SG:”I still think about that night with my younger sister because it never really made sense, like I can explain parts of it but not the whole thing. We were just at home doing nothing, I was on my phone in the living room and she went into the kitchen, and then she called my name kind of quietly, which already felt off. When I walked in, she was just standing there staring at the hallway, and she told me she thought she saw someone walk past, even though we both knew no one else was home. I tried to play it off and said it was probably just shadows or something from outside, but honestly it didn’t feel like that. Then we both heard it at the same time, like actual footsteps coming down the hallway, slow and steady, not super loud but clear enough that we both just went quiet. I remember not even wanting to move, like if I stayed still it wouldn’t notice us or something, and my younger sister grabbed my arm and didn’t let go. The steps got closer and then just stopped right at the kitchen, and we were both just standing there waiting to see something, but nothing was there. The light flickered a couple times and for a second the room just felt off, like it didn’t look the same. And then it was just over, no more noise, nothing. We ended up telling ourselves it had to be something normal, like the house making noise or the lights messing up, but I don’t fully buy that even now, because we both heard the same thing and reacted the same way, and it really felt like something was there with us for a second and then just gone.”

Interviewer: “Do you feel as if the event could be explainable or as if it was really a ghost/paranormal event?

SG: “I think it could be explained because this event never happened again and could maybe have been an open window, but the event/ghost felt so real as if something was actually there watching us.”

Context: This story was told to the informant by a freshman at USC while the two were watching a horror movie. SG was reminded of the event while watching The Conjuring because of the house’s long hallways.

Analysis: What I like about SG’s story is that it doesn’t try to prove anything; it just tells what happened and leaves you thinking. The fact that both she and her younger sister heard the same footsteps at the same time is what makes it feel real, because that’s harder to explain away. At the same time, she never fully says it was a ghost, which actually makes it more believable. Nothing ever shows up, and that almost makes it creepier. It’s just the sound, the light flickering, and that feeling that something was there, then gone, and that uncertainty is what makes it stick.