The Locked Door Wouldn’t Stay Closed

The house I grew up in was built in 1888 in the south part of Aberdeen, WA.  My family was the third family to ever live in the home, the two previous owners both died of old age in the house. Both of them died in the basement.

There were some odd things that would happen in the house. We’d hear footsteps from time to time in the rooms that had hardwood flooring, we’d feel cool breezes pass by us when walking through the house, we’d feel watched, and small things would move around the house.

Occasionally bigger things would happen. We’d feel someone touch our arm, gently, when there was no one around or my Furby would talk without there being any batteries in it. The ghost(s) were harmless, they never did anything that would scare us too badly.

Except for one night.

There had been a rash of home break-ins in our neighborhood and if someone wanted to get into our basement it would be pretty easy. There were six windows in which a person could access and then come up to the main floor where we spent all our time. The only door down into the basement was located in the kitchen.

The door was original to the home. It was hand cut and a little too big. It’d wedge in a corner so to open it you’d have to yank on it or to close it you’d have to use all of your weight to press it into the threshold.

Now the counter was in the middle of the kitchen, the stove was to the left a few feet away, and directly opposite of the counter was the basement door. When you stood at the counter you could see down the stairs to the bottom where our washer and dryer sat when the basement door was open.

I was fifteen at the time and my parents worked late so I had to watch my brother and sister. We locked the basement door while they were gone and there was only one key, a skeleton key, that could lock it. I was in the kitchen making dinner when I heard a click. I wasn’t sure where it came from, so I continued to chop whatever it was I was chopping on the counter.

I looked around to see what made the noise. There wasn’t anything that was out of place. My brother and sister sat in the living room watching television. I could see them sitting in their respective chairs from where I stood in the kitchen. It wasn’t them throwing anything at me.

In the time it took me to look from the living room and back to the counter the basement door had swung open. I could see down into the basement, there was no one there. The stairs were extremely creaky and you could hear a ninja toddler walk up and down those things.

A tiny bit unnerved I walked over to the door, closed it, pulled the only key for the door out of my back pocket, and locked the door. I checked it, it didn’t open or budge a millimeter. I put the key into my back pocket. The door was secure and not going to open.

So I went back to prepping.

Again, another click. I look up at the door as it swings open. There was no one there. Doing exactly what you aren’t supposed to do in horror movies, I went down into the basement to investigate. I did a quick walk-through, all the windows were closed, nothing broken. I was certain that the only people in the house were my brother, sister, and I. I went back up the stairs as quietly as I could,  to test to make sure that no one could sneak up them. No matter how soft and slow I walked on the stairs they would creak and moan.

Once at the top of the stairs I closed the door again, locked it again, and put the only key to the door into the back pocket of my jeans again.

I go back to cooking dinner.

After a while, I finish up and call my brother and sister to come get their food. As we were dishing up there was a click and the door swung open in front of us. My sister took her food and walked into the living room. I looked at my brother, he looked at me. He went to eat in the living room. I closed the door and didn’t lock it this time.

We ate in the living room and left our plates there until our parents got home. The door didn’t open again that night. The only time it ever happened with the basement door is when we locked it.