dolls in their laps. Sheila, the oldest of the three leaned forward and whispered to her “and all the cabinet doors and windows in the house were opening and slamming closed! My mom said, ‘That’s it! We gotta get outta here!’ and we did! We went to Aunt Paula’s house that night. Mom packed the next day and we moved.” Shelby was nodding in agreement clutching her doll to her chest.
“What was it?” Lizzy asked.
Sheila shrugged, “I don’t know. Mom said it was a ghost.”
“Like Casper?” Lizzy was now curious.
Sheila tried to explain the best she could. “It’s when someone dies and then they come back but you can’t always see them, but they are there. I’ll tell you what though, they can be pretty noisy and scary!”
In some way, Lizzy knew what she meant and didn’t like how she felt. She had not experienced death first hand. She was transfixed with Sheila’s story.
“And that’s not all,” Shelby nudged Sheila in the side with her elbow. “Tell her about the rest.”
“Well, my mom got really freaked out the other day and said she heard loud breathing in her closet. She thought it was one of us in there hiding and kept telling us to come out. We heard her calling our names so we went into the room to see what she wanted. When she saw us standing there, she started acting upset and yelled at us to leave the room. When she finally opened the closet door, no one was in there!” Sheila took a quick look around as though someone might be listening before she continued. “I heard her tell Aunt Paula that she found out a man had hung himself in there!”
Lizzy’s breathing got shallow as her heart raced. She wasn’t sure she knew what it meant, but didn’t want to appear stupid in front of Sheila and Shelby. She messed around with the dress on her Barbie and finally got the courage to speak.
“So, there is a dead man in your mom’s closet?” She felt prickly as goose bumps slid up her arms.
“You can’t see him, but she hears him in there sometimes,” Shelby added.
“I don’t like that!” Lizzy said loudly.
“Shhhhhh! We’re not supposed to tell!” Sheila shot Lizzy a dirty look and Lizzy knew to shut up. She didn’t want her new friends to be mad at her.
“I never want to go in your mom’s room!” Lizzy whispered.
“We won’t.”
That was that. The girls never went into that room, but Lizzy never forgot.
Lizzy was sure that it was that first brush with the paranormal that drove her curiosity about other dimensions, spirits and the supernatural. All her life she was drawn to stories and movies that investigated the unseen worlds she believed existed. She spent many a school night in bed with a flashlight and a book. She read Amityville Horror in 8 th grade and couldn’t sleep with the lights off for a month. After that, she tapered off on reading stories that scared her. She realized things had a heavy impact on her and that she was too sensitive to expose herself to much of the horror genre. She was drawn to it all the same. She couldn't get enough of ghosts, big foot, angels and hauntings. If it had a supernatural twist, Lizzy wanted to know about it. Now, here she was, smack in the middle of something she had only read and heard about.
After arriving home, Lizzy grabbed her laptop and began some in-depth research. Apparently, it was quite normal for activity to come and go. Sometimes ghosts would lie dormant for 50-100 years. Sometimes a trigger, like remodeling, would cause a spirit to become active. There were stories where a type of person or family would be the trigger. Still, Karen’s house was relatively new and Karen had lived in the house for two years with no occurrences. Why would Karen suddenly start having problems now? she wondered. She found a listing for a Paranormal Investigator who lived in the next town just a few miles away. Lizzy felt her heart begin to pound hard as she
“What was it?” Lizzy asked.
Sheila shrugged, “I don’t know. Mom said it was a ghost.”
“Like Casper?” Lizzy was now curious.
Sheila tried to explain the best she could. “It’s when someone dies and then they come back but you can’t always see them, but they are there. I’ll tell you what though, they can be pretty noisy and scary!”
In some way, Lizzy knew what she meant and didn’t like how she felt. She had not experienced death first hand. She was transfixed with Sheila’s story.
“And that’s not all,” Shelby nudged Sheila in the side with her elbow. “Tell her about the rest.”
“Well, my mom got really freaked out the other day and said she heard loud breathing in her closet. She thought it was one of us in there hiding and kept telling us to come out. We heard her calling our names so we went into the room to see what she wanted. When she saw us standing there, she started acting upset and yelled at us to leave the room. When she finally opened the closet door, no one was in there!” Sheila took a quick look around as though someone might be listening before she continued. “I heard her tell Aunt Paula that she found out a man had hung himself in there!”
Lizzy’s breathing got shallow as her heart raced. She wasn’t sure she knew what it meant, but didn’t want to appear stupid in front of Sheila and Shelby. She messed around with the dress on her Barbie and finally got the courage to speak.
“So, there is a dead man in your mom’s closet?” She felt prickly as goose bumps slid up her arms.
“You can’t see him, but she hears him in there sometimes,” Shelby added.
“I don’t like that!” Lizzy said loudly.
“Shhhhhh! We’re not supposed to tell!” Sheila shot Lizzy a dirty look and Lizzy knew to shut up. She didn’t want her new friends to be mad at her.
“I never want to go in your mom’s room!” Lizzy whispered.
“We won’t.”
That was that. The girls never went into that room, but Lizzy never forgot.
Lizzy was sure that it was that first brush with the paranormal that drove her curiosity about other dimensions, spirits and the supernatural. All her life she was drawn to stories and movies that investigated the unseen worlds she believed existed. She spent many a school night in bed with a flashlight and a book. She read Amityville Horror in 8 th grade and couldn’t sleep with the lights off for a month. After that, she tapered off on reading stories that scared her. She realized things had a heavy impact on her and that she was too sensitive to expose herself to much of the horror genre. She was drawn to it all the same. She couldn't get enough of ghosts, big foot, angels and hauntings. If it had a supernatural twist, Lizzy wanted to know about it. Now, here she was, smack in the middle of something she had only read and heard about.
After arriving home, Lizzy grabbed her laptop and began some in-depth research. Apparently, it was quite normal for activity to come and go. Sometimes ghosts would lie dormant for 50-100 years. Sometimes a trigger, like remodeling, would cause a spirit to become active. There were stories where a type of person or family would be the trigger. Still, Karen’s house was relatively new and Karen had lived in the house for two years with no occurrences. Why would Karen suddenly start having problems now? she wondered. She found a listing for a Paranormal Investigator who lived in the next town just a few miles away. Lizzy felt her heart begin to pound hard as she
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