Bringing Back Sligo

Category: Haunted

• It Was an Interesting Night…Part III

  Posted at 7:19 pm by bringingbacksligo, on August 1, 2019

  So, hearing a male voice when there wasn’t a male was…interesting.  As we all walked up the stairs from the basement I felt like a child again, not wanting to be the last one up and my back feeling so exposed to whatever might be down there.  Because of the male voice on the recording the paranormal team determined that perhaps the energies were more interested in communicating via EVP so we did a few more sessions in the same room of the basement.

  Carl, the only man on the team and who according to him the spirits care less to communicate with, decided to give it a try.  So Carl, my mom, and I went down to the basement.  Carl had barely started the EVP session when we heard Paris call from upstairs that the monitor had gone completely blank.  Everything else was running but the monitor had simply turned off.  Jokingly (though I took him very seriously), Carl said that whatever was in the basement wasn’t interested in talking to him.

  There were experiences that others had making it difficult for me to write about them because it wasn’t my own person having the experience.  Two people saw a shadow in the basement and asked for it to leave as it was not healthy to still be there.  Another person saw a full bodied figure walk near the Cottage.  While I did not see the shadow with my own two eyes I saw the reaction of the person who did and not even Meryl Streep could fake that.

  By 2:00 in the morning we were all wiped out.  We decided to break everything down and call it a night.  I don’t know if the paranormal team were disappointed in the lack of evidence or if this was a typical investigation for them.  Perhaps, when they get back home and review all of the video footage and EVP sessions something else will pop-up that nobody caught in the moment.

  Before the team left they assured me that whatever was in the house meant no harm.  As I looked at them wide-eyed, just a little panicked, Paula told me that when a spirit makes itself known it’s almost as if seeing a mouse; it’s totally unexpected and you may startle but then you calm down (although if I do see a mouse I know two household pets who have failed miserably at their job).  I’ll have to get back to you on exactly how I react to that first time seeing a spirit but I have a feeling it won’t be pretty.  I can say that while the events of the night weren’t so terrifying I still did not leave with a sense of belonging in the house.  Marcus travels so much and I just know the first night he is gone I’ll be calling my ride or die biatch to stay with me (because I’m fairly certain mom is out after this night).

  In the end there was just enough evidence and just enough inexplicable occurrences that there is no way to deny the existence of something in the house.  Sligo’s land is ancient, it’s foundation is nearly 260 years old, the house itself is 130 years old.  Imagine what has come and gone on that land from ancient peoples, to wars, to births and deaths.

  For a slightly more cheery end to this story both of my girls came running into my room the morning after and asked, as if it were Christmas, “Did you see a ghost?!”  When I told them I had not they left, thoroughly disappointed.  I don’t know what Marcus was so worried about.  They clearly think Casper the Ghost is there.

   

  Posted in Haunted, Life, Main House | 0 Comments

• It Was an Interesting Night…Part II

  Posted at 7:48 pm by bringingbacksligo, on July 31, 2019

  Man, the more I think about it the more this may be a three parter…

  So, where were we?  Marcus and I were invited to be a part of the paranormal investigation at Sligo.  It was a no-brainer for me and I immediately said “yes.”  Marcus wasn’t as into the whole thing and opted out.  Damn that logical, engineer brain of his.  We did have one mutual concern though and that was we didn’t want our house to be known as “haunted” and people find out and try to get into into it.  Once we talked it over with the paranormal team we all agreed to do this with complete secrecy.  And now I’m writing about it so, secret’s out.

  Alright, so the day of the investigation the team arrives around 6:00 in the evening and start walking through the house.  On the paranormal team were Carl, Paula, and Paris.  On my “team” were my mom (hi mom!) and my ride or die biatch, Lori.  The two women from the paranormal team were particularly sensitive and I noticed a few times there were some areas of the house that appeared to affect them as they whispered back and forth.  Meanwhile, as we all walked through the house, questions were asked about its history and eyebrows were raised as I gave information such as its use as a small pox hospital.

