DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS

It happen on Halloween night: Me and a couple of friends sat up in a cemetery to talk about things and get spooked. We thought of ourselves as brave ghost hunters. There is a square on top of the hill that allowed us a view of the entire Oak Ridge graveyard, and it was there that we first heard the growling. When we looked around for the source, hoping it was just an animal, we spotted a girl in a blue dress walking among the tombstones. As we fled, my friend twisted her knee. We think the girl in blue made it happen to spite the living.

Cindy, Altoona, Pa

AUNT MARIA

A long time ago, when I was only four years old, Aunt Maria moved in with my family. Since we only had a three bedroom house, Aunt Maria had to sleep with me. My bed wasn’t very big, but we managed to fit. The only problem was that Aunt Maria had back problems that made the arrangement uncomfortable for both of us. One night dad told me I had to sleep with him and my mom for now on; I didn’t think anything of it, everybody knew the sleeping arrangements were no good as they were. But later my oldest brother told me that Aunt Maria’s back was not why I was taken from the room. He told me that one night as we slept, my dad walked by the room and felt something really cold in his feet; he looked down and saw icy smoke coming up from the floor. My aunt said she believed I had an energy that was causing strange things to happen in the night, and that was the real reason dad wanted me to sleep with him and mom. The next night in their bedroom I awoke to find the room was full of flames! I woke up mom, but she couldn’t see it, she told me it was my imagination. I became so hysterical I eventually ended up in counseling, which led to me being taken to a witch doctor. I can’t remember anything from the doctor, only that he shook an egg on top of me. My aunt moved out as a result of this. Nine years later my aunt came back to live with us. I had not forgotten our past, and was afraid to share a room with her. I moved to the living room couch. Shortly after her re-arrival, I got up to got to the restroom. Suddenly I saw smoke coming out of my bedroom where Aunt Maria slept. It brought back my childhood memories, and I realized my “madness” had stopped after my aunt moved on. Now that she was back, I was seeing the same visions I had experienced as a four-year-old. I told my mom about it and she also made the connection that I would only act strange when my aunt was with us. She eventually took my aunt and me to a witch doctor. They started shaking the egg like before, and they were talking gibberish. I could not feel a thing, but could see the egg flying back and forth. Then Aunt Maria walked into the room. We heard screaming, and the egg cracked. There was a knot in the yolk! Things have never been the same between my family and my aunt since.

Valerie Garcia, Yuma, Arizona

LET ME OUT!

It was Saturday night and my sister and I were home alone in our new house. Well, new-to-us-house, it was actually over 100 years old and had belonged to my grandpa before he died. We were downstairs, but I kept hearing talking upstairs. Sister and I decided to investigate, even though we were terrified! As we climbed the stairs it was obvious the noises were in my room, which is where the attic door was found. I was really scared as I approached that door. We opened it slowly and…something jumped out! At least that is what we thought, but then there was nothing there. That night Emily woke me up frantically and said she saw a ghost standing over me. The next morning I became so sick I landed in the hospital. My sister blamed the ghost. A couple of nights later I was watching my brother when the basement door started shaking, similar to what had happened with the attic. This was all years ago, but my parents still live in the house and tell me they hear voices at night.

Missy, St. Charles

THE LAST LAUGH

I was staying at my close friend's house, which is quite old and is rumored to be haunted by a previous owner who died of a heart attack while going down the main staircase. I could see this staircase out of the corner of my eye as I watched TV late into the night. At around 11pm I heard footsteps get louder and louder on the stairs. No one was one the stairs! I knew it was the legendary ghost, and must have had a look of utter terror on my face. That‘s when my friend emerged from the shadows of the staircase laughing. She said the footsteps were recorded earlier in hopes to scare me. We had a laugh and she went up to bed. About an hour later, I heard another strange sound. I smiled and thought to myself, “She wouldn't be able to scare me this time.” Slowly, the footsteps grew louder and louder. I said, "Quit it, it's not working, Irma”. Moments later Irma emerged from upstairs looking frightened. The sound of the footsteps had grown louder. “Ha-ha Irma, it really isn’t funny anymore,” I said. Irma just looked at me, her eyes widening as she pulled something out of her pocket. I stared. It was the tape where they recorded the faked sounds.

