by Teo Monteiro, founder of IPOP (Investigating Paranormal Of Pennsylvania)
I have many people who are passed away, and I think about that constantly. There have been a lot of strange things happening in my house during periods but not continuously. Some events are minor; others are a little weird and memorable.
Once, when my dog and cat were securely locked in the cage for the day, we left the house to what we thought was a secure environment. When I arrived home, in the living room, all the blankets were stacked neatly in the middle of the room. The bean bag was on top, and the couch cushions were stacked neatly in the corner of the room. I thought there was a burglar. I grabbed my cell phone, dialed 911, and had my thumb on "send." Then, I slowly walked upstairs, grabbed a pistol and walked to the bottom of the steps. My dad came home when I was at the bottom, got his revolver and we searched the house. All the windows and doors were locked. Our animals were still in the cages, and I know the front door had been locked. We let it slide, this time. Then, when my father and I got back from church the following Sunday, we thought we had arrived to an empty house; but the same thing happened again. We didn't even bother to check the house the second time.
One day when I was home alone, I kept hearing my name being called over in the corner of the room. At the same time, my dog was barking at the same corner and showing her teeth as if someone was there. I managed to calm her down and blessed myself. A little later, there was a laundry basket on the other side of the room. My dog started to bark again (I thought at my cat). Then the basket fell over, rolled to my feet, then rolled back and stood up. I had enough. I put my dog in the cage, put on shoes and ran as fast as I could to my great grandfather's house that was one mile away.
Later, my grand mom, who has a very close relationship with God, took me home. I went to the top of my steps, and then went to the bathroom. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a black shadow standing in my mom and dad's room. I shot down the steps and into my grandparent's van. My grandmother convinced me to come in, and she put holy water in every room of the house. Then for about a month, everything was quiet until my great grandfather gave us a cross. I made sure it was tight on the wall. About an hour later, I heard my floor squeak as if something or someone was walking in the house. The cross shot down to the floor, untacked. When I reached for it, the Jesus fell off of it, and I thought I heard laughter. I just ignored it.
Apart from that, when I was sleeping a while ago, I heard a squeak and turned to see an elderly woman standing by my closet. I smiled at her and reached for my holy water. When I turned around, she was gone. The next day when I went to my great grandpa's house, I happened to look at a picture on the wall and I saw the lady. I ran it down to my grandma, and she informed me that was my great grandma who had died three days after I was born. She never saw me when I was a baby.
Another time when I was in my rec room, I heard a noise behind the door to my basement. I opened it, thinking my cat was trapped in there. I saw what looked like a person with no legs and a missing left hand; but he was floating. I slowly closed the door; and when I was asleep that night, I thought of my great uncle who served in WWII. He suffered wounds that made him lose both legs from the knee down and his left arm.
Another time when my sister was seven, she was walking home from the pool. She and her friend walked across the street when a car was driving by at about 60 MPH. The car hit her and she flew into the air. When she was about a foot from the ground, she slowly was placed on the ground like someone was holding her or caught her in mid-air. The bumper was broke, but she got up and ran to her room. The man was amazed. Luckily seconds after that, an ambulance and police squad came around for no reason, and the man fled. My sister refused medical treatment, but my grandmother convinced her to let them look at her. She had no injuries - not even a bruise.
This account about ghosts happened to my dad when he was a park ranger. He and a K9 officer were searching a building (someone thought a hobo broke into the Edgar Allen Poe house, again), and they entered the basement. A loud moaning was heard. The dog tried to run fast up the steps but couldn't. My father pumped his Remington and checked his revolver. The other officer cocked his pistol. My father kicked open the door, the moaning stopped and the dog gave a big bark. A window opened by itself. After that, they called for more officers, and they all searched the house. Of course, they found no one.
The Eastern State Penitentiary Haunting
Besides this, when I was at the Eastern State Pen, I was the only one in solitary confinement. I said out loud, "It must suck to live here." I heard a voice say, "You have no f****** idea!" I turned around and ran out. Then I asked my dad, like any other nine year old would, "What does f*** mean." He asked me where I heard it, and I said, "From the man in there." He went in there and found no one.
Ghost Conversation at Home
The last thing that happened to me, that I recall, was when I awoke in the middle of the night, recently. I went into the hallway and saw a man staring into my parent's room. I thought it was my dad. I whispered to him, and when he turned around he was in 1950's clothing. Then, the face was of my dad's father who died of lung cancer in 1988. He turned around to me and said, "No, Teo. It's just me, your other grandfather - the one you're named after. I just wanted to check on you and your family. Tell your grandmother I miss her." Then he said other things that happened after his death. We had a little conversation and he slowly disappeared. When I told my dad the next day, he said I was dreaming. Most recently, he said he was sorry and he saw him, too. My father thought he was going to lose our house. My grand pop and the parish deacon (who recently died) appeared in a dream and said "Don't worry. You're not going to lose the house. You'll get some money tomorrow." Then an old friend of my dad's came to town. He is very wealthy and offered my dad a large sum of money and said not to pay him back.
These are just some of the things that happened to me. When I tell people about these stories, they claim I'm a psychic or a medium. I don't care what they say. All I know is I've been interested in the paranormal.