The Sallie House Haunting: A True Story Read online

  On the 13th, just after 3:00 p.m., we were distracted yet again. I was upstairs with the baby and picking out clothes for the evening. Tony had just come home from work, and on his way up the stairs he noticed that one of the pictures hanging on the stairway wall was turned upside down but hanging perfectly straight. That morning, as Taylor and I were coming up those stairs, I remembered stopping to show him each of the pictures and explain who was in them. I knew for a fact that the photos had been right-side up at the time.

  Many of the photos were of my family, who lived a good distance away, and that morning I had tried to familiarize Taylor with them so he wouldn’t think them total strangers. As we got almost to the top of the stairs, I noticed that Taylor was craning his little head to look at something down the stairs and behind us. I figured he had taken a particular interest in one of the pictures and didn’t give it much more thought. Thinking back, I wondered if he had been able to see interesting activity around the pictures.

  By 3:30, Taylor and I were taking a quick bath while Tony stood at the sink, shaving. The bathroom door had only been slightly ajar, and because of a lull in the conversation, it was very quiet in the room. It was then that I heard a distinct moaning sound come from what seemed to be the hallway. Wondering if Tony heard it, too, I asked, “What was that? Did you hear it?”

  His reaction was sort of funny. He had been standing there, quietly shaving, and because he did not react to the sound, I thought he had not heard it, but he quickly turned around to me and said, “Yeah! You tell me what it was and we’ll both know.” He paused and then continued, “I didn’t think you heard it.”

  He told me that when he heard it, his first thought was that his paranoid mind was playing tricks on him. I guess my theories about his lack of sleep and his mind playing tricks on him had started to make sense to him, so he simply ignored it and wasn’t going to mention it. I could see the intense relief in his face when he realized I had heard it, too. I asked him what he thought it sounded like, not wanting to give away the sound I had heard.

  “A moaning sound,” he said.

  “Where did it come from?” I asked.

  “The hallway,” he replied.

  We both just sort of looked at each other with eyebrows high and eyes wide. Without saying another word, we knew that we had both heard the same thing.

  Two days later, at about 5:00 p.m., the baby and I were in the nursery playing. I had been talking into the sound-activated toy to show Taylor how it worked and perhaps pique his interest in it. On playbacks, we heard not only my voice and his voice, but also some clanking of toys we had been playing with. We also heard a loud humming sound that I know we had not generated during the thirty-second recording. My mind quickly tuned in to the world around us. The neighborhood outside was quiet—no one was mowing or drilling or sawing and there was no sound anywhere in the rest of the house.

  That night about 8:10, Tony took the baby upstairs to lay him down for the night. Taylor’s fear had dissipated somewhat over the previous nights, and he had been falling asleep on his own and in his own room without a problem. That night, however, when Tony entered the nursery, he had felt a certain foreboding presence. As he got closer to the crib, Taylor stared wide-eyed at the mobile above it.

  Tony could tell by the look on Taylor’s face and the little whimpering noises he made that the baby was aware of something in the room, too. Trying not to give in to his own panic, Tony laid the baby down. As he did, he felt as if something had just taken his breath away. At the same time, Taylor stood up with a fearful look and reached for him. It was apparent that he did not want to be left alone that night. Without any further hesitation, Tony scooped him up and returned to the living room where I was sitting on the couch.

  “You’re gonna be mad at me, I know, but I just couldn’t leave him in there.’”

  With his eyes still wide with uncertainty and his face very pale, he explained what he and Taylor had just experienced. I knew something must be very wrong. Feeling that one of the spirits had somehow been scaring Taylor with the mobile above his bed, I dismantled it and mounted it on the cradle across the room.

  About twenty minutes later, I took Taylor to his room and put him to bed without a problem. Was it simply because I had been the one to take him up to bed that he went without a fuss? Or was it that he was finally tired enough to make no fuss about going to bed? Maybe it was the fact that the mobile was no longer above the crib? Since Taylor couldn’t talk yet, it was impossible to understand the reasons for his reaction.

  seventeen

  Barbara had lived in California for a number of years and along with her work in the field, she regularly lectured at various universities to an audience of not only students, but also faculty, journalists, scientists, skeptics, news media, and more. By mid-June, and with our consent, she had incorporated our experiences and photographs into her presentations and elaborated on their uniqueness.

  She worked hard at keeping us anonymous, referring to us only as a young Midwestern couple. Her lectures were so compelling and information so intriguing that interest in our case began to grow. She often had people pulling her aside afterward, seeking more information. At one point, she was approached by field representatives from both Unsolved Mysteries and Sightings; they wanted a closer look and asked Barbara how to contact us. She took their contact information and vowed that she would pass it on to us. She called us that night.

  During our conversation, she warned us of the repercussions of going public. Once we did, we could never go back. She went on to say that if we allowed this, we should go with the show with the smaller crew, because they would invade our space and our lives. Either way, it was possible that we would never be free of the media attention. Knowing how judgmental our little town could be, she felt this was something we would want to consider when making our decision. I had never thought that any television show would be interested enough in our experiences to promote it nationally and it was rather overwhelming. I knew it would be even more so for Tony. I told Barbara that we’d discuss it and get back to her.

