I received the following account today:
Hi Lon,
I've been reading P&M for over a year and just finished reading your 2nd book. I really enjoyed it.
I have never noticed any strange activity around me, but there has been something going on recently that I wanted to mention.
Last Summer I purchased a large lot of lithographs and prints at a farm auction in eastern Indiana. There were many fine pieces that I wanted to frame & resell (I have a gallery) and a few that I wanted to hang in my collection. There was one exceptional print of John Steuart Curry's 'Tragic Prelude', a well-known depiction of abolitionist John Brown. The original mural is located in the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka.
Back in May, I was laying in bed asleep when I heard what sounded like a squeaky human voice coming from the far wall in the bedroom in the area of my desk. I sat up in bed and switched on the nightstand light. I continued to hear the voice but could not understand what it was saying. I looked in the direction of the desk and noticed that the wicker floor basket was shaking slightly. There were several items in the basket, including the 'Tragic Prelude' print, which was rolled up in a paperboard storage tube. In a minute or so, the shaking stopped and the voice dissipated.
I hadn't had time to frame the print, so it remained in the storage tube. There was no further activity for several months, until late September.
One morning I woke at my normal time, got up and walked toward the bathroom. To my shock, the storage tube laying across the bathroom sink. No one lives in my house and no one spent the night. I had no idea how the storage tube got into the bathroom, which I immediately returned to the wicker basket.
A few days later I returned home from work. As I stepped into the dining room I noticed the storage tube on-end upon the old Dutch pantry shelf. I picked it up and was certain I felt some resistance. I laid it on the dining room table and then briefly stepped into the kitchen. When I walked back into the dining room, the storage tube was gone! I was totally perplexed at this point.
I searched throughout the downstairs rooms, but there was nothing there. As I began to climb the stairs, I heard that squeaky voice come from my bedroom. I slowly ascended to the upstairs level, turned right and walked slowly into my bedroom. I looked over towards the desk and the wicker basket. The storage tube was in the basket! I sat on the bed wondering what was going on, thinking to myself that no one has access to my house. How is this print moving about the house?
The next day I decided to take the print to the gallery and store it there. I placed it in a locked temperature controlled cabinet in my office.
This week I decided that I needed to frame the print and put it up for sale. I just wanted to be rid of it. On Wednesday I had some spare time, so I decided to frame the print. I walked over to the cabinet and unlocked it. The storage tube was gone.
It's been over 24 hours and I cannot find the print. For some reason, I feel that it will find me at some point. I don't understand why it continues to move from place-to-place. Do you or the reader have some advice? Deanna
NOTE: I contacted Deanna and asked her to contact me if the print is found. The first thing I thought was possible poltergeist activity, but I can't be certain at this point. Missing household items, of all shapes and sizes, is a fairly common phenomenon. Many times the items will reappear at the spot where it vanished. There are instances where items are 'collected' and left at one location. For whatever reason missing dinnerware tends to end up at these collection points. Many times the collection points are found in attics or behind intact walls. I'm interested in your thoughts. Lon
Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf
Haunted Stuff: Demonic Dolls, Screaming Skulls & Other Creepy Collectibles
Haunted By The Things You Love
Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory
