I wanted to give everyone an update on the activity in our home, that has been occurring since about the middle of August of 2009.  We live in New Braunfels, Texas at the moment, with four of our five children.  Our oldest daughter is 13, and she seems to be the conduit that attracts these spirits to our home.  They are generally seen in or around the stairway, and are seen as shadow figures, orbs, bright figures, and now we are seeing actual full apparitions. 

Since August, my husband and I moved into the bedrooms upstairs, and all of the kids sleep together in the master bedroom downstairs.  This way they are as far away from the stairway as possible.  Anyway, after we put the kids to bed last night my daughter called me down to the bedroom because she was hearing footsteps in the attic.  Then she said she was also hearing voices, but she could not make out what they were saying.  I stayed with her in the bedroom for a while and then she began to get frustrated because she does not know why they won’t just leave her alone.  She said that all she wants to do is to be able to sleep.  I feel so bad for her.  We sat there and listened with her, but she said that they soon stopped.  I decided to just let her come up stairs and sleep with me, so that the both of us could get some sleep.

Well, she seemed to fall asleep pretty quickly, but I stayed awake for a bit, because I was feeling like something followed us up stairs.  I was trying to get comfortable when I heard footsteps and something in the attic.  I turned to the sound and heard it a couple more times, and then it settled down.  I didn’t tell my daughter this, but earlier before I went down to her bedroom, I was lying in the bed trying to get comfortable when I felt something grab my exposed leg, and it happened just as she called me down. 

We really are not afraid of these spirits anymore, we have gotten quite used to them.  The only problem is that they do not let us rest.  A good nights seep would be wonderful.  We will be moving soon, and I know that it will not solve our problem, but I am going to do my best to make these spirits stay right here in this house.

The Leonis Adobe House was built in 1844, and is one of the oldest surviving homes in the area.  It is located in what is now Calabasas, California.  It was registered with the The National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and now serves as a museum. 

Leonis Adobe, acquired the house in the mid 1800’s.  He purchased half of the property from its dying owner, but the second half he acquired by marrying a widowed mission Indian named Espiritu Chujilla.  She lived with Leonis in the house for 30 years, until 1889 when he was killed after suffering from injuries received when he was run over by his own wagon.  His Will was read soon after his death, and in it, he denied Espiritu as his wife, and referred to her as his “Faithful Housekeeper.”  The property was worth $1,000,000.00 at the time of his death, he left Espiritu $10,000.00, and left the remaining property to his siblings.  There was a 15 year legal battle over the estate, and Espiritu suffered greatly.  Having no money, she was forced to eat what she could find or hunt down, sometimes eating the acorns that she picked off of the ground.  Even though several witnesses testified that Leonis acknowledged Espiritu as his wife, his siblings wanted the estate.  She even showed them the grave of their only daughter who died before adulthood.  His name was on the grave, identifying him as her father.  Anyway, she ended up being awarded half of the estate, but was taken advantage of by lawyers, and lost all of the property by bogus lawsuits. Espiritu lived in the Leonis Adobe house until her death in 1906, at which time her son, by her first marriage, moved his family into the home. 

The house was named one of the most haunted places in Los Angeles, and was featured on the British television show “Most Haunted” in 2005.  Many of the people that work and visit the house have reported having paranormal experiences.  There have been reports of very clearly heard voices on both levels of the home, but when checked, there is never anyone to be found.  A shadow figure of a woman on the upstairs balcony has been reported seen by passers by.  There was even a report of a woman who was standing on the balcony, who was pulled back by an invisible set of hands, at the exact time that the balcony collapsed.  Leonis himself, has been seen walking his dog, and even on his deathbed.  Footsteps on the upper floor and stairways, and a strong smell of soap, are always a commonly reported experience. 

I honestly can’t wait to take my family to the house.  I am looking forward to taking some good pictures and maybe even asking Espiritu to take one with me.  If you have any stories to share, please email me at lisa@scarygeek.com.  I would love to read them, and with permission, post them to my site.

Another thing that has been happening quite frequently, is that our children continue to see and hear something in the downstairs bathroom.  I don’t get it, but they will be fine one minute and the next they are running out of the bathroom screaming.  I have gone in to investigate, but have found nothing.  I even close the door now when they take a bath or they won’t stay in the tub…..its crazy.  I know that some of these things may just be imagination, but I also know the experiences that I had as a child, and they can also be very real.  I can’t just ignore their fears, but I can try to help them through them by not being afraid and trying to explain things to them so they will understand.

1. A sudden decrease in temperature of about 10 degrees or more.
2. A sudden sense that someone, or something, is watching you.
3. Sometimes there will be a feeling of uneasiness, or your gut instincts.
4. You may have a sudden onset of the chills and every hair on your body may stand on end.
5. You may see something out of the corner of your eye.
6. Your compass won’t point north, and is moving in all directions.
7. Your EMF meter is showing a positive reading, and there are no other reasons it should be.
8. You may hear voices, talking or singing.
9. You may feel something or someone touch you, brush your hair back, or tap your shoulder.
10. It may just appear right before your eyes no questions asked.

Things have settled down some since the apple and comic book offering. I guess “he” really did just want us to acknowledge his presence or really just wanted an apple and a comic book! The most activity that I have noticed since the offering is the fan light switches being pulled, some light foot steps, the feeling that someone is there watching me and a shadow or movement in the hallway. I have had to deal with this type of thing for most of my life but no matter how long you have had to deal with it it is still startling to me at first. Especially when they have been keeping the contact to a minimum and step it up when your least expecting it.

Well, yesterday Sera text me asking if I was in the kitchen. Of course, I told her no because I was sleeping. She said that she can hear dishes moving around and is now hearing some voices. I asked her if she was okay or did she need me to come down and she replied that she would be okay. So we both just went back to sleep. I guess we are getting used to the idea of sharing our space. I have even gotten to the point that I am talking to them when I notice they are around, and just thank them for being here. I usually get a quick flicker of the lights in return. Now I just have to work myself up to trying to talk to them at two in the morning so I can find out who “he” is. Yes, that still scares me…..but I am getting there.