16 True Tales of Fear & Fright

By Cindy Parmiter

This book is brimming with accounts of brushes with the paranormal and unexplained that are sure to please readers looking for stories with a bit of bite. Included in this collection are true tales of ghostly encounters, a haunted hotel, an arachnophobe's worst nightmare that became terrifyingly real, inanimate objects that are rumored to come to life at will, a teenage girl's first taste of freedom that went horribly awry, run-ins with creatures of unknown origin, vengeful spirits that torment the living and much more. If it is a scare you seek, you've come to the right place.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cindy Parmiter
• Release date: Nov 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201217877

Book preview

Introduction

Stepping into the world of the supernatural requires that we suspend our tendencies toward disbelief and open our minds to all possibilities. While this comes easily to some, others refuse, under any circumstances, to make that leap. With all due respect to the latter, these tales of the paranormal and unexplained are tailor-made for those who count themselves among the former.

Included in this collection are true accounts of vengeful spirits who take great pleasure in tormenting the living, a haunted hotel, an abduction that remains shrouded in mystery decades after the fact, a family’s unsettling brush with a creature of unknown origin, an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare come to life, a teenager’s weekend of terror, ghostly encounters and much, much more.

Now that the foundation has been laid, let us begin.

The boundaries which divide Life and Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and where the other begins?"

Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 1:

The Visitors

When Debbie Taylor entered the hospital to undergo a minor operation in the fall of 2001, she had no way of knowing that her life was about to change, and not for the better. Throughout her recovery, she would see and hear things that she couldn’t explain. Only with the benefit of hindsight did she come to the realization that an unexpected complication may very well have opened up a chasm between this world and the next.

Debbie remembers some, but not all, of what transpired on the day of her procedure. She recalls being driven to the hospital by a close friend and neighbor who had stayed by her side until the time came for her to be prepped for surgery. Her next memories are of waking up groggy and alone in an unfamiliar room with IVs in both arms.

Later on that afternoon, she was informed by the attending physician that they would be keeping her overnight for observation. He explained that she had suffered an unforeseen complication during the operation and that this was merely a precaution. From what she understood, her blood pressure had plummeted as her heart rate spiked, a dangerous combination that can be life threatening. Fortunately, in this instance, the medical team was able to get her stabilized before the situation turned dire.

The one-night stay turned into a three-day stint as a result of ongoing issues with her blood pressure. It was only after the numbers were to his liking that her doctor agreed to sign the discharge papers. Her friend once again played the role of chauffeur and even offered to stay with her until she was completely recovered, but Debbie declined. While it was true that she was worn out from the sleepless nights and sore as could be, she wanted things to get back to normal as soon as possible. To her way of thinking, having someone underfoot would only delay the process.

Although she didn’t know why at the time, she sensed that things were slightly off-kilter the minute she entered the house. As she looked around the rooms, it was apparent that nothing had changed, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. For the first time in all the years she had lived there, she felt like a stranger in her own home.

After convincing herself that the pain meds she was on were clouding her judgment, she settled in for the evening. As she ate a bite of dinner and lounged in front of the television, she claims that there was a heaviness in the air that she had never noticed before. Eventually, it made her so uncomfortable that she decided to turn in for the night.

As she lay her head down and prepared to drift off to sleep, Debbie says that she heard voices emanating from her pillow. Again, she blamed it on the medication, even though the only thing she was taking was a prescription dose of a readily available over-the-counter product. Believing that there could be no other explanation, she did her best to ignore the staticky droning of both male and female voices as she focused on getting some much-needed rest.

By morning, she was feeling better as she made her way into the bathroom to wash off and get dressed. Although she was still on the mend, she opted out of taking any more pills. As far as she was concerned, the side effects of the drug were more of a nuisance than the occasional twinge.

Debbie spent much of the morning tidying up around the house and generally getting back into a routine. Finding that her energy level was lower than she anticipated, she had to take breaks throughout the day. It was during one of these rest periods that she claims to have seen a black object fly out of a painting that hung on her living room wall.

