Author Archives: Giana Moore

The Humming Step-Grandpa

Age: 18

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is one of my close friends.

Me: “Okay, so just go ahead and just tell the story like how you normally would.”

NB: “Okay, so this was the day of my step-grandfather’s funeral. I will never forget this day. This, I have no explanation for this. Still, no one knows. It’s like a complete mystery. We don’t know what was going on. But anyway, basically what had happened was my grandma had went to the church already with my uncle to take care of like a few things before the funeral actually happened. My mom was putting on her makeup in her room, and when we woke up, my dad wasn’t in the room, but, um, we just assumed that he was in the bathroom because the bathroom was closed. And my sister and I were just, like, talking and whatever, and we were like, oh my god, like dad’s taking, like, forever in the bathroom, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then we knocked on the bathroom door, and then we heard humming, and we were just like, really?”

Me: “And this was in your house that you still live in?”

NB: “Yes.”

Me: “And you’ve lived in this house like your whole life?”

NB: “Yeah, my entire life. And yeah, it has a lot of history. Like every single one of my family members has grew up there, including my mom. So, yeah. And we’ve never moved. But it has a lot of history, but anyway, basically, we knocked on the door. Um, we heard humming, and one thing about my dad is he’s not a sing-songy person, like, he’s not someone who hums, and, like, that was just really unusual for him. And when we heard it, it was like weird because it was like in a much deeper voice. It genuinely sounded like my step-grandpa, and we were like weirded out by it because we were just like, dad doesn’t do that. Like, it’s very odd. And basically, we went back in the room and we were just waiting because we were like, oh, dad’s taking forever. And my mom was like, oh, what’s going on? And we’re like, ugh, like dad is taking forever. But she looked at us like, what are you talking about? Like, what do you mean dad? And we were like, I don’t know. And then my dad came home with breakfast. And we were just like, what the, like, what? You weren’t in the bathroom? Like, what happened? And, um, he was just like, no, like, I wasn’t in the bathroom. I was getting breakfast, and we were talking to our mom, and my mom was like, oh, like, maybe your step-grandfather was just, like, getting ready for his funeral or something in the bathroom, and we were like, what?”

Me: “So did he live in the house prior?”

NB: “Yeah he did. Okay. We all lived in that house together, just like one big Brady bunch, like genuinely, but it was…it was weird, and I still, like to this day, I’m like weirded out because we we’re the only ones home, and, like, I don’t know. Like, there’s no explanation for who was in the bathroom, but yeah.”

Me: “So like, overall, like, what do you make of it? Like, you think…do you think it, like, was his spirit or you just, you don’t know what to think?”

NB: “I just think that maybe, because I do believe in like the paranormal and stuff, I think maybe, yeah, if… I mean, if I died, I’d want to get ready in my house too. So I think that, yeah, it’s valid if he just wanted to get ready one last time before he was buried. Um, but yeah, and that day when I woke up, the house just like felt very off. I’m very like into like energies and like sensing tensions and stuff and that day was just really gloomy and it was just really sad. And then I remember as soon as we buried him, like the sun came out. So it was very, very strange and yeah, half of me just doesn’t know what to make of it. But then another part of me is like, maybe that was him, like, possibly.”

Personal thoughts and analysis: This story was very interesting to hear, as unlike some ghost stories, this one doesn’t really have a logical explanation, and as a skeptic, it has me very conflicted. I believe the informant and their siblings’ account, which conflicts with my views on the dead interacting with the living. The only explanation I can think of is perhaps some sort of appliance was on that sounded like a hum; however, this appliance sounding like the informant’s step-grandpa on the day of his funeral would be a very interesting coincidence. Overall, if it was the spirit of the informants’ step-grandpa just getting ready for the day one last time before he was put to rest, there is something very wholesome about that.

Don’t Touch the Cross

Age: 18

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is one of my close friends (I apologize for the amount of “likes”).

