Reader Submission: Haunted Farmstead

“My cousin lived in an old farmhouse in the 80’s near a small prairie town called Elstow in Saskatchewan. Her father owned and operated the hotel there during that time although it no longer exists today.

My cousin was going to bartend at the hotel beverage room while her husband worked in Saskatoon, about 40 miles away. They could not believe their good luck when they found the place for rent at such a cheap price. It was an old house, but not decayed like it is today. The farmstead was situated perhaps a half mile from the highway, and then maybe another mile from the hotel, but it was very isolated with absolutely no neighbors in view.

After moving in, my cousin heard footsteps on the stairway or downstairs and at times would smell the scent of oranges in the kitchen. Her husband was away a lot doing shift work, and she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable living in that house.

The Odd Couple

One evening my cousin had friends over and they were enjoying a few brews by a bonfire just after dusk when this guy and girl appeared out of nowhere acting very strange. Their clothes were odd, as if they had attended a costume party. My cousin he said they were dressed in old-fashioned clothing. The guy was muttering and acting strange. He tried to climb the windmill in the yard which was already rickety and dangerous, even back then. The pale, oddly-dressed girl never said a word.

The guys in the group told the couple to get the hell out or they’d call the cops, and the couple left. It was pitch dark outside when they walked toward the highway and disappeared into the night. Everyone agreed that they were freaked out by the pair. Several hours later, the RCMP drove into the yard asking if they had seen a girl as motorists on the highway reported seeing a girl in torn clothing running down the road. They told the Mountie what had occurred earlier that evening.

My cousin and her husband moved out soon after. She could not face a long, isolated winter living there. Her nerves were shot. Strangely, after my cousin moved out, the locals told her it was a well-known haunted house and they thought she was already aware of that. She was not!

A Visit Decades Later

My story begins on July 1, 2013. For years, when I drove to Manitou Beach near Watrous Saskatchewan, I would look for the house as I passed. You can only see the distinctive windmill which identifies the farmstead on the drive back. My friend Darlene, who is very sensitive, was with me this day, and I impulsively decided to stop and check it out. I felt compelled.

The house hadn’t been occupied since my cousin rented it and moved out. It was now very dilapidated. The road had grown in, so we drove as far as we could on the dirt road and walked in the rest of the way. There was a marshy, water-filled moat around three sides of the old farmstead which did not exist when my cousin lived there. A weird feeling grew within me as I approached the house, and it was Darlene who voiced that same feeling.

I started snapping pictures with my smart phone and was drawn over and over again to one specific area. I was thinking to myself that there was a female presence at work and again Darlene turned to me saying the same thing! I then held up my phone with the recorder on and said out loud to the house in general that my cousin and her husband were the last people to live there and I asked if they remembered her. Then I spoke her name. Suddenly, there was an extremely loud bang! Darlene screamed, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up. It was a super hot, windless day but I suddenly felt very cold. Darlene had had enough and wanted to go, so we headed back to my vehicle.

When we got there, I listened to the recording. My phone had recorded everything until the second before the bang and then abruptly stopped. I looked over the pictures, looking for anything unusual, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary at that time.

Much later, in early September when I was checking out the pictures again, I saw a female form in the entrance of the shed (photo below). The picture was taken through a bashed out window that overlooks another bashed out window which shows the shed in the backyard. The image made my heart freeze. I was positive nothing was there the first time. The pictures I shot before the recording do not show that image even though I shot them at the exact same spot. They are not great pictures, and I suck at photography, but I get a jolt every time I zoom in and see that form. I get a feeling of negativity combined with an energy that is somehow very sad and defeated.”

Have you seen a ghost? Send your story and/or pics to ghostsghoul@gmail.com!