As she watched in horror, the creature zoomed silently past her head several times as it circled the room. Every now and then, it would light momentarily, giving her the opportunity to take a closer look. She describes the oddity as having been the size of a golf ball, but with an oblong body. Though it flew through the air with ease, it had no visible wings, or any other appendages for that matter.

After exploring for a short time, The Thing, as she called it, retreated back into the painting and disappeared from sight. When she examined the artwork for holes or other places that the creature may have been hiding, she found that the canvas was in pristine condition.

The curious scene, with only slight variations, would play out again and again over the course of the next few weeks. After realizing that the mysterious pest wasn’t going away anytime soon, Debbie attempted to capture it on film. Unfortunately, her efforts proved to be only partially successful.

While it was evident that something was present, the images were always too blurry to identify. In one instance, she had snapped several pictures of The Thing while it rested on top of an end table. When she reviewed the shots, she was disappointed to find that not one of them was discernible.

As if the wingless invader wasn’t enough to contend with, she was also hearing voices coming from inside one of the living room walls. Unlike the disembodied ramblings that she heard in the bedroom on her first night home, these sounded like normal conversations—albeit ones being held by people she couldn’t see. What’s more, just as she was aware of them, so too were they cognizant of her. She knows this because they went out of their way to involve her in their discussions.

As implausible as it sounds, Debbie says that these hidden entities would often ask her questions as if they were trying to get to know her better. They inquired if she ever planned on marrying and having children. They also wanted to know about her extended family.

Sometimes, however, their nosiness would take a dark turn. When it did, they would ask if she had ever considered taking her own life or that of another. She doesn’t know why, but she would answer all of their queries in spite of her misgivings. Something about the way they spoke, according to her, made them impossible to ignore.

Even as she participated in these give and takes, she worried that she was losing her grip on reality.

Since the other side of the wall faced the basement stairs, she wanted to believe that the sounds were coming from the pipes. While this was a perfectly logical explanation, it didn’t fit with what she knew to be true, namely, that she was hearing intelligent beings that were able to communicate with her in real time.  

It didn’t help that she was hearing similar disturbances under her bed at night. Despite the fact that the area was so crammed full of boxes that it would have been physically impossible for anyone to hide in the space, she insists that someone was there. Not only that, but they were not a bit shy about making their presence known.

It was obvious to her that the sounds that rose from the floor were being made, not by adults, but by children. Unlike the inquisitive beings that communicated through the living room wall, these entities were neither friendly nor engaging. It didn’t take her long to learn that when they were active, she would be spending the night on the couch.

Although the youngsters, if that’s what they were, never addressed her directly, she sensed their disdain. Their hostility was so palpable that she feared what they would do to her if she remained where she wasn’t welcome. Rather than risk setting them off, she chose to flee.

As things progressed, she started having trouble distinguishing between what was really happening and what she still hoped was simply her imagination working overtime. For instance, one afternoon she heard someone pounding on the side door. When she asked who was there, a man’s voice answered that the electric company had sent him to cut off her power for nonpayment.

Debbie immediately assumed that this was some sort of ruse to gain access into her house. She was up-to-date on all of her bills and always had been. When she told the man as much, there was no response from the other side of the door.

Curious, she went to the front window and peered outside. There were no work trucks to be seen. She waited for several minutes for the man to leave the property, but he never materialized. When she thought the coast was clear, she opened the side door a crack. There was no one there.

Determined to get to the bottom of the incident, she phoned the electric company. When she finally got an agent on the line, she learned that they had not sent anyone to her residence to disconnect service. They informed her that if such an action had been necessary, the process would not have involved an in-person visit. After looking up her account, the representative confirmed that her most recent payment had been received. Just as she had suspected, the man was not who he had claimed to be.

Scores of other odd goings-on kept Debbie on edge in the coming days. She witnessed a cat, accompanied by a lone kitten, passing