The Invisible Hand

I've had a handful of odd experiences in my life that, to some extent, defy reason. One event that has stayed with me through the years occurred 20 years ago during a stay with the family of a childhood friend.

It was the summer of 1988 and I had just finished my first year of college in Columbia, SC. At that time, home was in a quiet suburb of Dayton, OH. I was happy to be back, having not adjusted well to being so far away during my first year of school; I was preparing to attend a different school that was much closer and within my home state. Shortly after I returned home, I reconnected with my friend, Lisa. Her mother had remarried while I was gone and her new husband was moving the family to southern Michigan. His father had died a short time before and left his house and land to his son. Lisa's new stepfather had two sons from a previous marriage and now he was becoming a father to Lisa's two younger sisters, Angie and Roxy. Lisa was married and the mother of two sons at this time. By the time I had returned, Lisa's mother, Mary, and sisters had already moved to Michigan, and Lisa wanted to drive up there to see her family. I was invited to come along for the ride, as her family knew me well.

When we arrived at the house, Lisa's new stepbrothers were gone for the week, so I was given their room to sleep in. Lisa slept in the family room, and her sons stayed in the guest room where a play pen was set up for them to sleep in. Before we had turned in for our first night there, Mary's new husband told us that they believed the house to be haunted by his father. His father loved his home and they felt that he never moved on after the boating accident that took his life. I didn't think much of it at that time; I had never experienced a haunting before then.

The boys' room was a tiny, narrow space that could be better classified as a large closet. Due to its small size, the boys had bunk beds and a single upright dresser. The door to the cellar was located in this room, as well. A single window was positioned across from the cellar door. I took the bottom bunk and settled in for the night. I could hear the TV outside the doorway, as Lisa watched an old black and white horror B movie in the family room. As I lay on my back waiting for sleep to take over, I heard a distinct knocking coming from the cellar door. Everyone was already in bed, so I knew that no one was behind that door. The hand behind the knocking was clearly from an unknown and unseen force. Despite the realization that I wasn't quite alone in my room, I never felt threatened or uneasy. Somehow, I knew that no harm would come to me. The rapping was steady and solid; however, as I turned my head to the sound, the rapping would stop. I would turn my head back to its original position, facing up to the ceiling, and the rapping would resume. I repeated this motion several times, noticing a pattern of cause and effect between the position of my head and the rapping. I finally turned onto my side to sleep and the rapping ceased for the rest of the night.

In the morning, Lisa told me that she had seen a shadowy figure standing in the kitchen, which was directly off of the family room, separated by an extension of countertop. She described the shadow as human in form, but lacking any detail. At that time, I took her account with a grain of salt; I found her story hard to believe. In retrospect, though, her description is consistent with the theories regarding paranormal visitations. Theoretically, ghosts can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, one of them being as shadowy figures in human form, but without detail.

While some people may discount this experience due to the possibility of suggestion upon hearing that the house may be haunted and the fact that Lisa had the TV tuned to a horror film within my earshot, I know what I heard and experienced. I'm not into horror films, so I had no interest in viewing the film. Therefore, the dialogue that I heard held little meaning to me. Also, as I had not had any experiences with hauntings, much less entertained any interest in the paranormal at that time, prior to this trip, I had no reason to dwell on the matter.

I was visited one more time during that week, but after that, I had no further experiences. I have no idea what has transpired within those four walls since then. I've not had any contact with Lisa since I returned to school that fall. I would love to learn what has taken place since my stay there so many years ago.