From Arizona Ghost Stories:
MARCUS AND GINGER LAPORTE’S STORY
I interviewed husband and wife, Marcus and Ginger, at their home one evening. The LaPortes are a couple in their late 40s who have lived in Flagstaff since 1977. They met and married in the Louisiana city of New Orleans. They now live in a large two-story log home, six miles north of Flagstaff ’s central district. We sat down for a long comfortable conversation in their living room. The living room has three very large, floor-to-ceiling picture windows, which allowed me to view the beautiful night sky throughout my visit. As their story developed, I soon began to feel a little bit nervous. Needless to say, it was a scary one. Their story will make the reader pause, and think twice about ever again purchasing “bargain items” at yard sales. What follows is a story that can happen in any state to anyone. The LaPortes simply were a couple who happened to be unaware of anything related to ghosts in their personal lives. As you will now read, such an attitude does not necessarily prevent ghosts from reaching out to touch the living. - Antonio
Marcus and I decided one July weekend to clean out our garage and basement. It is incredible how much “junk” we had stored away throughout the years. We decided that the best thing to do with all the used clothes and odds and ends was to hold a yard sale. We placed an advertisement in the local paper and got to work cleaning out the house. We informed some of our neighbors about the upcoming sale, and word quickly spread around. Marcus also spoke to his mother, who had moved to Flagstaff two years ago.
He convinced her that the yard sale would be a great way to sell some of the antiques she had brought from her home town of New Orleans. Although at first she was reluctant to even think of parting with her cherished antiques, she thought about it for a moment and then changed her mind.
The date was set and when the Saturday sale took place we found more “junk” and treasures than we had realized we ever owned.Marcus’s mother’s antiques were a big hit. A neighbor came by before the 8 a.m. starting time and bought a dresser of mother’s. This dresser was not a very pretty piece of furniture at all. It needed some refinishing and the mirror was particularly in need of restoring. However, our neighbor said she “loved it” and she had a space in her guest room where it would look great!
I could tell that Mother LaPorte was very eager to part with this piece of furniture. I asked her why she was so eager to sell the dresser, when just a few days ago she would not even have considered selling any of her antiques. She answered, “Well, I should have gotten rid of that evil thing a long time ago. ”Her words made me ask what she meant by referring to a piece of furniture as “evil.” She responded, “Oh, it’s nothing dear, just nothing.” I could tell by her voice that she wanted to drop the subject, so I didn’t ask her any further questions. Over all, the sale was a big success, and most of mother’s antiques did sell. What remained of the unsold clothes and junk we donated to a local charity. That was the end of that—so we thought.
About a month later, our neighbor who had bought the dresser phoned me and described a very strange thing that had happened to their family. She said that she had removed the dresser from the guest room, and put it in their garage with a carpet draped over it.
She started to describe the trouble she and her family had experienced. I was so interested in the little she did say that I asked her to hold her thoughts and come right over to our house. I wanted her to tell her story in the presence of Marcus and his mother. I informed Mother of some of the story which our neighbor had told to me over the phone. Mother responded by saying, “Let’s just wait to hear what she has to say.” Soon there was a knock on the door and I showed the neighbor in. We sat around the kitchen table and she told the most incredible and scary story I have ever heard.
Our neighbor started her story by saying that after having purchasing the antique dresser from our yard sale, she had dusted it off and placed the dresser in her guest room. “I loved it,” she said “I even bought a blue flower vase and a brass brushand- comb set that I knew would enhance its look. These I placed on top of a white doily on the dresser. It looked beautiful. I also went out and purchased a cute little embroidered boudoir stool and placed it in front of the dresser. It was now complete.”
The following weekend, her daughter had come to visit from Phoenix and spent the night in the guest room. During the night, the daughter said that she was awakened by a noise in the room. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that seated at the dresser was a strange blonde-haired woman. The woman was busy brushing her hair. She then noticed that the neighbor’s daughter was watching her and turned to face her. In a split second, the blonde woman was standing at the side of her bed! Her daughter was shocked to see this stranger in her room. She watched as this ghostly woman violently waved her arms above her head.
The daughter noticed that the ghost woman was opening her mouth wide and making facial gestures, which gave the impression that the ghost was screaming with hatred or pain but, strangely, made no sounds.
Soon the daughter found the courage to grab her pillow, which she threw at the ghost. Immediately, the image of the ghost woman disappeared.With tear-filled eyes, the daughter turned on the lights and sat on the side of the bed trying to compose herself. She was not sure what had taken place. Did she dream it, or was she visited by an actual ghost? She soon grew tired and leaving the bedroom light on, crawled under the covers and fell back to sleep.
