Ghost Stories & Paranormal Encounters

Ronnie leaned by the two story apartment building. Ronnie had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth with the ashes falling and hitting the pavement. His black hair was blowing in the warm summer wind. He had on blue jeans with a green military coat. Dan was a tall lanky man with blue eyes that almost penetrated your soul when he spoke to you. I could see Ronnie’s blue Chevy parked near the apartment building. But I thought it was strange Ronnie would drive and hour and a half from Wisconsin just to see Dan.

Dan, “Ronnie doesn’t get off of work for another hour.” I took the apartment keys out of my purse and opened the entry door to allow Ronnie to walk into the upper level apartment. “Come on in Ronnie, you can wait for Dan in our apartment.” I secretly had a small crush on Ronnie but I could not tell him because I was living with his ex brother-in-law Dan. Ronnie just looked down and lit up a cigarette. He blew smoke rings and put his ashes out in the glass ashtray.

I remember always driving with Dan up to Wisconsin to pick up his son Derik to visit him on Sundays. I would always stop at the local bar and hang out with Lee, the bar owner, all day watching boxing movies and drinking beer. I always had fun hanging out with the town locals at the tavern. After several weeks of visiting Lee the bar owner on Sundays he told me that Lana, Dan’s ex-wife, was talking about me and Dan. I knew it was just gossip so I expected it since Dan had divorced Lana. The talk really did not bother me at all because I had a crush on Ronnie. I looked forward to going to Wisconsin with Dan to hang out with Lee and hopefully run into Ronnie.

Ronnie kept smoking cigarettes in the chair and I walked over to the window and opened the window to let some of the smoke out of the apartment. I did not initiate conversation with Ronnie because I was nervous around him. I just smiled and waited for Dan, watching Ronnie smoke.

All of the sudden I heard the roar of the Harley Davidson pull up near the apartment building. I looked out the window and saw, Dan parking the motorcycle. Dan opened up the apartment door and ran up the stairs. Dan had on his paint whites. “Hi Ronnie, thanks for stopping by.” Dan laid down his grey paint bag. Dan went in the bedroom and got a change of clothes. Dan went into the bathroom and I could hear the shower going.

Dan finally finished his shower and stepped into the living room. “Carri I need to go somewhere with Ronnie.” “Dan when are you gonna be back?” “Carri I won’t be long.” Dan and Ronnie walked down the apartment stairs. They shut the apartment entry door. I could hear the roar of the Harley Davidson fire up. Then I heard the motorcycle speed up I looked out the window. Dan was driving the Harley, and Ronnie was on the back.

I watched TV waiting for Dan and Ronnie to return. I fell asleep by the TV. Dan and Ronnie did not return that night. Around 5 pm Saturday the next day, I heard Dan and Ronnie return. I could hear the roar of the Harley Davidson. Dan parked the Harley by the apartment building and Ronnie ran to his blue Chevy car and drove away. He was headed back up to Wisconsin.

When Dan marched up the stairs I heard him try to sneak in the apartment. I was pretty mad by now so when Dan opened the door I asked Dan. “Dan where did you go?” Dan responded, “Carri me and Ronnie were just hanging out.” I asked Ronnie. “What did you do.” Dan, just ignored me and laid on the couch. Dan went to sleep.

This routine of Ronnie coming over on Friday and Dan and him taking off for weekend, went on for several weeks. I got pretty mad at Dan for leaving me out of his weekend excursions so I moved back into my parents house. I still cared for Dan so I ended up visiting him on Friday nights. I kept on asking Dan where did he and Ronnie go on the weekends but he would not tell me. Dan still cared for me so when Ronnie would come over on Friday nights, Dan would talk to him briefly and then Ronnie would take off in his Chevy back up to Wisconsin.

As the winter approached I saw less of Ronnie coming to Dan’s house. Finally after almost a month of almost never seeing Ronnie on Friday nights I saw Ronnie’s blue Chevy pull up in the apartment parking lot. The month was October and there was a cold breeze blowing outside. I just so happened to be waiting for Dan up in the apartment. Outside I could hear the slam of a car door. Then, I heard Ronnie open up the apartment entry way door. Frantically, I could hear Ronnie running up the apartment stairs. I quickly opened up the apartment door and invited Ronnie in the apartment.

Ronnie’s green army jacket was dusty and dirty looking. Ronnie had his guitar on his arm. Ronnie sat down on the couch and pulled his guitar down and started to play Knocking on Heaven’s door. Ronnie’s piercing blue eyes stared at me. His eyes looked glassy and he appeared a ghostly white, while he sang the song. Ronnie I heard was talented. He was in a band in the small Wisconsin town with a guy named Vic. I heard that Ronnie was going to University Wisconsin Whitewater. But I did not know that Ronnie was such a talented guitar player, until that night. Ronnie continued to play the song. The song played a haunting melody. Ronnie turned pale white and appeared like he was in a trance, playing for some time. Then Ronnie finally became agitated, and put the guitar down.

I told Ronnie. “Stick around Dan is gonna be here soon.” Ronnie responded, “Carri, I can’t wait for Dan.” “I have to go and do something important.” Ronnie picked up his guitar and flung it over his shoulder.  He had a worried, pale look in his face.  I could sense something was wrong. I begged him to stay.  “Please Ronnie don’t go. but Ronnie just turned toward me. “Carri tell Dan there is something important I have to tell him.”  Then Ronnie kept repeating.  “There is something important I have to tell Dan.”  “Have Dan call me.”  “Ronnie tell me what it is you have to tell Dan.”  Ronnie just turned away and opened up the apartment door.  Ronnie raced down the stairs and he left the apartment building door open. I could hear the slam of the car door.  Then Ronnie fired up the engine of the blue Chevy. Ronnie drove away.

