Volume 3: Ghost Stories from Texas (Joe Kwon's True Ghost Stories from Around the World)

by Unknown

  There were answers to all of my questions like "how old were you when you died," etc. Except one question in particular was not answered. The question, "how did you die" was left unanswered. We wrote many more letters after that asking many more questions (oh and I don't remember the answer to the how old were you when you died since it has been a long time). But, we always asked that same question "how did you die" but it was never, ever answered. I don't understand why that spirit wouldn't answer that question.

  What do you think?

  Did You Touch That?

  San Angelo, Texas

  This is another story about another incident that happened in my house. If you want more back-story, also read "How Did You Die"?

  After writing all those letters and still not being 100% believed, I decided to do one more thing. My friend came over a few days later and I told her what I was going to do. I was going to put 3 different cards (I think they were some kind of angel cards) under a towel in the bathroom in a certain order in a certain way. So we did. My mom and grandma were in the living room. They had NO clue what we were doing.

  So we tiptoed into the bathroom (my dead grandfather's bathroom to be exact) and put the 3 cards under a towel in the cupboard very gently and quietly. So we went into the back room with the bathroom door open so we could hear if anyone went in there and opened the cupboard... NOBODY. We went into the bathroom 20 minutes later, looked under the towel and to our surprise all the photos had been rearranged very sloppily and turned upside down. Nobody else knew those were there except my friend Casey who was with me the whole time.

  Another story. I was lying in my grandfather's room in the middle of the day talking on the phone. All of a sudden a gust of wind from out of nowhere and made the entire curtain flutter. I asked my grandma to turn down the air, and she said it isn't on. So I listened... She was right. So I walked over to the window to shut it. Window was shut tight and locked.

  To this day I think that was my grandfather telling me he will always be with me.

  But who was the letter stutter and card switcher? To be honest, to this day I still don't know. Maybe we let out a spirit from the Ouija board, because we didn't say goodbye so he didn't know to go back. I'm not sure, but what I do know is that whatever was there when we were there is still there trapped. I know it!

  A Grandpa's Love From The Grave

  Pearland, Texas

  Growing up my Papa (My dad's father) and I were very close and the older we got, the closer we became. But soon, that all came crashing down. Two days after my sweet 16, my papa passed away. It hit me very hard and I cried a lot, knowing I would never see him again.

  One night about two months later, I was having one of my usual night terrors. I have them all the time and they get so bad that what ever happened in that dream usually ends up happening in real life (example if I dream I am being scratched on my back I wake up with scratch marks in my back).

  Anyway, on that night I had such a bad one that I woke up. As I was lying there in bed after waking up from that dream I noticed the game chair that I sit in when playing video games was sitting up on its own, which was strange because the only way it could sit up is if someone was sitting in it. As I looked closer to it through the dark, I could see what looked to be a figure sitting in it.

  Needless to say, I thought it was one of my sisters messing with me, so I threw my pillow at the chair and told whomever it was to get out. As the pillow hit the wall next to the chair, it fell. I instantly felt a burst of cold air go right through me. After that I noticed a very distinct and familiar smell. It was my papa's smell (my papa had a smell to him that was very distinct, only he had that smell). It was so strong it was like he was sitting on the bed right next to me.

  It was like has was watching over me, and it stayed that way for year. I would see him and smell him all the time up until the day of my wedding. That was the last time I saw or smelt him. I was standing in my bridal room waiting for my special day and I smelt him as a cold air went through me. I turned around and he was standing behind me and he whispered to me, "I love you."

  And I haven't seen or smelled him since. I know he realized I was ok now and he left me. I loved my papa so much and he loved me too, even in death.

  A Ticking Clock

  Denton, Texas

  I was about 12 when I went to spend the night with my grandpa and grandma. I hated staying in that house, because my family would always tell me stories about when they were young and living in the house, involving ghosts and strange things happening.

  I really didn't want to stay the night, but there was no other place to stay, so I had to spend just that one night. I figured nothing would happen since it was only one night, and no one had said anything about anything happening recently.

  It was about 11 o'clock when everyone went to bed but me. I wasn't really tired, so I stayed up and watched some TV. I was getting kind of tired, so I shut my eyes for a few minutes, when I heard the door down the hall open. I opened up my eyes and looked down the hall, but saw nothing. I turned down the TV a little and that's when I heard feet walking on the tile. I still did not see anyone there.

  I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was just imagining things. But, when I looked at the carpet I could see footprint impressions as they walked across the carpet.

  They walked all the way over to the clock above the fireplace, opened up the door to the clock, and stopped it. Then the footprints walked back across he floor, back onto the tile and shut the door again. As soon as the door shut, the clock starting ticking again and had the right time, as if it had never been stopped.

  I was so scared that I didn't even sleep at all that night. Instead I sat in that chair with all the lights on (including the light on in the hall) and watched TV the rest of the night.

  Dakota, Is That You?

