Halloween Ghost Stories

At the Window

Stacey sat sprawled out on the sofa in her living room. She was planning a night of watching TV and eating chocolate ice cream. The gas fire in the room was on full blast, filling the room with warmth.

As she got comfortable on a large, plush sofa, she heard a tapping on the large living room window. Stacey looked in the direction of the closed curtains and felt a shiver of fear run through her. Stacey stood up and then walked in the direction of the noise; tentatively she pulled back the curtains and stared into the darkness outside. Then she noticed a twig from the tree outside her house tapping gently on the window. Stacey then laughed at herself for being so afraid of the dark. She drew the curtain closed again and went back to the sofa.

As she sat back down, Stacey still felt a little uneasy but she put this down to watching too many scary films over the years. As she became engrossed in a programme on TV, she again heard tapping at the window. Stacey tried to tell herself that it was just the twig that she had seen the first time she looked outside, but this tapping sounded louder than before.

The tapping continued, and as Stacey stood up to investigate, she could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest, and her palms felt very clammy. Stacey reached out her hand a grabbed part of the curtain. Stacey hesitated slightly before pulling the curtain back.

Stacey stared at the face looking in through the window at her, it was the face of a girl with very little hair and badly burnt skin. The burnt girl looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t place the face. The burnt figure stood there laughing at Stacey, before mouthing ‘come and join me!’ Stacey screamed and backed quickly away from the window, then she heard a loud bang from the behind her.

When the emergency services arrived at Stacey house, they found her badly burnt body in the remains of her living room. The gas fire had unexpectedly exploded, destroying her house and killing her instantly.

The Boy with the Brass Buttons

A young couple were delighted to have purchased an old-fashioned house in Philadelphia. They moved into their dream home in the winter of 1889, taking their six year old daughter with them.

There was a lot of refurbishing to do, so the little girl tended to go up to the attic to play while her parents were occupied with the house. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, because the previous owners had converted the attic into a playroom. It even had a fireplace at one point, but it was currently boarded up.

After a couple of weeks of hard work, the downstairs rooms were finished. The mother, realizing that she had been neglecting their daughter, attempted to try and spend more time with her now, but the little girl seemed distracted. She kept stealing back up to the attic alone to play.

Exasperated, and perhaps a little hurt her child was not being responsive to her attentions, the mother finally asked, "What's so interesting up there in that stuffy room?"

"It's the little boy with the shiny buttons," the child replied. "He's so much fun to play with!"

"What little boy?" the mother demanded, wondering if a servant child had stowed away in the room. She went to investigate, but found the room empty.

The mother was certain that her daughter was just being contrary, and so she urged her husband to discipline the child. At the sound of her father's stern voice the little girl became hysterical. She kept repeating that there was a little boy and he wore a blue jacket with lots of shiny buttons on it. As her father listened, he became more and more curious. Formerly a seaman, he realized his daughter was describing a child's sailor suit, complete with the brass buttons.

The girl's father made some inquires about the family that lived in the house before them. He learned that they had come from England, bringing their children with them, two boys and a girl. The youngest child, a boy, was born with learning difficulties. The neighbours described the youngest boy as a sweet innocent child, but added that his father was ashamed of him and tried to prevent him from being seen outdoors.

According to the neighbours, the young boy would often sneak out to go down to the river. The story goes that one day he fell in and drowned. His body was never recovered, but his cap had been found floating in the river. Shortly after the disappearance, the family put the house up for sale and, then left Philadelphia, never to be seen again.

The former seaman's suspicions were now thoroughly aroused. He accompanied his little daughter to the attic and asked her to show him where the little boy came from. She pointed to the boarded up fireplace. Her father called in workers to open it and then to remove the mortar that cemented up a cavity beside the chimney.

As the mortar was chipped away, the corpse of a small boy was revealed. He was clothed in a little blue sailor jacket with four rows of brass buttons down the front. Further examination revealed that the back of the child's head had been crushed by a violent blow.

The little boy was murdered!