Haunted Trailer Park

This house, which was really a trailer, had bad juju.

The trailers that surrounded it were odd too. Hidden in a deep back road.

I was three when I saw a demon, peering at me as I slept. A distinct shadow that loomed at my window in the early morning; daylight poured through its eyes.

Without a sound, I rolled off of the mattress, which lay on the floor, and scurried through the dim hallway to find my grandma. She lived here with my grandpa, across from the haunted trailer we would eventually move into.

Although some strange things happened here, at my grandparent's, the haunting would not officially begin until some years later.

A few months after seeing the demon, I remember being on their lawn, laughing as I skipped through the arches of flowers. Something stopped me in my tracks and I looked up; I remember seeing a group of people, having conversations with one another. They seemed not to notice me, and were clearly transparent like typical ghosts, but I was not afraid. To this day, that memory haunts me, because I do not understand what I saw.

____________________________________________________

A few years passed, and I returned to my grandparent's for the summer.

I sat in the backyard, playing quietly, and watched as an old green truck pulled into the driveway of the haunted trailer, directly behind my grandparent's.

A woman in a tattered black coat hopped out and slammed the door shut. Helene. Bitter and elderly; no one knew much about her. She huffed all the way to the front door, muttering to herself beneath her breath. This sight was a rare occurrence; she hardly ever left her home, ever since her two children had killed themselves in that very same house.

My aunt had stayed for dinner and came outside. She didn't say anything, just smiled and sat in a white lawn chair to smoke a cigarette. I continued my game of pretend, making my barbies march through the flowers.

BANG!

My aunt and I looked up. The noise came from the old woman's house. We sat still in anticipation. Tension hung in the air, thick like a spider's web, and silence echoed for what felt like forever.

Eventually, the light in the furthest left window flicked on and Helene appeared. I jumped, and chills went up my spine but she did not seem to see us. She moved swiftly towards the window and pulled the curtains shut.

I scooted closer to my aunt.

"Well that was strange, huh?" she mumbled, grey smoke poured through her nostrils and danced in the yellow porch light. I nodded in agreement and she spoke again, "Did her husband come home with her?"

"It was just her." I replied, "I heard grandma telling her friend that her kid's killed themselves."

My aunts face grew serious, "Whose kids?"

I pointed at the old, rusted trailer in front of us, "Helene's."

She nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. Just as she went to open her mouth to speak, we heard the strangest noise. To this day I have trouble describing it.

A soft, broken rumble traveled throughout the night air. Something about the sound made my hair stand up. My aunt waved me over to come closer to her, but I was frozen in fear.

The noise grew louder, more distinct; it sounded like a someone moaning. I looked at the window, where Helene had appeared. The light had turned off. Curtains remained closed. The source of the sound was indistinguishable.

After putting out her cigarette, my aunt stood up and reached out her hand for mine, "Let's go inside, it's getting late." Her voice was steady and calm, but the loss of color from her face and wide eyes revealed the fear in her heart. Something strange was going on.

We went inside. A few minutes later, an ambulance wailed through the neighborhood and parked in front of Helene's. My grandparent's were sleeping already; but my Aunt and I huddled together at the kitchen window, peaking through to see what was happening.

Helene's husband, Frank, was wheeled out on a stretcher. She stood on the porch with a strange look on her face and watched as the ambulance hauled him away. We stood motionless and listened as the sirens faded into the distance. The old woman turned to go inside, pulling a gray shawl tighter around her shoulders. Before she completed her turn, she stopped, and looked directly at us with eyes full of darkness.

My aunt and I jumped backwards, knocking over a stack of dishes. She flipped off the light switch and we both crouched to the ground, shaking in fear.

Her husband never returned home.

____________________________________________________

In 2014, my mom wanted to be closer to my grandparents, to help take care of them. We didn't have much money, so we rented the trailer from Helene, not yet knowing it was haunted.

The first few months were peaceful, and everything seemed fine.

Then one night, I was in my room, taking pictures of the moon and something strange happened. I went through my recent pictures, deleting the blurry ones, and encountered an image that I could not have possibly taken.

All of the normal pictures are navy blue and black, and the window I peered through was wide, with no screen or blinds; the moon shone clearly.

The odd picture was grey and white... and the moon was blurry and full, unlike the vivid half moon in the sky. A figure, cloaked like the grim reaper, was etched into the bottom.

I tried to save this photo, but lost it on my old phone.

A few nights later, in the middle of the night, I woke up from my sleep to an episode of sleep paralysis. I had gotten these before, but this one was different. This time, I couldn't wake myself out of it. The light that emanated from my lamp grew stronger and stronger, until the whole room appeared to glow.

I turned over, trying to move, and accidentally turned towards my mirror. I had never done this during sleep paralysis, and my stomach sank as I saw a swarm of black figures dancing around me. Demons.

I shut my eyes closed and prayed harder than I ever had before. A voice echoed and told me not to be afraid. This was easier said than done, but I tried, and after what felt like an eternity, the weight of the demonic energy lifted. I felt safe. My eyes opened, and I peered timidly into the mirror to my right. It was just me.

A knock came at my door. "Hello?" I asked, trying to disguise the fear in my voice.