  Plainview, Texas

  My old dog haunts my house. He died when I was 9, so it's been years since he died.

  Ever since he died, though, it's been kind of scary. I will sometimes see him a couple times a day.

  I’ll see a little brown blur in the corner of my eye. When I turn my head to see what’s there, the brown blur runs through the wall or just vanishes.

  One time I heard him bark in the basement. It scared me badly and instantly gave me the chills. Another encounter I had with Dakota was recently while I was lying on the couch. I turned my head to see if my dog, Baby, was there but she wasn't. I began to watch TV again, and out of nowhere I heard sniffing, like a dog, right in my ear. I thought it was Baby.

  I turned around again, but to my surprise all I saw was an imprint in the couch and nothing else. Then I heard the weirdest sound; it’s too weird to even try to explain.

  I got up and looked at the imprint and said, "Dakota go on and get." Within seconds the imprint was gone as if the invisible beast had risen and hopped down.

  Was It A Dream?

  Fort Worth, Texas

  I have always believed in ghosts and things like that, but what happened to me, I will never understand!

  It happened about 2 years ago when I was living with my boyfriend in an apartment. We were asleep when I woke up to something grabbing my legs. I was lying on my back and my eyes shot wide open. Whatever it was had a tight grip on both legs. I couldn't move my arms either. I tried calling out my boyfriend's name but nothing came out. My mouth was moving but everything was silent. All I could really do was thrash my body.

  Finally, my boyfriend looked over at me a bit confused. It took him a second to realize what was happening! He started to shake me awake from what he thought was a bad dream. After what seemed like forever, everything stopped and I was almost gasping for air.

  My boyfriend told me that it was probably just a bad dream, but I could feel the cold imprint of a hand on both my legs! To this day I don't know what it was. I just hope it never happens again.

  Black Hands

  Conroe, Texas

  First of all let me say that the house we live
in is only 20 years old, so nothing real historical could have possibly happened. However, when we were cleaning the land that we live on (an acre) we found parts of an old car underground along with screwdrivers and knives. Who knows what that was all about.

  Ok, back to my story, September 30, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. (I will never forget the time), I was in a real hard sleep, when my phone started ringing. If I don't answer by the third ring the fax machine will pick up. Well I woke up on the second ring, and before I could answer it, something made me stop. It felt like my blanket was coming off of me, being pulled toward my feet. I forgot the phone, and pulled the blankets back up to my chin, wondering what was going on.

  That's when I saw two floating hands on the side of my bed, up in the air as if they were attached to a person. But of course there was no person. They didn't move, and they were positioned as if they were down at someone's side.

  I was so scared I haven't had a good night's sleep in my bedroom since.

  This isn't the only thing that has happened here. We have security cameras around our house that are motion-activated. They come on when something passes by. Periodically they will come on and we don't see anything.

  We also had a dog that barked constantly. He barked so much we ended up giving him away, and he always barked around the area of the car.

  Someone To Watch Over Me

  Garland, Texas

  I come from a large family of eight kids, although my oldest sister and a brother both died before I was born. My parents never talked much about my oldest sister Pat. I just always thought that since she was their first born, it was just too painful for them to talk about.

  After I graduated from college, I decided to go to graduate school and I ended up moving to a town close to where I grew up. In addition to going to school and teaching some undergrad courses as a Grad Assistant, I also took another job at a local mall to help make ends meet.

  Well, school wasn't what I expected, the people there were snobby, I missed my friends from school, and I missed my family. I felt very overwhelmed with teaching, school and work.

  One night, I laid in bed feeling very sorry for myself. I wondered if I should just quit and go back to my parent's... as I cried myself to sleep, I suddenly felt a presence in my room. But I wasn't scared. When I turned over in my bed, I saw the most beautiful woman I have ever seen standing by my bed. She was dressed in white and had a beautiful glow around her! She seemed to be floating and although she didn't speak out loud, I could hear her speak to me with her thoughts.

  She told me that she was my sister Pat and that she was always watching over me! She told me that things would get better and to hang in there. She had the most beautiful smile! Then she was gone.

  Soon after that, things DID get better and it always gave me comfort to know that she was watching over me. I named my firstborn after her - a son I named Patrick. Of course, he goes by "Pat" after my beautiful sister and guardian angel!

  The Dark Hallway

  El Paso, Texas

  This encounter took place when I was 15. It was a nice house, one story with six bedrooms, a dining room, a sitting room, a living room and a kitchen. Since there were many rooms and it was only one story, the house was very long. There was an extra room that we never used at the other end of the house by itself.

  At that time my uncle and aunt moved in for a while. That room was never used until they moved in, and the rest of the rooms were down a long hallway. I have had previous experiences in that house, but this is the one I'm going to tell you about.

  One night I was watching The Exorcist with my aunt and uncle, and I was already creeped out because that movie was evil enough. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning as I remember, and I already had an odd feeling about walking to the other side of the house at night back to my room. My mom, step dad and brothers were on the other side of the house as well, so when I got up to leave I said good night and I made my way down to my bedroom.