  Once our tour of the main house was over we stood outside and chatted a bit about what Paula and Paris had felt or seen.  It was hard for them to articulate but it coincided with what I had been told by a previous resident of the house.  To touch on that a little, I haven’t written about what the previous resident told me because it isn’t my story to tell.  With that being said, I was excited for the night’s adventure to find out if I could validate their story.

  Almost immediately at least one experience of the previous resident was validated.  The two women had seen two “elemental energies” peaking out from the attic.  From my very rudimentary knowledge of the paranormal, “elemental energy” is less the energy of a person who passed and more of a natural energy of the surroundings.  It is known to be very impish or childlike in nature.  The very presence of these energies and the room in which they were seen lined up exactly with the previous resident’s story.

  Up to this point, everything was being discussed in front of our girls who listened, eyes wide.  I thought it was a very natural conversation to be having but Marcus was less than thrilled.  I have to admit, our youngest can be difficult challenging impossible and it was right to be concerned how she would eventually react to all of this knowledge.  He and the girls left after that with the youngest believing our conversation was about another person’s house.  Crisis averted.  (Funny side story:  That day I asked the girls what they thought a person should wear to a ghost hunt.  The oldest, and more pragmatic of the two, suggested all black.  The youngest suggested I wear a sheet with eyes and a mouth cut out so I would fit in better.  She then wanted me to be sure to take a picture with the ghost.  So, quite honestly, I don’t know if she was as affected by all of the ghost talk or not.)

  Anyway, after a break for dinner we all regrouped and the task of setting-up for the investigation began.  I never asked if what the paranormal team use for their investigations is proprietary or not so I will assume that it was and leave out detailed information.  Since I used to be an avid “Ghost Hunters” watcher I was feeling pretty confident in my skills and knowledge.  That’s pretty much where it ended though because the second we stepped into Sligo all confidence was lost.

  The first area of the house we wanted to investigate was in the aforementioned second floor room where Paula and Paris had seen the elemental energies.  My heart was pounding, my hands were sweaty (also because it was no less than one million degrees upstairs), and I really wanted to look up towards the attic but was too chicken shit to do so.  Paula and Paris both took turns trying to get the spirits to communicate with various methods but with very little success.  After some time, we went back downstairs.

  Once downstairs Carl told us we had a lot of orb activity that he could see on the monitor he was watching plus he was hearing footsteps from the porch through the foyer.  The next room we chose to look in was on the first floor and judging by the monitor, heavy with orb activity.  I was using a device to detect cold spots and at one point Paris asked me to hold still.  Paris, Lori, and I were all very intently looking at it when I had the distinct feeling that someone was almost cheek to cheek with me as if part of the group, viewing the screen.  I turned my head expecting to see Lori but she was a at least one foot away.  That was my first personal and inexplicable experience of the night.

  From the first floor we made our way to the basement into one room in particular that had seriously affected Paula and Paris when first touring the house.  We conducted an electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) session which consisted of Paula, Paris, my mom, and myself standing in complete silence as someone asks questions.  After about a minute of asking questions, the session ended and we played back the recording to listen for any abnormal noises.  About 10 seconds into the recording a very distinct, male voice can be heard saying “Here we go.”  There were not any men in the basement at that time.

  Posted in Haunted, Life, Main House | 0 Comments

• It Was an Interesting Night…Part I

  Posted at 10:07 pm by bringingbacksligo, on July 30, 2019

  You’re going to have to excuse me and whatever I write because I didn’t get home until 3:00 in the morning and didn’t fall asleep until almost 4.  I was feeling a little wired and anxious over the night’s events and needed about an hour to crawl into bed and decompress which is why it took an hour to fall asleep.  Then, the kids, having a wanton disregard for my comfort, were awake and running into my room around 7 excited to see if I had survived the night.

  I had survived the night though I felt totally hungover.  I think it was a combination of a lack of sleep, dehydration, and (dare I say?) getting older.  I texted my girlfriend who was with me last night, “Is this a sign of aging? *crying emoji crying emoji crying emoji*” and she said it was because she’s usually the voice of reason.  Then we reminisced about how when we were in our 20s we could drink out butts off, go to bed well after 3:00 in the morning, and wake up feeling less crappy.  I don’t necessarily miss those days but I do miss having a little more resiliency.