Treze, Philippines

BOOK OF SPELLS

One night my older sister invited me to spend the night with her at her boyfriend’s house. He had a roommate that was into all kinds of freaky stuff. He had a book of witchcraft that I was too frightened to even look at, and a pit bull that I didn‘t want to go near. We all went out for dinner together and actually had some great conversation with the roommate. Later on when we returned to their apartment we found the cabinets open, and their plastic bowls had teeth marks and scratches. We knew there was no way the dog could be responsible. It was actually pretty obedient, plus it was too small to reach the cupboards. Though the house was empty, we found the roommate’s book of spells open on the coffee table. He swore he had put the book in the drawer when he knew I was coming over. The front door was locked and there was no sign of a forced entry. I refused to spend the night in the house, and returned home with my sister. I do not ever want to be near that place again, that book scares the crap out of me!

Linda, Texas

A HELPING HOUSE

I am a big believer in ghosts, and I had a couple of encounters: The first was when I lived in a small town called Pound Ridge, NY. During the time mom and dad were building our house there, the area dealt with an earthquake, a tornado, and a hurricane. That is not typical New England weather! Now we believe something was telling us not to move in. Too bad we didn't listen. I remember sitting in the family room watching TV when out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow person walk on the deck. When I looked again it had vanished. This was the first of many shadow people that were to visit our property over the coming years. Another day I was in the house with all the windows closed. I felt a cold breeze of air go around my face and then disappeared. The basement was always full of these drafts, plus I would always get the feeling that something was watching me. These were not good spirits, and we sensed they wanted out of the house. We finally moved to West Haven, and rented an old 1800 farmhouse. This was a good house; it had always a warm feeling inside. At the time my family was having some problems, so we believe that this was a helping house as our lives improved there. One night, my Mom was getting ready for bed, and I was downstairs watching TV. On the corner of my eye I saw an old lady with curly hair in a nightgown floating down the stairs. Her right hand was on the railing. I saw her for only a second until she vanished.

Meg, West Haven, CT

CHILD AT HEART

My two younger brothers and I were playing outside when I went inside to get a drink of water. It was getting to be evening and we live in the country with no neighbors. My brothers ended up following me into the house, and three-year-old Hunter was gazing out the window while I got the drinks. He yelled to us that he could see an ugly lady walking down the road. Christopher, my eight-year-old brother took a look and saw nothing. A few minutes later Hunter said, “Now she's on our swing." I took a look for myself, and while there was no one there, the swing was swaying very slowly. "She's right there on that swing," Hunter said, “looking right at us!" I headed out the door alone, Hunter wouldn't come out anymore.

Ashley, Indiana

A GHOSTLY PRELUDE

My grandfather died recently. I traveled to Guimaras for his funeral, and stayed with my cousins. Before the burial we went to have a swim in the nearby river. I heard cracking branches at my left, and saw a boy dressed in white with no slippers. I stopped in my tracks, but my cousins seemed oblivious as they ran towards to river. When I glanced back, the boy had vanished. I caught up with my cousins and started swimming. After a few moments, I saw him again, only this time the seemingly normal-looking boy had horns in his forehead. I shouted loudly for my cousins, but they somehow could not see what I saw. Later on my uncle explained to me that a young boy had been swept away by the river. The body was never found, but all had guessed him for dead. It was a ghostly prelude to LoLo’s funeral.

Karl Vincent S. Galanto, Ilo-Ilo

SHE’S NO ANGEL

My experiences began on the night out-of-town family came for a visit and stayed at our house. I slept on the couch after having been forced to give up my room to my aunt and uncle. I was having a strange dream about trying to reach for a pair of hands. They were pale white and were reaching for me. I woke up to discover in horror that I was floating about an inch off the sofa. This lasted a couple of minutes until I fell softly onto my pillow. I kept quiet about this until much later, when something even more frightening occurred. I suddenly woke from a deep sleep to find I could not breath, talk, or even scream. My whole body was cold and paralyzed. On the wall of my room a round figure stared down at me. It was very a little-girl face, and for a second I thought she might be an angel. I closed my eyes in horror, and when I opened them the experience was over.

Cindy, San Antonio

THE HORSEMAN

During my vacation in London I stayed in a creepy hotel in an older part of town. One very late night, my older sister and I were making our way back after a night in the pubs. As we walked along the cobblestones, I distinctly heard hooves pattering on the pavement. Suddenly from nowhere a carriage appeared, looking like something straight out of Charles Dickens; the driver was very pale and was dressed in vintage Victorian. As we got closer the image started to vanish right before our eyes. It scares us to think that we saw the unexplainable.