In the morning, the daughter told her mother about what she had experienced the night before, describing it as a nightmare. Our neighbor told us that she was fascinated by her daughter’s story, but skeptical.However, our neighbor’s skepticism soon ended when they both went up to the dresser and discovered that on the new brush-and-comb set were several strands of blond hair! Since they are Chinese, our neighbor, her husband, and daughter all have quite dark hair. Whose hair was on the brush?
Our neighbor lifted up the brush with the blonde hair strands and showed her daughter. The daughter, very apprehensively stated, “Well, see, now you have the evidence in your hand. I told you there was a woman in this room with me.” Our neighbor needed no further explanations. Immediately, she and her daughter removed the dresser from the guest bedroom and placed it in the garage where it was covered with an old carpet.
She purchased the dresser from an elderly African-American gentleman. He explained to her that the dresser, among other furniture he was selling at the time, was from an estate sale. Apparently, the furniture and the few other items he was selling were all that remained of a disastrous house fire. Several family members were burned to death in that fire.
Marcus’ mother had her own ghost experience with the dresser one the evening. One night she heard a voice coming from her bedroom.
As she walked into the bedroom to investigate, she was surprised to see a strange woman standing by the dresser. The blonde haired woman stood with her hands raised and clutched together in front of her. She was dressed in a light blue nightgown, and had an expression of dread on her face. Marcus’ mother asked the woman, “Who are you? How did you get here? Incredibly, the woman’s image immediately disappeared.
Marcus’ mother had never experienced anything like this before. It was only after she brought the dresser into the bedroom that the ghost appeared. The dresser must be spiritually associated somehow with its original owner. I know it’s the dresser, she said, “I could feel it in my soul that that dresser had something to do with the ghost.”
Mother LaPorte wasted no time in removing the dresser from the bedroom to the porch at the rear of the house. There it has stood for several years. The ghost of the blonde woman was not seen again. Not until this most recent time in Flagstaff.
The dresser now sits in a Flagstaff storage unit. Who knows where it will eventually end up. For now the ghost will have to just wait before she can reappear to someone else. Maybe then she’ll tell her story instead of just scaring people.
I interviewed husband and wife, Marcus and Ginger, at their home one evening. The LaPortes are a couple in their late 40s who have lived in Flagstaff since 1977. They met and married in the Louisiana city of New Orleans. They now live in a large two-story log home, six miles north of Flagstaff ’s central district. We sat down for a long comfortable conversation in their living room. The living room has three very large, floor-to-ceiling picture windows, which allowed me to view the beautiful night sky throughout my visit. As their story developed, I soon began to feel a little bit nervous. Needless to say, it was a scary one. Their story will make the reader pause, and think twice about ever again purchasing “bargain items” at yard sales. What follows is a story that can happen in any state to anyone. The LaPortes simply were a couple who happened to be unaware of anything related to ghosts in their personal lives. As you will now read, such an attitude does not necessarily prevent ghosts from reaching out to touch the living. - Antonio
Marcus and I decided one July weekend to clean out our garage and basement. It is incredible how much “junk” we had stored away throughout the years. We decided that the best thing to do with all the used clothes and odds and ends was to hold a yard sale. We placed an advertisement in the local paper and got to work cleaning out the house. We informed some of our neighbors about the upcoming sale, and word quickly spread around. Marcus also spoke to his mother, who had moved to Flagstaff two years ago.
He convinced her that the yard sale would be a great way to sell some of the antiques she had brought from her home town of New Orleans. Although at first she was reluctant to even think of parting with her cherished antiques, she thought about it for a moment and then changed her mind.
The date was set and when the Saturday sale took place we found more “junk” and treasures than we had realized we ever owned.Marcus’s mother’s antiques were a big hit. A neighbor came by before the 8 a.m. starting time and bought a dresser of mother’s. This dresser was not a very pretty piece of furniture at all. It needed some refinishing and the mirror was particularly in need of restoring. However, our neighbor said she “loved it” and she had a space in her guest room where it would look great!
I could tell that Mother LaPorte was very eager to part with this piece of furniture. I asked her why she was so eager to sell the dresser, when just a few days ago she would not even have considered selling any of her antiques. She answered, “Well, I should have gotten rid of that evil thing a long time ago. ”Her words made me ask what she meant by referring to a piece of furniture as “evil.” She responded, “Oh, it’s nothing dear, just nothing.” I could tell by her voice that she wanted to drop the subject, so I didn’t ask her any further questions. Over all, the sale was a big success, and most of mother’s antiques did sell. What remained of the unsold clothes and junk we donated to a local charity. That was the end of that—so we thought.