NB: “Okay. Um, in my house, there’s a cross from my grandpa’s grave that’s hung up on a door frame leading up to the stairwell. My mom and my grandma always told us never to touch it, never to disrespect it, or play with it because we used to throw like balls in the house, like just to entertain ourselves. And, um, they were, like, for real, like, listen, you can mess up everything else. You can knock over vases, whatnot. But one thing you cannot do is touch that cross and we’re like, okay. So when I was four, my oldest sister, I think she was about like 17 at the time. Thought it would be funny to take the cross off the door frame for a bit.”

Me: “Why would she do that?”

NB: “No, actually, it’s just like, she was like rebellious and like she just like didn’t believe in that stuff. So she just wanted to mess around and stuff. Um, and then somehow she lost it, and we couldn’t find it for about a week. But during that week, just horrible things happened. Everyone in my family who lived there at the time got really sick. My parents, my sister and I got into a really bad car accident. It was totaled, and my dad had to go to physical therapy after because he was in a lot of pain. My oldest sister got cheated on and dumped that week. There was a lot of bad energy in that house, I would say. It felt much gloomier and dark. Everyone was just really depressed and everyone had trouble sleeping, and for some reason at night, there was a lot of noise around our house. I don’t know if it was just…”

Me: “Wait, sorry, whose cross was it?”

NB: “It was my real grandpa’s. Not my Step Grandpa. Yeah, it was my real grandpa’s cross that was on his grave.”

Me: “And he also lived in the house?”

NB: “Yeah, he also did. I think he was like a part of like building that house or something before he passed away.”

Me: “Oh, [redacted]”

NB: “Um, and yeah, everyone just had trouble sleeping because, um, I remember the wind being like really powerful. I remember. But this is like a common thing in my house. We, uh, most of us have like experienced hearing whispers and hearing like children running and stuff like that. But we never understood why, because no, I don’t think anyone lived in that house previous to us, so… and it wasn’t our neighbors, because we live in a duplex and like, we know when our neighbors are like making noise and stuff, like the difference between our neighbors making noise and then us like hearing stuff going on and like, we’ve established that…that week especially, like, there was just so much going on that, like, there is no way It was our neighbors. And eventually, my mom found the cross when she was cleaning, hung it back up, and it was kind of weird how, like, everything just went back to normal. Yeah, my dad’s pain went away pretty quickly. Um, we all got better, like, from our sicknesses overnight. We were in so much better moods, and I just really don’t know what happened. It’s kind of blurry. I’m pretty sure there’s probably more that happened, but I was like so young at the time that I just don’t remember everything to the fullest, but that’s, yeah, one of my earliest memories.”

Me: “So, what do you think? Like, do you think it was, like, your grandpa’s, like, spirit, or it was, like, another spirit? like bad karma?”

NB: “Well mind you, like, that cross was at the funeral at his, like, grave for, like, a while. I’m thinking that maybe other spirits like latched onto it. Maybe bad spirits latch onto it, and just like, I don’t know why we took it. I don’t know why we have it in our house. I don’t know why we decided to hang it up. But, um, because of that, we just can’t take it down. It’s like kind of like Annabelle, like we can’t.”

Me: “Yeah, you can’t”

NB: “We actually can’t mess with it. So now it’s just hanging and yeah. I don’t know. Maybe that’s another reason why I have like weird stuff going on in my house and like paranormal stuff going on, but, um, yeah, it’s really weird.”

Personal thoughts and analysis: This was probably my favorite story im submitting because it’s either supernatural or the most insane coincidence of all time. Both are equally fascinating to me. Initially I interpreted it as the informants Grandpa maybe being a vengeful spirit so it was interesting to hear the informants take that a spirit may have latched onto the cross itself which makes more sense because both sides of the informants family were affected. The story follows a typical trope in ghost stories of some sort of family curse and it was interesting to see a twist on that, that the family curse in this case may be coming from outside the family. I also think it’s interesting that the informant comes from a multi-religious background and so it might have something to do with religious tensions between their families. Im also curious as to how the informants mom and grandma knew that the cross shouldn’t have been messed with. Overall a very interesting story.

The Baby Thief

Age: 18

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is one of my close friends.

