I live in Mayberry. Okay, it’s 80% Mayberry, 15% Payton Place and 5% Gladys Kravitz. If you focus on the 80% it’s all baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. Most people never want to move out of my hood, so when some dear neighbors of ours decided to move to their dream home a few months ago, we were surprised and sad for us – but happy for them. Their new view from the top of the mountain was beautiful and they would only be 5 minutes away. Even if they were traitors, we still wished them the best (sort of).
The first week in their new casa they start projects to make it their own. They were thrilled and exhausted at the same time. You know how a new house can be a little weird at first? Things like the click of the air conditioning turning on. Toilets running. The settling of furniture on the hardwood flooring. All a little creepy, yet explainable. They had things like lamps turning on in the middle of the night and bedroom doors opening. More than your average new home creepy factor, but no reason to panic either.
After a few weeks in the house, one of the kids noticed the basement door open after she had shut it. Like any good parents would do, they convinced her that she, in fact, had left the door open. All was well. Then it happened again. This time to the wife. She LOCKED the door only to return to see it standing wide open.
A few nights later the husband wakes up covered in cold chills all over his body at three a.m on the dot. He runs around to check on everybody. One of their daughters woke up at exactly 3 a.m. with cold chills. No explanation.
Over the next couple of months at Mountain Manor, several more ghoulish episodes occur. The basement door continues to unlock itself and opens to welcome “visitors.” This has happened ten times or more. Lights dim randomly. French doors that are latched swing open in the middle of the night. More than once. Or twice.
On New Years Eve they hear footsteps in the house that sound like someone is walking in boots. No explanation. A few weeks later it’s one of the kids birthdays and the entire family is downstairs playing a game. Everyone of them hear loud footsteps walking the entire length of their upstairs. They all agree it sounded like the person had boots on. They say hello and go to check to see who is there. No one. Nothing. Nada. The “boots man” has visited a couple of other times since. They called the previous owner who says Boots Man visited often when they lived in the house as well. “You’ll get used to it” they said.
Okay, so you “get used to” Boots Man, but did I mention that they were awoken in the middle of the night to “someone” pounding on the front door? You guessed it. No one was there. Here’s the big kahuna. They have a pipe in a bathroom ceiling that needs repairing and slowly drips water on the top of the toilet tank. One day when they go in that bathroom and it’s dripping blood red water. They climbed up and looked at the pipes and saw more red dripping down. The next day? Back to clear. Cree. Pee.
Let me make this clear. I don’t believe in no ghost. However, I am a chicken. Not having explanations for any of these mysterious events just about slays me!
This past weekend our friends had us over for a dinner party at their Mountain Manor. If they weren’t really fun friends, I wouldn’t have gone. No way. No how! Actually, they used to be friends. After Saturday night I’m gonna have to pray about it.
It was a beautiful night. After dinner we moved to the deck to chat and enjoy the weather and the view. It was a fun night of laughter and catching up. We talked and joked about “the ghost” in the house. At around 10:00pm, the husband excused himself to go to the rest room. The rest of us continued to discuss the series of unfortunate events and how their home sits on what used to be General Beech’s den of iniquity. I’m half laughing, half freaked out to hear all of these stories!
While we were talking, the husband silently comes up the deck steps (which are behind me) and SCARES THE DAY LIVING POO OUT OF ME! I hollered like a pentecostal church lady. In the words of Fred Sanford “This is The Big One, Elizabeth! I’m coming to join ya.” I’m sending them the bill for my PTSD therapy.
I’m not sure what to make of Boots Man or any of these creepy occurrences, but I am sure that everything in our lives happens for a reason. I know that God uses everything for our good and His glory. I also know there are evil spirits. “The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy (that’s a bummer); but I came to give life with joy and abundance (whoop, whoop!).” John 10:10. Psalm 61:1 says “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” That gives me peace.
I think Boots Man is what they get for moving out of Mayberry. But since I’m not a bitter person, I only have one question. “If there’s something strange in your neighborhood..WHO YOU GONNA CALL?”
Hurry on back now ya hear!
Music City McBride