Katherine, New Hampshire

NIGHTIE-NIGHT

When I was six I had an elderly neighbor named Sara. She loved to cook, and she adored all of the children in the neighborhood. She eventually died of a heart attack, but after her death I kept spotting her in a rocking chair on her front porch. Five years have passed, and my uncle has moved into her house. One night I was sleeping over, and needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. As I made my way down the hall in the darkness, I heard noises in the kitchen. I peeked in and saw Sara going through the cabinets, I ran back to my bed and… Sara followed to tuck me in!

Susan Munn, Texas

HOSPITAL HAUNTING

We were at the navy hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. Mom was having a baby, and dad and I were waiting up all night. I decided to go to the bathroom alone and that scared me; I didn’t like being alone in such an old hospital. I was washing my hands in the bathroom when the lights went out. I heard kids crying, and people screaming as they rushed and ran around. When the lights turned on I got the hell out of there. I told my dad what I heard and asked if he heard it also. I was the only one! Two weeks later my dad decided to tell me why I had heard those noises: During the Civil War, injured people came to that hospital. One night, the west wing of the hospital was bombed. All the people were crying for help but especially the little children. They were scared and didn't understand what was going on. Many of them died that night without a clue of why.

Tori, Georgia

A GHOSTLY PINCH

This story is really my friend’s experience, not mine. He had gone to a friend’s house. Four other people were there, and everyone decided to play hide and go seek in the bedroom. They turned off the lights, and my friend hid in the bed with the covers over him. Everyone else was scattered throughout the room, and nobody else was near the bed. Suddenly he saw something white under the covers…it was a HAND! Not an arm, just a hand, and it was not moving. He grabbed it, but it disappeared. Then he said he felt something pinching his arm. When the lights came back on, sure enough, he was alone in that bed.

Aaron, Texas

SOMETHING’S THERE

My uncle used to love camping. He lived near a creek, and would always head out with a tent, a boat, and his dog Ace. Ace went everywhere with him, he would never leave his side. My uncle and a friend were going to spend a few days at the camp. My uncle had the day off so he went early to set everything up. He got everything set up and it was about 4:00. That was perfect timing, his friend was getting off work at 3:30 and was heading straight out. He told my uncle that when he made it to the dock he would honk four short times followed by one long one. In the days before cell phones, this was the signal for my uncle to pick him up. No sooner than my uncle had finished setting up camp he heard four short honks and one long. He started the boat and whistled for Ace, but Ace wouldn't get on the boat. My uncle heard two impatient honks and started backing out; sure that Ace would jump on the boat. The dog started going crazy, but would not board the boat. Finally my uncle just left him; the trip would only take about 5 minutes. On the way up there, in the early twilight, my uncle saw what appeared to be a deer standing in the middle of the creek. That made no sense, that creek was about 16 feet deep. As he got closer he realized that the figure had red, glowing eyes. It followed him all the way up until it was out of sight, only moving its head and staring at him with those glowing red eyes. When my uncle reached the dock there was a pile of rocks with a beer bottle and note sitting on top. The note read…“Sorry I can't make it Jesse, the baby is on the way.” My uncle's friend was expecting so it wasn't too hard to figure out what the note meant. My uncle then had this weird feeling that he should leave. He returned back to camp and once again, the red-eyed thing was there. He packed up as fast as he could and got he !@#$ out of there. That night, there was murder by the river…exactly where uncle would have stayed!

Reba, Texas

THE CRADLE

This is not actually my story, it happened at my friend’s house. She was in the kitchen, playing cards with her entire family at the table. They heard a baby crying and a thumping noise. That was weird; her niece was asleep, everyone in the house was sitting at the table. They realized that the noises were coming from the attic and they all headed up to check it out. When her dad opened the attic door, the noises got louder. As they walked up the stairs they got louder still. Then in the attic, they saw a baby cradle, gently rocking. When I spend the night at her house I often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Everyone else will still be asleep. I have often been described as sensitive. These things don't really bother me. Some people are meant to be sensitive and some aren't.

Reba, Texas

THE VISITOR

I went to visit my grandmother who lived in Phoenix. We had to stay in her friend's trailer because there were no more hotel rooms. My grandmother's friend was lonely and glad for the company. She had lived by herself since her husband died eight months earlier. He had died in the trailer where I was to be sleeping. The night we stayed there I was sleeping in hide-a-bed with my brother. In the middle of the night he rolled, and I thought he had gotten up. I heard footsteps go across the linoleum towards the bathroom, and I figured it was my brother, until… I felt my brother roll over against me! I could still hear the footsteps and looked up towards the bathroom. No one was there. I tried to forget about it, and go back to sleep, but as I lay there, I felt someone next to the bed. I had my back to the room, and I was too frightened to roll over and see what it was. For what seemed like an eternity I sensed the thing behind me until I finally fell asleep.