About a month later, our neighbor who had bought the dresser phoned me and described a very strange thing that had happened to their family. She said that she had removed the dresser from the guest room, and put it in their garage with a carpet draped over it.
She started to describe the trouble she and her family had experienced. I was so interested in the little she did say that I asked her to hold her thoughts and come right over to our house. I wanted her to tell her story in the presence of Marcus and his mother. I informed Mother of some of the story which our neighbor had told to me over the phone. Mother responded by saying, “Let’s just wait to hear what she has to say.” Soon there was a knock on the door and I showed the neighbor in. We sat around the kitchen table and she told the most incredible and scary story I have ever heard.
Our neighbor started her story by saying that after having purchasing the antique dresser from our yard sale, she had dusted it off and placed the dresser in her guest room. “I loved it,” she said “I even bought a blue flower vase and a brass brushand- comb set that I knew would enhance its look. These I placed on top of a white doily on the dresser. It looked beautiful. I also went out and purchased a cute little embroidered boudoir stool and placed it in front of the dresser. It was now complete.”
The following weekend, her daughter had come to visit from Phoenix and spent the night in the guest room. During the night, the daughter said that she was awakened by a noise in the room. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that seated at the dresser was a strange blonde-haired woman. The woman was busy brushing her hair. She then noticed that the neighbor’s daughter was watching her and turned to face her. In a split second, the blonde woman was standing at the side of her bed! Her daughter was shocked to see this stranger in her room. She watched as this ghostly woman violently waved her arms above her head.
The daughter noticed that the ghost woman was opening her mouth wide and making facial gestures, which gave the impression that the ghost was screaming with hatred or pain but, strangely, made no sounds.
Soon the daughter found the courage to grab her pillow, which she threw at the ghost. Immediately, the image of the ghost woman disappeared.With tear-filled eyes, the daughter turned on the lights and sat on the side of the bed trying to compose herself. She was not sure what had taken place. Did she dream it, or was she visited by an actual ghost? She soon grew tired and leaving the bedroom light on, crawled under the covers and fell back to sleep.
In the morning, the daughter told her mother about what she had experienced the night before, describing it as a nightmare. Our neighbor told us that she was fascinated by her daughter’s story, but skeptical.However, our neighbor’s skepticism soon ended when they both went up to the dresser and discovered that on the new brush-and-comb set were several strands of blond hair! Since they are Chinese, our neighbor, her husband, and daughter all have quite dark hair. Whose hair was on the brush?
Our neighbor lifted up the brush with the blonde hair strands and showed her daughter. The daughter, very apprehensively stated, “Well, see, now you have the evidence in your hand. I told you there was a woman in this room with me.” Our neighbor needed no further explanations. Immediately, she and her daughter removed the dresser from the guest bedroom and placed it in the garage where it was covered with an old carpet.
She purchased the dresser from an elderly African-American gentleman. He explained to her that the dresser, among other furniture he was selling at the time, was from an estate sale. Apparently, the furniture and the few other items he was selling were all that remained of a disastrous house fire. Several family members were burned to death in that fire.
Marcus’ mother had her own ghost experience with the dresser one the evening. One night she heard a voice coming from her bedroom.
As she walked into the bedroom to investigate, she was surprised to see a strange woman standing by the dresser. The blonde haired woman stood with her hands raised and clutched together in front of her. She was dressed in a light blue nightgown, and had an expression of dread on her face. Marcus’ mother asked the woman, “Who are you? How did you get here? Incredibly, the woman’s image immediately disappeared.
Marcus’ mother had never experienced anything like this before. It was only after she brought the dresser into the bedroom that the ghost appeared. The dresser must be spiritually associated somehow with its original owner. I know it’s the dresser, she said, “I could feel it in my soul that that dresser had something to do with the ghost.”
Mother LaPorte wasted no time in removing the dresser from the bedroom to the porch at the rear of the house. There it has stood for several years. The ghost of the blonde woman was not seen again. Not until this most recent time in Flagstaff.
The dresser now sits in a Flagstaff storage unit. Who knows where it will eventually end up. For now the ghost will have to just wait before she can reappear to someone else. Maybe then she’ll tell her story instead of just scaring people.