This story a part of the True Ghost Stories page on Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page. Please do not copy or distribute without permission from Obiwan and/or the original author!
From: DARRIN TINGEY (tingeys8@allwest.net)
To: "'obiwan@netcom.com'" (obiwan@netcom.com)
Subject: FW: ghosts from Tonya
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 11:05:26 -0700
Hi there fellow ghost hunters!
Well the exciting news is that I saw a show last night from our KJAZZ TV station (only from Utah) called Paranormal Borderline. Do you get that show where you live? Anyway, they had one ghost story on it and I'd like to recap it for all of you. I hope that I get all the details right. Later I'll post some ghost stories of my own. Here's the one from the show:
In Ventura, California, there is a home and a business that are haunted. The lady's name, who owns the house, is Linda Van Der Wyke (I'm not sure I spelled the 'Wyke' part of her name right.) I don't think that she's married. Anyway, in this house there is a bad spirit and a protective, good spirit. The bad spirit tries to burn the house down every now and then and the good spirit wakes up Linda and leads her to the fire.
On the night that Linda moved in, she was asleep and alone when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Linda said that she wasn't scared when she awoke. She walked into the other room and there was a fire going in her fireplace. Linda hadn't build a fire that night. Then she said that she had words come into her head that she should be very careful about fire in this house. Another time, Linda saw smoke and ran to her front door where the smoke was coming from and found two trash cans melted to the ground. The evil ghost has tried several times to burn the house down. Luckily, Linda escapes. One fire started in her room right out of thin air and another fire started in the attic that almost trapped Linda in the house. Authorities investigating this fire said that it was started on purpose.
Linda then took in roommates. Several of her roommates have felt the evilness of the one ghost and the goodness of the second ghost. The evil ghost has been seen by Linda's roommate as a charred man standing at her bedroom door at the same time each night. And the good ghost has been seen sitting in an old chair -- A lady in her early 40's wearing a dress and looking kind and friendly. Even though the charred man keeps trying to burn the house down, Linda won't leave because she feels that the house is charmed because of the good ghost.
Linda wanted to find out about the ghosts, so she did some investigating throughout the house. Her roommate said that she was terrified to go down into the basement because of the scarey feelings that it gave her. So Linda went down into the basement to see what she could find. Finally she pulled open a cupboard. Behind it was the beams holding up the rest of the house. They had been in a fire long ago, but the house is still standing o.k. Anyway, Linda called in a ghost hunter who had special equipment and he was testing the place for energy readings or something of that sort when he tested this old chair. His machine about shorted out because the reading was so strong. This is the same chair that Linda and her roommates have seen the good lady spirit sitting in.
Linda thinks that the charred man is the evil ghost that was burned in the house fire. The ghost hunter says that something pretty awful must have happened and that this event has left a scar on the house, trapping this charred man here on earth.
Linda found out who the original owner was and that he had also owned a flower shop downtown Ventura. The flower shop has a new owner and he has changed it to the "Phantom Bookstore". This place is haunted too. He says that books fly from their shelves and that the doors open and close by themselves. Linda thinks that the owner of both the house and the old flower shop is her charred ghost. But she has no idea of who the lady in her early 40's is who protects her from the charred man. All the same, Linda won't leave because she feels that she is well protected.
Creepy no doubt. I think that seeing a charred man at my bedroom door every night would be just as scarey as seeing Freddy Krueger from the movie Nightmare on Elm Street.
I must go for now. Happy ghost hunting --- Tonya Tingey
P.S. I am interested also in guardian angels. I had one visit me when I was younger. But that's another story for another day!! Anyone who would like to write and share stories of guardian angels or protective spirits with me, please e-mail me at dtingey@allwest.net. I love penpals also. See ya!!!!