Photo Album

My husband and his best friend went to a bachelor party one night, so my best friend and I friend decided to get together and rent some videos for our kids. We met at her house at around 6:oopm. We got our kids settled and put in their video, then she told me she had something to show me. We went into her kitchen and she pulled out a beautiful blue velvet photo album. It was very old and worn. My friend hadn't lived in the house very long, a couple of months maybe. She found it while cleaning out some of her kitchen cabinets.

She put the book on the table and opened it. The book was filled with very old photos of families, all dressed in turn-of-the-century clothes. They all looked so sad. At the bottom of every picture were the last names of the families with birth and death dates.

I was looking through the book and the light in her kitchen went out and a static sound filled the room. We were both a little shocked but the light came back on and the static sound stopped. Later that evening, the kids were fast asleep on the floor and we were watching our movie. I was in the recliner by the window half-asleep. I heard a man’s footsteps on the porch outside. "The boys are home," I said to her. The screen door opened but no one came in. We thought the boys were trying to play with us. I looked out the window but no one was out there.

Throughout the night we heard and witnessed many different things; footsteps on the stairs like someone running up and down, doors slamming, and even flickering lights. My girlfriend said she is not afraid of these things because she hears and sees them all the time. I have always been a believer in spirits and things and I was getting uncomfortable. The last straw was when she fell asleep and I started hearing the sound of wind chimes, as if they were hanging from the ceiling above me: very loud, very clear. I’d had enough. I woke my kids up at 5:00am and walked home in the snow.(we live just over the hill).

The next day, my girlfriend came over and laughed at me. She wasn't scared at all! I asked her when these things started happening and she said a few days after finding the book. I suggested she give the book to our town’s historical society. She did and found out quite a bit about her house: In the late 1800's her house was a funeral home. And the families in the book had all died during the cholera epidemic, as well as from other diseases.

Ever since giving away the book my friend has had a quiet home. But I still won't stay there all night!

— Submitted by: E. Rife