At the weekend my husband and I were looking at holiday cottages on the internet. We came across a lovely property which was pleasantly furnished and would let us take our two dogs then I saw it – the suit of armour in the living room and I knew nothing could convince me to stay at that house.
Where did this ‘strange’ phobia originate?
Many years ago when I was about ten I stayed at an old rambling house in Exmouth Devon England. The house was spacious and able to accommodate my parents, grandparents and me with ease. The only drawback was some of the artifacts it housed.
It also had a weird atmosphere that my mother noticed as soon as she went in. Being so young I didn’t know why the house felt creepy just that it did.
The house had three floors and I slept on the first floor in a room across from my grandparents. My parents slept on the top floor and in their room was a suit of armour.
Even in the daylight the ambience of the room was odd. At night my mother heard noises. She dismissed these at first. It was an old house and bound to have creaky floor boards and squeaky door hinges and suspect plumbing but would this account for the clanking she heard in the dead of night which seemed to stem from the room she was asleep in?
My father never heard a thing sleeping deeply all the time my mother lay frightened in bed. The following morning she dismissed what she heard as an overactive imagination but was it?
I slept badly the whole time we were there and finally I spent part of the night in my mother’s room whilst my father slept downstairs. That night my mother woke and saw the suit of armor which stood against the wall closest to the foot of the bed move. I slept through it all safe now I was with my mother . Half asleep my mother wasn’t too disturbed she had experienced paranormal happenings before. It was only when she recalled what she saw in the cold light of morning that she wondered if the house was haunted. It must have spooked her because we left the following day and stayed elsewhere and now whenever I see a suit of armour I always remember that house and the way it made me feel and my mother’s experience with the strange suit of armour in her bedroom.
Have you ever stayed or lived in a haunted house or a house with an atmosphere? I would love to know. 🙂
Ghostly Encounters in the Lakes? Read Here.
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Great post Jane. Actually I live in one !
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Interesting did you know before you moved in? 🙂
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Well, we bought the house from my sister who never let bug. It was seriously like having this other person about the place. I even feel nutz saying this. He was a soldier and he loved to throw things…on one occasion he drove a visitor out. He tore down things and he walked about the floor thump thump thump right where you were sitting or standing. You ever ever left anything plugged in because it would be switched on. He also knocked on doors and drew the curtains. It was HIS house. and he didn’t know what we were doing in it apparently–yes, you’ve guessed, I brought in a medium eventually.,
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Must have been disconcerting living with him Shey. Perhaps he was trying to get into one of your stories. Seriously perhaps if researched house’s history you could ID him and let him have his story? Thanks for sharing.
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Well Jane, I can be disconcerting too……Lol. I think he was WWW1 soldier. We can’t get the houses history of that time as it was rented until 1925 but Yes, I’ve done some looking and my sister had done some asking of the then old lady next door.
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Really interesting. Did the medium contact him and did he go?
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Oh he’s gone…
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Marie and I lived in a haunted house when our children were little. Our daughter was terrified of the ghost, but she would go into our sons room after we put him in his crib, and we would hear the rocking chair start rocking as he talked to … someone. And the only other person in the house was our daughter, who would have had to walk by our bedroom to reach his room — and wouldn’t go in his room at night anyway because of the ghost!
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Children are particularly sensitive to the paranormal perhaps because they don’t try to rationalise the way adults do. Thanks for sharing Mac. 🙂
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The “she” who went into his room was the ghost, not our daughter. I realized how that read after I posted it.
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Oooh spooky!! I stayed in an old Victorian holiday cottage with my family a few years ago. I was convinced (although I couldn’t see her) that there was a small child stood at the foot of my bed one night while I slept. I could sense her when I woke up in the early hours of the morning – an experience I’ve never had before, due to being quite sceptical. I ended up spending the rest of the week sharing my mum’s double bed – at aged 23 ! 😉
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Thanks for sharing Fiona its surprising how many people have had at least one such encounter.
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Yes! Me! When I dabbled is parapsychology, I stayed in a haunted house called Llancaiach Fawr back home in Wales. It was something of an active night, but unfortunately I fell asleep listening to the ghost of Colonel Pritchard pacing in the room above me as he deliberated over swapping sides during the civil war. I’ll sleep through anything… Great post, Jane! 🙂
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Sounds like fun Linds. Everyone has a story to tell. Going to post another experience I had soon 🙂
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