Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

Private Residence - Jodphur Avenue, Toronto, Ontario

The witness writes......

"When I was 11 years old we bought this home. My Mom and I didn't like it from the very beginning, however money was not grown on trees and my Dad got a very good deal on the house. The people that had owned it before us apparently were moving to the US, they had a blue baby (whatever that is so my Mom told me) they sold in a rush and sold very cheap.

The house was creepy to say the least, the walls were all painted awful colors, the kitchen was really bright blood red, the living room and dining room were painted a dark, dark green with stencils of something all over the place.

The first thing that scared me to death was at night before I was asleep I would hear someone or something walking down the hall to the bedroom area. Mom and Dad also heard these noises or footsteps, and many a night my Dad would get up with a baseball bat and check.

He never saw anyone. I had a pet cat she would always sleep in my bed, Mom and Dad had gone to bed, this one night, I went to bed 15 minutes later. I had a habit of always reaching my hand around the corner and turning on my light first before I went into my bedroom. I had my hand just about on the light switch, when there was this very loud crash , my pet cat came running out of the room hair standing up.

I screamed, Mom and Dad came out of their room to see what was going on. It sounded like my whole bed had collapsed. We searched the room and then the rest of the house and found absolutely nothing. My cat didn't go back into my room for 2 weeks after that.

We heard these footsteps for years, my Dad worked midnights so he didn't get to hear them as much as Mom and I did. I used to have nightmares on a weekly basis. Out of 7 nights I would wake up screaming at least 5. I never ever to this very day remember why I was screaming.

We always had the feeling that someone was watching us. It was very creepy. I remember waking up one night feeling I was being choked, as in gagging choked, there were hands around my neck, however when I woke up enough to know what was happening the hands around my throat were mine!

We would all (Mom & Dad & myself) watch TV at night, the living room and the dining were really just one big room. The dining room had a Duncan Fife table and 4 chairs, and a little china cabinet. The living room was quite simple couch against the wall 2 chairs (one matching the couch, one a lazy boy and the TV in the corner).

The dining room chairs were always placed under the table never moved only if we had dinner in there. This one night we were watching TV I don't remember what we were watching, anyway when the show was over and Dad said we should go to bed, we turned off the TV and what do you think, 2 of the dining room chairs were out of place actually right behind the one lazy boy chair and the one chair that matched the couch. They were in such a position as if we had more people there with us and they were also watching the same TV show as we were.

I started to shake, Mom just stood there looking dumbfounded and of course Dad said Mom should keep the chairs where they belonged. I know my Dad he was terrified and just said that so Mom and I wouldn't freak out. Mom said nothing, I said nothing we went to bed. Dad left all the lights on in the whole house that night and I didn't sleep a wink and I'm sure they didn't either.

Leaving lights on in the whole house at night at that time never happened, we were just scrapping by and there where household rules and one of them was to turn off the lights in a room you were not in. So I know my Dad was scarred and he did not scare too easily.

I got married in 1968 and my new husband and I had no money only a baby. Mom and Dad allowed us to rent the basement apartment. They said we could stay there for free but we paid the same rent as the other tenants did.

Several strange things happened when we lived in the apartment. The first I remember was our dog (she slept under our bed) would growl and bark at least twice a week. It was kind of scary because when she did this we would turn on the lights, get up and check but never saw anything.

The next thing that happened was I got up one night go to the bathroom, nothing weird about that but when I went to go into the bathroom there was this very bright ball of light and it scared me very much. I just screamed, we checked found nothing.

We eventually bought a budgie in a very nice cage. We always covered up the cage at night so he could sleep. All was well for a time, then after we had the bird for 6 months or so at night it would screech as if it was in pain. Got up checked, nothing.

We always kept a clothes pin on the cage door because the bird figured out how to open it, however the bird got out the clothes pin would be on the floor. This was during the day. The clothes pin was on the outside of the cage how did he open it?

We very often heard someone or something turning pages in a magazine, at least that’s what it sounded like. We very often heard our little stereo come on, we would get up and turn it off. When that didn't work we unplugged it, it still however played the radio out of the speakers, but it was not plugged in.

We (Mom & Dad & myself) had a cat Taffy. She was a nice docile cat and we loved her. This occurrence is very, very odd. My Son was still sleeping in a crib, the bedroom was just one huge room. The babies room at one end our room (in the basement apartment where I lived with my husband and baby son) at the other. To turn on the lights for the 2 bedrooms you had to physically get out of bed and walk about 3 feet to the wall switch.

I woke up one night and found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, the lights were on. I was confused, and still half asleep. I looked up and saw my cat Taffy jump into my Sons crib. Of course I removed the cat to outside and my Son was fine. But how did the lights get turned on? What woke me up at that very moment? I still wonder about these occurrences to this very day. Was it Mothers instinct? Or something else?

I remember when I was a child of 12 my Dad bought a tent. We set it up in the back yard and myself and one of my friends were allowed to go camping as such. My friend and I got into our sleeping bags. All was well, we were talking and laughing and having a really fun time. Mom and Dad were of course in the house.

I remember turning over to get a bag treats Mom had let us take with us. When I turned over I of course turned on my side, when I did this there was a foot (not mine, not my friends, as we were in different sleeping bags) I felt it, I was at first shocked, then the shock thing turned into terror as I realized that there should not be another foot in there.

I know all this sounds pretty stupid but I am only telling you what happened. I am not a freak, I live a really normal life, I don't know if you believe me or not but I am telling you exactly what happened.

One more thing I just remembered my son Jeff, had learned to say a few words, he was still sleeping in his crib at this point. Anyway, he woke up crying one night, nothing strange about that babies, toddlers, it happens. But when I crossed the room from my bed to his crib, he was pointing towards the kitchen (the kitchen and living room were just one big room, and the 2 bedrooms at the back were just another big room) anyway he was pointing his little finger standing up in his crib and yelling MAN, MAN.

I was upset to say the least, I brought him to bed with me and hoped what ever it was he saw would go away.

I am curious to know if any other people that lived in this house had similar things happen to them. My Son the baby in the crib is now 39 years of age. I would really like to think that my Mom & my Dad & myself & my Son and my Husband were not hallucinating. I do not think it is possible for all us………….

After all these years these things do haunt me (for use of a better word) I am just curious and before I die would like to solve this mystery.

There must be some explanation, something terrible must have been located on the very spot where the house is now. I don't know, I was just wondering if you people could find out some info about the house or what was on the property, many years before the house was built. I hope you can help in some way."

Our thanks to this witness for the above report. Please note we are doing a best of Freaky Friday series from some of the 2006, and 2007 entries so that newer readers who might not have read these before can have the opportunity to check them out, and older ones can enjoy them a second time around if they wish to refresh their memories on them.

If this story sounds familiar, you have information you can add or if you have had similar experiences please do contact us.

Do you have a real life ghost story, an encounter with a UFO, or other paranormal experience/s you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Post your own experiences in our comments section or send us an email. Please post only true life experiences ... we love good fiction, but there are other fantastic blogs out there to post fictional accounts to.