Stories

A Haunted House in Harborne. What I am about to tell you is true. As you read this story, you will understand why the paranormal is a big part of my life. First of all I will attempt to describe the house to you. I hope that you will be able to visualise it in your minds eye. The property is a late Georgian townhouse in Harborne ( a suburb of Birmingham ) It has three flights of stairs from the cellar to the attic. The rooms were a good size, including front and back rooms, kitchen and bathroom along with five bedrooms and a very small yard to the rear of the property. From the street in which it stands, the house looks foreboding and superior to its neighbors. A feeling of dread and sadness lingers in its facade. The large sash bay window emanates a dark interior and the front door is unwelcoming. Even today I sometimes walk past the house and the feeling I get from its aura are still the same if not worse. I am not surprised by the fact that the house is up for sale every two years or so. My Mother and Father bought the house in 1964 and remained there until 1981. By then the haunting increased and sightings of apparitions were common place to my family and visitors. My mother became very scared, she could'nt be in the house on her own at this point and so put the house up for sale. Desperate to leave, my parents sold the house for much less than its value. The ghostly phenomena became more intense when my father started to update the interior and found, behind one of the skirting boards, an invitation card for St. Peters boys school. ( This card was given to Birmingham museum for it's preservation ) Audible sounds such as parties and lots of distant voices became apparent. The terrifying aspect about this was that my older sister heard her name being called out on more than one occasion. It seems as though the spirits were interacting with the living. My sisters would also encounter forms of physical violence inflicted upon them, waking up in the mornings with scratches to their faces and unseen hands that would slap you in your sleep, even pinching of ones bottom would occur. My brother in law encountered an apparition of a woman standing behind the TV set in the front room. He gave a very detailed description of the woman to my mother, she then in turn asked a resident who lived opposite the house, who had lived there for many years. When my mother described to her what had been witnessed, the elderly neighbor replied, without being at all surprised, that the woman whom my brother in law had seen was in fact the former owner! She had apparently died in the front room of the house. Another sister of mine witnessed the apparition of an arm, yes an arm! It was gliding up the stairs as if holding on to the hand rail. Also my other sister saw what she described as being a light, almost like a candle flame, moving down the hallway in the attic. The attic was divided into two bedrooms situated on the third floor. My older sisters had a bedroom each and myself and my other sister shared a bedroom to the back of the house on the second floor. I have three sisters and two brothers and they all experienced paranormal activity in this house. I had things happen to me too. I was in my bedroom one night lying in bed when I had this feeling to look over to the window. All seemed to be ok but then to my shock the curtains lifted towards the ceiling and stayed there for at least five seconds or more. The window was not open so this phenomena could not be explained by saying a draught caused it. Another time, I was in the front room with my Mother and we got locked in. The door to the room was one of those that you just pull open. But did it open? NO it did not. My Mom and myself were kept imprisoned in that room for several hours until help arrived............. I hope this has wetted your appetite for more. I will be continuing this story shortly. Just remember that this is a true account of what happened in my childhood home and by no means has it been written for entertainment. If you have any questions please get in touch.