Monday, April 27, 2009

Our house is haunted too...

Guide books say that St. Louis is one of the most haunted places in the country. From "Bloody Island" during the Civil War, to the Lemp Mansion and all around Alton, there are lots of stories about hauntings here. Come Halloween, St. Louis leads the country in commercial haunted houses. The whole thing to me is good fun. I never thought much more about it until these past few weeks.

A month or so ago, a woman was driving slowly down our block. I was doing work in the front yard. The lady was looking at all the houses. She stopped to talk to me through the car window. She said she was trying to find someone. I didn't recognize her or the name of the person she was looking for. She was a little agitated, and her appearance out of sorts.

She appeared dazed, as if she wasn't sure whether she belonged there. She was slight of build, with a pale complexion and dressed in loose fitting clothes. She drove away. I was a little concerned about her and her search, but I didn't think much about it after that.

Then last week, a very unusual message came across our neighborhood listserve. A member reported that their house was haunted and they were looking for someone who could come over and cleanse the place of spirits. This person was worried because they said this ghost was very strong and capable of causing injuries.

Other posters replied how their homes were haunted too, and that the whole thing was fairly common. They said the best thing to do was to call a priest because they are the best at removing restless spirits. Even a protestant poster said the best thing to do was to call a Catholic priest.

I chalk up the whole spirit and haunting stuff around St. Louis to our historic nature and strong Catholic culture. Lots of our neighborhoods are very old. There are many generations ahead of us here. Our cemeteries date to the early 1800s. A lot of people died violent or plague sickness deaths. It's no wonder we have more than our share of unquieted spirits.

So yesterday, I'm working in the backyard and the mysterious lady from last month returned, only this time she was much more specific in her search. She walked down the gangway and approached me. I was standing there with a power saw in one hand and dead tree branches in the other. She had the same unsettled appearance. From a distance, she looked like she could be in her early 40s, but once she was within a few feet, she looked much older. She might have been 50 or 60. It was very hard to make a close estimate of her age.

This time as she spoke, she was very focused in her questions. She asked me how long we had lived in the house. I told her that we had lived here for about four or five years. She said she knew that, and that when the house was up for sale, she had gone through the home back then. She began asking questions about the same person she was looking for on her last visit.

She said the man she was searching for was her sister's son. She gave me the impression the man had some connection to our house. I asked her his name and she said it was "Tom O'Toole". "O'Toole" is an old time St. Louis name. We know a family of "O'Tooles", but no Tom O'Tooles.

I told her that I had never seen nor heard of a Tom O'Toole, but that I would ask around for him. If anyone reading here knows of a Tom O'Toole that lived in South City, please reply.

5 comments:

tobyweiss.com said...

I know a local group who do paranormal investigation. They use technology to differentiate between the explained and unexplained. Fascinating stuff.
If it turns out to be haunted, a priest is only one of several options they offer for solving the problem. And the priest seems to be more of a soul soothing function rather than a practical solution. Ectoplasmic beings aren't chained to religious affiliations.

David said...

Tobyweiss.com, whats the name of the parnormal investigation group?
I have a ghost, I would like to get rid of it.
Thank you, My e-mail address
dgautopsy@yahoo.com

David said...

My ghost, most of the time, it's invisible. I have seen a bright
white ball of light, a large dark shadow, and a white man. The light
and shadow, both float through the
house, only at night. The man was
in my backyard, from the waist up, also floats. March-July 2007, the ghost at my bedtime would get on my bed. It felt like a cat, or small dog walking on the bed. There would be a pause, of about 5 mins, then the bed would shake, from head to toe, for about 30 seconds. The last two days of July
it got on my bed, and it pushed my ankels down hard, then released. The next night, it pushed down on my left thigh. I sat up in bed, and looked at my thigh. I could see the sheet being pushed down, by invisible hand prints on both sides, of my thigh. I moved my leg, and the pressure released.

I started video tapeing my self while I slept. I had to leave a light on. Nothing never happened,
after about two weeks, I stopped tapeing, and turned the light off.
Shaking, and touching stopped. About two weeks ago it started again. Jumping on the bed, shaking the bed, and pushing on my body, again at bed time. There have always been, banging, scratching, tapping, footsteps, noises. Coldspots, hiding car keys, checkbook, and few other items. In 2007, I woke up twice with bleeding cuts on my face.
I belong to Southhampton Neiborhood Yahoo group, and was the one asking for help.
Thank you
dgautopsy@yahoo.com

Mateo Jose said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mateo Jose said...

Come on, people. Ghosts, ghoulies and hobgoblins do not exist. NONE of you have a spirit of any sort in your dwelling. I promise. Stop with the superstitious nonsense. Peace.