My Mother used to work in a Haunted house...

In the Sun~shiny days when my Father was still alive my family all of us lived in Summerville SC. It was such a sleepy town with large oak trees and moss hanging down from them. The trees lined many of the streets in the beautiful older home section of the town. Unfortunately my Fathers gone and my parents moved to Charlottesville Virginia another pretty place at least.

My Mother had obtained part time work as a tour guide at beautiful Middleton Place in Charleston. This is no long story but my Mom used to close up, and everyone had left the office. Mom had the keys to lock up. Strange about haunting's but I do believe there are Spirits and that they do roam. One evening she was finishing up and heard foot steps, someone walking upstairs. Now she knew everyone had gone but called up the stairs anyway, but of course No answer! Another time she smelled pipe smoke. She did not like to be there any longer than she had to, got out quickly and went home! Some of the guides would joke as they had heard some things too and would say it was Arthur Middleton roaming. Scary!

Middleton Place today:

MIDDLETON PLACE is a National Historic Landmark and a carefully preserved 18th-century plantation that has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake. It was the home of four important generations of Middleton's, beginning with Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Henry, Governor of South Carolina and an American Minister to Russia; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession.

The House Museum, built by Henry Middleton in 1755 as a gentleman's guest quarters, is the only surviving portion of the three-building residential complex that once stood overlooking the Ashley River. The House contains one of the finest collections of family-owned artifacts. Expect to see Middleton family furniture, paintings, books and documents dating from the 1740s through the 1880s. Guided tours of the house introduce visitors to the men, women and children who made Middleton Place their home for over two centuries.

Have you ever lived in a haunted place?

I am wondering what experiences others have had with odd happenings in any dwellings they ever lived in. Thus the name of this post is have you ever lived in a haunted house? Well many years ago my X and I our 2 children and newborn Son...lived in a really small town of Lodge SC. We had been living in Summerville a sweet sleepy town in SC. Well we got the hair brained idea to answer an ad to rent a house way out in the country I guess bc we had horses. We went to look at the house and it was so very old and fell in love with it! This house was in the middle of No wheres really. Sometimes I look back and wonder why'd did we do some of thing's we did! We moved our kids Kitty's and horses out there. Lodge was really a beautiful place outside the more thriving town of Walterboro. The house had big old pecan trees in the backyard. This house was made of heart pine, heart pine nowadays is illegal to use bc it is a wood made from the heart of the pine tree and highly flammable. My then husband told me if you were to put a lighter to the house it would immediately start (slowly) to take the flame. The house was darkly stained probably from weathering. It was so old the house had to be at least 125 years old. The kitchen was separated by a small bridge from the rest of the house back then I'm sure to keep the heat from the main house. Al tho the house had No secret things ie passages it was quite a majestic large old home. The house was on a corner in the middle of no wheres and I guess you could say the crows in the fall were some of our only friends when the pecans started falling! I remember how noisy they were!
But getting back to being haunted. We had been living there several months and after I would get my young kids off to school I would lie down to briefly rest bf I officially get up. My dog Cindy an Aussie stayed in the house with us. But funny how she had never barked one time. One day and this was very early in the mornings I heard the kitchen cabinet's banging as if someone was in the kitchen and was cleaning up and slammed a few cabinets shut. The sound was un mistakenly of cabinet's slamming and it was pretty creepy. And this would go on about 3 days a week. I would run as fast as I could down to the kitchen but no Nothing was ever a miss! My Daughter had been home several times and she too remembers the noise.
I had a a very close elderly Christian woman at the time tell me Janet you must anoint the doors front and back and all the door frames inside with oil and announce to "whatever" was in the house that this is "The house of the Lord and in His name I order you to get out". So I did this and stood on some Bible verses and after that the the goings on stopped. I was thankful to the Lord it stopped! Halloween is one of my most favourite holidays But for me and my house I did not want any "entity" inside of it!
Finally my husband was able to obtain work in the Charleston area again and as sweet as that old house was...it was time to leave. This is the only time I have ever lived with "something" amiss in my house!

Some Absolutely Wonderful reading for Halloween!

When my children Jenny and Kibbie were about 7 and 8 I found the greatest Author and her name is Ruth Chew. Ruth Chew lives in Brooklyn NY and mentions streets and parks which is neat as I remember those places as I visited them as a child going to see my Norweigen Grandparents. She was way before all the Magic and Harry Potter books out now. I stumbled across them in Barnes and Noble but now a days ones lucky to find her books at all. I had to go on Ebay to find many of the ones that were lost in a move years ago.

The "Witches Buttons". The story revolves around a witch who cast a spell on these buttons, one was actually a man/wizard who she shrank down to button size and another was a flying saucer. The two friends find these things out as they go along, and the story twists and turns with surprises every step of the way. One scene has the two friends shrinking down in size, so they can fit into the flying saucer button and then take it for a ride, to spy on the witch.

Next is the "Magic Coin". The boy and a girl that found a coin they called Juan Pablo. It has a man with a little bearded face that is magic. He took the boy and girl on an adventure with pirates!

Also is "The Trouble with Magic". Harrison Peabody, a good-natured wizard who has a few "kinks" to iron out in his magic and his problems with an umbrealla who will only work when it rains and a Sea serpent in a large lake in Brooklyn!

Ruth Chews written many more than these and here I have only mentioned a few. This is reading for young people but I have found All of her books simply deightful!

The Texas Renaissance festival is here again..

The Texas Renaissance festival is here once again October 11th to November 30th 9 AM to dusk right outside the small town of Magnolia. I think we shall go to the Highland segment as husband is from Scotland. I think tho it will make him sad when we go bc Scotland is so old~worldy every place you go and incredably beautiful. I am surprised tho he has not lately said lets go home! Who knows what is ahead?! Anyway off to do things as it is past lunchtime and I have spoken to my Mum~in~law today besides that Ive done nothing else for shame!
Have a lovely day to all who stumble upon my blog!

For a bewitching Halloween eve..

This is a fave of mine and is entered into the Art bead Scene contest. Many enteries for the month of October! Who knows maybe I shall win?!

What I have been up to..

Well Ron and I went to our 2nd glass class and it was really wonderful. learned some more glass secrets. Secrets are wonderful arent they bc you hold them close to your heart! We made some nice tiger beads and learned also to use Silver foil. Using Silver foil is easy but to see things done in person...watching and remembering ie irreplaceable knowlege. It was an all day class and lunch was served. What a delightful day.