This is my house. It was built in 1924, and is located in a very quiet little town in NE Ohio. While many people wouldn't like having a home quite this old, we prefer it. In fact, we focused mainly on older homes when we were house-hunting a few years ago. They tend to have more character, as well as history.

Our home was owned by a well-known local family for many, many years before we bought it. One of the family members is actually in a band called Devo. You may remember their song, "Whip It", that was very popular in the 1980's. 

Don't remember it? Here you go:

You know you were butt-dancing in your seat. That's okay...I was, too! 

Anyway. The woman who lived here was a fixture in the community. She was a school teacher, and was also very involved in city happenings throughout her life. 

Sadly, she passed away a few years ago, leaving her much-loved home vacant. We bought it from her sons for an amazing price. Of course the home needs tons of updating. Some of the wallpaper and flooring is far too dated for our tastes. It's on our mile-long to-do list. 

Today, my husband was off. He took advantage of the nice weather and decided to do some yard work. As he was mowing the grass, a man stopped to talk to him. It was the previous owner's son, and he had actually grown up in this house! 

He told Dan some pretty interesting things. For one, we learned that there is a 20+ year old time capsule located in a corner brick where our addition was laid. Pretty cool, right? 

He also asked if we had noticed anything strange happening in our home...It turns out that someone has been lingering here for decades...someone no longer living. She has been seen, in full-bodied, apparition form, many, many times over the years. He and his siblings had seen her growing up, his wife had seen her, and the previous owner had seen her often, too. 

Where did 99% of all this strange activity take place? Well, he said that when you head up the stairs, it was in the first bedroom on the right. That is my 4 year old daughter's room. 

Now I have to admit, Sophie doesn't sleep in her room. At all. I am one of "those weird co-sleeping moms" that allows my 3 and 4 year olds to sleep in the room with my husband and me. Right now, Sophie's bedroom is nothing more than a big, giant closet. We have TONS of clothing to sort to either put into storage or donate. (We really need to get to this, because Sophie has a LOT of clothing. A LOT.) 

In addition to seeing a female entity, they suspected there was a male energy as well, since randomly, there would be the strong odor of pipe tobacco that would hit and then dissipate within seconds. Cold spots would always accompany this phenomenon. 

We actually spend very little time upstairs, since we sleep on the main level of our house. My son, Kyle, is the one who spends the most time on the upper level of our home. He lives in his room, which is right next door to Sophie's. 

I posted something on my personal Facebook page about what we learned, and a woman I met in a local group, who just happened to be the previous owner's close friend while she was living, confirmed this rumor. She, too, was aware that my house is haunted. She was told this by the previous owner, and apparently, it was common knowledge. 

When Kyle returned from school today, I filled him in on this interesting news. I said, "Kyle, guess what? Today we found out we might have a GHOST in the house." In typical teenage fashion, he rolled his eyes and said, "I know that." 

REALLY?! 

He said that he had felt cold spots, seen a figure out of the corner of his eye, and that doors would open on their own. (He had told me this before, but I always figured this was the cats playing tricks on him.) 

The one thing I have noticed is that for some reason, the light in Sophie's room is on at odd times. Like I said, we spend VERY little time upstairs. The only time we even go into her room is to grab clothing, and we always turn the light off. Still, pretty much every time I go upstairs, usually to shower, her light is on. I had always blamed Kyle, and even yelled at him for it a few times, and he always denied it. 

I wonder if it's the spirit I was told about today, if there is, in fact, some sort of entity here....

I know some people would pack up and leave if they learned their home might be shared by something other-worldly. I personally think it's pretty cool. I have always been interested in all things paranormal, so I am going to be paying closer attention to the happenings upstairs from now on. The reports from both our gentleman caller and the former owner's friend say that the spirit is definitely not a "bad one" and has never been threatening or menacing in any way. Maybe one day I will get to catch a glimpse of this activity, myself! 

If anything, it makes for a fun Halloween story! 

Have YOU ever seen or felt a spirit? I'd love to hear about it! 

My name is Brandy, and I am a survivor of domestic abuse. Whew. I said it.

This was me, at age 16. It seems like a million years ago now....I may look like I was happy in this photo, and I was...For a time. I was blissfully unaware of what the next several years had in store for me, and that the man who took this photo would take this happy girl's spirit and completely break it down until she was merely a shell of a person. 

Before I tell my story, I want to say that this is not a post to bash my ex. I have no desire to identify him or to make his life difficult. In fact, I want absolutely nothing to do with him on any level, unless it's absolutely necessary. And even then, my husband does most of the talking. My ex can't bully or intimidate my husband, so we have found that Dan being the middle-man works well when communication is necessary. 

I can honestly say that I wish my ex well, and hope that no other woman is ever treated the way that I was at his hands. I hope that by losing his wife and his family, he has taken a long, hard look at what he has done, and that he has changed. In some ways, I think this is an empty wish...I mean, do abusers ever really change, or is it something deep-seeded within them that causes them to be the way they are? Or did we simply just bring out the absolute worst in each other? I don't know. I will never know. And that's okay. I have been remarried to a wonderful man who treats me like gold for almost 7 years now...So I suppose, some questions don't really need answering. 

In many ways, my first marriage is ancient history. In other ways, however, it still haunts me. It has changed the very core of my being in ways that I wish I could reverse. But I can't. I just have to learn to accept the damage that has been done and find ways to move forward.