My Haunted House

My name is John, I have lived in Jellico all of my life. In 1989 I moved to Corbin Kentucky for a short while and returned to Jellico in 1993. I wanted to share my story with you because I was a skeptic when it came to ghost and hauntings up until I purchased a new home just outside of Jellico. I am now a full believer because I live with a spirit in my home. In fact, I have three spirits here.

When I purchased my new home (new to me) on the very first day I felt like something was a little odd. The prior owners met me on the property. After showing me the inside of the house we walked around the outside. This is a large property that leads right into the mountain. I had my six year old grandson with me on that particular day. I wanted to see just how far that the property extended into the mountain and I could tell that the previous owners were hesitant. "If I'm going to buy this house, I want to see all of the land that goes with it." I explained. Finally the man agreed to walk into the wooded area with me to show me the property line. The lady wouldn't go with us, instead she went back to their car to wait.

As we walked we came upon a old, broken down shed that couldn't be seen from the house. My grandson suddenly stopped right in his tracks and grabbed ahold of my arm. "Pops, I don't like it." he said. The former owner began to explain how the shed could be easily took down and how he had planned on doing so before they decided to sale the property. My grandson just starred at the old shed with a very uncertain look. "There's a mean old man in there." he whispered to me. We sorta laughed and continued discussing business.

I decided to buy the property. It was a fixer-upper but I am now retired and knew that it would be a nice project to keep me busy. It was a good investment and I really enjoyed the private location.

Moving In

When the time arrived to move into my new house, I assembled the help of my daughter and son in law. It was around noon and my daughter was unpacking boxes in the bedroom upstairs. Us men was in the kitchen trying to figure out why the water wasn't working in the sink. Suddenly we heard my daughter scream out and we went rushing upstairs.

We found her in the hallway, back against the wall with both hands over her mouth. She had the most terrified look on her face that I had ever seen. At first she was too shocked to even speak to us, finally she said that a old woman was standing in the hallway watching her. "She was just standing right there in the hallway looking into the bedroom, watching me." We searched the entire house but could find nothing. To calm everyone's nerves I called the sheriff who was a good friend of mine. He came and searched the house and property but found nothing out of the ordinary. But before he left he whispered to me "John, I've been here before for the exact same reason and I heard a lot of strange stories about the place being haunted, if you believe in that sort of thing." We both had a good chuckle. Ghost aren't real, at least I didn't think that they was. We finally chalked it all up to it being a big old empty house and a good case of the nerves.

Things Moving

As months went by I began to notice some strange things happening. At night dishes would fall from the cabinet and break. This happened three or four times before I installed latches on the cabinet doors to keep them shut. However, I'd hear the cabinet doors rattle at night as if someone was trying to open them.

I always hung my keys on a nail beside of the front door and several times they'd be moved to the table across the room. Silverware would just completely vanish from the drawer never to be seen again. Especially knives, I can easily say that I have lost at least fifty knives while living here. One night while I was watching television a picture came off of the wall and landed about five feet across the room. It didn't just fall down, it flew outward. I would notice little knickknacks being moved to different locations. My clothes hanging in the bedroom closet would be on the floor nearly every morning. My grandson refused to even stay the night with me anymore and my daughter would not stay in the house after dark. I decided that something had to be done.

I was embarrassed and somewhat ashamed of myself, that Sunday at church I talked to the preacher about my concerns. He knew the property and he also knew a rather chilling story that went with it. Apparently back in the 1940's my property was a cattle farm owned by a older family. That old shed that my grandson was afraid of is where they slaughtered the cattle. One night while working with the cows the older man accidentally cut himself. He was unable to go for help and nobody heard him calling out. After that the older lady was unable to keep the farm running by herself so it was closed down. She lived in the house alone until she passed away one night in her sleep. It's believed that she remained in the house for about a week before anyone came and found her. After both parents passed, their son from Texas came in to take over the house, he only lived there for a few months before he took his own life. In fact, he also told me that all three of them was buried on the property.

