Ghost Stories & Paranormal Encounters

At my aunts house in Kansas in 1969

When I was a young child of 12 we traveled from our home in Salt Lake City Utah to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit relatives. On the way we stopped in Stockton Kansas to visit my Aunt. She lived in a huge house with double front doors and a long covered porch that ran the full front length of the house. Inside the double doors was a large reception area with a coat closet, there was a huge carpeted staircase that circled it’s way up to the second floor which held 8 Bedrooms on either side of a long hallway. The staircase had a dark wooden band rail that wound along it’s length.

I don’t remember much about the day we stayed, I remember being a little uncomfortable at how formal dinner seemed to be. Dinner didn’t feel as casual and relaxed as it had at our house. My Aunt was living with her daughter Chris who was a little older than me. I know my uncle was still alive but he must have been traveling as he wasn’t there.

At bedtime we were given a large room at the end of the hall. I remember the door being a huge heavy thing that was hard to move. My mom and dad were sleeping on what must have been a king size bed. My brother and I were put on comfortable cots that were set up by the windows that were set out of the room by a 10 foot cubby.  We laying on two cots, my head nearest the closet doorway that was actually a hallway to a large bathroom. The closet was lined on both sides by jackets and dresses, I had no idea who they belonged to.The room was well lit by streetlights outside the windows.

I don’t know what time it was, but I was laying awake listening to the thunder. It was unusual thunder that seemed to roll like a ball in a giant bowling alley. It would rumble louder and louder and then crash. I have never been afraid of thunder and I wasn’t that night either. As I lay in bed I could hear my parents breathing between the sounds of thunder. My brothers cot was placed foot to foot with mine and I could see he was asleep across the cubby from me.

I was startled suddenly by a loud click and turned to see what the sound was. It was the door to the room opening. As I watched the huge door simply swung open and seconds later an old woman came around the corner and walked into the room. She looked frightened and was dressed strangely with a black shawl around her shoulder. She had gray hair up in a bun. She had a long skirt on that had some sort of flower pattern on it and strange pointed shoes which were black with white tops that were laced tightly. She hurried past me into the closet, I don’t think she knew anyone was in the room. And suddenly she simply disappeared. I could see through the closet all the way into the bathroom, and when she entered the closet she just vanished. Needless to say I became fearful and jumped out of bed hollering some sort of nonsense, I yelled for my mom and dad as I ran for the door. I went down the stairs and went out to the porch.

A few moments later my dad came down and I don’t remember the exact conversation but I would not go back into the house. We packed up and left at 4:30 in the morning, (that’s what my older sister told me anyway years later.) Both of my sisters said they also felt strange in the house and thought my father (who died of a heart attack a few years later) must have felt something too as we left so early.

Years later I was talking to my cousin on the phone and she told me that an old lady had died of a heart attack in that closet as she was trying to get to her heart medication one night during a thunder storm. Now that I am older I wish I could go back and try to recreate the experience, and maybe talk to the old woman if possible. But the house has been sold since then. So I guess all I have is this story. It’s true. I haven’t seen a ghost since, nor have I heard noises in any of my houses. I get a little creeped out in our garage sometimes (It’s a 100 year old barn with a closed loft) But other than that this is my only experience with the Supernatural.

Written by Kenton Potila, Copyright 2009 TrueGhostTales.com