NB: “Okay, so basically, my mom has explained to us over and over again that each time she’s had one of us, she’s been visited by, like, an evil, dark presence in the middle of the night when she’s, like, half asleep, trying to take us from her. And every time that the evil spirit like comes, she like senses it. She’s like half asleep. I personally think it’s just sleep paralysis. But it’s just weird and too much of a coincidence that this has only happened to her each time she’s brought us home from the hospital. It happened to my oldest sister, I believe, and then my other sister, me, and then my brother. She recalls it every single time, where this evil spirit will basically visit her in the middle of the night of our first time, like, coming to the house, and she just has to say no, like, not yet. Like… Not yet. Basically, like..”

Me: “Is it, like, the devil or like?”

NB: “I think it’s like trying to take us while we’re young. Like, kind of trying to take us from her or something. Like, kind of maybe trying to, like, kill us, maybe. I don’t know? It’s really weird. And, um, yeah, she kind of explains that it’s a really weird energy. She gets the same feeling every time that it happened, and she doesn’t know how to explain it. And she just, yeah, she kind of just, like, says that its an evil, dark spirit or whatever. She said that she sees like kind of like a cloud of black like mist. So it’s not like a… And, like, it’s not like a figure. No, like a cloud of black in the shape of like a… Like, kind of like, um, I don’t even know how to describe it, like, just, like, it’s not smoky, maybe not. Yeah, like, it’s, like, really weird, and it’s just, like, moving close to us and, like, trying to approach us.

Me: “So it doesn’t like talk and say like, I’m going to take your baby…

NB: “No, she just kind of has like an energy and like feels it. And then she’ll wake up the next morning and she’ll just like go back to normal.

Me: “So do you know, like, what does she think it is? Like, does she think it’s, like, a demon or, like, just like what?”

NB: “Well, my mom is like a really spiritual person because she has a lot of like dreams that she believes are kind of like almost premonitions. She, like… one of her dreams predicted my grandfather’s death. So, um, I think that she kind of, like, had, like, she can, like, sense that energy, and I think she thinks of it more like, yeah, maybe a demon. But my mom isn’t, like, religious or anything. So I think she just senses, like, maybe it’s, like, I think one time she said maybe it’s, like, the angel of death or something. Like, trying to take us too soon, or maybe it is a demon, like, trying to latch onto our innocence or something. Yeah, very, very strange…”

Personal thoughts and analysis: I thought this story was very interesting, not only because of the story itself, but also the informant’s reaction. The informant is a supernatural believer, but their first thought was to dismiss their mother’s belief and write it off as sleep paralysis, almost like they were too scared to consider it truly being a supernatural entity that attempted to abduct the informant at their most vulnerable state. Initially, as the informant described the entity, I thought of a kind of demon Papa Legba esc figure, so it was interesting to hear the informant’s mom’s perspective that it might have been some sort of grim reaper figure. However, overall, I think I would tend to agree with the informant that this was some kind of postpartum sleep paralysis, but it is an interesting coincidence nonetheless.

The Winchester Mystery House

Age: 19

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is my friend and freshman year roommate.

Me: “All right. Go ahead, and tell the story, just like, pretend I’m not recording.”

LC: “Okay, do I have to introduce myself?”

Me: “No, just get into it.”

LC: “So this was back when I was 5 years old, so that was 14 years ago. Okay. I feel unc, but it’s whatever. Watch me, like, listen to this, like, in 20 years. I would be like, that’s not even that bad. But I was 5 years old when this happened and my grandparents were in town. They’re originally from Southern California. So they came to visit, and when they come to visit, it’s a pretty big thing. Um, so as a result, my parents were super excited for them to be here and usually when that happens, I don’t really have any choice but to do everything that they have planned. And I had a bad feeling when they told me that we were going to go to the Winchester Mystery House.”

Me: “I’m not too familiar. So it where is this located?”

LC: “This is located on Winchester Street Drive, Avenue, whatever it is.”

Me: “But, but like where in California? It’s in California right?”

