Ghost In The Basement

From: Matt Simpson (grumpy@clawhon.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: St. Joseph, Missouri
Source: Form Submission

A close friend related a story to me, of a supernatural occurrance in the basement bedroom of her home. It was in her daughters bedroom, which had been no more than a dark, dank storeroom before it was remodeled for the daughter to use.

It started with her daughter, just reaching puberty, complaining to her that the "whispers" made it terribly difficult to get a good nights sleep in the new room. Upon questioning the girl, she stated that shortly after going to bed almost every night, she would be awakened, and kept awake, by the sound of a whispering voice.

As time passed, she told her mother she had SEEN a ghostly figure of a young woman, approx. late teens or early twenties, standing nude with her back to her, intently looking out the one big window, as if searching the backyard for something or someone...

The young girls grandmother came to stay a few days, during a power outtage, and was to sleep in the granddaughters bedroom while there.

My friend told me she was awakened in the middle of the night by noise coming from the livingroom, and upon going to check on it, discovered the grandmother making a bed on the sofa! Asking why, the grandmother only replied: "There is SOMETHING in (grandchilds name) room, and it sure don't like ME being there with her....

My friend went on to tell me more as time passed, and said she had often noticed a most unnatural feeing of chill, when she would spend much time in her daughters room, like when putting away laundry, and cleaning.

Likewise, the family dogs would avoid the area around the stairway whenever possible, and at times, their hair would bristle and they would growl for no apparent reason, and be looking at the stairway door..

Being a hobbiest of the supernatural and paranormal, I am led to believe that apparitions appear in the clothing they wore at the time of departing this life, and as far as I can recall, my own research tells me of only ONE case, where the ghost, phantom, or whatever you wish to call it, was nude..

If this be the case, I am wondering if this spectre was perhaps killed in that dark basement storeroom, or perhaps was waiting for, or watching a lover depart through the back yard...

We had discussed to lenght, methods for investigating this strange occurance, but my friend finally backed out of the venture, and I am now left with only many unanswered questions..

Was this ghostly spectre a victim of a violent crime? I am now wishing those in control of old records, i.e. police crime and missing person reports, would be kind and understanding enough, to assist me in checking out missing person reports for 'a few decades', and also, wish I had access to school yearbooks of a few decades, with addresses of all those students, thus possibly being able to identify that lone spectre...

Such a mystery, and no solution in sight...