Every town seems to have a ghost story to tell. My home town seems to have too many to count, most of which can easily be brushed off as gossip. However, one has always seemed to stick out above the rest. On Main St. about three or four lots from city hall, there is an old house that has been the center of the town’s ghost stories since it was built some time back in the 1920’s, or maybe earlier, I’m not quite sure. We all just call it the “Pink House.” It’s the only thing that sets it apart from every other house in town, is its light pink color. There’s nothing particularly creepy about it in appearance.
I’m not sure exactly how, when or why the stories started, but I’ve been hearing them for as long as I can remember.
My grandmother once babysat for previous owners in the late 1960’s. She was going to be there all night and decided to sleep on the sofa in the living room. Earlier before they left, the owners had told her not to be startled if she sees and old man walk into the room and sit on the chair across from her, he was just a spirit that paid them a nightly visit. She thought nothing of it, of course. She never did see the old man, but at about the time the owners told her the man would show up, the kitchen faucet began to turn off and on. Eventually she had to tape the faucet’s knob down so she could get to sleep.
In the mid 1980’s, a family living there made phone calls almost weekly to the town police reporting an intruder in the middle of the night. Most of the time it was outside, but one particular night, it was in the kitchen. It was around one in the morning when the owners were awoken by the sounds of pots and pans being thrown around the room. They quickly got up and ran to the kitchen, but found not one thing out of place. Then, through the kitchen window, strung from the pecan tree outside, they could see someone hanging from a noose. Not long after, they moved.
Over the years since, people have been in and out of the house. For as long as I can remember no one has stayed in the house for any more than a month. It seemed every few weeks there was a new “For Sale” or “For Rent” sign on the front porch post. Each person who has lived there also experienced the hanging man, as well as the noises from the kitchen. Other’s have even had plumbing problems, and when the plumber would crawl under the house to find the problem, the pipes had all disappeared.
The house is still there today, empty as of now. The town is building a library in that particular spot. The house’s fate is unclear, however. It has been discussed adding on to it to create the library, and it has also been discussed that tearing it down would be better. No matter what they do, I’m sure people will be talking about the place for some time to come.
Written by Gaara Renton Echizen, Copyright 2008