Background as described by the informant:

LC: “It’s in Santa Clara. It’s right across from a mall, which is really weird because why would you build like the super big fancy mall right across the street from a haunted house? But the story about the Winchester Mystery House, from what I remember, they made a movie about it too, but the movie was like not at all accurate and low-key, really bad. But the actual story is that this woman was married to a man who produced these guns…the Winchester Gun Company. Um, and the guns were used in war in, like, self-defense, whatever, but they produced them so much and then would give it to, like, I guess, really bad people because they didn’t really care about who they were selling it to. Um, after the man died, I think he died because of the fact that he was shot by his own gun or he died out of sickness. I don’t remember exactly, but he died early on. So the woman was widowed. And at the time, they were using the money from their gun company to build this really big house. And she consulted this, like, palm reader to tell her, like, what she should do to honor her dead husband when building the house. And the palm reader was like, girl, like, you shouldn’t be worried about your husband. You should be worried about the ghosts.”

Me: “Oh [redacted].”

LC: “And she was like, what ghosts? And apparently, all the ghosts of the people that were killed by the guns that the husband produced were coming back to haunt her. Um, and take revenge for what happened as a result of like the guns being produced. And Miss Winchester was like, that’s not my problem. Like, I didn’t produce the guns. And the palm reader was like, no, it’s because the fact that you’re using the money from the guns that were made to build a house. That’s why they’re getting revenge. So they made the house super big and the whole point of the house was that it can never be finished being built. Like they had to continuously build it. And in order to trick the ghost, they had like these trap doors and like these stairs that would lead to nowhere. Like, it’s like this demented fun house that she made.”

Me: ” Hence..Mystery house.”

LC: “Hence…mystery house.”

The Story:

LC: “And… Like, the story itself was cool, and a lot of people don’t really buy it. But I was freaked out. I was also five. So anything would scare me. So I went into the house knowing that this was a story, this is what my grandparents told me, and I was like, why did they bring me here? Like, this was a bad idea. And I just remember going through the house and initially thinking it was pretty because the entrance has like this nice stained glass window, this, like, really nice warm lighting, but the further you get into the house, the more you will see like the stairs leading to nowhere, the doors that open to brick walls, like all this weird stuff. And I just remember passing by this one area that they had just closed because it was found to, like, drop down, like to the floor. It was like… there was like a staircase that led to a door and then there was nothing there. And they had just closed it. So I was freaked out because I guess, like, people were touring that and they realized, like, there was no where to go. It was like, it was a straight drop and it was like 3 floors up already. Um, but after we passed that, I saw a shadow of a woman, and I was like, oh, this has to be like a hologram or something. I didn’t think it was real. But I just remember, it was really warm when I was originally passing by that, like, invisible, whatever staircase thing that led to nowhere. Then when I saw the shadow, it got really cold. So I was like, that was weird… that kind of freaked me out. But I ignored it. We went on with the rest of the tour. And we were going down the stairs, and I distinctly remember the tour guide saying, oh yeah, the stairs are really, really small and really, really steep because they were custom made to fit the feet of Miss Winchester. And they said, oh, watch your step, be careful. Um, But he looked at me and said, oh, you should be fine because your feet are little. And the Winchester lady was like really, really short, really, really petite. And he was like, oh, yeah, you’re like a child. She was like a child too. like you’ll be fine. So I was under the impression there was no way for me to trip. I was also the very last one in the line because it…the actual staircase was so tiny and so compressed that you could touch the walls with your elbows….Shoulders…Shoulders and elbows. But it was really, really compressed. And as a result, we all had to go in a single file line. And I just remember going down the staircase, the really cold feeling from before came back again. And I was the last one in the line. Like, there was no one behind me. I remember turning back and I was like, oh, the door, like the door was about to close and there was like this little sliver of light and I was like, oh, so no one could push me. I’m fine. Boy, was I wrong! I turned back around, and I’m going down, grabbing the walls, kind of like shaking a little bit, but I could walk down the stairs fine. I felt the hand of a, like, a wrinkly thin hand that was ice cold. And I was wearing a super thin shirt, where, like, any little breeze or tap, like, I could feel it on my skin. And I felt it right here on this shoulder, and I felt the hand press, and then I felt it push, and I ended up tripping and falling on the stairs, and my grandma caught me. And I turn around and I see a shadow go, whoosh. like out the door and the door opened. And I was like, this [redacted] just pushed me down the stairs. And I asked the tour guide, I was like, did you see that? And the tour guide said a joke, but I didn’t think he was serious…he’s like, oh yeah, it’s rumored that Miss Winchester likes to go down these stairs and scare the tourists. And then he’s like, and sometimes if she takes a liking to you, she’ll even give you a little nudge. And then after I tripped and fell, he turned around and said, oh, looks like she already found someone. And I was like, Oh, that’s so cute. And I had to tell my grandma, I was like, I don’t want to be here anymore. I dont want to be here anymore. So we ended up leaving the tour early after that. And when I left and walked out, there was this bay style window on one of the upper floors, and there was a woman that looked exactly like Miss Winchester waving hi. I have not returned to the Winchester mystery house since. So even if that wasn’t Miss Winchester or if it was a random ghost, I got pushed in the Winchester mystery house when I was 5 years old down the stairs.”