I sat in the apartment chair wondering what Ronnie was so worried about. Ronnie had kept repeating that there was something he had to tell Dan. I could sense something was wrong with Ronnie but I did not know what it was.

About 30 minutes later I heard the roar of the Harley Davidson. Dan parked his Harley and ran up the apartment stairs. Dan opened the apartment door. I immediately told Dan what Ronnie had told me, about there was something important Ronnie had to tell Dan. Dan told me not to worry he would call Ronnie.

Dan and me went back into our routine of work and dating. Then after several weeks I asked Dan about Ronnie. Dan responded he was too busy at work to call anyone. In the few weeks that followed I lost track of Ronnie. The weather became colder outside. It was the beginning of November. On a Saturday morning in the middle of November, Dan got a phone call from Lana, Dan’s ex-wife. I could hear Dan respond to Lana “How long has he been missing.” Finally Dan put the phone down and turned and looked at me sad, I could feel a cold chill run down my spine. I knew something had happened to Ronnie. Dan told me that Ronnie was missing and the sheriff was looking for him as a missing person. I walked to the bathroom with tears in my eyes. I knew that Friday when Ronnie had raced out of the apartment something was wrong. I had not wanted to let Ronnie go.

The search for Ronnie went on. The Sheriff deputy’s were searching for Ronnie. I heard from Dan that the family did not know where Ronnie was. About two weeks later on a Friday evening Dan got a phone call from his ex-wife Lana, that the Sheriff had found Ronnie’s body hanging from a tree. Ronnie was found hanging in Monroe County about two hours from his Wisconsin home and one hour from our apartment home. A friend of Dan stopped by and told me the details of what happened to Ronnie.

Freddie was another friend of Ronnie’s and Dan’s, he walked into the apartment with serious eyes told me that “Ronnie was found hanging from a tree in Walworth County.” “Ronnie had been hanging from the tree for about two weeks.” Freddie had a cleft palate and talked with a lisp when he spoke. I could sense a presence of evil when Freddie spoke. I did not like Freddie, he had a shady reputation and I did not like him giving me this news. But I listened, and I backed off as he was telling me because the details he was telling were gruesome. But, I noticed that Freddy got some kind of sinister thrill when he told me the news. “He was found hanging from a tree.”  He continued, “After two weeks he was hanging like hamburger.”

Freddy looked at me very serious and I told him we were grateful, because it was the only news we had heard from the family. Dan tried to call Lana but she was too upset hearing from the Sheriff that her brother was found dead in Monroe County. I asked Dan how Freddy had gotten the news about Ronnie.  Dan told me that Ronnie’s family and Dan were good friends.

That Saturday I went back to my parent’s house to spend the night. I fell fast asleep in my old bedroom. Ronnie came to me in my dream. I could see Ronnie floating around the room. Ronnie then walked outside to my parent’s fence where the dogs, were. Ronnie turned and looked at me he looked ghostly white. He had a serious look on his face. “Carri there is something I have to tell Dan.” Then he looked at me again, floating in the air by the dog run. Ronnie kept repeating over and over again “Carri there is something I have to tell Dan.” He repeated this sentence over and over again while staring at me and floating. I finally woke up and drove straight to Dan’s house. I told Dan about the dream. I told Dan I thought something had happened to Ronnie. Dan told me that it was nonsense. Dan told me that Ronnie had killed himself. I asked Dan why would he keep repeating “There’s something I have to tell Dan.”

A few days later Ronnie’s funeral was held in Wisconsin.  Me and Dan did not go to the funeral because we were not invited by Lana’s family. A few later I heard that Frankie’s wife had gotten a job in Florida. Frankie and his family packed up and moved to Florida. I never heard from Frankie again. But I kept on having haunting dreams about Ronnie telling me his haunting statement. “There’s something I have to tell Dan.”

The following summer Dan went to visit Derik, up in Wisconsin. I gathered up my courage and approached Lana. I told Lana that I did not believe that Ronnie committed suicide. I went on to tell Lana about Ronnie telling me to tell Dan there was something he had to tell Dan before he died. I then went on to tell Lana about the reoccurring dream that I had about Ronnie and how he kept haunting me in my dreams and saying there was something he had to tell Dan.

Lana just told me not to worry that there was nothing he had just killed himself. Lana went on to tell me that Ronnie had been at a bar and had met a woman. Ronnie got into one of the women’s car and pulled out a bag of cocaine. The girl started to scream and yelled at Ronnie and told him he was a no good loser. The woman screamed at Ronnie for a while. Lana had heard the Ronnie went out to a tree by the bar in Monroe county and hung himself.

I tried to accept Ronnie’s death and ignore the haunting dreams. I heard Ronnie’s family frequented the bars and they tried to drink away their sorrow and pain from losing Ronnie. But, 20 years went by and Ronnie’s memory has faded with most of his family and friends. I had heard that Ronnie’s mother died a few years ago. But after Ronnie’s mother’s death I heard that Ronnie’s father became very depressed.  I finally got the news that Ronnie’s dad took a gun and shot himself. I wonder if one of the reasons, why Ronnie’s dad killed himself was Ronnie’s mysterious death. I guess I will never really know.

Written by Carri Williams, Copyright 2009