  I talked to Tony about the conversation with Barbara and explained the positive aspects of allowing the team into our home. Hopefully, they would shed some light on the activity we had been experiencing, and possibly offer some answers. If our case was so unique, it might help others understand paranormal events.

  Tony and I were on opposing sides. I embraced sharing our story with others, and taking a scientific approach to finding answers. Tony feared prying eyes and alienation from friends and family. He worried about his family’s good name, disliked being photographed, and loathed the idea of seeing himself on TV. His worst fear was that we would be seen as fakes and that no one would believe us.

  After a week of discussing our concerns, and more often arguing about them, I finally got Tony’s okay to move forward and speak to one of the television representatives. He made it clear that he would prefer the smaller of the two shows. And before we committed to anything, he wanted our photos authenticated to rule out foul play. That night, Barbara called to let us know that a personal acquaintance from Sightings had just contacted her.

  A few days later, I was talking to the representative, asking lots of questions and voicing our apprehension. Forty-five minutes into the call, I was feeling good about how they proposed to handle each of our concerns. I was rather excited and hoped Tony would feel the same, but this was not the case. We argued for several more days. He finally conceded, but insisted that his identity be disguised from the public.

  Arrangements were made to analyze the photos, releases were drafted, and contracts faxed. Tony’s concerns with going public grew, as did his fears of scrutiny by family and co-workers. As the day grew near for the crew to arrive, the tension between us grew. We argued more than ever before. Twice we reached the point of not speaking to each other for days.

  Ad
ditional stress was caused by the fact that we had not yet heard anything regarding our photos. Then, on Friday, July 16, 1994, we received the call. The show’s visual effects specialist, Edison Williams, reported that the photos were authentic. They seemed to contain genuine anomalities that he could not recreate with the tools he had. Although this was good news and settled some of our nervousness, Tony was still convinced that the show’s goal was to debunk us and make us out to be frauds on national television. The crew was to arrive the next weekend.

  Sightings’ First Visit

  The Sightings crew arrived Saturday for a two-day stay to document our story. In order to minimize the damage of going public, they agreed that the identity of our town and our address would not be revealed and that any video of Tony was to be blurred. (The crew made every attempt to do this, but everyone who saw the show recognized him.)

  To our surprise, there were only three crew members and minimal equipment. After about thirty minutes, they were ready to begin. The plan was to interview me first. Tony sat in the living room in the rocking chair with the baby, watching the interview on a monitor. A few minutes into the interview, we were interrupted by the neighbors and had to stop taping. It was about this time that Tony said, “Deb, I don’t think she likes everyone here.” I asked him what he meant and he suggested we come into the living room. The soundman was the first to see what concerned Tony. “Oh my God!” he exclaimed. “How did that happen?”

  Tony was just as astonished and had no idea how to answer. Knowing he was now the focus of the camera, he fumbled for words. He described a very cold feeling around his arm just before he saw the scratches. I was the last one to enter the room and when I did, I saw that Tony had three bloody scratches across his left triceps, about four to five inches long. The last time I had looked, he had been holding the baby in that arm.

  The crew instructed us about how the director wanted to present this and we sort of re-enacted what had just taken place. The cameraman quickly disconnected the camera, turned around, and zoomed in on Tony, who was now holding the baby in his right arm and presenting his left arm for all to see. The crew continued to film as I dabbed at the blood on his arm.

  Sounding very worried about what might happen next, Tony said, “She doesn’t like everybody here, Deb.”

  I remember standing there, experiencing a whole range of emotions. On one hand, I was glad that something happened while the crew was there. On the other, I was somewhat dumbfounded and in disbelief. Was our little spirit excited? Did she want to be the center of attention? If not, what was the provocation for the attack? What could we possibly have done to make her angry? I wondered what else was in store for us if we continued.

  We all agreed that it might be best to curtail further taping until Barbara got there. After all, she was the person who had attained some form of communication with this spirit.

  While we waited for her arrival, we talked about our experiences, giving the crew a better understanding of our situation. We were all standing in the living room. Craig was standing close to Tony when he became aware of a distinct coldness near him. The coldness seemed to come and go, and he was elated to feel the swirls of cool air around his hand. Soon the rest of us were holding our hands out toward the area where Craig and Tony had been feeling the temperature change.

  This was certainly a new experience for me and Tony, and we were as astonished by it as everyone else. We all took turns trying to put our hands in, out, above, and below this area, amazed that no matter where our hand was in this field, the sensation was the same. It was as if we were putting our hand in front of an air-conditioning vent. We were able to determine that the cold spot was concentrated in an area equivalent to the size and shape of a four-inch pole running from somewhere above our heads and down to the floor.

