Haunted House on the Hill

I grew up in a small town in Botetourt County, Virginia, and we lived off the main highway. My great grandmother had cousins who lived just up the hill behind our house. As a little girl, I always felt uncomfortable in their house but did not know why. They had a black clock that was about three feet high and whenever it chimed, chills would go down my spine. In 1969, this family moved in with relatives and built a brand new home in the same spot as their old one. It was beautiful to look at but still for me had that eerie feeling when I went inside.

That old clock sat on a mantle over the fireplace in the new home and each time I heard it chime, I would run home crying. I believe I must have been about 10 or 11 at the time. I never saw anything in this house, but it felt odd and empty. My great grandma's cousins had recently passed both husband and wife were in their 80s. Their children, two divorced daughters, and a bachelor son now inhabited the home. My family moved from the area in 1979, but whenever I went back to visit, I still experienced this feeling of unease.

By 2003, the year my mother passed away, only one sibling remained living in that house. Her name was Georgia and she and my grandma talked on the phone every day. Georgia never mentioned anything out of the ordinary about her house, but others sure did. When she was unable to care for herself, another cousin hired round the clock nursing care for Georgia. One woman, a Mrs. Dent called my grandma one day with a tale that sent chills down my spine. She asked my grandmother about Georgia's brother Guy who had passed away many years before. Mrs. Dent wanted to know what he looked like because she had been seeing a light-skinned black male in one of the bedrooms, rocking in a chair and smoking a pipe.

Guy had the bedroom that faced my old house, and while living, he did sit in his rocker and smoke his pipe. This woman who did not know him while he was living and had not seen any pictures of him had described cousin guy perfectly. Now, I understand that everyone will have their own views regarding this situation; but where I come from, we are taught that dead people don't come back. We were told that it is an evil spirit impersonating the living. So in my opinion, whatever was in the house that made me so uncomfortable was now manifesting into the form of cousin Guy.

I shared this with an older relative one day and she said that she had never seen anything in the house, but she always felt it was creepy and she did not like the clock either. I told this tale to my brother and he added to the supernatural aspect of it all. After Georgia died in 2008, the cousin who hired the nurses ended up with the house, My brother said she had rented it out to a couple with children. One day my brother rode with this cousin and her sister to Georgia's house to collect the rent. He said they stood outside waiting on the woman who lived there to come out. While they waited, they discussed how neither would set foot in the house again and they began to laugh.

When the lady who lived there came out, my brother said one of the sisters asked if they were still hearing things. The woman replied that her children said that doors opened and shut by themselves, but she and her husband had noticed nothing. This was a few years back and as far as I know, the house is sitting on that haunted hill, empty of humans. I have no way now to find out what may have caused the supernatural occurrences. There were at least two more caregivers besides Mrs. Dent, and neither of them reported anything unusual to my grandmother. One day I may ask my cousin about her own experiences in the house, but for now I share this tale as is. Whatever lurks there is obviously connected to the property, considering that I felt in both the old and new house.