Hey, Readers. Welcome to another Mystery Monday. This month’s posts are events that either happened to me or to members of my family. This one is a mystery—one that some people might chalk up to someone’s active imagination. I have my opinion, but I’ll let you decide.
My mother was forty-two years old when I was born. She grew up in North Texas and lived during the years of the Great Depression. Her father was a textile worker. When she was a teenager, the family moved from Fort Worth to Dallas and lived in the area around Love Field Airport.
In the 1930s much of the southern plains were in a period of severe drought, known as the Dust Bowl. While Dallas wasn’t affected like towns in the panhandle, Mom said the summers were hot, dry, and often without so much as a breeze blowing. It was on such a day that Mom, her sister Mary, and four friends decided to explore an empty house.
According to Mom, in those days people didn’t lock houses after moving out. This particular house was a large-two story structure with a front porch and a wide and heavy solid wood front door. As excepted, the girls found the front door unlocked, so they went inside, exploring every room, nook, and cranny.
At one time, someone had been murdered in one of the upstairs rooms, and Mom said the blood stain was still visible on the hardwood floor. The back entrance of the house was locked, so the only way for someone to enter was through the front. Once they finished looking through each room, the six girls went back outside to sit on the front porch.
Image courtesy of Pixabay
Being teenage girls, they imagined what it would be like to live in the house. It was large enough to accommodate several people, so they talked about how they would divide the rooms. Suddenly, on that hot, dry, windless summer day, they heard someone throwing a lasso. The heavy front door slowly closed.
Frightened, the girls took off, running in different directions. One of them lived with her grandparents a couple of doors away. When she told her grandfather, he and her brother immediately went to the house and looked throughout each room. No one was there, and no one had an explanation for the sound. Needless to say, the girls didn’t return to that place. Mom said the house burned to the ground not long afterward.
I was only a child when Mom first told me this story, and it always fascinated me. Years later, when I was a teenager, one of Dad’s sisters and her husband came to visit. Mom and Dad rarely entertained people in the living room. Everyone sat around the kitchen table, talking, and drinking coffee.
Often, I would join them as they often reminisced and told stories of things that happened before I was born. On this day, they must have talked about unexplained events. My uncle said, “Joan, there was a house near Love Field where you could hear the sound of a lasso being thrown, and the door would close by itself. I’ve seen and heard it myself.”
I’ll never forget the surprised look on Mom’s face. She was unaware that Uncle Melvin had heard the sound, and he didn’t know she had.
I’m inclined to believe this event wasn’t the product of over-active imaginations. What do you think?
35 Responses
I live not far from Love Field but I’ve never heard of this story before but I’ve only lived here 23 years. It is a very interesting story. I have to say, I have no clue.
Yes, that was a long time ago, Thomas. This same group of girls had an adventure on Bachman’s Lake when they rented a boat. Nothing like a “ghost” story, however.
You are right, it was a very long time ago, which is probably why I did not hear of it before. I’ve heard of other ghost stories from where I grew up in northern Sweden, as well as lots of stories about vitterfolk (small invisible people) and gnomes. However, what is lacking are trustworthy recordings that can be examined by the appropriate scientists, which is why I in general take these stories with a grain of salt. But you never know. It is a great story in any case.
This is an interesting story, Joan 🙂 I can easily imagine the girls investigating the house and running off after that. I liked adukts investgated it too. But for it to be confirmed like that years later, there really did have to be something to it!
Yes, they were both surprised the other heard the sound. Not to mention they didn’t know one another at the time it happened.
That’s a cool story. Is it possible your uncle heard about it and was a joker to bring it up that way?
Anything is possible, but he acted serious.
Interesting story. I know what my opinion would be, especially if no wind was blowing and the door was solid and heavy.
Me too, Jeanne. And I would have ran as well!
Whoa, your mom had quite the experience! I don’t discount the possibility of ghosts or some kind of residual energy because there are things of this universe we have yet to understand.
I agree. There are a lot of things that we just can’t explain.
Since neither person knew the other had experienced the same thing, why not? Things happen we can’t explain.
I totally agree, Judi!
😊
I think houses live energetically. When we walk into a home, don’t we all feel welcomed or not, anxious or peaceful — and so much more. I’ve had experiences I cannot explain logically – some scary, some tearful, some comforting. I believe your mom and uncle experienced an existing reality – we just don’t have the words to explain it. ❤️
Thanks, Gwen. I know that I have seen houses (without even going inside) that gave me bad vibes. Not knowing the history of them, who knows why?
I’ve seen and heard too many things to discount eerie similarities like that. Fascinating post, Joan.
Yep, this one always made me wonder…
Two independent sources make it more likely that the sound and door happened. The cause? Now that’s the mystery. Thanks, Joan.
One that we’ll likely never know, John. But if I did know, the story wouldn’t be so intriguing.
True enough. 😁
Ooo, that brings shivers. First you have all four girls hearing the sound (and seeing the door close), which in itself seems unlikely—but the fact that your mother and uncle both experienced the same thing? That’s too odd. Something unusual definitely took place!
I’d be curious to learn the history of the people who lived there, and whether or not a lasso ever factored into anything that happened. I sense a story in that one, Joan! 🙂
I’ve certainly considered using this story as background for a novel or novella. Thanks, Mae!
Very creepy, Joan, and well told. Highly believable!
Thanks, Nancy.
Overactive imagination or not, it’s a great story. With that many accounts, you never know.
So true, Teri.
That is quite the story. I also recall going through an unoccupied old house on the prairies. In one closet we found some old grave markers. It sure scared us and we ran out of the house as fast as we could. You should use your mom’s experience in a story.
I don’t blame you, Darlene. I would have run too. I’ve thought of using this in a story. I have used some family stories as a basis for my fiction.
As we do. I included the grave markers in one of my Amanda stories.
Finding grave markers in a closet would have scared me, too!
I’m inclined to think that the phenomenon actually happened.
Me too, Liz. Some things we just can’t explain.
Being a large house and considering the time period, it may have been a boarding house at one time, and if so, many people would have stayed there. I’d say there was definitely a restless cowboy still roaming the place, perhaps looking for someone, or maybe he was a trick roper practicing his craft. I love these personal stories, and how awesome that your uncle verified the story without your mother’s knowledge!
Good thoughts, Jan. Hadn’t thought about a restless cowboy. Yes, I thought it was pretty cool about my uncle.