Addition to "Haunted Dolls"

An addition to the "Haunted Dolls" story that I accidently left out. I mention that no unusual things have happened since the "wringer incident". But I had left out the "wringer incident", Refer back to the entry made on January 21st for that one. The wringer that appeared to "jump" off the high shelf and fall onto the floor. This 40 or 50 pound wringer was located directly across from the infamous dolls.

Haunted Dolls?

This report will be a difficult one to do because I was not aware it was going on. My wife told me about it today. This all occurred in my wife's store. The report covers about 4 months. So I'll try to present it as coherently as possible. About 4 months ago, a friend of my wife brought in two dolls that her husband's grandmother had won in the Euclid Beach amusement park back in the 1940s. She was hoping my wife could sell them for her. Personally I never paid much attention to the dolls. I sell a few old dolls but mine are the older, collectable sweet and cute variety. These dolls were not even in the area of the store where I display the ones I have for sale. These dolls were placed toward the front of the store on the high shelves that run down the right side of the store. The dolls could be displayed there because the were rather large (about 4 ft tall). The friend wanted to sell them because she said they "Creep me out". They were in excellent shape and even had the original boxes they came in. I said, "What was so creepy about them", and my wife said it was the "eyes", they were large, kinda evil looking and seemed to follow you. Frankly I only vaguely remember them. I thought they were rather garish but I don't remember their eyes at all. I guess I'm not that observant. The dolls didn't sell right away and my wife said they creeped her out so much that she was ready to ask the friend to take them out of the store. So I said to my wife, They were creepy looking" is that all?" She replied, "You are going to think I'm silly but do you remember the towels we almost wrecked the store looking for and they suddenly appeared in an empty basket I had asked you to take to the backroom?" "Yes' so?" "That basket, she replied was on the floor in front of those dolls". "A coincidence", I replied. " Maybe so, she responded," however one morning when I came in and as turning on the lights around the store I almost stepped on six red candles laid out in a perfect row on the floor". The box they were displayed in was still on the shelf where it was supposed to be". "Those candles were directly under the dolls". They were not on the floor when I closed because either you or I would have seen them when we were shutting off the lights. You couldn't help seeing them because you would have stepped on them if you didn't see them". "another day as I was opening I found a candle globe broken in the floor. How did the globe get off the candle in the holder and fall on the floor and break?" I admitted I couldn't see how and she said, "That candle globe was directly under those dolls." Then she said several other items have been found on the floor. Not broken but not where they should have been. I would have said it is all circumstantial, but thought better of it. I did say, "Where are the dolls now?" My wife replied the dolls finally sold, just after the wringer incident to a lady who was traveling on south. She use to live in Cleveland and as a child had wanted those dolls very much but her Dad wasn't good enough a that game of chance to win one, although he had tried several times. She was very excited to find them in such excellent condition and my wife was very excited to get rid if them. Then my wife pointed out, "There hasn't been anything unusual happening in that part of the store since". So I guess the reader will have to decide for themselves if we were selling a couple of haunted dolls.

Dog toy

I suppose this is silly; but I did say I'd write of anything that seemed weird or abnormal. I have almost always had schnauzers for pets. I had a pup when I was so young I don't remember it and my wife and I took in an abandoned pup one cold winter day who was swiped the following summer. But as far as dogs for pets of any duration they have always been schnauzers since my wife and I married back in 1969. Of all of the schnauzers I have owned (7 including the two I now have.) I have had only one that actually played with stuffed toys. The others liked to rough house and chew on bones, even rubber ones and a couple liked to play ball, but only one, out of all of them, really liked the stuffed toy preferably, with a squeaker. The little male I now have loves to play with stuffed toys. He chases them, chews on them, and rough houses them. If he wants you to play with him he'll take a toy in his mouth and hit you with it. His most favorite toy is a gaily colored parrot. You'll find this parrot almost anyplace. Yesterday it was lying in the middle of the dining room floor. Yesterday as I was walking from the kitchen into the dining room headed for the library that dang parrot squeaked. A loud clear squeak and neither dog was anywhere near it. The older dog was coming out of the kitchen with me and the younger dog was in the library with my wife. That squeak certainly got my attention. I can't explain it. The squeaker bulb must be compressed to emit the squeak. No one was around to compress the bulb. Interesting, but probably explainable.

Nonrunning clock strikesthe three quarters of an hour

Yesterday at our store I had an unusual experience. It could have a perfectly logical explaination.In my workroom I have a four foot tall Howard Miller pendulum clock. I have it sitting on my desk as I had been working on it. It runs great but only for about 9 hours at a time. It is quite loud with the deep sounds of the Westminister chimes and strikes a deep tone on the hour. The chimes occur on the quarter hour. I haven't worked on this clock in over a month nor has it been wound during that time. In fact so many minor projects are stacked in front of the clock, I couldn't even get to it to wind it. Yesterday I was standing well away from this clock when it struck the three quarter hour. There is no mistaking that clocks chimes. I have no explaination for it. A better clock repairman than I may be able to explain it. But that clock hadn't been wound for well over a month and the pendulum was very stationary.

