The Wretched One & Other True Spine-Tingling Tales

By Cindy Parmiter

This collection includes the frightening real-life accounts of a family whose chance for a new beginning pitted them against a force that was not of this world, a creature of unknown origin that terrorized a farming community in the 1950s, an unidentified presence captured on video, a woman who claimed to be the target of a systematic poltergeist attack, a stubborn family pet that refused to accept the finality of death, hotels where guests check-in for eternity, the victim of a horrific crime whose spirit reached out to her loved ones in her final moments, innocent-looking objects that were not what they seemed, and much, much more. If it's a spooky story you seek, look no further—you've reached your destination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindy Parmiter
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201262204

Book preview

Introduction

In a world in which billions of souls have come and gone throughout the ages, it seems only natural that some would, of their own free will or that of a higher power, remain behind when their time on earth is through.  This book recounts a few instances in which those immortal spirits cross paths with the living.

Offered in this collection are accounts of a young family who found themselves the target of an angry specter soon after moving into their new home; a world famous resort where some guests never leave; a family pet that returned to its former stomping grounds, much to the chagrin of the still-living residents; a facility born of charity that now houses the spirits of those who perished within its walls; a mysterious presence that was inadvertently captured on camera; a Hollywood legend who could not let go of her dreams of stardom, even in death; a savage creature that terrorized a small farming community and much, much more.

So, without further ado, dim the lights and pull the covers tight as you make your way into a place where the things that go bump in the night are real and the boogeyman lurks around every corner.

Chapter 1:

Out of the Blue

I thought that my days of including personal stories were behind me.  Unfortunately, fate had other plans.  The following incident occurred on the night of October 5, 2019.  What sets this apart from all of my other experiences is that this time it was captured, completely by accident, on video.

Before we delve into the meat of the story, I feel the need to supply the bones.  My sister owns and operates a successful pet sitting business.  Occasionally, when she finds herself overextended, she will ask me to lend a hand.  Usually, as in this case, I’m happy to oblige.

This engagement was to be an overnight stay with two dogs, an older fellow whose rambunctious days were behind him and a younger one that had no concept of sitting still.  They were both friendly, pleasant animals that welcomed this stranger into their home.

My husband loves dogs and always asks for photos of my charges.  After seeing the younger dog’s picture, he fell in love with her.  He was so enamored, in fact, that he expressed a desire to adopt the same breed.

As the night wore on, the younger dog seemed to get more hyped up by the hour.  At one point, she was barking and picking on the older dog to such an extent that I decided to film her behavior as a cautionary message to my husband.

Of course, as soon as I sat down on the loveseat and began filming them on my cellphone, the younger dog settled down.  The recording went on for twenty-four seconds before I shut it off.  Since I hadn’t been able to document the younger dog’s rather bratty behavior, I decided to delete the footage.  For some reason, before doing so, I hit the playback button.

In the first second or two of the video, a bluish light can clearly be seen rising up from the floor behind the younger dog and zooming right in front of the camera before continuing out of sight.  I must stress that no such object could be seen through the lens at the time of the recording.  Neither was the image visible to the naked eye, mine or the dogs judging by their lack of reactions.

There are several things odd about the video besides the unidentified object.  For one, although a lamp was burning only a few feet away, the room appears to be quite dark.  Likewise, a big-screen television that should have illuminated the area was on at the time, again, only a short distance from where I was sitting.  Whether the darkness seen on the video is attributable to my shortcomings in filming or some other factor is uncertain.

The other thing that is puzzling is the fact that only a steady buzzing can be heard throughout the video.  The television volume was on full blast simply because neither one of the remotes that had been left out controlled the sound.  Even so, the show that was playing at the time can’t be heard on the recording.  Neither can one hear the dogs’ panting, which they most certainly were.  As a test, I made another recording soon afterwards and all of the sounds in the room were picked up with no trace of static.

Frightened, excited and confused all at the same time, I tried to send the footage to my sister.  Naturally, the file was deemed too large and the message wouldn’t go through.  I immediately phoned her and gave her a blow-by-blow account of what the recording revealed.

When asked if she or the owners of the house had ever experienced anything out of the ordinary there, she came up blank.  She had stayed overnight in the home on numerous occasions and had never had a problem.  Likewise, her clients had never mentioned having any issues.

She went on to explain that the house was a relatively new structure.  The current owners had been the only ones to ever have lived in the dwelling.  The only death that had occurred on the premises had been that of one of their dogs, who had passed away several months prior to the incident.

Before ending the call, she felt the need to tell me that there is an antiquated cemetery only a few hundred yards from the back of the house.  She knew little about it other than the fact that it is privately owned.