  By this point, two whole paragraphs in, you’re probably wondering what the heck am I talking about?  So, I shall tell you.  A few months ago I posted on Facebook that every now and then a picture I thought I took at Sligo would not be in the gallery on my phone.  It was a semi-sarcastic/semi-serious post because it is true.  The few times a pictures has gone missing it has always only been pictures I have taken at the house.

  Anyway, the next morning I woke-up to a message from the head of a paranormal investigation team who asked for me to call him.  I did and we talked and I told him the few things I knew about the house and alluded to some experiences I knew others had.  Eventually, and over the course of a month or so, we set-up a time for he and his team to come out and investigate Sligo.  And, the best part out of all of that?  Marcus and I were invited to tag along…

  To be continued…(and yes, I have a very devilish grin right now because I just know there are are a few of you who are probably freaking out reading this).

  Posted in Haunted, Life, Main House | 1 Comment

• Paranormal Activity or User Error?

  Posted at 12:22 pm by bringingbacksligo, on April 14, 2019

  I have hesitated to write about my possible paranormal experience at the house because I don’t want you all to think I am crazy (spoiler alert:  I am).  In all honesty, I cannot say whether I do believe in ghosts though I love a good, real-life ghost story.  I have never experienced a haunting aside from the few times I have been walking up a set of stairs and my brain tells me someone is behind me and I race to the top to escape (and don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about).

  Last week I gave a tour of the house to my friend, her mom, and her mom’s sisters.  We made it to the master bedroom area and from there you can look down, onto the porch roof.  We added snowbirds to the roof which are there to stop ice from falling on a person’s head…I think…I mean, that’s the general idea.  There could be more to them but that’s how I understand their existence.  The ladies that were touring the house didn’t know what they were and suggested I take a picture to add them to the Instagram page with an explanation of what they are.  I did just that, took a picture with my phone and then we moved on.

  Later that evening, I went back to look at the picture and post it to Instagram but it wasn’t there.  No big deal.  User error.  I figured I would take another one next time I went to the house.

  Marcus and I went to the house this past Friday and I specifically ran upstairs before we left so I could take a picture of the snowbirds.  I made sure to check that the picture had been taken and we left.  Again, later that evening, I went to post the picture to Instagram and…it wasn’t there.  Now I don’t know what to think.  I mean, newfangled technology confuses me from time to time but taking a picture is pretty straightforward.  To take a picture of the same thing twice and to somehow lose it twice is strange.

  What do you think?  Is there a friendly spirit messing with me or is it user error?
  Posted in Haunted, Main House | 0 Comments

• Haint Blue

  Posted at 9:30 pm by bringingbacksligo, on March 17, 2019

  The exterior work is really moving along and one of the biggest changes has been with the wraparound porch.  The columns have been repaired, the banisters have been leveled, and everything is getting a fresh coat of paint.  I have learned that tradition dictates for the the porch floor to be painted grey and the porch ceiling painted blue.  And it is the blue ceiling that I am here to write about because I learned a little something Southern that I had never known before (yes, I’m a Virginia girl don’t judge, there are just a few too many Southern traditions and I can’t keep up with all of them…plus this one originates just a little farther south).

  The ceiling of our porch has been painted Benjamin Moore’s Harbor Haze which is a beautiful shade of pale blue that is so pale it almost looks as if the blue of the siding is reflecting onto the ceiling.  I have tried to capture it in a photo but it is so hard to do it justice with a cell phone (I’ll still share it but wanted to make sure you all understand I am not a photographer).  Take my word for it, it’s beautiful but so understated that when you finally do notice it, you point it out to everyone walking by even though they know fully well that the porch ceiling is blue because they were there when it was painted in the first place.

  So, now, on to the “why” the porch ceiling is painted blue.  Some of you may know this answer already so bear with me because I find it fascinating and I think some of our relatives in the North and Midwest will think so as well.  There are actually a few reasons it is said porch ceilings are painted blue.  One is that it keeps the bugs away because they think it is the sky.  That’s cool but kind of boring and I have yet to discover if that’s true or not.

