Image by Dean Lewis from Pixabay

Those of you who are fans of the horror genre are probably getting a kick out of my name. As coincidence would have it, I somehow ended up with the same handle as Stephen King’s infamous character by the same name. As what also seems befitting with regard to my name, I also lived in a haunted house when I was a child.

New England is full of bona fide haunted houses and our house was no exception. I prefer anonymity as to the location because the house is still family owned but I will say that in later years when the family investigated the land we did find out that the property encompassed part of what once was a  small Native American settlement. When my brothers and I were very young we would love to treasure seek around the property for arrowheads.

One of the ghosts or spirits of the house was referred to as “Thomas.” Thomas was only a slight nuisance when he wanted attention which he achieved by knocking over a figurine or lamp. We mainly felt that Thomas was more of a protecting spirit. From local history, we knew that Thomas Little Horn (as he liked to be called) was a great grandson of one of the tribe families and that he died an old man in a nursing home.

When I was a teen and in charge of my siblings when my parents went out, I would call on Thomas to keep what my little brother called the “creepers” away. The creepers would make their presence known from time to time. Certain parts of the house would get very cold suddenly and if you happened to be standing in or near one of these cold spots you were likely to be accosted by a pinch, push, or hair pull. Oddly, we would always find an eagle feather when Thomas was around.

My parents would think that we kids were just making up stories and watching too many scary programs on television but that changed when my father actually had a lit cigar knocked out of his mouth when he walked through one of the cold spots.

After that incident, he called in the pastor of our church — not because he believed anything, you see — but to get the rest of us “settled.” The pastor said some prayers and performed his ritual and the creepers seemed to diminish after that day. Thomas remained and relatives living in the house today tell me he is still there. I currently live in Washington State but I am making a trip home for a family reunion in the fall. It will be nice to see everyone again especially my old friend and spirit protector Thomas.