Julia G., Boise Idaho

RAILROAD PHANTOM

It was late-May. A few pals and I were at a diner, trying to figure out where to spend the rest of the night. At about 6.30pm we found ourselves hanging out on the railroad tracks getting drunk (there isn’t a whole lot to do around here). It got dark soon after we arrived, and most of the people around were already pretty drunk. A few hours later my boyfriend went to pee in a bush- facilities are few and far between on the tracks. When he didn’t return I got worried and headed into the darkness to find him. As I got away from the group, I heard quiet steps getting closer to me. I turned to see where they came from and saw a young girl with very long, shaggy, blond hair coming straight for me. My instinct was that it was a ghost; her complexion was very pale and she seemed to radiate bright white. By the time I recovered from shock she was just three feet in front of me. I could distinctly see an extremely deep wound slashed across her chest, and tremendous blood stains running down her belly. I looked into her eyes and felt only pity as she silently cried in front of me. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. There were tears streaming down her face as she walked straight past. I turned and she pointed down towards the railway tracks that were just below a grass mound. In the distance I heard a train horn. She looked at me in a horrific way and vanished over the grass mound. I panicked, and headed back to join the group. I am not a person who believes in hocus pocus kinds of stuff, so I kept what I saw to myself. Later on I found out that in 1988 a little girl died on those tracks. It makes me happy to know that her presence lives on, but sad to know her spirit is filled with such sorrow.

Colleen, Nashville

MIDNIGHT FRIGHT

It has taken me a long time to be able to type this or tell anyone... One night, around midnight, when I was six years old I was being bad. Even though I was supposed to be asleep, I was watching television in my bedroom. All of a sudden, my door flung open. My mom gave me an “I’m gonna kill you” look, and then turned away from the door and walked towards to bathroom. I got up and ran towards the bathroom to apologize. She slammed the door and turned the light on. I decided to wait for her in her bedroom, but when I went in she was IN HER BED! I took a look back at the bathroom to find the light still on. A second later I looked back and the door was open with the light off! This is true and it is really freaking scary- I have no clue what it was.

Megan, Illinois

PEEK-A-BOO

This happened when I was little: My friends and I would get together after school about twice a week, usually at my house. We’d have snacks, watch TV, typical eight-year-old stuff. One afternoon, shortly after I moved into a new house, we decided to play hide-and-seek. My best friend and I hid in my parent's bedroom closet. We heard footsteps, which we figured belonged to another friend. The closet door opened and we figured we had been discovered, only, the girl standing at the door was a stranger. What she said really freaked us out: "Peek-A-Boo". We were soooooooooo scared. We ran downstairs and didn't move until all of our parents were there. Later that night I asked my mom about the little girl. She just said that it must have been our imaginations, but I could tell she was lying. A few days later I found out that my mom had told the neighbors about it. They told a friend, and this woman asked to come by the house. I was so confused, remember, I was only eight. The lady came over and explained that she was going to show me a picture. She wanted me to tell her if it was the little girl I had seen. Simple huh? When I saw the picture and I started going crazy. "That's her!" I yelled over and over. Then we heard a super loud scream. It sounded like a little girl. My brother and my dad were in the living room and we were in the kitchen. No one was upstairs. We ran out of that house and didn‘t stop. We had some relatives go get our stuff, we didn‘t ever want to be in there again. I still have never found out what had happened to the little girl in the picture. All of this happened four years ago, and I pass by that house sometimes on my way to school. Last year something happened as I walked by. In the upstairs window I saw her watching me.

Nikki, Indiana

STILL HANGING AROUND

My dad was inspecting a house for these two older ladies. He was doing his normal thing, going throughout the rooms checking that everything is in good shape. When he was done in a room he would turn off the light, and when he finished the last room he found all the lights turned back on. Someone had hung themselves in that house, he must not have liked the dark.