Even though I couldn’t send the video, I did take some screenshots of the light as it whizzed through the air and sent them to her.  She responded with an exclamation, a slew of emojis and a prayer asking for protection.

The next few hours were spent cuddling the dogs and talking with my husband on the phone.  I was consumed with nervous energy that wouldn’t go away and felt a bit better being connected with other living things.  The companionship had to be cut short when I realized that my phone’s battery was about to die.

As I plugged my charger into an outlet in the living room, the family’s laptop suddenly made a loud screeching sound from the dining room.  Fearing that my action had somehow caused the disturbance, I quickly unplugged the charger.  The ear-splitting noise immediately stopped.

For a couple of hours afterwards, the laptop would beep every three or four minutes.  It remained lit up and on menu for the entire duration of my stay.  The device never once shut down or went to sleep.  Perhaps this is normal, but it was new to me. 

The dogs seemed restless for a while, but eventually packed it in for what was left of the night.  I spent a sleepless few hours tossing and turning on the sofa.  The television remained on until morning.  The sound was comforting, although a bit intrusive given that I couldn’t adjust the volume.

At first morning light, the dogs were ready to begin the day.  They went outside for a romp before diving into breakfast.  Once they were settled in, I packed up my things and headed home.  This would only be a one-time thing and, even though the dogs were as pleasant as could be, that was just fine by me.

When I showed my husband the video, he was as perplexed as anyone.  He played it over and over again trying to discern what he was seeing.  His only offering was that, perhaps, it had been a giant moth.

My response to that was: nice try, but no.  Earlier in the night, I had spotted the younger dog chasing something across the floor in the living room.  It turned out to be a spider no larger than a quarter.  Believe me, if a moth the size of a bird had been zooming around the room, she would have been all over it.

In an effort to get a better look at whatever it was, my husband paused the video so we could view it in stop motion.  Even seeing it frame-by-frame, neither one of us could identify what we were seeing.  It didn’t remotely resemble any living thing that we had ever encountered.

The footage, for those who are interested, can be viewed on my author pages on social media.  The snippet that I uploaded is not the entire video.  There are two reasons for this.  One is simply that nothing relevant occurs after the light disappears from sight.  The other is that the dogs can be clearly identified by their collars as the footage continues.  Since the homeowners have a right to their privacy, there was no need to show anything further.

For those who are of a more suspicious nature, let me assure you that the content of the recording has not been manipulated in any way.  I have neither the inclination nor the know-how to make something appear on film that wasn’t there.  Trust me, the fact that I can operate the camera at all is a feat unto itself.

It’s a bit comforting to know that entities that appear as white or blue lights tend to be harmless in nature.  It is only the dark, shadowy forms that one needs to worry about.  Whatever was captured in those fleeting moments seemed to have been there purely by chance.  Still, it was a bit unsettling to know that something had been present in the room, at least for a time, that I couldn’t see.

After mulling over the possibilities, my husband and I came to the consensus that the light represented the dog that had passed.  We came to this conclusion based on the fact that it first appears on the floor very near the other two dogs.  This coupled with the rambunctious behavior of the younger dog just prior to my turning on the phone’s camera, leads us to believe that they had a spectral playmate.  This could explain why they paid no mind to it when it soared out of sight.  For them, perhaps this is something they see all the time.  What was a very big deal for me was, for them, simply another Saturday night.

––––––––

The one person who has no interest in viewing the video is my daughter.  In her own words: Acknowledging the supernatural invites it into your life.  She might have a point.  Unfortunately, for some of us, that ship has sailed.

Chapter 2:

The Lincoln Park Spirits

The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois hosts thousands of visitors each year.  Boasting over two hundred different species of animals, not to mention free admission, it has been a popular tourist destination ever since its gates opened in the 1870s.  As many patrons have discovered over the years, the wide variety of wildlife aren’t the only residents that call the zoo their home.

Long before the zoo was established, the land it now occupies was being utilized for a far less desirable purpose.  Following an outbreak of cholera in the early 1800s, the area was the site of the Chicago City Cemetery.  The graveyard, although a necessity at the time, had raised red flags with local residents.

Worries arose early on that burying bodies so close to the city’s main source of drinking water, Lake Michigan, might pose a health hazard.  Concerned citizens raised the possibility that the bacteria could leech into the water supply, resulting in contamination.  With bodies piling up at an alarming rate, officials weighed their options and decided that the benefits of the graveyard exceeded any potential risks.

Thousands of bodies were interred in the cemetery during the years between 1843 and 1859, the year it closed down.  The writing had been on the walls for