A Haunted TX Apt. IV--No Place Like Home

From: Dianne (ravyncat@yahoo.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: Austin, TX--Amarillo, TX
Source: Form Submission

This story is a follow up to others that I have posted. You can find my apartment stories and my childhood stories on this website. (Sept 2002:"True Tales from a Haunted TX Apartment"--Dec 2002:"A Haunted TX Apartment II"--Jan 2003:"A Haunted TX Apartment III". You can also find more about my childhood home in Sept 2002:"A Scary TX Barn", "A Haunted Birthday Party", "A Deer's Revenge?", and one is titled something like "Red Eyes,??,and Scary Trees..Oh My")

Now, are you ready for even more stories from the realm of the weird?

Recently, my sister told me about some freaky dreams she's been having. The first weekend in January, my four year old niece was away at her father's house. (Joint custody visitation) My sister and niece share a large bedroom. It is devided by a screen of silks that my sister dyed and made into a tent around her part of the room. Anyway, my sister dreamed that she heard my niece screaming and crying for her. My sister woke up and frantically searched the room for my niece. She really freaked out when she couldn't find her. After a bit, my sister remembered where my niece was, and decided that she had had a very realistic dream.

That night I also had bad dreams.

In the middle of January, we decided to go to amarillo to visit my mom. The Friday before we left was January 10th. That morning I got up for work at 2:30am. I heard a loud banging noise coming from the kitchen and went to see what it was. Nothing in there had fallen, and the cats were all in my room. I walked back into my room and the closet doors rattled like they were trying to open. I ignored them (this happens a lot). Later I was sitting on my bed and putting on makeup. By this time, I had opened my closet doors and one cat was sitting on a shelf in the closet. (This particular cat loves the closet) My two other cats were sitting on my bed in front of me. Suddenly I heard a loud HHFFF sound right by my left ear. It sounded like someone had just sighed very loudly or made the loudest huff sound they could. Of course I saw nothing. My cats weren't freaked out either. I can't say I felt the same.

Later when I told my sister about the morning's events, she also had a creepy story.

I left for work that morning about 4am. Soon after that, my sister had another bad dream.

She dreamed that she was laying in her bed and that my niece was asleep beside her. The silk curtains were gone and she could see her fiance getting ready for work in her bathroom. (He leaves for work about 5am)

Then my sister heard my niece start crying from across the room. She looked down and saw that my niece was still asleep beside her on the bed. Something that sounded just like my niece was crying from the general area of my niece's bed. The bed is in a corner and it was completely dark. My sister was horribly frightened. She was afraid to leave my niece alone and she didn't know what was in my niece's bed pretending to be my niece. She started telling my niece to "come here", so that she could see what it was. The crying only got louder and scarier. Then my sister tried to call out to her fiance and she couldn't talk. This was when she finally realized it was just a dream. My sister then woke up. She was freaked out because my niece WAS beside her exactly as she had been in the dream, and her fiance WAS in the bathroom getting ready for work.

This creeped me out because I have often thought I heard my niece in the house when she wasn't there. I also hear her screaming.

The next Sunday, January 12th, we left for Amarillo.

My mother's house is very haunted. I have lots of creepy childhood memories. Apparently the ghost is still there.

Our second night there, my sister complained because there was no hot water left for her to take a shower. The next day I also noticed the complete lack of hot water. (Cold showers in winter SUCK) We checked the hot water heater and it had been turned down to "vacation". Noone in the house did it. The next morning it was freezing when we woke up. Outside it was 20 degrees and it didn't feel much warmer in the house. I checked the thermostat, and it had been turned all the way down to 55 degrees. Again, noone in the house changed it. I guess my Mom's ghost was just saying hello. Or trying to urge us to leave!

More stories will be posted as they happen.