  When it moved, we found it again, and then we began to notice slight electrical charges associated with the cold air. We watched the hairs on our arms stand up, reinforcing the idea that there were electrical charges in the air. The more we interacted with this cold spot, the more excited and charged the energy seemed to become. Then we started hearing the small snaps of electrical discharges. A few of the crew members claimed to feel electrical shocks on their legs. We heard the continued sounds of snapping electrical shocks. This phenomenon lasted ten to fifteen minutes before it dissipated.

  The time passed quickly and before we knew it, Barbara had arrived. The cameras had been set to roll as soon as she knocked on the front door. When she entered, we greeted her warmly. She was taken aback by the scratches on Tony’s arm and abruptly grabbed it and asked, “What is this? Who did this?” We explained what had happened and asked if she could help us understand why it had happened.

  “Yeah, I feel her. She’s right here.” She spoke to Sallie out loud and psychically. “Hi, Sallie. What’s going on?”

  Barbara paused.

  “She’s excited,” she reported. As if to confirm what the spirit was telling her, Barbara said, “Yes, lots of excitement.” She then turned her attention to the adults in the room, “She’s upset.” Channeling Sallie, she added, “I like it, but it’s scary.”

  At that point, I could imagine that the unfamiliar people and strange equipment could quite easily frighten a little girl. Having Barbara as a liaison, we felt more confident that we could provide Sallie a better understanding of what was taking place. We could assure her that no one was in danger and that no one meant any harm.

  After my interview, the crew wired Tony and had him sit in a chair in front of the bay windows in the dining room. To honor our request for his anonymity, the crew created a silhouette of Tony against the window. During his interview, Tony seemed distracted and soon lost his train of thought. He began to speak again, but then had to stop because he wanted to relay something to everyone in the room. He had been feeling that strange cold sensation around his midsection.

  Suddenly he reacted as if his breath had been taken away. “She’s right here with me,” he said. “I just felt her. That cold just went right through my stomach.” Feeling compelled to validate the sensations he was feeling, he lifted his shirt to reveal his midsection. To our shock, we saw scratches straight down the center of his stomach.

  The camera zoomed in and George shrieked, “Oh my God! Look, look!” All you could hear from Tony was deep shaky breaths as he realized he’d been attacked again. He pointed out the welts that were forming before his eyes and the camera zoomed in on them. Tony fumbled for the words to try to explain what he felt was happening. “She tends to do this because I upset her, and I think she wants to be noticed today.”

  After the initial shock of a second set of scratches wore off, Tony finished his interview with no further interruptions. The rest of the day consisted of several more interviews with other individuals. During her interview, Barbara told of her first encounter and the things she was able to sense about the little spirit. Relatives, friends, and neighbors spoke of their experiences and things they had seen and felt.

  Shortly after 11:00 p.m., we said good night to the assortment of people that we had encountered throughout the day, put the baby to bed, and then grabbed something to eat before sitting on the couch, exhausted from the day’s events. The day had become a blur, a whirlwind of activity and experiences.

  The anxiety of doing the interviews and the taping had been overwhelming. The constant activity of setting cameras and listening to interviews, the visitors, the scratching attacks, cold spots, and the retelling of stories that sent chills down our spines, had taken its toll on us. We sat there quite drained for the longest time, not knowing what to say to each other. Most of the activity that had taken place that day was new to us and it was difficult to absorb.

  As I sat on the couch, I felt coldness around my legs. I assumed it was Sallie but didn’t want to mention it for fear that the information might make Tony nervous or anxious about another attac
k. I did check my own legs for the emergence of scratches, but nothing appeared. I couldn’t help but worry about Tony. His concepts of death, the afterlife, and the possibility of spirits interacting with the living had been severely shaken.

  The next day brought even more excitement. Sightings had invited investigator Howard Heim to bring in his own equipment and evaluate the house and the surrounding area. Among his tools, those that were most helpful were the digital temperature gauge (sensitive to even the slightest variation in temperatures) and an electromagnetic field (EMF) detector.

  He walked around the house inside and out, and reported finding no abnormal EMF readings, which could have accounted for some, if not all, of the activity and experiences described to him from the previous day.

  The second day was structured and handled very much like the first. Although it was a very sticky day, the hottest month of the year, and the house had been overrun with a multitude of warm bodies and equipment, both air conditioning units had to be turned off for most of the day for sound purposes.

  While standing in the living room, we began to feel a significant change in the room temperature. Howard turned on his equipment and, rather perplexed by the drastic fluctuation, announced each tenth of a degree of temperature change and the fact that the temperature should have gotten warmer given the crowding and close proximity of everyone in the room.

  Later in the day, we were once again given the opportunity to experience the distinct “pole” of cold air that most of us had felt the day before. This time it felt significantly more defined in size and colder than the previous day. Howard was experiencing it for the first time and seemed amazed at the experience. He was intrigued by the fact that even if one person held their hand above another’s, it did not diminish the cold felt by either person. Before long, the electrical charges were also being heard and felt again.