If you plan to investigate a haunted house or other spooky place always obtain permission from the owner. Be sure that anyone there is aware of your visit so there are no misunderstandings. Also, make sure that you have people with you and exercise common sense and caution. It is possible to injure yourself in an old run down building so always place safety first.
A young girl was shot when she was investigating a haunted house. About a year ago today Rachel Barezinsky and two of her friends sneaked onto a property because they thought the house looked spooky.
As they were driving away the owner of the house fired shots from a rifle wounding Rachel and crippling her for life. The owner, Allen Davis, was sentenced last month to serve 19 years in prison.
Read the entire story at CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/22/scary.house.ap/index.html
More Ghost Stories and the Paranormal | |||
 Coast To Coast Ghosts: True Stories of Hauntings Across America |  Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story |  The Ghost Next Door: True Stories of Paranormal Encounters from Everyday People |  The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories |
 Classic Ghost Stories: Eighteen Spine-Chilling Tales of Terror and the Supernatural |  The Best Ghost Stories Ever (Scholastic Classics) |  The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories |  This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost |
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WOW! 19 years in prison seems awfully harsh for a land ownner protecting his home (granted a young woman was maimed) but his imprisonment will not restore her to 100% phyical health… still when you go poking into places where you aren’t sure are empty or not (ghost or otherwise) you never know what you will find…. sad and scary at the same time…
wow… not that i dont care for the girl, but hey, she had no rights sneaking into someones house like that! i would have fired at them too if it was my house… think about it! you wouldnt listen to someone sneaking around your house and just leave them there… they could be a rape or something…. you never know… i think that this person was just protecting themselves… im sure anyone would do that. not that i know but i sure know that i would…
Very sad story. I think that the argument could be made that the perpetrator was leaving and making no threat. The owner was using deadly force on a target that was clearly not posing any immediate threat of any kind…, sort of developed that way. Very sad for everyone.
that is sad.she didnt deserve to get that.i probably would of scared her but not that.but ya like you said find out first if its empty and or if its ok.
I very recently posted a comment about making choices of how to protect one’s self and one’s family. I clearly stated I would defend my home, and the boundaries were defined by an invisible line that runs along the perimeter INSIDE my house.
In years past, there were a few times I had to wander out into the darkness looking for an intruder…, all I had was a club, when the time comes to defend yourself, if you’ve never given it some careful thought, you might shoot your own family member (heard once a woman killed her son by mistake, very sad, beyond sad for the mother).
I also have stated I don’t really like guns. I’ve said, “I just want to live until I die, without blood on my hands, for ANY reason.” I hope I never have to be put to the test. Which would rule me, my sense of self-preservation, or my will to avoid killing, even if it meant I would certainly die? I honestly don’t know. If there is a guest in my home, I would be forced to defend their safety…, don’t even need to think about it. When someone is under my roof, I am responsible for what happens to them.
A day or two ago, my comments concerned my rights as an American citizen to keep and bear arms. I had just read the story of a young woman warning an intruder that she would shoot if he came into the house (he actually broke through part of the door with his elbow) he almost got himself shot. I’m happy the warning shot was enough. The intruder just stood outside the house in the front yard until the police arrived and arrested him. I can’t even imagine what was going on in his mind. Some people are beyond reason, and will risk their life and anyone else that gets in the way. They are a menace to themselves and the public.
I’m glad this woman was not harmed, and had the courage to defend herself. And I’m glad the intruder only got charged with 2nd degree burglarly…., he could’ve made it worse, and go for dead.
As a teenager of 13 or 14, I used to explore abandoned houses. Sometimes the wood floors were so rotten your foot could go through it. I actually had a door step break under my weight. That made a believer out of me. NO MORE ABANDONED BUILDINGS!!!
These young people (ghost hunters) were wrongfully shot at, and I have no one to express my grief to (I empathize with the parents). I understand how severe injuries and even death of one’s child can change a family for life. I’ve been down that road a couple of times. I’ve been to a few funerals for friends. As a parent I feel their grief. There is a wound that may never heal in the family.
The young woman made a good impression for homeowners everywhere, and she is still alive. This person that fired at some kids has made a very bad impression as a homeowner or human being, or anything else for that matter. Morons and guns never mix well.
I thank God most of all that no one was killed.
CareTaker knows the risks one takes in these kinds of adventures. You should listen and plan accordingly. No one here wants to see anyone get hurt.
i heard on the news months ago that a guy that owned a store was going to get robbed and so the owner was going to pertected himself and he had a gun and shot the guy and ended up having the bad guy in a wheelchair paralzed him from the waste down i believe.i do understand that you have to pertected yourself in any way possible.but i think i would of just shot him in the shoulder or something.but thats what happens when stuff like that happens.and i dont know if the store owner is going to get charged or not.