When we decided as a group to write about horror houses this month, my thoughts immediately went to the old delapidated structure that I used to explore as a kid. Back before there were computers, cable TV with eight million channels, Playstations, and cell phones, I had the woods surrounding my house as my sole source of entertainment.
Limited technology aside, we knew how to use our imaginations and this run down house/barn was the perfect place to dream it all up. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to explore in a structure that was probably condemmed, but what else is a kid to do when faced with the unknown?
This photo is the closest I could find to show what the house/barn looked like. Maybe not scary now, but add an extra floor, surround it by trees, and throw some shadows in and you have your very own horror house!
I remember crawling inside through broken wooden beams, hoping that a ghost wouldn’t attack me. I swore there would be something haunting the place, in fact, I believe my neighbors and I came up with an elaborate story about how someone was killed by an axe murderer somewhere inside.
There were cobwebs and dusty, smashed furnature inside. Plenty of things to tease the imagination. I so wish there was a photo of this old place, but alas I didn’t think of that back in the 80s and there was no Google so alas no lasting record. All I have is the memory of exploration and the romanticized idea that the structure was haunted.
Kathy Palm
Great memories! Imagination is the best.