Halloween at Hannah House

Please read the previous entry (if you haven't) before reading this one.  It will explain some things.

 

As promised, here's the tale of my first trip to Hanna House. Though it was 1982, not '83 as I said (my brother corrected me this afternoon).  The last year the Jaycees ran it.  This is partially why:

 

I was the oldest of my two close friends, Melody and Stacy.  I was 14 years old in '82, Stacy 13, Mel 12.  We were like any other teens around Halloween on a Friday night.... let's go to the haunted houses!  So we gathered my brother, and a couple of his friends and begged my dad to take us to Hannah House.  We pile in the car and dad drops us off and says to call him when we're done.  Sure, no problem. 

 

As described in the previous entry, Hannah House had the reputation for being the best haunted house in Indiana, and not because it really is haunted.... they would put on a great show!  From the pictures (previous entry), you can tell how big the place is and the tour would go all through the house.... including the basement!!

 

Of course, we stand in line for 3 hours before it's our turn to enter (they only let 10 people in at a time... my brother said it was for the body count afterwards).  There was 6 of us and 4 strangers, in we went.  The other 4 in the group were older, so they went in with no problem as the 6 of us argued.."you go"... "I'm not going in first, you go".  So, finally I said I'll go first as Stacy and Mel each grabbed a side of my shirt. 

 

My brother was notorius for teasing the holy water out of my friends, but I was used to him.  So as he is terrorizing them from behind, I'm trying to get me and my now siamese-friends through thefront door. 

 

We enter to total darkness, lit up by black lights and fake cobwebs, and are ushered by same creeps who just scared the beejeebees out of us up to the second floor.  There were the usual people dressed in death and deathlike costumes.  Coffins, bats, fake blood, a cage with a rather wild creature-person begging to be released.  Typical stuff one would find in a Halloween home show.  Down to the first floor we go.  By this time we are a closely herded bunch of 10 (guess the older kids weren't so eager after all). 

 

Same routine on the first floor, though they had a werewolf and an axe-man chasing us around.  Going through the motions, we get to the basement steps and start to go down.   Now, the Jaycees had made a 'Maze of Darkness' in the basement.  They had hung what felt like mattresses lining a path on both sides through the basement to where the cellar opened to the backyard.  There were no lights on at all, completely pitch black.

 

The older kids were still in front of us, then we followed with my brother behind them, his friends behind him, then my friends and I was bringing up the rear (I wanted to protect my friends from someone coming behind them down there).   It seems like we were there forever, everybody taking baby steps... no one could see, you had to feel your way through. 

 

All of a sudden, Stacy started screaming  "Someone's got me, get your hands off me!"  "Oh my God, help!"  She can't move, I push Mel to my other side and start yelling at my brother to cut it out.  He isn't doing anything.  He is actually steps away from Stacy and has to come back.  I am feeling Stacy's legs and feel nothing, but she can't move and now is screaming in pain.  My brother came and tried to pick her up to carry her, he couldn't... something was holding her.  We both go to pick her up at the same time.  We can't do it.  He says I'm going to get help and goes outside the cellar. 

 

While he's gone, we start smelling this sickening, nauseating stench, and we are all screaming for help now.  We knew the history of the place, though being our ages... you know, invincible and all..we didn't believe any of it.  Melody and one of my brother's friends, Terry, are both puking because of the smell, Stacy is a breath away from passing out, and I am still trying to pick her up and get the heck out of there.  I have no idea how long this went on, it seemed like years.  Then suddenly Stacy was free and I swear I pushed them all out with one shove.  The paramedics were called, the lights turned on in the basement and things searched.  They thought someone had snuck behind the mattress or something...they found nothing.

 

The paramedics were giving Stacy (and Terry and Mel) oxygen and taking a history.. they must have thought she had a panic attack or something.  Stacy kept saying her leg hurts, so they take her pants off and find scratch marks and redness all over her leg.  She was bruised pretty bad, so they called her mom so she could be taken for x-rays.

 

The Jaycees had several instances like this, which is why they only ran the haunted house for 2 years.  The basement has never been used again.   I believe they finally stopped the haunted house there all together in the early 90's. 

 

I have been to Hannah House many times since this incident as it is really beautiful residence and I'm somewhat of a Paranormal buff, but never had another encounter there (maybe the house is finally clean). 

 

I have written before of my house ghosts (great grandma and grandma) but they are family and hold no grudges against us.  They like to take things of ours sometimes and move them or hide them.  There has only been one instance where they have made their presence known in our sight.  It is rather an amusing story.

 

We hold an open house on Christmas Eve for anyone we know to show up.  Since the kids (us) are grown up now with families, we have taken over open house.  Ken, my brother's friend, has always told his oldest daughter Sarah (6 or 7 years old when this happened) that our house is haunted.  Well, Sarah wanted to 'see' the ghosts.  So they went upstairs and came back down with Sarah being disappointed that she didn't see one.

 

Ken insists to her there are ghosts in this house.  So Sarah, stands on her chair and says 'There are no ghosts in this house!'  At that time, a bottle of wine flies off the top of the refridgerator and lands right-side up (without breaking) on the floor.  Well, we are all standing there looking at each other like 'did you see that?'  There wasn't anyone by the fridge.  So Sarah corrects herself immediately  "There is one ghost in this house!"  We all busted out in laughter.  It had to be great grandma, Freida, because my grandma was still alive at that time, though living down the street then.

I have been to house-cleansings, blessings, exorcisms, and just following ghost stories around.  The Hannah house fiasco and the wine bottle are the only paranormal activity I have witnessed to date.  Is that more than enough for you?

Happy ghost hunting......

Cat