Because my house is so old (its original foundation dates back to 1778),
one of the most frequent things visitors say when they first see our house is:
“Your house is over 200 years old?! You’ve gotta have some ghosts, right? Is your house haunted??”
Well sure, I love to tell the stories of the weird things we have seen and heard around our old farmhouse over the years. Ooooh! Like the night we arrived home to find the garage door fitfully going up and down and up and down all on its own, the overhead light flickering in the darkness! (Never mind that I was unknowingly sitting on the remote)…
There are also all the creepy legends we heard from the neighborhood kids when we first moved in–like bright orbs floating in from the woods outback in the dead of night and menacingly hovering right outside the kitchen door! (If you come over for one of our bonfires, those stories are a must!)…
However, one of my favorite ones is The Tale of the Day That We First Toured the House (insert evil laugh here).
Once Upon a Time, back in 1996, a young, innocent (ha!) couple came across the listing for an old house that had been on the market a few months–a fixer upper a little down on her luck.
Nestled amongst a development built in the early 1980’s, it was an unexpected find. And after they came across it, they drove past it frequently–mysteriously drawn to its seductive charms buried under gross siding painted three different colors.
It seems they were powerless to resist…so they ventured inside (well, with their realtor, on a scheduled showing. But still…details, details).
It was dark inside. The bathrooms and kitchens were from a bygone era. Two of the three bedrooms were mysteriously cold (well, mostly because they didn’t have any heat yet, but nevertheless….).
After they had cautiously walked through the rooms and examined every inch of the old structure, the most unexpected thing happened:
(haunting organ music swells)
They found themselves sitting in the living room, completely relaxed, visiting, talking, dreaming of their future there, and feeling as if they were already at home.
That’s right. My favorite ghost story about our home is about its true “spirit:” –we instantly felt so welcomed and at ease inside of these old plaster walls, that we decided to make an offer on the place…and the rest is history. 🙂
I love to share this story because it shows how important it is to pay attention to your gut–our instincts are rarely wrong when it comes to finding our way home.
Happy Halloween, dear friends! May your spirits be high and your home be welcoming! 🎃
