Condemned on Potter Street (360 repost)

(pic from Yahoo Search not related to the story. the story is a repost from an assortment of creepy stories I wrote.)



When I was 24, Carter and I broke up for the first time. (Not the last.)

I had spent years working while he was supposed to be going to college and he dropped out and screwed around. We had 2 sons at the time, Ty and Jalen. They were 2 and 3. We shared custody of them at first, but he was not responsible enough. (He still isn't, sad.)

I decided to go to college then and enrolled at the local community college. I was able to get a 2 bedroom apartment on the second floor of an old house in the older part of the factory town that i lived in. I remember freaking out one day when we was walking back from the store because the hosue had a third floor and no way to get to the 3rd floor. I finally noticed one day that the entrance was in the closet of the boys' room. That scared me because the boys would not sleep in there. Instead they always slept with me in the living room on the futon and would cry when I put their toys back in the closet in their room. They would always point and say "chee chee." Which is slang from the reservation for ghost. So I always avoided their room.

People would spend the night and see things in my apartment. I never did. One time my friend Tessa seen a little girl standing by the front door and looking at her so she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. My brother Jesse seen a woman standing by the doorway between my room and the living room and made my mom come after him at 3 in the morning. My brother's friend Nate seen a woman there too in my kitchen.

I felt creepy there. I did, I won't deny that I stayed up all the time until my eyes absolutely closed on their own. I did not sleep good. From the previous blog you all know what a chicken I am. So even though I never seen anything I was scared.

The best thing about the apartment is that it was 2 blocks from the grocery store, and a drugstore. One of those cool drug stores that sold everything from make up, to candles, to toys, to home repair supplies. I loved that store. In the winter time I used to put the boys in a sled and pull them to the store and we would throw it behind a hedge. I didn't care, you do what you gotta do. Before the snow hit, I would pull them in a wagon. This is when I saw what creeped me out about living there.

We was going to the store to get some snacks for the Yankee game. The year was 1996 and it was the year I absolutely fell in love with their new shortstop. I loved his eyes and they way he played with so much heart. So I was pulling the boys to the store and the next house after our garage was a duplex. It had 3 seperate porches...I never notcied it before, other than the fact that it was rundown.

Well that day I noticed it because a little old lady was out front. She was on the last porch going towards the store. She had an old broom and was sweeping all the leaves off of her porch.

"Well hello there." she says to me. She stops sweeping, so I stop the wagon.

"Hi." I say, I absolutely adore elderly people as long as they don't hate me and the rest of the world.

"Beautiful day today." she says looking around "Thought I better come out and take care of these leaves that are piling up on my porch."

"Yeah good day for that." I say, I have to tell the boys to shhh because they won't stop fidgeting.

"What handsome young men you have there, and so well behaved. How old are they?"

"2 and 3, the one in front is Jalen and the one in back is Ty." I tell her, they immediately stop moving and look at her.

"I had 2 boys too and a girl. But they all have their own lives now." She says looking in the distance.

"Well I better get to the store." I tell her, I had to get back to see the hot new short stop, I had to.

"Ok well, stop by and visit me sometime. I always bake and never have any visitors to appreciate it anymore. " she starts sweeping again "My name is Alice."

"Ok Alice, I will. I am kind of new around here and these boys can eat. So count on it." I start pulling the wagon again and feel all warm on the inside because I made a new friend that day.

We go to the store and get our snacks something for dinner and leave...I had to watch all 9 innings with the rookie Jeter...so I am in a hurry.

I am one of those people that walk most of the time with their head down. I look up when we get to Alice's house so I can smile at her, just in case she is still outside. I noticed her porch is full of leaves. Old leaves. Rotting leaves. WTF? I just seen her sweeping it. Then I see old newspapers. The free one that comes out on Wednesdays with nothing but classidfied ads. Piled up and in various states of aging. I look at the house. Some windows are broke out and there is a county paper on the door warning of the house. CONDEMNED it says on a bright pink paper. It warns people not to trespass for this reason.

I couldn't believe it. I was freaked out. I turned to the boys to ask them if they remembered Alice. They just look at me, their minds on the gummy bears I bought to shut them up during the game.

That house was in Red Wing, MN. I lived there for a few more years but not on Potter Street. I remember when they tore that duplex down and wondered who Alice was and what happened to her?