  The second reason porch ceilings are painted blue comes from the Gullah-Geechee people in the Lowcountry of the South.  The Gullah would paint the ceilings of their quarters blue (along with doors, windows, and shutters) in order to ward off ghosts.  The Gullah believed that the blue would confuse the ghosts into thinking it was water which they could not pass through.  The word “ghost” in the Gullah language is “haint” which is where the term “haint blue” comes from.  Eventually, white Southerners adopted the tradition and while it has since lost much of it’s spiritual significance the influence is still there.

  

  Oh gosh, now that I see this on a computer screen it’s hardly clear at all that the ceiling is blue.  If you look closely, you can see the blue over-spray on the white trim…that may help.  Otherwise, you’ll just have to stop by and take a look for yourself.

   

  Posted in Haunted, History, Main House | 0 Comments

• The Mystery of the Caged Skeleton

  Posted at 10:20 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 21, 2019

  If you are an avid reader of this blog (Hi, Mom!) then you may remember a little tidbit about the petrified remains of a soldier being found in a cage on the grounds of Sligo.  The quote I used was from the 1937 Works Progress Administration (WPA) of Virginia Historical Inventory.  Obviously, 1937 was quite a few years after the Civil War and over 150 years after the Revolutionary War.  So, really, the information given had to be taken with a grain of salt if the person was indeed a soldier.

  A very kind reader (surprisingly not my mom because I could have sworn she was the only person tuning in) sent me a list of articles pertaining to Sligo which sent me back to the Virginiana Room at the local library.  I received a fantastic tutorial on how to use the microfilm machine and a whole new world opened up.  As I was searching for articles I had a great time scanning what was news for the late 1800s.  My personal favorite was what appeared to be an opinion piece lamenting the fact that women wanted to be more like men and, if that’s the case, then could they please give up all of their fancy hats with feathers because the bird population is suffering?!

  Anyway, that’s not why we’re here.  We want gore!  Not “birds being killed to make elegant hats” gore but “men being left in metal cages” gore!  So, as it turns out, in 1899 there was indeed the remains of a man found in a metal cage though not on the grounds of Sligo.  Whew!  I mean, I am sorry that a person died and was put in a metal cage but at least it wasn’t at Sligo.

  The part of the story that is really disturbing is the cage was in the shape of a human body and most likely the person in it was deemed a “lunatic.”  I question who it was that deemed the poor soul a lunatic and I question the tactics used for treatment.  Thank God, mental health wellness has come such a long way in the last 130 years because just a few short months ago someone might have been shoving me into a metal cage, citing lunacy.

  Below is the article which gives more information about the finding of the body and that a first body had been similarly found in King George (neighboring county) a few years prior.

  

  Article retrieved from the Fredericksburg Daily Star, April 14 1899.

   

  Posted in Grounds, Haunted, History | 2 Comments

• A Belated Halloween

  Posted at 5:10 pm by bringingbacksligo, on November 1, 2018

  Happy Halloween!  I know, it’s a day late and a buck short.  Is that the saying?  I tend to get those wrong.  Earlier today I told Marcus that by doing something I would only be adding “fuel to the fodder” and as I said it I knew it was wrong but I didn’t care.  And yes, it’s most redundant but let’s just go with it.

  For a hot second (now I know that’s correct) I had toyed with the idea of having a little Halloween ghost hunt party at Sligo but I lost my nerve.  Plus, it gets complicated with two little ones who actually participate in trick-or-treating and once they heard about the idea of a party they thought they would be involved and everything fell apart before it even began.

  Also, I don’t really think the house is haunted.  It is scary looking but that’s only because of its current state of disrepair.  Besides, when I took our dog into the house he seemed right at home.  He is a giant galoot but I figured if there were an otherworldly presence then an animal would be the one to sense it.  I was concerned he would start staring at something only he could see and he never did so either the house is not haunted or he was too busy being a pain in the ass to notice (honestly it’s probably the latter).

