In 1973 my parents bought an old house that had been sitting empty for a long time. The house was at the end of a hollow (“Holler”) and you actually had to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to even get to it. (When the weather was bad you couldn’t even get a 4-wheel drive up to it!)
This house was fairly big and included an above ground basement which made it two stories high plus a huge attic. The house had been vandalized in that most of the windows were busted, ceiling tiles and walls torn up and lots of garbage and junk. My father was a mason and carpenter, he built homes for a living so he went to work on the remodeling. It took a while before he had the house ready for us to move into and even then at first we stayed in an area down stairs until the rest of the house was ready. Eventually the house was very nice with new paneling, ceiling tiles, windows and even a wall to wall Bedford stone fireplace.
When we first moved into that house I was around 10 years old. I had two younger sisters (and one older sister, but she didn’t live with us at the time) and all three of us thought that the house was haunted. We heard strange noises many times. One thing in particular was the dishes rattling in the kitchen. Mom explained it away as the dishes “settling" but we never believed that. They made too much noise and it would happen several different times in one night sometimes! In all the years since those days I have never heard dishes settle like that anywhere else I have lived.
Not long after living there we found out about the previous residents. That is my sisters and I found out about it, I am sure my parents already knew. Anyway, the people who lived there before us had a 14 year old boy who got himself electrocuted to death trying to gather old copper wiring (It is supposed that he thought the wires weren’t live). The family couldn’t bear to live there any longer so they moved leaving the house empty for a long time until we came along. We also learned that the family who had lived there before them had also had a death in the household but we didn’t know any of the details.
I want to try to keep this short so I will just add that while we owned that place my father was killed, also just down the road from the house. Once again the house was to sit empty for a period of years. During that time it was vandalized and soon it was in just as bad a shape as it was when we had bought it.
Eventually a local man obtained the house and property and began working to clean it up and get it ready for his family to move in. While he was clearing and burning brush an ember must have made it onto the roof of the house because it caught fire and burned to the ground.
We lived in that house for four years and in fact that was the longest stretch of time I had ever lived in one place in my life at that time. A lot of things happened in that house and on the property around it. I will write more about that very soon.
(The first picture above was taken in 1973 when we first bought the house and property and before my father remodeled it – The second photo was taken 1 year later, the remodeling was in progress but still not (complete).
Written by David Slone, Copyright 2012
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 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 |
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 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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This was really well-written, CT…the way you describe the place I can almost see it in my mind..what it looked like and all…look forward to seeing any pics you have of it.
I have to agree that it sounds like there was something very negative on the property…and for whatever reason, it didn’t want anyone there. I hope to read more about it when you have time. Thanks for sharing it here!
Seems to me the house was not meant to be lived in. How could so much tragedy happen in one place? I keep thinking about the dishes “settling”.
My sisters and I often heard ‘walking around’ noises in the attic too. We would all be sitting scared and listening. All of us heard the same thing at the same time and it was not a squirrel or anything liek that. It sounded more like heavy boots.
With the dishes rattling it would just start up in the middle of the night. You would hear them rattling and clanging together, then it would stop, then a little while later it would start again. We were terrified to go downstairs to use the bathroom or anything late at night.
Yeah I agree, it does sound like the house wasn’t meant to be lived in and anyone who chose to live in the house would get the crud scared out of them.
Cool story! Pretty creepy that there were deaths in each family living there (so sorry about your father). I wonder about the history of it and how many before that. A curse? A malicious entity that went to drastic measures to chase everyone out? It’s probably best that the house burned, but if it’s the land that’s causing the problems…
So, with all your experiences, have your developed the “feel” of a place before moving in it to make sure it’s free of spirit activity?
I had a three day long bizarro experience in that house. I have told a few friends and family about it but in all this time I have never written anything for the net about it (nor the story above). I will try to write about those 3 days and what happened soon. I firmly believe I made contact with and/or attracted the attention of a very evil ‘thing’ there.
Can you be more specific then “Hollow” where this place was? Near by town and state?
Hey Donald, the house was Wayland in Floyd county Kentucky near Garrett.
Hello Caretaker…
“Well I have to say take your life and mines is so paralled with each other that it seems like i was reading about my very own experiences. my supernatuarl experiences started when i were young as well, around 8 years old. and for a long time I thought that i was the only person in this world that was seeing all of theses things, like bobbing heads to wiches riding in day light on brooms to other weird and bizzare things, but now I feel so much better knowing that there is others who have seen and know this world has more than humans on this planet. so feel free to answer if you like because I have seen things that if I told. I am sure that they would try and put me away. thank god for this sight, ……..and thank you Mr. CareTaker for letting me express my feeling
Did you find anything out about the actual land? Was there anything there before the house was built? I just wonder if it might have something to do with that? Very intriguing story Mr. Care Taker. Thanks for sharing!
Edit
Insead of “curse of the Hope diamond,” it was “curse of the Slone house!” It’s a shame the house is gone…it would have been a great place for today’s ghost hunters to investigate with all the sophisticated modern equipment available.
CareTaker,
Sounds like that chapter of your life was a bit scary and difficult. You’ve earned your “flying colors.”