Mandy, Ohio

BABYSITTING TERROR

I was babysitting and heard something banging upstairs. I went upstairs, but when I didn’t see anything, I figured that it was just my imagination. I went back down to the living room and lay down on the couch in front of the television. When a commercial came on I went up to check on baby Ty. He was fine, so back down to the couch I went. Less than a half an hour later, Ty started crying. I went up to him and changed his diaper, even though there was nothing in it. Then I realized that the window was open, and I knew it had been closed earlier when I had come up. I shut the window, put Ty back to bed, and tried to dismiss my uneasiness. Soon afterwards though, the phone rang. I answered it to hear heavy breathing. I freaked out and ran back upstairs for Ty. The window was open again! I grabbed Ty and ran out of the house. We went to the neighbor's and she called the police when I told her what happened. The police found nothing, and blamed it on my over-active imagination. How ridiculous- something was with us in the home that night!

Chrissy, Pennsylvania

TAP TAP TAP

Mom told me a long time ago that ghosts don’t hurt you, they protect you. I remembered those words when late one night I felt someone tapping my leg. Tap, Tap, Tap, all the way up to my upper back. I looked up to spot saw a shadow and in a panic I ran out of the room. I ended up camping out on the couch, saying over and over, “They don’t hurt you, they protect you.” That’s when I saw grandmother gliding down the steps, wearing a peach colored dress. Grandmother had died before I was born, so I had never seen her in person, only pictures, and this was definitely her! The next morning I told my mother what had happened. Of course she was stunned. She wanted to know how I knew it was grandma, and she had me describe the dress in detail. She couldn’t believe I had been visited by grandma, and declared that she must be my guardian angel. After that, I knew she loved me. Every now and then I still feel those little taps. I am not afraid, I just smile and say, “I love you too grandma.”

Nycole, New Jersey

INDIAN SPIRITS

Last year I was spending the night at my best friend’s house. Her brother and his friends were there and we all went outside to play hide-and go-seek. I hid farther away from the house than the others, and was lying on my stomach. I looked up to see an old Indian woman rubbing an arrowhead. She was slowly walking towards me and her mouth seemed to be moving. I didn't feel scared, if anything, I wanted the arrowhead. She seemed like she was going to offer it to me. But then I came back to my senses and thought, "I've never touched a spirit. What if it kills me, or pulls me into another dimension?" I panicked and ran back to the house. Later that night, I told my friend what I had seen. She let me know that at one time, her property was the site of an Indian village.

Sydney, Crawford, FL

EMMA

My friend Lauren and I were biking when we came upon an old cemetery. Once inside we realized some of the tombstones were so old they were dated back to the time before Texas was even a state. There was one tablet that read: EMMA MELINDA BACON, BELOVED DAUGHTER AND SISTER. I saw that little Emma died right before her first birthday and I gathered some daisies to place on her grave. As I knelt down I heard a child crying in the wind. I asked Lauren if she heard the noise; she didn't believe me. Do you?

Anonymous, Austin TX

PHANTOM IN THE PARK

Once upon a time I volunteered at a nearby park, picking up trash and doing light maintenance-type stuff. One of these afternoons, as I started to rake a pile of leaves by a swing set I realized that one of the swings was swinging at quite a fast pace. I looked up at the trees and realized that there was no wind. Confused and anxious to find out what was causing the swing to act this way I headed over to investigate. As I approached, the swing started to slow down. Then it suddenly stopped. As well as I could tell, there was nothing wrong with the swing to make it move on its own- no loose bolts or anything. As I turned away from it, I saw a person dressed all in white. I realized that it was a ghost and it was less than a quarter of an inch away from me! I ran fast in the other direction, not having the nerve to look back. I took a break from volunteering after that. Even though I had discovered what made that swing move on its own, I wasn’t too comfortable with the culprit.

Anonymous

GRANDFATHER’S DIGITAL REINCARNATION

This happened only a couple of months ago. My cousin's friends came over to my house after my cousin abandoned them to go shopping. These people had never seen me in their lives; my cousin just figured we’d all get along. Oh- this is important; my cousin was related to me on my mother’s side and knew nothing about my dad’s family. The group of friends and I decided to play around with the séance, a board which communicates with the dead. I never believed in it and only looked upon it as a game. Until…they asked, is anyone there? Y-E-S. What is your first name? B-R-I-A-N. What is your middle name? T-H-O-M-A-S. Are you related to Deanna? Y-E-S. Do you live here? Y-E-S. (They did this in my room) What room? D-E-E. This is what makes all of this so terrifying: My grandfather on my dad’s side was named Brian Thomas Daintry. Of course these people could never have known this. Also, Brian never called me Deanna but Dee. In my room, is a DVD/VHS player. I had always thought it appeared to have glasses. There are two stickers on each compartment that look like eyes and it even looks like it has a nose and a mouth. Brian had glasses and always smiled. He also had a mole on his right cheek and on the player there is a spot on the same section. Lastly, beside Brian's eye was a cancer that was removed. This too is coincidentally marked at the exact spot on my DVD “face”. Somehow in the past I could never understand how this DVD player always seemed to be positioned to have the face watching me when I woke up. I had always thought that perhaps vibrations from the street outside were moving it from its position facing away from me each night…