  As I went down the hall and passed the dining room and entered the living room, I started to feel scared about going down this long hallway, because it is the darkest part of the house and you can just barely see anything. But I went ahead anyway, walking slowly, cautious not to bump into anything. In that hallway there is an entrance to the kitchen and once you get to that point there is a little bit of light showing from the outside.

  Once I was able to see more clearly, I saw a tall, black shadow walking toward me.

  At first, I figured it was my step dad because he was very tall. Because I wasn't able to see, and we didn't get along very well, I was agitated that he was continuing to walk toward me as fast as he was. The last thing I wanted to do was bump into each other because it was so dark. So, thinking it was him, I said, "Hello, I'm in the hallway too!"

  He continued to walk, ignoring me, so I said Hello again, and right as I said that I could feel it walk right through me, and it paralyzed me for a couple seconds, like I was in shock. Instead of yelling for help or trying to call my mom, I ran into my room and shut the door, too scared to even talk or move.

  Like I said that is just one of the many encounters in my life that I have experienced.

  The Tickles on My Feet

  San Antonio, Texas

  My parents and I spent the night at my aunt's. We lived in Austin and this happened in San Antonio, so I guess my parents wanted to wait until the next day before going home.

  I had no idea the house was haunted, and I guess that is why my aunt called my parents over to pray for the house. (I was 10 years old and they probably didn't want to scare me.)

  I was asleep on the floor near the hallway, my mom was on my right, and my dad was on hers. My aunt and uncle were asleep on their bed (we were right in front of them.) I imagine it was 2 or 3 in the morning. I was cold and I took some of my mom's blanket. Half asleep, I told my mom to stop tickling my feet. I guess she ignored me. I then heard 2 little kids laughing. I was up this time.

  I grabbed my mom's arm and as she was waking, we both heard kids running around us. My feet were bare and uncovered, and continued to get tickled. I started crying. "Stop!", I yelled. She wrapped me in her arms. They kept tickling my feet. The door in the bathroom closed (not hard, very light). Then my mom put me in the middle, her and my dad held me and started to pray for me. Then they waited until I fell asleep.

  It was so ugly that night... my mom remembers so much more, and now that I am older I still get freaked out sleeping on the floor barefoot.

  The Pipe Chase

  Huntsville, Texas

  I am a correctional officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

  While on duty one night at the unit, I was doing a security check in the C-5-7 pipe chase. As I reached the end of the long corridor, I turned around to head back to the only door in or out of the pipe chase. When I turned around there was an inmate looking at me. He just smiled at me, and walked through the wall.

  I have seen him several times since then, all in the same pipe chase.

  Woman in Black

  Houston, Texas

  My boyfriend and I were at my house, talking in my bedroom. Only my grandfather was home with us at the time, and he was asleep in his room. My boyfriend and I got hungry and decided to go to the kitchen for a snack... this was between 8:00 and 10:00 pm (I don't remember the date) in the autumn.

  As we were walking from my room toward the kitchen (you have to pass the living room and have a very clear view of the entry way and front door), I stopped and he ran into me from behind. As he caught my stare toward the front door, he looked up in the same direction. Without a word we looked at each other and went back into my room.

  I got two pieces of paper and two pens... the only thing I said was, "draw what you just saw." In about five minutes we handed each other the other's drawing. Both were exactly the same: the figure of a woman in late Victorian dress (about 1900-1910), with her hair up in a bun and a long black dress.

  After seeing each other's picture, we a
greed that the woman was more like a shadow... she was colorless (the same color as a shadow on the ground), but we both somehow 'knew' the dress was black in color and we could see the dress in great detail.

  The 'ghost' woman stood in her place for a moment before proceeding to 'walk' straight through the closed front door. As I said, neither of us said one word about what we saw to the other until the drawings were finished, to be sure one or the other wasn't hallucinating. (I got this tip out of a 'how to catch a ghost' book when I was like 7, and thought this the best time to apply it.)

  After we had discussed it (this took only about 10 minutes, for neither of us felt scared), we decided to walk back as if we were going to the kitchen to see if we had been the victims of an optical illusion or a trick of the light. Neither of us saw the figure again.

  About an hour later, as we were saying goodnight on the porch, we saw about five medium-sized orbs (way too big to be fireflies and we live way out in the country so city lights are non applicable). The orbs were about 6 inches in diameter, at least, and they hovered all around us, swishing soundlessly before disappearing.

  Marion

  Houston, Texas

  When I was about twelve, I was sure my room was haunted. I did a lot of research on this thing and discovered it was a Marion, a ghost that haunts women as they sleep. One thing about a Marion is that if you try to leave it behind it will follow you. I went to my uncle's house and I guess the Marion thought I was leaving it, so it followed me and I know because I was taking a nap on my uncle's couch while they were in the bedroom about twenty feet away from me.