San Bernardino House
When I was around 8years old - in the early 70's - my parents moved my family to arental house in San Bernardino, California from another localtown. It had probably been built in the 1950's or 60's and was atwo-story tract home on the end of a culdesac with the usualyard, garage and close proximity to its neighboring homes.
At first all seemed well, it was in good condition and not unlikethe house I had lived in until then. We all had our own rooms andmy eldest brother (then a senior in high school) took possessionof the very large room and bath on top of the garage. It wouldhave normally been a rec or family room but now it was turnedinto a very hip teenaged boys room, complete with stereo andstrobe light (this was the 70's remember...). This room wasseparated from the rest of the house by a long stairway from thekitchen area to the top of the garage. The rest of the bedroomswere on the other side of the kitchen and living room and down along hallway.
My mother noticed the first signs of trouble when our very largedog did not want to come inside the house after we had beenliving there only a short while. He was raised indoors and a veryspoiled house dog who slept on our beds. He also wasn't afraid ofmuch and absolutely a guardian to house and child alike. Soonafterwards a cold spot developed in the hallway near ourbedrooms, at first just a drop in temperature but becoming almosta physical barrier that one had to push through to get down thehall.
In time my brothers upstairs bedroom began to take on apositively creepy aura. My mother commented that she haddiscovered some tiny white insect that she had never seen beforeliving in the carpet. She said they hopped away from her whenevershe vacuumed the carpet. They never appeared in the rest of thehouse, which had typical southern California wall-to-wallcarpeting. One weekend while my brother was away a little girlstayed over with me for a slumber party. We were allowed to sleepin the very cool teenagers upstairs bedroom (where it was such ahuge privilege to be allowed in and where we could giggle allnight and not keep the family awake!) We were tucked into bed butfound that we could not sleep. Instead of girlful mirth we laythere in apprehension over the little attached bathroom. Mymother must have sensed this for after awhile she came up andasked if we'd like to sleep downstairs. We both nodded and shotout of there like young deer on the run!
My brother eventually stopped sleeping in that room. He was ahigh school football captain, well over six-feet tall andpowerfully built, well capable of taking care of himself. Inaddition he was a very intelligent young man and I never rememberhim having an outburst about anything. Late one night my fatherheard music coming from the upstairs stereo and went to the footof the stair. He said that he saw someone standing near the topof the tall, narrow (and fairly dark, if I remember correctly)stairway. Assuming it was his oldest son he gave the order forthe music to be turned down and everyone to get into bed (withtwo teens in the house that order was issued on a regular basis.)The figure retreated up the stair and the music was turned downor off. On his way back to his own room my father passed his sonasleep on the sofa with a blanket and pillow. He hadn't been ableto sleep up there for some time and there was no one else upthere.
We moved shortly thereafter, after renting it for less than ayear. We had occasion to drive past the house in question onseveral occasions thereafter - to visit old neighbors or out ofmorbid curiosity - but that house was always "For Rent byOwner". This is the true account as best I can remember it.