Dee, Tamworth Australia

THE GODFATHER

It was the late winter of 1984; I was an 8-year-old boy. My parents were out that night and left me at home with a babysitter. At around 10:00 pm as we were watching a movie we heard steps coming up the basement stairs. At first, we thought it was just something we were hearing from the movie, but then it got louder. We turned the movie off to see if we could still hear it. WE DID! The stepping noise made it to the top of the stairs. My babysitter in a panic called her parents on the phone for help. I yelled out, naively thinking maybe dad would answer that he was just locked out. Of course, no one answered, but the handle on the door was turning, as if someone was trying to get come in. I ran to the door and held the handle in place. That’s when the knocked started. "Who is it?!" I yelled again. The handle twisted again strongly, moving in my hands and turning my whole body with it. I clenched it with all the strength my little body could, putting all my weight against the door. The babysitter called the police like her parents told her to do. While they were on the way, the door handle continued to turn violently. Then suddenly, it stopped. Even so, I grasped it and held the door shut with all my might until help came. Finally, the police arrived and searched the area. An officer came in and said they found no foot prints outside in the snow around where the garage was. The garage was the only way to get to the basement from outside. Then, the strangest thing of all was that there was no handle on the other side of the door. I had forgotten all about that in my terror, yet it had been turning in my hand! My mother suggested the only possible explanation: it may have been my Godfather who killed himself when I was three. He used to live with us and he always came home through that way.

Jake Lansby, NY

GOOD SAMARITAN SPIRIT

It was the day before Halloween and we were telling ghost stories in school. My teacher Mr. VanDette told us one we never forgot: One Halloween night Mr. VanDette was hunting in the woods behind his farm. When it got dark, he knew he should head home, and started on the path to his truck. Somehow, though, he was turned around and ended up in the apple orchard. He was nervous, but kept moving forward and eventually came upon a cabin. He was perplexed by its presence, he thought he knew every home in the area, but was grateful for the chance to ask for directions. He knocked on the door and a little old man opened the door and gave him directions. He was even nice enough to ask if he needed anything else, so Mr. VanDette went inside and used the phone to call his dad. When he told his dad where he was calling from, his father ordered him to get out of the house immediately and to meet him at a nearby crossroad. Mr. VanDette thanked the man and went on his way. His dad was waiting for him at his truck and told him to drive on home. The next morning his father asked him if he could find the cabin again. Mr. VanDette had a pretty good idea, but when they reached the spot there was only a clearing. In the midst of it were the remains of a charred building. He looked at his father for an explanation. "Son, this cabin burnt down over 50 years ago."

Missy, PA

CHILDREN OF THE CORN

Before Heartland was a city, it was a small farming village. One of the farmers owned several acres of cornfields. He was a mean-spirited man, but most people traced this back to the drowning deaths of his two children years before. In 1954 a bunch of kids got lost in the woods near the cornfield. Legend has it that the grief-crazed farmer killed them. Several years later even more children were lost to the cornfield when a fire spread across the acres and burned them alive. Today we talk in whispers late into the night about the dozens of young lives taken by the field. Here is something I always add to the story: One time I heard music and cornstalks cracking when I was in the field, and another time I came upon two dead dear in the middle of the corn. My friend also has something to share, once when he was investigating the field a sharp piece of metal hit him in the ear! One day I tried to ride my bike past the field when a nail blew out my tire. Suddenly I heard yelling and a rock whizzed by my hand. In spite of this I will still visit the field. I want to know what happened to those children so long ago.

Mike R., Heartland, MI

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME

My teacher Mr. VanDette had a son less then a year ago. He bought his son a teddy bear that sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Shortly afterwards, Mr. VanDette’s grandfather died, a man who loved to fix-up little trinket toys. One night Mr.V was trying to get the bear to sing but it wouldn’t. He realized it was broken and put it in the far corner of his son’s room. When Mr. V went out into the living room, he turned on the baby monitor. Much later, as he was watching television, he distinctly heard the tune coming out of the monitor…take me out to the ballgame! He ran upstairs to find the broken teddy bear right next to his son’s crib, singing!

