Life With Bobby

Children are exhausting.  Boys especially.  I say that with no actual knowledge of what it's like to raise daughters, because I, apparently, was only meant to have sons.  I have two of my own, and acquired two more upon marrying my husband.  So if there's one thing this mama knows, it's how to raise boys.  It shouldn't be surprising, then, that I've formed almost a motherly attachment to our little ghost boy, Bobby.  (Of course he's a boy, right?  I can't even be haunted by a cute little girl ghost, it just has to be a boy.)

While I haven't posted in a while, it's not for a lack of strange activity at The C Family Estate.  Since my last story about waking up to the sound of a little boy calling my name, several things have happened.  Most notably- we got back the results from our second paranormal investigation.

About a week prior to that, though, I walked into the bathroom to find it in complete disarray: toilet paper rolls unrolled and thrown all over, other unmentionables you might find in a woman's bathroom strewn about, towels on the floor.  Yes, my kids were home, but my kids are 14 and 10 (a.k.a. old enough to know better than to mess around like that.)  It was definitely Bobby.  Not sure what provoked the temper tantrum, but I for sure did not appreciate it.

On a gloomy Sunday evening a week or so later, I talked with Mark and Terri from Marter Paranormal about our most recent investigation.  While a lot of what they found was the same as the first time, a lot was different, too. They picked up the voice of a little boy several times, as well as the name "Bobby," seemingly in reference to him.  Several of the investigators felt as though they were being grabbed or touched, and they all felt the presences we know to exist in the house.  In addition to Bobby, who seems to roam all over inside and outside, they picked up recordings of a woman's voice, an older man's voice (the grumpy old dude in the basement) and another, younger man's voice.  There were several EVP's that referenced a man called "Father."  Where's father? and Find father! were a couple. 

Unlike the first time, the investigators found a lot of activity upstairs, where the boys' bedrooms are.  They also detected a free-standing, moving EMF field (in layman's terms, a ghost in physical form) upstairs, and when asked where it had been hiding, it said, "Bathroom." 

Much like the first time, the  investigators caught nothing on photo or video, but recorded dozens of EVPs.  I've yet to learn how to add sound bites to this site, but here are a few of  my favorites:

Two of the investigators were talking about going into the basement.  One said, "So are we going downstairs?" And the ghost woman's voice responded, "Wait."

One of the investigators was having a conversation with Bobby, and said, "If you tell me what you dressed up as for Halloween, I'll tell you what I dressed up as for Halloween."  Bobby responded, "That would be bad."

When one of the investigators (who was a part of the first investigation) was headed out to the chicken coop, he picked up the younger man's voice saying, "That man is coming again."

And my favorite...(favorite? I don't know if that's the right word, but it's the one that had the strongest effect on me- goosebumps, tears, all of it.)  While upstairs, the investigators picked up the following EVP, all in immediate succession:

Younger man's voice: "Bobby."

Little boy's voice: "Chicken."

Younger man or woman's voice, yelling: "Booooobbyyy!"

Whisper: "What happened to me?"

Little boy's voice: "Turkey."

I think it was the emotion in the recording that got to me; the voice yelling Bobby's name sounded so upset.  That, and that the recording almost seemed to be a glimpse into the life the spirits lived, rather than them reacting or responding to investigators.  Whatever it was, it stuck with me.  I'm still hearing that voice in my head, even weeks later.

The investigators now feel it's possible that there's an entire family on the property,  and are all in agreement that Bobby seems to be the strongest presence.  They want to come back sometime over the summer and do an investigation focused primarily outside.  They feel that's where the "answers" are.  So we'll see.

In addition to the paranormal investigators, we recently had an intuitive named Ang, who is a friend of a friend, come to the house.  She can sense spirits, and gave us a different perspective on what's going on in our house.  She immediately sensed Bobby's presence upon arriving, and felt like he was out on the tire swing watching us.  She felt an incredible amount of spiritual energy in the master bedroom, and used a sage smudge stick (which my teenager later mistook for a joint...which cracked me up) to try to cleanse the house and calm the spirits. 

Ang is planning a return trip at some point with a friend of hers who can sometimes see spirits.  She talked to her friend about the house, and her friend told her that she definitely sees a little boy who appears to be from the 1950's at the house.  She said he's sort of scruffy looking, and appears to be looking for something.  She thinks what he's looking for is a toy top.  Ang and her friend want to try to do a "spiritual releasement" for our non-living friends.  If I'm being honest, the idea makes me kind of sad.  I mean, nobody wants to live in a haunted house, but I've gotten used to Bobby, and the thought of him (and the others) leaving after being there for so many decades is just sad to me for some reason.  I know that's weird, but it's how I feel.  So I've been very conflicted on whether or not to attempt a spiritual releasement for Bobby and his friends (family?)...until the other night.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the strangest smell.  It took me a few minutes to place it, but as I was trying to figure out what it was, it grew stronger and stronger.  It smelled like rabbit food- dehydrated vegetables, hay, alfalfa.  The smell became overpowering.  I got up out of bed, turned on the flashlight on my phone, and started frantically searching my bedroom for the source of the smell.  I woke up The Hubs, who smelled nothing and went back to sleep.  I couldn't stand it.  I went into the bathroom to escape the smell, and as I was standing in front of the sink running cold water over my hands, I heard a very loud ripping/splashing sound.  It sounded like someone ripping wallpaper from the wall or splashing an entire bucket of water on the floor.  It scared me.  I ran back to my rabbit cage...er, bedroom...because I didn't want to be alone.  The smell that had driven me from it in the first place seemed to be dissipating, thankfully. 

I climbed back into bed, taking several deep breaths to try to calm myself.  And then I started thinking...maybe the whole "spiritual releasement" thing isn't such a bad idea afterall.  Bobby deserves some peace.  And, quite honestly, so do I.