I enjoy the site, and look forward to what follows this.
I was married for more than twenty years to a woman who lived in Wolf County KY. Your description of your house, and the surronding areas reminded me of some of her stories. She said there was no plumbing, no electricity, the wind blew through the sides of the house, because there were gaps between boards. That last one would be very unacceptable to me.
She said they would take a pail to the creek to fetch water. I have no idea how they would bathe…, no plumbing! This had to be the epitome of “poor.” Some people don’t know how good they’ve got it. That includes me.
Hello Jeff, yeah we had plumbing and electricity but our water came from a coal bank (sort of like a small cave that led back into an old coal mine which was flooded with groundwater)
Thanks for posting the pics of the house, CT…it really tells a story just to look at it! I still love the way houses were built a long time ago, as opposed to how they are built now.
Hello Angela. Well, we bought the house in ’73 and at that time it had laid empty for quite some time and the same thing happened with the previous owners. I don’t know how old the house was at that time but I would guess it was built around the 40s or 50s. Judging by the way it looks I would imagine it was quite a house when it was new.
Georgia felt that the door knobs came from a different place from where they were found and that the house they were originally in was more upscale than the rest. Perhaps this house was where they came from. (I talked about the door knobs in the other story Evil in the Allen Room)
I thought this was in Kentucky, as I am from Boonescamp Kentucky, the actual stomping grounds of Daniel Boone. We also had a lot of very strange things happen to us. We were constantly scared out of our minds. Loud noises from no where, doors slamming shut and then opening back up on their own. Hearing footsteps and whispering. I actually heard someone call out my name. There were 4 of us children and we all had personal experiences as well as a group. The thing I remember the most is that we were all sitting in the living room and it sounded like someone knocked over a dresser or something it was sooo loud. My parents went to investigate and nothing, no trees overhead either, and it was loud. I will never forget it as long as I live. I have had many experiences from various places, but this place was the worst. OH and the family cementary was in the back yard too. Thanks for sharing your story, brings back memories.
Just looking at his house would make me run-never mind sleeping in it! It reminds me of something out of Amityville Horror. I agree that the house was haunted but the child that died there was probably ‘stuck there.’ His soul was trapped within those walls and was never released. Since the person who died was only a child he probably wasn’t evil but he wanted to make his presence known so someone could release his soul from that house.
Hi Linda, the boy didnt die in the house. He actually died about a quarter mile down the road from it. Yeah the house does look really spooky, especially in the B&W photo. But when dad had it fixed up it was very nice. Imagine it with new paint, windows, paneling, ceiling tiles and chandeliers and all that.
I was just curious is to how old your sisters were during that time? Sometimes spirits, or things of the paranormal can be drawn to young females at that age. Sounds like it was a pretty rough time for your whole family. Pretty creepy pictures as well. Good luck to you and your family.
We lived there for a few years. My sisters ranged from about 10 to 13 years old
Aww just the right age for the enity to get energy from them. Have you had any other experiences since you left the house? I know you said it was over 30 years ago, just curious if you are sensitive now to the paranormal? I am cherokee Indian and have been able to see and communicate with them my whole life. Thankfully I have learned to control it.
Smiles, Aj
Your story was quite amusing. My family purchased that house in, I believe, 1951 from a gentleman by the name of C.T. Linch.. We lived there until the mid 60′s. As for a death in the family, that part did not happen. We had a wonderful childhood up there. Yes, the family who bought our home did lose a son as you said.
The location of this place is in Wayland, Ky., up a holler called Shop Fork.
I enjoyed your story, but then it has a different meaning for me. I grew up in that house. My parents bought it in late 40′s/early 50′s and we sold it in mid 60′s. We only have one picture of the old place and an artist painted that a couple years after we bought it. It was a show place in its day. Yes, I remember the coal bank. That was the best water I ever tasted. One year it went dry and my Dad had a well drilled. They went 305 feet before hitting water.
I also remember the family that bought the house from us. Your information was correct about them losing a child. Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep going on and on. We loved that place and it was beautiful in the time we owned it. Its sad to see it in such horrible shape.
Wow, what a small world! It is incredible that you found a story about a house you use to live in too isnt it? I am glad that you found this and posted a comment. It is a very interesting to me to hear from someone who lived there before I did.
careTaker, i just read ur story about ur house.there is something in that house. had u try to get the history of the house. u might be on an indian burial grave ground,or like the haunting of the bell haunting in n.c.if u haven’t read it u would like it. how far r u from corbin ,ky? my parents are from there. my mom told me about her when she was a little girl. i’ll tell u later about it. thanks for sharing ur story.
Glad you added the photos of the house! What a lovely place, but, it does look pretty eerie, something I’m not so sure I’d even have a thought about owning. Your parents were very brave!
Ct,you are so good at detailing in your writtings that I am amazed you havent written a book.The way you detail things its like some one is really there at the location.Well have a great day and if you ever write a book let me know,Tim
Caretaker, the story sounds similar to my story where my brother Sean died in a car accident. In Bull Valley, he died in 1984 on Flemming road, the road is close to Bull Valley in Woodstock. It is near the STICKNEY MANSION. Several children died in that home. The area is a known haunted location.