Missy Stevens, Pennsylvania

THE LITTLE GIRL

I started seeing ghosts when I was 8-years-old. The strongest presence is the little girl. She wears a long, white, dirty dress, and has long hair. She follows me everywhere I go. The first time I saw her was when my mom and I were alone in the house. I was going into my room and caught a glimpse of her in my parent's room- she is so scary looking! Sometimes she appears with a lady, also dressed in dirty white. One night, while I was folding some of our clothes, I saw her floating outside the window. I did not mind her because I thought she was going to go away…but she didn't. When I was about to sleep, my dad came in to shut the window. When he pushed aside the curtain, I saw her there waiting. She even followed me to school, Chiang Kai Shek College, once. During lecture, I heard faint singing. I looked around and saw that no one else seemed to hear it. That’s when I saw her outside the school window! Another time I was swimming with my family and saw her in the pool. That night, when I was about to sleep, I saw her standing outside the door. She walked to the cabinet and stopped near it. I closed my eyes hoping she would vanish before I opened them, but she was still there waiting for me to look at her. The next day I saw her sitting next to my brother’s bed. I do not go away from her, even when I am terrified, because I believe she is just lonely and wants to be with someone.

Kimie Jin Ang, Philippines

LITTLE BOY GHOST

I was sleeping in my mom and dad's room with my baby brother. I was in his bed with him nestled close. My mom, dad, and baby sister were sleeping in the big bed. At around 2am, I awoke to the sound of baby brother’s crying. I figured he wanted his sippy cup, but when I looked up I saw him throwing the cup at something…and that something threw it back! I then saw, over to the side of the bed, a little boy dressed in a yellow sweatshirt. His hair was short, but long enough to cover his eyes. I yelled loudly for my mother and father to wake- even my baby sister if that could get me some help! Strangely though, they couldn’t seem to hear me, so only my brother and I witnessed the haunting. Within an instant the boy vanished. After he was gone my father heard my scream and woke up, oblivious to the fact I had been screaming already at least 2 minutes. I didn’t get a chance to explain over my brother’s crying. Dad ran over and scooped him up, leaving me in the little bed alone. I was still frightened as I lay still for a few moments to get my thoughts together. Then, just when I was calmed down enough to begin speaking, I looked up to see the boy STANDING BY MY MOTHER!!! I was so scared- so what if he was just a little boy, he might have some powers that allowed him to be a spirit or ghost. I hopped up and jumped in the bed with my mother, father, sister, and brother. We were smooshed the whole night, but at least I didn’t have to be alone and afraid anymore. The following morning I told my parents about the boy. They thought that it was just my imagination, of course.

Baltimore

MISCHIEVOUS SPIRITS

I was at my cousin’s house watching television when my cousin said that she heard a noise downstairs. I went down the steps and blazed a trail of light through each room I went through, from the living room to the kitchen and back to the hallway. I didn’t know what to expect and wanted to be sure I wasn‘t in a dark room when I discovered the source of the noise. After making the circuit I found myself in the kitchen confronted with a locked door. I banged on the door screaming accusations at my cousin, “How dare you lock me in here when I’m already so frightened!” However, when my cousin got to the door she told me in all sincerity to stop messing around, that I was scaring her with all the nonsense about pretending to be locked out! “I didn’t even touch that door on my way out,” I said, confused. When my cousin went downstairs later on I saw a shadow in her mother’s room. I started to laugh, and called out that it was time to stop playing games. But when I went into the room my cousin wasn’t in there, no one was. I peeked behind the door and there was nothing there either. I think a spirit in her house was trying to communicate with me. I didn’t think I should ignore it; ghosts aren’t the types of creatures you want to blow off.

Tony, Baltimore

MARILYN MONROE’S GHOST

You can call me crazy, but I'm not making this up... I was watching a documentary about Marilyn Monroe's death the evening this happened. Being a documentary nut and ghost story fanatic, I've seen just about every ghost story on television about celebrity phantoms, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to happen that night. While watching the Marilyn documentary I felt an intense sadness over her tragedies, and wished I could've been a friend to help her thought those times of need. That night I dreamt of her, which is no surprise; dreams can be rather phantasmagoric in nature. When I awoke I sensed a presence in my room. Maybe I'm crazy and this was just a projection from my dream onto reality, but there was a woman standing next to my television, glowing in the dark, all white, and smiling at me! She was blonde and her face was made up in the way Marilyn Monroe used to be. Of course, this gave me quite a fright, and I remember reaching for the light switch and yelling out for my mother. The "apparition" disappeared with the smile on its face and I was breathless. No one heard my cry for help, by the way...

