The Ghost House
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The old Davis (The name of the family has been
changed in this story to protect any relatives who might still
be living in Beaver County.) farm on Sterling Road in South Beaver
Township boasts a big Victorian house (pictured here) that is
said to be haunted. It had been vacant for thirty years or more
when Chuck Kyle bought it in the early 1950s.
Long ago when old Mrs. Davis died, her newly married son brought
his bride to the house to live. The young lady had never got on
well with her future mother-in-law, so the events that followed
their moving into the house are not too surprising,
After a day or two, they began to rummage through the rooms, collecting
items for which they would have no use. Among these was the large
framed photograph of old Mrs. Davis, which had held a prominent
spot on the wall of the bedroom that the young couple occupied.
The bride refused to have her mother-in-law's picture in the house,
so when they took the collection of junk they had gathered to
the yard for burning, the photo occupied a prominent place on
top.
After the pile had burned down, the young folks went back to the
house for an evening meal; then, as they were tired from sorting,
hauling, and burning junk, they headed for the stairs to go up
to bed. But there, seated on the bottom step, was the ghost of
Old Mrs. Davis. She was furious that they had burned her picture
and would not let them pass.
I never heard how the young couple resolved the issue. Perhaps
they apologized abjectly and were forgiven. On the other hand,
it seems more likely that they decided to live elsewhere, which
would seem to account for the house having been empty for so long.