HAUNTED VOICES FROM MY PAST

HAUNTED VOICES
FROM MY PAST
True Narratives
of an Ohio Family

J.E. Seanachaí

Sunflower Footsteps
www.sunflowerfootsteps.com
COPYRIGHT © 2009 by J.E. Seanachaí

All rights reserved. Published 2009

No part of this publication may be copied, stored,
reproduced, imitated, or transmitted in any way.

For permission to cite selected material, contact:

Sunflower Footsteps, www.sunflowerfootsteps.com

10 2

ISBN 10: 1449538665

ISBN 13: 978-1449538668

Typeface by Ray Larabie and Roger White

This work encompasses true accounts of the author’s family.

All individuals are given fictitious names in order to protect
their identities.
I DON’T BELIEVE THAT ANYBODY’S SOUL
STAYS IN A GRAVEYARD
A PRESENCE crept through the leaves blanketing the
earth, lingering behind the man and woman. The
couple paused. Scarischle. The presence halted behind
them.
The man looked wildly around the cemetery. Chest
heaving, he grabbed his wife’s arm. “Is it my dad?”
the presence heard him ask the woman.
“I don’t know who it is or what it is,” the woman
whispered.
The presence left the couple and slipped silently
from the cemetery.

Haunted Voices from My Past: True Narratives of an

Ohio Family will torment its readers long before the
nightly moon has risen and the bedside lamps are
switched off. Join J.E. Seanachaí on a chilling pro-
cession through one hundred years of true family
narratives that delve into the supernatural, macabre,
and unexplained.

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 Contents

Part I The Beginning

Chapter 1 The Vanishing Visitor 3
Chapter 2 A Terrifying Token 7
Chapter 3 The Maddening Drip 11
Chapter 4 A Beastly Encounter 15
Chapter 5 The Devil’s Picture Book 19
Chapter 6 A Floating Token 23
Chapter 7 The Witch’s Conjuring 25
Chapter 8 The Witch’s Tricks 29
Chapter 9 The Witch’s Way 33
Chapter 10 Wraith in the Woods 37

Part II Gran's Family

Chapter 11 Kiss of Death 45
Chapter 12 The Hitchhiker from Hell 47
Chapter 13 The Headless Phantom 51
Chapter 14 Crying Wolf 55
Chapter 15 A Soldier’s Soul 59
Chapter 16 Late-night Spirit 61
Chapter 17 Footsteps in the Night 63
Chapter 18 The Invisible Coin 67
Chapter 19 The Porch Stalker 69
Part III Ace's Family
Chapter 20 The Creature Awaits 77
Chapter 21 A Haunting on the Track 79
Chapter 22 The Railway Apparition 83
Chapter 23 The Gravedigger 85
Chapter 24 The Fiend on the Roof 91
Chapter 25 The Peeping Poltergeist 93
Chapter 26 Ghouls in the Bedroom 95
Chapter 27 A Devilish Rebuke 99
Chapter 28 Railway Nightmare 103
Chapter 29 Another Hitchhiker from Hell 107
Chapter 30 Ace and the Devil 111

Part IV Cousin A.J.

Chapter 31 The Evil Eye 119
Chapter 32 A Man Possessed 123
Chapter 33 A Dead Woman’s Plea 129
Chapter 34 The Wicked Hand 133
Chapter 35 The Writing on the Wall 137
Chapter 36 The Broken String 141
Chapter 37 A Dying Man’s Request 143
Chapter 38 Death on the Bridge 145
Chapter 39 Footsteps in the Cemetery 147
Chapter 40 The Malevolent Shadow 153

Part V This Is Not the End

Chapter 41 The Ship over the Bridge 159
Chapter 42 The Glowing Orbs 161
Chapter 43 Ghost in the Garden 167
Chapter 44 The Presence 171
 Part IV
Cousin A.J.
U they callthey
P HERE, call you crazy. If you’re down home,
you a witch.”

~A.J., Summer 2009

AT AN EARLY AGE, my cousin A.J. inherited talents from

our ancestors. As she grew older, she developed a few
of her own.
CHAPTER 32
A Man Possessed
South Webster

A T THE TIME I WAS A SINNER,

going to be possessed.”
and I was afraid I was

~A.J., Summer 2009

***
WAS THE VIOLENCE caused by epilepsy or possession?
If the former were responsible, why would a demon
beckon A.J.?

***
APPROXIMATELY FOUR MILES southwest of Eifort is the
town of South Webster. The village, its highlights being
a post office and abridged library, is surrounded by an
abundance of back roads coiling around the hills that
eclipse the countryside.
A.J. was a teenager when she and her family moved
to South Webster along with Gran and her new hus-
band. Gran’s new spouse was a quiet individual with
two nephews, Steve and Roy. Steve was simple and
124 HAUNTED VOICES FROM MY PAST

uneducated whereas his brother, Roy, was intelligent

and shrewd. Despite his brain’s prowess, Roy was af-
flicted with periodic bouts of epilepsy that prevented
him from driving. As a result, Steve was the designated
chauffeur whose motoring responsibilities were occa-
sionally relinquished to my cousin, A.J. Although A.J.
was not licensed, Steve allowed her to practice driving
on the back roads. During these excursions, A.J. learned
a secret about one of the brothers.