Finding The Graves

That evening me and the preacher walked my property for what seemed like hours searching for the graves. Finally, just beyond the old shed, a little further into the mountain we found them. The mother's stone only says "Della". The father "Louis" and the son "Galli W" with some other letters that can't be made out. All three graves were grown over with grass and shrubs and in terrible condition. I am now in the process of having new stones brought in for each grave.

What Happened Next

After finding the graves even more strange things began to happen around my house. Sometimes at night I would hear knocks and bangs coming from the old shed. I admit, I was always too afraid to go inspect it during the night when the sounds happened. One night, I will swear this to anyone, I heard the sounds of a cow coming from the shed. A terrible sound, like it was suffering and in pain. It only lasted for a brief moment and I never heard it again. The random thumps and bangs, I still hear them often.

One morning I was awake early, it was 4:30am I remember clearly looking at the clock. In the kitchen I saw a old woman at the sink washing dishes. She looked up at me and then she was gone. I saw her just as plain as day standing there. She wasn't transparent like you'd expect a ghost to be, she looked as real as anyone. I wasn't afraid by her presence though. I know she's here and she often moves my belongings around to suit herself. Once in a while I hear her on the stairs but I have only seen her that one time.

Sometimes the kitchen smells like Wild Garret snuff, a smell that you never forget. I even found a very old snuff can out in that old shed. It's usually in the evening time when I catch the scent of it lingering in the kitchen.

The Bedroom Upstairs

There is one room upstairs that I have prepared as a guest room. At any given time day or night, that room remains very cold. Even with heat running in the room it's impossible to warm it up. A old friend of mine came to visit and stayed two nights in that room and then decided that he would rather sleep on the couch downstairs. There's a sad feeling inside of that room. Spending more than a minute in there you'll just start feeling down and sad with no explanation why. I keep that door closed and nobody ever goes in there. But it's more than the cold and sorrow in the room that makes me keep it closed off. There's also a shadow figure that lingers around in that room. I have seen it on many occasions as did other people. It's a tall human shadow that falls against the wall. I have never felt threatened or afraid but knowing that it's there makes me uneasy. There is also a rocking chair in that room that rocks by itself. The spirit does not bother me and it does not leave the room. But trust me, it's in there.

Today March 7th 2021

This morning I heard the older lady make her way down the stairs. I greeted her a "good morning". I went upstairs and opened the bedroom door and the rocking chair had been moved slightly. Instead of sitting at the foot of the bed it was moved closer to the window that overlooks the backyard toward the old shed.

At first, living in my haunted house was a very uneasy feeling. I have came to realize that the old occupants of my home still live here with me, I suppose it's their home too. They don't bother me but they do let me know that they are here.

I now know that the family that sold me this house did so because of the haunting. I have spoken to them many times since I purchased this property and they tell me that the house did not bother them until the lady became pregnant and she didn't want to bring a baby into a haunted house. They denied ever knowing about the three graves, yet I suspect that they did know on account of them not wanting to show me that part of the property before I purchased it.

My daughter still won't stay after dark but my grandson has finally started spending the weekends here with me. He isn't afraid of the house or what's in it but he is still afraid of the old shed.

This past Christmas my family all gathered here for dinner. Our carving knife disappeared. Someone suggested to me that maybe knives and such things go missing because of how the old man cut himself and died. Maybe the old lady just does not want sharp objects in the house. I suppose that makes good sense. I put a latch on the silverware/knife drawer and as long as I remember to put them back in their place, they don't disappear anymore.

Living in my haunted house is not a terrifying experience, in fact, oddly enough I feel less alone. I wake up every morning and tell them "Good Morning" and I pick my clothes up out of the floor and move my belongings back where I like them.

(but she'll move them again tonight). She always moves them to where she wants them to be, that's the only disagreement we have.