathered up all that we needed for the night and headed upstairs, we were almost too apprehensive to look into the nursery. At first we thought everything was just as we had left it. However, hanging from a cloth handle on the nursery room doorknob, had been a tiny stuffed heart with the print of a small teddy bear. Tony didn’t have to utter a word as he pointed to it; we all knew there was something wrong as we looked at his face. The heart had been turned around so that the bear print faced the door. Although we were not quite sure at what point it had been turned around, Karen remembered admiring it just before we had left for our visit to Mom and Dad’s earlier that afternoon.

It’s remarkably hard to put into words all the feelings I had at that moment. Although the stuffed heart being turned around may seem insignificant, it was just enough to set off what little nerves I had left. One minute I was cool, calm, and seemingly in control; the next my heart was again in my throat. As suddenly as the realization hit us we all tried to scream, but all that would come out were faint screeches. Terror-stricken, we ran into the master bedroom and slammed the door shut behind us.

I had collected many plush bears over the years, and it was common to see them in every room of the house. The master bedroom was no different. Once inside the room, I caught sight of them and stood motionless as a dreadful thought came to mind: would the stuffed animals indulge in more playful activity? I barely extended my finger to point to the very large teddy bear on the top of the highboy. I quietly whispered, “The bears; there’re lots of them in here.” I looked at the bears and determined that none of them had been moved. We each made a mental note for later comparison.

Huddling in the bedroom and feeling ridiculous, we soon realized we had not brought up the television, VCR, or movies. This meant another trip downstairs. We figured two people could bring up what was needed in one trip, and Tony and Karen headed down to the first floor.

While collecting the equipment we needed, Tony and Karen surveyed their surroundings for anything peculiar. Paranoid by this time, they took particular notice of the bean bag teddy bear sitting next to the television. Karen remembered the video camera she had brought with her from New York and set it up to film what she could of the living room. She hoped she might capture something on film during the night.

Ready to return to the second floor, Karen carried the VCR and the movies. Tony, about two feet behind her, carried the television and cords. Karen had taken approximately four steps past the corner of the doorway and was still able to see Tony. He was on the other side of the living room doorway, battling with the cumbersome load in his arms, when he spotted a quick movement out of the corner of his right eye.

Something had moved right where the television had been. Tony saw that the bean bag bear, which had been facing forward the whole time they were downstairs, was now facing the wall. In the blink of an eye, the bear had spun around. When it did, Tony just happened to catch a glimpse of the movement.

Realizing what happened, he let out a horrified, “Oh shit!” Karen asked, “What?” Tony was unable to move or speak, and when Karen looked, she noticed the position of the bear herself and screamed, “Oh my God!” They bolted up the stairs and burst into the bedroom, both very much out of breath. After regaining what little composure they had left, they told me what had happened. Then Karen suddenly blurted out in exasperation, “I forgot to turn the video camera on!” We were a little disheartened but knew none of us were going to brave another trip outside that room.

After recapping the terrifying events of the evening, we simply sat there: three adults scared half out of our wits, one sleeping infant, a large dog, and three cats, all in a small upstairs bedroom. I put the baby down in his cradle and the rest of us sat close on the bed, waiting for our nerves to calm and our heartbeats to return to normal. Karen and I arranged the cushions on the floor with a sheet and blanket while Tony set up the TV and VCR. Ironically, we had rented two horror movies. Lucky for us, the third rental was a comedy, which we unanimously voted to watch! Eventually, we fell asleep.