CGM, MD

NEVER WANT TO SLEEP AGAIN!!!

This all started a little while ago, the night my friend was sleeping over. My dad woke up early and left to get milk before work. During that time, my friend was punched HARD in the ribs. He woke up and tried to make out what could’ve attacked him, but saw no one. I woke up to find my friend’s eyes were so wide with fear I knew he wasn’t lying. I think that was only a first for this ghost. We have since heard it downstairs knocking into the furniture as we try to sleep.

Alyse Dysart, Australia

VIOLENT VISIONS

October 18th, 2004: It was late afternoon when I was downstairs making a snack. I heard somebody upstairs even though I was home alone. At first I ignored it, but it seemed to grow louder. Finally, I got the guts to go up. I saw a snake slither into the bathroom. Then it was gone, but in its place was a tall man. Next to him was a small, crying girl. They disappeared in an instant, but the visions really affected me. I decided to find out the history of my house and learned a small girl was once abducted from the house. I still hear footsteps, but no more visions.

Ashley, Wisconsin

MY UNCLE’S PAINTING

About six months ago, my uncle bought a painting for his kitchen. It was quite expensive, a classic scenery painting of willows and a riverbed. In the background, deep in the shadows, is a pale girl dressed in white. She was sitting on a swinging chair, gazing at the beautiful surroundings in front of her. I went over to my uncle’s house a few times, it was a nice painting, nothing scary about it at all, but soon after its arrival my uncle commented a few times on some unexplainable occurrences in his home recently. I didn't think anything of them at the time. A few weeks later, I was in his kitchen getting a soda. I remember walking to the fridge when suddenly my skin started to prickle. I felt a presence in the room. I turned around, but there was no one there. Convincing myself I was overreacting, I continued getting out a glass. Once again I felt a strange presence in the room, and heard a creaking sound. I didn't dare turn around, just continued to listen. I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Eventually I got enough courage to look around. Once again, there was no one behind me. However, something caught my eye. I walked over to the painting and the girl on the swinging chair was gone. I got so scared that I ran to find my uncle. He came back with me to the kitchen, but the girl was back in the painting. I was hysterical, but no one believed what had happened to me! I still refuse to go over to my uncle's unless he takes that awful painting down!

Eden Hayley, Australia

LONG BLACK HAIR

I don’t know how this happened, but one morning I woke up and my Mum looked worried. She told me that she had come in to my room while I was asleep and saw someone with black hair and scars standing over me. That’s all there is to this story, to this day we haven’t solved the mystery, but it has changed the way I think about the supernatural!

Alex Brown

THE WALKING DEAD

I was sitting at home, alone, waiting for a phone call and bored to tears. Suddenly, I heard a noise, creaky-like and creepy. I thought my sister was trying to scare me and yelled out to her to leave me alone. But she didn't. I was getting ready to go off on her when I remembered, NO ONE ELSE WAS HOME! I was then so scared I couldn't move, not even to scream, when a man-like figure came at me. I felt something cold whip through my body that left me so frightened I nearly passed out. The next day it all seemed like a dream, but I was determined to find out an explanation for the strange experience. Sure enough, after weeks of digging, I learned a man in my house 40 years ago. It was a suicide; he was about to be charged with killing his wife by strangling.

Ann, TX

MOMMY--I FOUND YOU

My house, built in 1862, is pretty old, though it is still new to me. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently, there use to be a graveyard in the back yard. Spooky, huh? I have two Labrador retrievers and late one night, I realized I forgot to let them out to go to the bathroom. I went out too because I have to keep my eye on one who tends to wander. She ended up going behind my house, so I followed. My other dog came around too, running and growling. They both lowered their heads and stared straight at a batch of pine trees behind the house. Soon I started to make out the white swirl of a figure, moving slowly across the pines. I saw another figure then, and they started to take shape as people as they moved closer. As they approached, they seemed to be hugging each other. Watching them, I could almost feel the smaller figure saying, “I found you mommy”. They disappeared into the pines within moments. My daughter doesn't seem to care, after telling her this, she plays in the pine trees everyday.

Mark, IA