Most people who grew up in Lincoln County probably had a haunted house or two nearby. In high school, there were always murmurings about which ones were “really” haunted and the best to sneak out to in the middle of the night.
It took a while for me to realize that the house most kids were talking about just happened to be the old rock house next to mine. I heard people spin dark tales about how it came to be haunted and all the spooky stuff that happened out there. For the life of me, I can’t remember any of the details, but they were wild.
I understand where they were coming from. The house was built in the 1940s and is surrounded by the rusting remains of barns, shops and other buildings, slowly being taken over by brush and trees. There’s a creepy greenhouse frame that looks like it came straight out of a Steven King novel and a gaping hole in the kitchen floor that could be a portal to the underworld. (It’s not. It’s just the old cellar.)
It was even used as a location in the upcoming movie “Reverance” as the home of a could-be killer. They picked it specifically for its very creepy vibes.
But to me, it was always my great-grandparents’ house. I often hiked over there, wandering around and imagining how it looked when my grandpa grew up there. There are old cement tanks where they used to keep the catfish and minnows back when it was a hatchery. Next to that is a small building where they would fillet and sell the catfish.
I’ve always been fascinated with it. We took my senior pictures out there, using the old barns, fences, backgrounds, and props. I’ve even used it in upcoming books. But to me, I’ve never seen it as a haunted house. There aren’t really any dark stories about the place, as far as I’m aware (I’ll have to double-check with Papa). But there are a lot of memories attached to it.
Plus, I can say that I’m pretty sure it’s not haunted. During my sophomore year, my best friend and I decided to sneak out one night to see for ourselves. We thought ourselves quite sly as we crept through the pasture to the house. What we didn’t realize was that Mom and Dad were sitting on the deck and watching us the entire way.
We made it to the house and carefully walked around, staying far from the void in the kitchen floor. And… nothing. No ghosts or demons or chills. Not until my dad came down the driveway and scared us to death, anyway. He thought he was pretty funny. I was just glad it wasn’t the cops and that I didn’t get grounded.
But the old rock house - a bit scary? Sure. Haunted? Nope. It’s just another really cool, old house.