Nationality: American

Age: 21

Occupation: Student 

Residence: Sturbridge, MA, USA

Date: 04/05/2025 

Language: English

Description 

When my parents were moved into [the house], they had to have it like, cleansed spiritually. Because they kept hearing like all of these noises, and they would like see things at night, this whole thing. Um, and then. Yeah, they would like, see things. I don’t know, like ghosts or whatever. I remember one night they were telling me that I think they like saw something, and we have a mud room like with, you know, the pantry and all that. And they had, like, come downstairs to get water or something. And there was just like something sitting in the corner. Um, and then, when I was like, probably a teenager, I heard something really loud downstairs. And then I went downstairs to check it, and all of our cabinets were open. With the plates like, have fallen out everywhere. And like, obviously, there are no Earthquakes in Massachusetts. So, like, that was definitely not an earthquake. Um, and then I went back upstairs, and like the second I had gotten into my bed, I heard like footsteps on the staircase. I also used to hear, like, things, call my name a lot that I thought were my parents, and then I’d go out and they’d like dead asleep. I’m so serious, like. This actually happened in my childhood. There’s no indication of like, what kind of ghost it is. I don’t know what kind, but they’ve like, never been aggressive. Like, they’re like spirits. I don’t think they’re like evil ghosts. Although, we also used to hear, like, like, horse clopping around the house at one point, and then my dad bought a metal detector, and we went outside, and we found a bunch of horseshoes that were buried in our yard. And our garage used to be a stable, so I guess that’s like a specific type of ghost. 

Subject’s Opinion

Interviewer: How did you guys find out it was? Did someone tell you it’s haunted?

Subject: Prior to me, they were…there was just so much weird stuff that was going on, that they had to have, like, bring someone over to like, cleanse it.

Interviewer: Who was that person? 

Subject: I don’t know, it was like…some spiritual person that, like, dealt with spirits, and like, I don’t know what you would call them. 

Interviewer: Like a priest or something. 

Subject: No, it wasn’t like religious, it’s um. Oh my God, I need this word. You know what I’m talking about, right?

Interviewer: So do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in these spirits? 

Subject: I don’t know. I feel like I’m like the type of person that’s like…if I don’t believe in them, they’re gonna get me. So especially growing up in the house like I believed in, like the spirits, but I don’t think I believe in like ghosts. Like, I don’t think there’s like evil ghost. I just think there’re some spirits going on. 

Analysis

This personal ghost story is a prime example of why ghost stories manifest and how they inform or alter our behavior. The subject claimed her family home is haunted quite matter-of-factly and went on to state three examples as evidence that validate the existence of paranormal entities, which initially suggested a strong belief in the existence of ghosts. But later, the subject drew a distinction between “ghosts” and “spirits”, but was unable to clearly communicate how she differentiates the two. Based on her explanation, it seems like the subject does not regard the “spirits” in her home as “ghosts” with ill intentions. Further, the subject seems to see ghosts as a more heightened concept than spirits, which made me realize that the very narrative definition of a “haunted” house is being challenged. The subject’s family has made meaning out of the odd events around their house by attributing them to paranormal activity, but rest assured as they believe the spirits are friendly and cannot harm them. This particular way of engaging with the belief of a haunting is unique. As we discussed in lecture, places claimed to be haunted are often associated with guilt and trauma without closure, but the subject’s family has clearly separated themselves from any potential history that could cause them to believe these spirits mean harm.