***
THE FIRST TRIP
A TEENAGE GIRL with bright blue eyes flipped the radio
dial impatiently, creating a whine of intangible eighties
babbling. “No Def Leppard, of course,” she muttered,
smacking the dial.
Falump . . . falump . . . falump.
Sighing, the girl adjusted her glasses and glanced
at the man beside her in the passenger seat. A worn
baseball cap was pulled low over his longish red hair.
Freckles emerged from beneath his glasses, splattering
his ruddy cheeks. Falump . . . falump . . . falump, his tanned
fingers thumped the car door.
“How long is Steve going to be?” the girl asked him.
The man’s eyes flicked to the empty driver’s seat on
the other side of the girl. Frowning, he peered through
the windshield, assessing the small house at the head
of the drive. The front door was ajar, revealing a tall
man with shoulder-length auburn hair. “He shouldn’t
be long, A.J.” Falump . . . falump . . . falump.
“Roy, would you stop doing that?”
 J.E. SEANACHAÍ 125

The man’s fingers abruptly halted their annoying

mantra. “I had another one of them nightmares last
night.”
“What was it about?” A.J. asked.
Roy’s eyes left the window and settled upon the girl
at his side. “I was walking along in the cemetery,” he
muttered, “and when I stooped down to read one of
the tombstones, I saw my name on it.”
“You know, if I was having dreams like that and I
thought it was a sign I was going to die, I’d be praying
to God to get saved.”
Roy’s eyes flicked to the dingy windshield. Steve
had closed the front door and was walking down the
drive toward the car. Roy’s head turned slowly. His
piercing eyes focused upon A.J. and his teeth snapped
together. “Don’t you ever mention that name to me
again,” he warned in a deep, resonant voice.
“Roy?”
“Roy isn’t here anymore,” he snarled.
A.J. retreated as far from the growling man as the
car would allow. As she scooted into the driver’s seat,
the door was yanked open and Steve’s smiling face
appeared. “What were the two of you talking about?”
he asked, nudging A.J. aside as he climbed behind the
steering wheel.
“Nothing,” A.J. said, unable to look away from Roy’s
twisted face. “Take me home.”

***
THE SECOND TRIP
ALTHOUGH THE FIRST TRIP had been distressing, A.J.
126 HAUNTED VOICES FROM MY PAST

believed she had misinterpreted the incident. After all,

Steve had vowed to let A.J. drive the next time. What
teenager could resist an opportunity such as this?

***
AS THE LONG SHADOWS of evening infringed upon the
countryside, a car sped down an isolated road.
“You drive real good, A.J.”
The girl in the driver’s seat smiled. Feathery brown
hair brushed the shoulders of her T-shirt as she peeked
at the tanned man beside her. “Thanks, Steve,” she said,
slowing the car to round another bend in the road. As
the snaking curves yielded, A.J. glanced at the rear-
view mirror and the two side mirrors. She stiffened
and inhaled slowly. No, she thought. I just imagined it.
No. With her fingers gripping the steering wheel and
her teeth clenched, she forced her eyes to return to the
rearview mirror. Within the oblong reflection was the
distorted face and penetrating eyes of an enraged man.
A.J. glanced back at the road and took a deep breath.
It’s just my imagination, she thought, trying to relax her
tense muscles. She exhaled slowly and looked into the
mirror again. Her breathing stopped. The man’s base-
ball cap was pulled low, forcing his shock of red bangs
to stick out over his glasses. Eyes blazing, he inched
forward as his hands crept up the back of the driver’s
seat. Mesmerized, A.J. watched as the man’s face grew
larger in the mirror. His lips curled and his taut fingers
extended, slithering around the headrest and resting
upon A.J.’s neck. Before she could speak, the fingers
awakened and slowly tightened around her throat.
“Steve, get Roy,” A.J. whispered. With a growl, her
attacker sprung from the back seat and squeezed her
neck.
 J.E. SEANACHAÍ 127

“Let her go,” Steve bellowed, attempting to pry the

constricting fingers from A.J.’s throat. The car swerved
as the pressure intensified. “Stop the car.”
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other
clawing at Roy’s hands, A.J. pulled the car to the side
of the road and stomped on the brake pedal. “Steve,”
she sputtered. “Steve, help,” she choked as the darken-
ing shadow of unconsciousness began to claim her.
“Let go, Roy,” Steve shouted, yanking his brother’s
wrists. “What do you think ye’re doing?” The con-
stricting fingers abruptly released A.J.’s throat. A.J.’s
head fell against the headrest as she gasped for air.
“Are you all right?” Steve asked.
A.J. gazed into the rearview mirror. Roy’s eyes met
hers. He massaged his fingers as he grinned evilly at
his prey.

***
THE THIRD TRIP
THE THIRD TRIP, though offered, was not accepted.

***
A CAR DROVE SLOWLY into South Webster, searching for
a particular house with a specific occupant. Upon lo-
cating its target, it roared into a gravel drive and drove
up to the garage.
“How’s it going?” a man asked as he got out of the
car. His voice drifted over the porch and through the
open window, teasing the ears of the girl inside. “A.J.
around?”
A.J. adjusted her pillows and burrowed further into
128 HAUNTED VOICES FROM MY PAST

the couch. “She’s asleep,” she heard her mother call

from the porch swing.
“Think she might wanna come driving?”
A.J. clasped her throat. It’s Steve. She had recog-
nized his voice. Maybe Roy didn’t come with him, she
reasoned, trying to slow her unsteady breathing. No,
he’s out there. Although she had not heard Roy speak,
she could feel his presence and hear his silent voice
speaking to her.
“I heard that demon talk to me,” A.J. said, “and this
is the voice I heard in my head when they were out on
the porch asking for me. . . .”

Let’s go out and have fun tonight. I’ll give you any-
thing you want. I can give you money. All you have
to do is be mine. We can do anything we want. Roy’s
not here.

“It scared me to the point that I prayed an awful

lot,” A.J. said. “If it hadn’t been for my religious back-
ground, I probably would have been in trouble. At the
time I was a sinner, and I was afraid I was going to be
possessed.”
A.J. never went with Steve and Roy again, and the
demon ceased its summoning.

Ordering Information
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