Me: “So what do you think? Like, do you think Miss Winchester, like, do you think it felt like friendly? Like, she liked you or, you think the guide was right and she was like just being cute and like, eh, or, like, do you think there was, like, there was beef.”

LC: “like, I don’t know, because I was just horrified the whole time. So I don’t know if she was actually was being like a little rude and she wanted to push me because she’s like, I’ll show you how to be scared. But honestly, I thought at 1st that it was friendly, but the more that I think about it, I think it was a little bit more malicious. I’m not gonna lie. Um, like, you know, like those really old women that are like really rude to young people?”

Me: “Right. I don’t know about five-year-olds, but yeah.”

LC: “I don’t know. Because what did a five-year-old do? “

Me: “Right.”

LC: “But maybe it was because my grandparents were telling me like, oh, none of it’s real. It’s fine. And I kept repeating to myself, oh, none of it’s real. it’s fine. So maybe she was like, oh, no, it is real. It is real. But, I don’t know, that was my story. I tell it because I…I still to this day, like, don’t think it’s fully real. I think I was just 5 years old and freaked that, like, freaked out out of my mind. But, you know what? Maybe Miss Winchester did push me down the stairs…Maybe.”

Personal Thoughts and Analysis: I didn’t know too much about the Winchester Mystery House going in, so it was very interesting to hear about it from the informant. This story included a lot of traditional ghost story motifs, such as a haunted house, cold spots, a vengeful spirit, a legend quest, etc. I think it’s a very interesting concept that the house was originally built to fight off and confuse vengeful spirits, and in this story at least, Miss Winchester ends up becoming a vengeful spirit herself, trapped in her own labyrinth.

The Nun

Age: 19

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is my friend and freshman year roommate. The informant and I were discussing a completely different story when she brought up that her high school was haunted by a very sad nun…I immediately pressed record.

LC: “There’s a book called California’s Most Haunted Places.”

Me: “Oh, and your high schools in it?”

LC: “And my high school’s in it.”

Me: “Oh, great.”

LC: “So, yeah. Like, sometimes you’ll hear, like, creaking from where, like, she, hung herself.”

Me: “This is so crazy…Ok what high school did you go to?”

LC: “Notre Dame.”

Me: “Notre Dame. In San Jose.”

LC: “Like, dead serious. Someone look it up. There’s a story. This nun like hung herself.”

Me: “So, did you have any, like..this is something that happened to your friend or, like, did you have any personal experiences?”

LC: “Okay, so for me, in that building, there’s a basement that I had to go into, and I hated that basement. It’s a…it’s straight up a vintage old basement. It’s an old cobblestone basement that has one little light that hangs from the top. Like, have you seen, um, A Quiet Place?”

Me: “Yeah.”