The handle latched open, and I expected to be faced with another swarm of demons, but it was just my sister, "I had sleep paralysis." she said, her voice quavered slightly, "Will you stay up with me?"

My face must have given away my astonishment, because she quickly came forward and asked what was wrong. I explained to her what had happened and we just looked at each other, unsure of what to think.

It was obvious there was something wrong with this house, and we had both sensed it that night.

____________________________________________________

A few months later, my grandpa passed away, so my grandma came to live with us. All of our rooms were full, so we made a make-shift room with closet doors in the living room. In the renovated bedroom, the doors remained close by a latch.

One day, my mother and I were sitting with my siblings on the couch, watching Orange is the New Black.

The latch flew up and the make-shift door swung open.

We all looked at one another. This had to be explainable. I stood up and closed the latch, then began to jump and wiggle it, seeing if it would shake open on its own. It stayed shut. I tried leaving the latch partly open and still it would not open by even the slightest vibrations.

The only way to open it was by lifting it up.

A week later, the latch opened again. This time I was in the kitchen. Water boiled on the stove and I prepared a mug of tea. Clink!

I froze, slowly put down the jar of sugar that was in my hands, and ran to the living room. The door was wide open.

____________________________________________________

One day, my mom's friend needed someone to foster her dog while she found a new home. We were excited to finally have a dog again.

We brought Daisy home and she played with us in the living room, sniffing around and jumping on the couch. When it was time to go to bed, I called out to Daisy, leading her towards the hallway, to go to my room.

Daisy trotted towards me, but as she neared the hall, she began to slow down. As soon as her paw reached the carpet of the lengthy hallway, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"C'mon girl. It's okay." I cooed, and petted the German Shepard, in an attempt to comfort her.

She would not budge. Something about the hallway scared her and no matter what I did, she would not follow me. The next day she ran away.

____________________________________________________

One night, I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. The hot water felt good on my hands and face in the winter night. Although we had heaters, the house was always so cold.

I dried of my face and reached for my face cream. All of a sudden, my reflection began to darken, like someone lowering the lights in a room. Everything around me started to look like an image with increased contrast. I called out for help, "Mom!"

My voice sounded distant and the contrast around intensified until it began to morph into a light grey. The strength from my body was fading rapidly. Weak, I reached for the door handle and called out again, "Mom..."

My voice was hazy now, barely audible to my own ears. I managed to pull the door open and stumbled into the hallway, hanging onto the wall for support.

Ana, my sister, appeared at the end of the hall, "Are you okay?!" she shouts.

Then everything went black and I fell to the floor.

I woke up to my mom above me, yelling for me to pull through, shaking me, trying to revive me.

Never before had I fainted. This was the first and only time. The ambulance arrived and rushed me to the hospital; all my vitals were fine and the doctors could not explain this strange occurrence.

____________________________________________________

It had been weeks since my fainting episode, and I was finally able to resume my nightly routine without fear.

Once I was sure I would not faint, I continued to sit on the porch each night, and felt safe in our little neighborhood. Nobody every bothered us, and we hardly ever encountered anything suspicious. But one night, this all changed.

Huddled against the backdoor, entranced in my writing, a sound made me look up. Footsteps.

Thud, thud, thud.

It did not sound like an animal, and what person would be trekking through a strangers back yard in the dead of the night? There were no streetlights nearby. The only light came from my laptop and the moon.

I looked up sharply, eyes blinded from my bright screen and jumped to my feet, "Who's there?" I yelled in fear.

I turned to go inside and hear the steps again, heavy and foreign. Thud, thud, thud.

I look over for a moment, unable see anything in the pitch black darkness, and then scurry inside, nearly dropping my laptop in the process. After locking the door, I dropped to the ground in shock, trying to make sense of what just happened. Could it have been my sister, pulling a prank on me? No. My family was in the living room, watching TV.

____________________________________________________

This is the last strange thing that happened in this house.

I lay in bed one night, watching Netflix. Suddenly, I heard something outside of my door. A faint knocking from the hallway. I paused my show to listen. It was 2 in the morning, everyone was asleep. After a few minutes of silence, I resume my show.

The noise appeared again. This time, with a soft voice, but I couldn't make out what it is saying.

I heard the knocking again, each time a little closer, as if going through every door. A few taps, and a faint whisper, "Sissy."

Was my little sister out of bed? She was only one, and usually woke my mom up first.

My hands began to tremble, and I attempted to calm down, thinking to myself, this is nothing to be scared of, it is just my sister.

The knock comes to my door. Three soft taps, and another whisper, "Sissy."

I shook away my fear, feeling stupid. My mom probably just didn't wake up, I tell myself. Expecting another knock, I take my time getting out of my lofty bed. Nothing comes.

After crossing my small room, I open the door and look down.

There is nothing there.

She must have gone back to bed...I think to myself. My heart pounded loudly, and I gulped.

Determined to prove myself right, I raced down the hallway, expecting to catch my baby sister crawling back into bed.

My face sank when I made it to the doorway - my sister was swaddled next to my mom, in her favorite pink blanket, both snoring through a deep sleep.

____________________________________________________