East Dallas, you have stories. Ghost stories. Some of you welcome these spirits, some of you are curious and a bit puzzled, and some of you are creeped out. Read on, neighbors, about the spectres all around us. (Note: To preserve privacy, sources are identified by first names only.)
If you live in an old house, you may occasionally hear creaks that seem normal for an elderly structure. Lisa lives in the Hollywood Heights neighborhood in a house built in 1920. “We constantly hear things, but we always debunk it to being the house settling,” she shrugs.
But some things aren’t so easily explained away. “When my son was a toddler, he saw someone standing in our back room, which was an addition from the 1950s,” she remembers, adding, “I still see a shadow every now and then.” Her security camera also consistently records what appear to be orbs flying about.
To further deepen the mystery, she has this: “We did find a secret hidden room about five years ago.” She offered no other details or explanation.
Some East Dallas neighbors find the occasional paranormal experience a positive thing, even comforting. Longtime neighbor Diane takes exception to the term “haunted,” believing “it gives a negative vibe.” Instead, she feels she is visited by those who’ve crossed over. “I have several spirits around me all the time — loved ones.” When the love of her life died years ago, she was sorting through his papers, thinking how much she missed him and asked him for a sign that he was still around. The next day, on top of a pile of documents, she found a card he had given her the year before.
The spirits seem to respond to her. “Years ago, I noticed I had not ‘seen or heard’ from anyone in weeks, so I commented out loud that observation. About 20 minutes later, all four of my dogs alerted on the kitchen. A couple minutes later, the Brita water pitcher on top of my refrigerator went flying across the kitchen,” she says.
“No, it didn’t fall off,” she insists. “It went about 7 feet to the end of the kitchen. I then said, ‘OK, thanks. Can you dial it back a bit, just a touch?’”
Some spirits, on the other hand, are not disruptive at all. There are tales of entities who are simply there, quietly going about their afterlife. Down on Worth Street, Tracy lives in a house built 118 years ago. “My house definitely has a presence. She’s sad but not scary at all.” And neighbor Sarah actually has witnesses to apparitions in her home. “My housekeepers say they see ghosts sitting in the living room who don’t seem scary.”
Kathleen is another neighbor with spirited guests — which she welcomes. “Our current home, built in 1931, has what we call a poltergeist. It plays with electronics and loves to relocate things.”
She also tells of a former loft apartment where she heard unexplained footsteps and voices. “A woman in high heels was always walking down the hallway. I checked many times over seven years, and there was never anyone there. But the best part was falling asleep to the sounds of the parties. The rumble of conversation, glasses clinking and cutlery against plates. It was awesome!”
East Dallas resident Brandi is another who nonchalantly says her house is haunted. “It was built in 1910 and owned by the same family for over 60 years. Three of them passed in the home, and I think they are here. It’s a very warm presence. They have comforted me before when I was going through my dog’s passing and other things. Things I have hung on the wall have randomly fallen; lights and TVs turn on at will. I’m personally thrilled to have them.”
Not all spirits are welcome though. Their presence can be unsettling and creepy. Paul tells of witnessing “something darting from the dining room to the bedroom” in his 1926 house. “We always figured it was the spirit of a child up past bedtime.”
Victoria lived by herself in a fourplex on Worth Street for a year, but she never felt alone. “I always felt a presence in a hallway.” She remembers each time a friend’s dog would visit, he would bark at the space even though nothing was there. “It happened several times.”
Lakewood neighbor Tina lives in a townhome built on land where there once stood a hospital. “When I moved in, pictures that were carefully hung fell off the wall. I’m not the first to say it. Other neighbors have experienced the same thing.”
And neighbor Megan recalls an incident a few years ago in her 1942 home involving a friend’s 5-year-old son. “He was standing in my closet and asked me who that girl was. There wasn’t anyone in there. Then his eyes/head followed her up to the ceiling. When I asked him who he saw, he looked at me bewildered and confused and almost immediately said, ‘Oh, I was looking at this shirt,’ pointing to a shirt in my closet, like he was ashamed of seeing a ghost. His grandmother told me he saw her husband at their house after he passed, too.”
East Dallas, pay attention. What was that noise? It’s said the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is thin this time of year. Just ask your neighbors.