LC: “It looks like that. And the stairs are like wooden and creaky. So, I went in there and I had to pull the light, and there was, like, someone that looked like they were wearing a full nun outfit. just in the corner.”

Me: ” And at this point, there’s no more nuns at your school?”

LC: “Most of the women, like the women that worked at my school were nuns, but they didn’t wear the whole thing… they’re like the modern nuns. like they’re hip or whatever.”

Me: *laughs* “Okay.”

LC: “Um, but yeah, it was like a nun wearing like the full outfit and everything. And, um, I don’t remember what her name is. Like, it was like sister…her name began with an M. And I remember like the faculty and staff saying, oh, like, oh, sister, whatever her name is, is visiting again.

Me: “Oh. Was she, like, a nice, or sad spirit, or like?”

LC: “I think she’s just sad. Yeah. Um, because, yeah, like, apparently, like, a priest seduced her and, like, she got pregnant and, yeah, she hung herself because, like, she was sent there. Um, I can’t even remember what for. Like, I think because her family, like, couldn’t afford to send her to, like to school, so she went to the convent. Um, and she knew that she couldn’t go back to her family because it would be dishonorable. So, she thought that the only way to go was to, like, commit suicide. So, yeah, there’s that one, and then, my elementary and high school are connected, because it was, like, this one big giant convent. And like a lot of the stories that happened at the high school happened at the elementary because it was like just one big thing. And what happened to my friend in 5th grade is that she went to the bathroom, and it was a sunny day in February or March, and when she went to the bathroom, she, like, came out, went to go wash her hands. The door slammed shut because the bathroom door was, like, propped open with, like, this little, like, wooden block. The door slammed shut. It wouldn’t open. And because it was, like, someone was pressed against it. So she pushed it open, and when she looked outside, it was pouring rain, and the woman that looked like the nun was like outside, like crying, and her eyes were like jet black and like, and then she freaked out, closed the door, was sobbing, opened the door again, and it was like normal, sunny, like 78 degrees outside. Like, she came to class crying because she’s like, I saw her, I saw her, this creepy lady, and we’re like…”

Me: “So a lot of these stories…so the time that you maybe saw the nun, how old were you?”

LC: “14.”

Me: “Okay, so a little bit older, but mostly your stories, you know, involve a child. So what do you think about that? Do you think children are like more vulnerable to spirits or you think like they can see things that, you know, maybe…”

LC: “Yeah, I think the children, like, that’s like in every single horror story, though. Like, children are the most vulnerable. Because, like, you know how people say, like, when you’re a child, you have your 6th sense and that it’s, like, the most receptive. And, like, you haven’t been corrupted by the world to have it, like, removed or, like, worn down. Um, Like, I guess to an extent, that makes sense, but if we’re following that logic that children are just more receptive to everything around them, and children are known for being, like, brutally honest, then I would say, yes, it’s like, that aspect, that’s consistent with children being, like, the main receivers in all these stories, would support that idea, but also, I feel like, I don’t know, it’s a little strange because people who experience those, like, paranormal activities usually have some sort of belief in the paranormal. Right. But I don’t know if that’s because of the fact that, since they believe it, it’s confirmation bias. Or if it’s just because they’re more open to the idea that that’s a possibility and that they would prefer that outlandish, I guess, experience to be true in comparison to that of a more scientifically backed explanation.”

Me: “Right, makes sense. And both can be true.”

LC: “Both can be true.”

Me: “Good stuff.”

Personal thoughts and analysis: This story was super interesting, and I think it goes into religious guilt and trauma, which intrigued me, so I decided to look more into it. I was able to corroborate that there is a legend of a pregnant nun who hung herself at Notre Dame High School in San Jose, but I couldn’t find any confirmed reports of the occurrence. I think because it’s been local lore for so long that it’s likely a lot of the accounts are just scared kids whose eyes were playing tricks on them, but it is very interesting nonetheless. I also thought the weather aspect of the spirit, somehow being able to change the weather, was very unique and not a typical element in ghost stories, which almost made me believe the informant a bit more.