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One evening as I lay in bed, I had an uneasy feeling. I had the covers over my head, as I usually do, because I was always scared of what was inside the closet or under the bed. Hey, you were a kid too! You know you did the same thing. I didn’t want to see what was coming out of those places, trying to get me. It was getting pretty stuffy and hot underneath, so courageously (now that I think about it, stupidly) I decided to take off the covers from my head (either I die of suffocation or I die of fright, what a choice) I opened my eyes. Hovering over me was the most horrific sight I have ever seen. I know I was only 7 or 8, but to a kid, this is pretty traumatic. This entity was of pure evil. It gazed upon me, saying nothing, not moving. It just floated above me, face to face. It was white all over. It wore what looked like the Grim Reaper’s cloak. It was sort of torn, shredded, like fabric flowing as if there was a breeze in the room. Its menacing skull protruded from its hood, staring straight at me. Its eye socket was deep, dark, and hollow, and its teeth clenched, almost grinning at me. Its arms stuck out of its cloak, bony and eerie, spreading out to the side, ready to attack me. There was no lower body, from what I can tell, only the Grim Reaper’s cloak flowing in the breeze.
I screamed out crying, my Brother turned on the light that was between our beds, I lept onto his bed, then I curled up in a ball. I just lay there, crying and shaking. My parents rushed into the room, half asleep, to see what was wrong. First they yelled at my brother, thinking that he had beat me up or teased me again. But when they noticed me curled up in his bed sobbing, they started to ask me what was wrong. I didn’t want to tell them what I saw, or what I thought I saw. I just kept saying “I don’t wanna sleep alone, I don’t wanna sleep alone…”
My parents decided to let me sleep with them that night. I stayed snuggled and warm in between my Mother and my Father, trying to keep the frightful image out of my mind. With the assurance of safety from my parents, I fell asleep right away.
I have never wanted to relive that scary memory. I guess I just put that on the back burner. I just wanted to live life, and I went on with life.
Through the years, my parents got into some financial trouble, and the guy who sold us the house, gave us some bad advice. Man if I see this guy now, I’ll kick the living shit out of him. My parents sold 160 Marbly Ave., and the guy told us we can rent a house just one block over, 567 Gellert Blvd. That house was his brother-in-laws. That guy turned around and sold 160 Marbly for a pretty penny. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you will know that property in the 70’s and early 80’s was affordable, but as time went on, a lot of Realty Investors and homeowners became rich.
Even though we moved away, I remained friends with a lot of the kids on Marbly Ave. We all went to the same schools. Greg, the new kid that moved into my old house, he went to a private school, but we became cordial, cause we both knew that I used to live in his house. Greg was, I think, a year younger than me, and I was around 12 or so. We would see each other at the park or the library. We’d say “Hi” and chat a bit, maybe play some hoops.
One day when I was in the library, Greg looked pretty sad. He told me that his Mother died from pneumonia. I was so shocked and sad for him. What was weird though, my Mother was struck with Lupus a little before we moved to 567 Gellert Blvd from 160 Marbly Ave. Lupus is a very rare and complicated disease, we still don’t’ know how it is caused. So at that time, the thought of losing my Mom really made me feel for Greg’s loss, because my Mom was so ill.
I guess Greg was comfortable with the fact that he can talk to me and talk about his feelings. He started to be himself again sooner than I expected. One day we started talking about the house, for whatever reason. I decided to tell Greg my story about the Ghostly Grim Reaper in my room, which was his room later on. Then he told me a story of when he had seen his Mother’s ghost. Whoa, that’s a trip! He seemed pretty okay about it, too, when he told me the story. But I was freaked.
As I got older and proceeded to go to High School, I didn’t keep contact with Greg. I’d see him around and we’d still say, “What’s Up”, but that’s about it. I actually had to go to another High School in a city that was 20 minutes south form my house, I’d gotten into a little trouble at my old High School =)
In 1991 we were still living at 567 Gellert Blvd. My Mother’s health started to deteriorate. In September or October, after a routine doctor’s appointment, my Mother never left Kaiser. My Mom was hospitalized for a few months. The doctors didn’t know what was wrong. They recommended exploratorative surgery. My Mother had suffered for almost 15 years with this disease. One day in late November, I lost my Mother. My Mom can now rest in peace and no longer suffer. May God be with her always, I Love You Mom.
My Family and Friends came to grieve, say their last good-byes, and comfort one another. Ironically, at this point, I started to grow an interest in the research of the paranormal. I would watch TV specials on ghosts and hauntings. On some occasions, I would actually go to known haunted areas up and down California.
One evening as we sat around the kitchen table, we started talking about life after death, spirits, and hauntings. My aunts started to tell us stories of their experiences and stories that they’ve heard about. Then they mentioned 160 Marbly Ave. That totally got my attention. My aunts said that they noticed something bad about the house, some evil spirit. Even though none have had any specific experiences, they had felt it. When I mentioned my ghostly experience, oddly enough, they all believed me. We continued to talk more about ghosts and other things that evening. That was the first time ever opened up to my family. I was glad I did.
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