Book case makes strange sound.

Just now. I had just sat down at the computer. The strangest whirring growl came out of the bookcase here in the library, just to the left of me. My eldest dog barked at it. It didn't last long, 15 or 20 seconds. But here is nothing on that side of the room or in that bookcase that could make such a sound. There is nothing on the other side of the bookcase. It backs up against an exterior wall that sits beside an exterior open porch. I said it was a whirring growl, but it didn't sound mechanical. Actually it is difficult to describe. My grey schnauzer was definitely perturbed by it. I sit here looking at the bookcase which goes from floor to ceiling (about 14 ft) and is completely filled with books, and I try to figure what could have made such a sound. This is the same bookcase that sneezed at some visitors we had, coughed at us, had a sound not unlike a tin can being bounced down the inside of the case. Yet there is nothing around this case but walls and books. I once thought the walls behind the bookcase must be hollow and I tried drilling through to see. I used 24 inch bits but I encountered wall all the way. If someone out there has an ingenius method of locating hidden passages, please let me know. The house was built in 1857 along the old National Road which was the only road west when the house was built. It was a rip roaring period of history and the old bricks could very well have passages and hidey holes. I did find a small room behind a fireplace several years ago and a tight passage up the left corner of the house from basement to attic. Only a very slim person could have gone up that passage. So I figure there is possibly other such hidden rooms or passages. But I'm not able to locate any. This is, you remember, the house that ate our cat. Did it find a secret passage? If it led outside you would think someone in town would have seen it wondering around. As it was never away from the house, surely it would have remained close; especially at dinner time. This place is a mystery and I'm having no luck at solving it.

At the store

Sometimes I wonder if its just old age making me see things. Yet much of what occurs seems to be similar to things that other people write about. Yesterday I had to run my wife's store alone. She has a bad leg and our home has been surrounded by ice for days. It is so slick around our house that when I took our two dogs out for necessary things I fell so fast and slick that I didn't remember falling. I was leading my dogs and then I was flat out on the ground. Getting up was next to impossible as my feet kept sliding. I did finally manage to crawl over to some matting where I could stand up. So it was obvious my wife could not go to the store. So I had to run the store alone. It was a busy day and frankly I was pretty much bushed when 5 o'clock rolled around We hadn't had any customers for about a half hour and I started turning off lights to displays. I had taken care of the days receipts and was starting around the store dousing wall lights and "open" signs. The main battery of lights overhead were still on. Thats the last thing we do before we leave. I had just turned off the light to the second (rear) sales floor when a rather large fellow wearing a heavy dark overcoat came walking down the main isle of the rear sales floor. I said, "I'm sorry, sir, I thought everyone was gone". He just wasn't there anymore. I hadn't taken my eyes off of him more an a few seconds while I pulled shut a curtain that separates the rear sales floor from a small work area. No way he could have past me and no place for anyone that large to hide. He was at least my size, a bit heavy and wearing an overcoat. I cannot remember a face. He just simply was not there anymore. Like I said I was tired, but it sure seemed like someone walking directly toward me and he disappeared. My wife made it to the store today. We had no further episodes.

Cold prevention

This message has nothing to do with the paranormal I'm writing it for posterity. In 2001 when I was still teaching in grade school I developed an infected tooth root. The dentist gave me two options. I could have the tooth pulled or go he could do a root canal. He gave me medicines to clear up the infection but said I'd have to do one or the other as the infection would return. By coincidence I read an article about garlic and its antibacterial properties. I figured how much garlic would equal a low dose of penicillin. Not wanting to lose the tooth and hearing horror stories about root canals I figured I'd try the garlic first. I soon discovered that there is only one type of garlic that doesn't come out on you (make you smell horribly) It is called odorless garlic and I got it at Walmart. I began by taking 20 gels a day, every day. It took a full year but I cleared up the infection completely. One day in the teachers lounge one of my fellow educators made the comment that I had not missed any school that year. This was unusual because you can imagine just how much of a bug barn a grade school is. To top that off I was an art teacher who moved from room to room I was exposed to all of the kids. I had never escaped a year without multiple colds and often the flu before. So I continued the regimen. Then about midway through 2002 I read an article about a hospital in Akron where a flu epidemic went through all the wards but one. The ward had no cases of the flu though it was open to all the other wards. When figuring a common cause they found that only that ward was being given large doses of vitamin D. So as an experiment I cut my doses of garlic to 10 gels a day and added 200 units 0f vitamin D. That was in 2002. I've since retired but I'm still out in the public. My wife owns a store and I help run it. It is now 2015 and I've not had a cold since 2001. I haven't had the flu either though my doctor still insists there will be a flu my regimen can't block. But he hasn't even asked me if I want a flu shot now for several years. I have discussed this with two others on the web and they claim similar results. What works for one person may not work for another but it seems like a good thing to try. I was told by an herbalist that any herbal remedy takes about two months to reach full effect. Worked for me.