  I am surprised that we didn’t get any calls from the police this past weekend or last night.  I figured there would be kids daring each other to go up to the house on Halloween night.  One day I hope I can be at the house giving out giant candy bars to those brave kiddos who make that long walk up the driveway.  There was a house like that in my childhood neighborhood.  It was scary only because it was old and big and had a small family cemetery behind it.  I remember building up the nerve on the last Halloween living in that particular neighborhood and was greatly rewarded with a giant candy bar so now I’m ready to pay it forward.

  Anyway, on to Thanksgiving and then Christmas we go.  The plan is to be the living in the Cottage House after Christmas but at this exact moment there aren’t any walls and the floors are rotted so…maybe it will be Easter by the time we move.  Again.

  Posted in Cottage, Haunted, Holidays, Main House | 1 Comment

• Sleeping

  Posted at 7:47 am by bringingbacksligo, on August 9, 2018

  Marcus travels a lot.  It’s become only slightly easier to deal with as the years go by but, with that being said, every new house we move into brings with it a period of time in which I have to readjust.  Mostly the readjustment period is me dealing with irrational fears of being home alone with the kids and something scary happening like an intruder or a fire but it has definitely resulted in a few sleepless nights.

  I may or may not have mentioned the fact that I’m a worrier.  Someone needs to be in this family.  For example, I am the type of person that takes the tornado warnings seriously, gathering the children and pets and huddling in the bathroom.  Marcus is the type of person who sees the warning and rolls back over to sleep.  So, I don’t know if that’s a worrier problem or just a protective mother problem but either way I suppose it’s a problem when it affects my sleep (’cause Lord knows I love my sleep).

  So, now I find myself having sleepless nights worrying about how I’m going to fall asleep the first night that Marcus is gone and I find myself alone in the new house.  For one, the house has been vacant, and the whole area knows it, and I’m worried someone is going to try and get in.  Secondly, I’m worried that the house is so old the wiring will set it on fire.

  I’m also worried that the ghosts are going to get me or are going to mess with my girls Scratch that, I’m more worried about them messing with me…the girls can fend for themselves in this case.  If something sits on my bed in the middle of the night, I’m out (and there’s a very real chance of this happening because we have a cat and I’m more of a react now ask questions later type of person).  It’s every man for himself in the night if ghosts are involved.

  There you have it.  I can’t sleep for fear of not being able to sleep.  That could be the very definition of crazy.

  Posted in Haunted, Life, Main House | 3 Comments

• The Basement

  Posted at 8:11 am by bringingbacksligo, on August 3, 2018

  Of all the places in the house, the basement is by far the spookiest mostly due to the fact that there is an absolute lack of light.  There are windows but those are boarded up and, even if there were working lights, I have a fear of turning on a light and a spark flaring up and a line of fire trailing up a wall, burning down the house (seriously, watch The Money Pit if you haven’t already).

  On a recent trip to the house I was able to ascertain that there are not any human remains in the very large trunks that have been left behind so that was a relief (and if you think that thought didn’t really cross my mind you would be wrong).  The entire basement would be fantastic for a Halloween party or a seance or even a virgin sacrifice if that’s what you’re into.

  

  Why?

  In the end what I really want from the basement is a full apartment that can be rented on Airbnb or a space for guests to stay in (I won’t charge family and friends the full Airbnb price but you’ll still need to bring your own linens).  Renovating the basement comes with it’s own set of challenges, a lack of light being only one of those.  From the outside entrance to the basement is an old coal pit and where the boiler is currently located.  Saving this would not only preserve the history of the house but also add a uniqueness to the space as the current plan for it is to be a kitchen.  From the old coal pit would be a bathroom, a living space, and a bedroom.  Both the living space and bedroom have exposed brick walls and beams and I wonder what their use was 100 years ago.  If anyone out there is an old home expert I would love your opinion!

  

  The coal pit, where a future kitchen will be.

  

  The future bedroom.

  

  The future living space.

  Posted in Haunted, Main House | 6 Comments

• The House Wants Blood

  Posted at 8:00 am by bringingbacksligo, on July 27, 2018

  I have jokingly stated that this house is haunted but, in all seriousness, this house is haunted.  At the very least there is a petrified British soldier lurking around, thinking he’s still alive, fighting a war.  This doesn’t even take into account the people who most certainly passed away peacefully in their beds and whose souls wander the halls of the home they once inhabited.  While the current house did not witness the horrors of war who’s to say what negative energy may be within the structure and land.

