Do you believe in ghosts? I sure do

Do you believe in ghosts?

I know to some it’s kind of a asinine question, and for a long time I thought there was no way they could exist.

I did grow up watching a lot of scary movies and I must say that the clown from the movie Poltergeist is still something that frightens me to this day. My Grandma Smith once bought me a clown for what must have been my eighth or ninth birthday and I swear that thing would come alive at night and try to smother me. It ended up in the trash without anyone ever saying a thing. I’m sure that thing has been looking for me, and I hope it never finds my location. I have enough problem with my cat trying to smother me during my sleep.

While the clown did scare me, usually a good ghost story didn’t frighten me too much. I thought this could never happen so I would never get to scared. I have to admit when my mom let me watch the original Halloween movie after I threw a fit, it still kind of haunts me, but that was more of a spree killing thing so I forgive her. And it was my fault for being a brat.

When I was about 21, my thoughts on ghosts changed.

I was taking classes through the University of Wyoming outreach program and while I had lived in the dorms in Laramie, I made the decision to get my first place on my own in the old part of Rock Springs.

It seemed like fate when the first house I looked out was like a dream come true and the price was incredible. The house was located across the street from Coyote Creek Steak House. It was an older part of town and the area was a tad sketchy, but when you’re getting your first place you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

It had immaculate hard wood floors and was just the right size for me and my girlfriend at the time, so I wasn’t going to complain that when you were trying to sleep, the Astro Lounge sounded like it was in your living room.

It’s kind of sounds cliche, but the first few nights, much like the way it goes in a ghost story movie, were nice and quiet.

The only real problem was that it just had an old bath tub and trying to get a shower kit to work was being troublesome so I had to stew in my own filth before heading to work every day.

About a week living into the house is when things started to change.

The first few nights, it was around 3 a.m. when we would hear the noises. At first they were faint. It took a little while to figure out that they were coming from the basement.

It was a small basement that just had enough room for a washer and dryer, but I didn’t have the money for either so all that was down there was a little bit of stuff we could not fit upstairs.

While it was a little scary, I honestly thought it was just pipes, the house settling or some sort of reasonable explanation. At this point, I was wasn’t really concerned.

Things would change in a heartbeat. After a few quiet nights without any noise, the noises started to get louder.

It was a banging noise that would wake us up nightly around 3 a.m. It sounded like someone was knocking and slamming into the door to the basement as if they were trying to open it.

At this point I was freaked out, but my girlfriend convinced me to go check by the door. Every time I would get closer to the basement door it would stop. As soon as I got back to my room and into bed the noise would return.

I would not want to leave the bed and would pull the covers over my head until it stopped, which was usually around 4 a.m.

Because I learned absolutely nothing from horror movies, I didn’t say no when my girlfriend and her cousin wanted to bring a OUIJA board into the house.

So, one early evening they took out the board and started to ask questions. I told them I wasn’t going to participate in these shenanigans, but I did watch and what I saw I still can’t comprehend.

They asked questions and the little piece for the board would move and answer them. At first I thought they were just moving it on their own, but as the tone of questions changed, I wasn’t so sure.

They asked if they were talking to a spirit and the answer was yes. The asked if the spirit was good or bad, and the answer was bad.

They asked why the spirit was bad and the answer was fire. They asked what happened in a fire, and the answer was D-I-E-D.

At this point, I was freaked out and asked them to stop and take the board out of the house before they end up conjuring up things that I really didn’t want wandering around in the kitchen while I made bacon and eggs.

It was a quiet night and I was able to sleep. Unfortunately the next night, also around 3 a.m. the banging started to happen again. Than we heard the screams. It wasn’t a girl who sees a spider run across the floor scream, it was a blood-curdling scream that sent shivers down my spine.

I just wanted to leave, but I was to afraid to get out of bed until it stopped.

I told a few buddies about what happened a few came up with some theories that the house could have been located near where the Chinese Massacre was in Rock Springs. That was a horrible time in the history of Sweetwater County and I thought that maybe this could be related. Could we have the spirit of someone who was murdered during this catastrophic event?

A couple nights later would be the last night I spent in the house.

At around 3 a.m. the noises started again. They were starting to get louder and louder. It sounded like someone was going to come through the basement door, but it had a a hook lock, so I thought there was no way the door could open.

It did.

The door came open. It started opening and closing on its own.

This was enough. I decided to move out of the place.

I can’t explain what was happening in this house, I just know that it made me believe.

These days I don’t really like scary movies so much anymore and if I do rent them I take them out of my house before they can sit their and bring something bad to my house.

Happy Halloween.