  The day we closed on Sligo Marcus took his brother, Jonas, to see the house.  It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that the house has been vacant for 10 years and, as such, has suffered it’s fair share of vandalism (which is only one of the myriad of reasons I was hesitant to buy this house).  So, when Marcus and Jonas arrived at the house they noticed a window had been newly broken.  I don’t know why Marcus felt compelled to fix the window (the house did it) because half of the windows are broken anyway and going to be replaced so what’s one more?  But, attempt to fix it he did and, in doing so, accidentally hit his right pointer finger on the broken glass which promptly “gushed blood” (his words, not mine and Lord Almighty am I glad I wasn’t there).

  You can then imagine my surprise when a few hours later I called to ask how the closing went and discovered Marcus and Jonas were at the hospital because Marcus needed stitches.  Imagine my even further surprise when I called hours after that and discovered they were still at the hospital because, as it turns out, Marcus had not only cut his finger he had severed the tendon by 50%.

  There are a few of you reading today that know my husband, Marcus, on a personal level and there are a few of you who do not.  For those of you who do not know Marcus very well, know this:  Through the years he has been known to break bones, need stitches, collapse lungs (twice), electrocute himself (resulting in hospitalization), and, in general seriously injure himself frequently.  In 2010 he fractured his skull and six weeks later fractured his collar bone.  Since then it’s mostly been black eyes and maybe some stitches here and there but this is all to say that Marcus was long overdue for another serious injury.

  Marcus’s injury has since resulted in a surgery which has left his right hand incapacitated at the moment.  The timing couldn’t be worse as we gear-up to move and still have many, many projects to finish at the current house (remember that fixer upper before this fixer upper).  Will the house be happy and leave us alone after this?  Or is this just the beginning?

  

  Thank you, Marcus and Jonas, for sharing this extremely close-up picture of a gaping wound.

  

  Marcus’s current situation.  I can’t lie, I laughed a little when I saw this picture of Marcus’s hand after the surgery.

  Posted in Haunted, Injuries, Main House | 1 Comment

• Recent Posts

  • It Was an Interesting Night…Part III August 1, 2019
  • It Was an Interesting Night…Part II July 31, 2019
  • It Was an Interesting Night…Part I July 30, 2019
  • One Year Anniversary July 27, 2019
  • How’s the Cottage Coming Along? July 20, 2019
  • Sligo as a Hospital July 18, 2019

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  We have original floors! In the second parlor the floor was covered with vinyl and showed remnants of carpet so we weren't sure what to expect when the vinyl came up. Luckily the vinyl had been put down on subflooring and I suspect that's what preserved the original wood flooring. I can't wait to see them restored. #bringingbacksligo #victorian #italianate #renovation #restoration #fredericksburgva #originalhardwoodfloors #huzzah

  Marcus recently had an interview published in a newsletter where he works. Most of it was about his job but the very last question was more personal. I took the liberty of fixing it because I don't think the interviewer got it quite right. #bringingbacksligo #life #keepingitreal #mawwiage

  Hello, friend! A giant praying mantis found a good spot to hang out on the side porch. #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #prayingmantis

  "Hey, history buffs. How *you* doin'?" (Say in Joey Tribianni voice) #gratuitouspuppicture #slownewsday #friends #joeytribbiani #axelvontepaske #germanshorthairedpointer #bringingbacksligo #fredericksburgva

  The bricks of the basement. My mom is the one who noticed the pattern in the second picture in which some of the bricks appear to be laid with the end facing out. Also, the "Xs" across the third picture have no meaning to me but maybe someone else has an explanation for what they mean/are for? #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #englishbasement #oldbrick #renovation #restoration

  What do you and your other half do late at night? Me and mine? We drive out to Sligo and use a laser level to mark lines around the entire Cottage. #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #restoration #renovation #cottagehouse #thisisntweirdatall #ifyouonlyknewmyhusband