The House from Hell

The following true story was shared with us by Sean Muir on our NZ Paranormal Research group.

Part One – An evil house

OK, I don’t talk about this much. It’s kind of long and still sends a cold shiver up and down my spine whenever I think about it.

It was in the early 2000’s that I decided to have a career change and go dairy farming. My partner at the time thought it would be good for us. After I finished my studies for dairy farming I put an advertisement up on a farming page and had job offers from all over New Zealand. We decide to stay in Southland because we would rent out our home.

We decided to go have a look at this farm in the Dunearn area north-west of Winton. So I and my partner are driving down the road that the farm is on and I accidentally miss their driveway. “No biggie” I thought, and I pull into the next driveway to turn around. I sat there staring at this house. I did not get a nice feeling from it in fact it was just evil. In the meantime my partner had been calling my name and asking “What’s wrong?” I just looked at her and said, “If that house comes with the job, I ain’t taking it.”

We made it to the interview and I asked them about the house up the road. They said it belongs to the next farm over. I didn’t end up taking that job and on the way home my partner asked what happened to me when we pulled into the house up the road from the farm. I told her, “Something really bad happened there. I don’t know how I know, but I do.” I told her all I felt was evil coming from that house.

I got a call two days later from another farmer named Ben out in the same area. In fact, the same road. All of a sudden I thought about that house again. I asked Ben, “When would you like us to come out for an interview?” He replied “How about today?” “Alright,” I said, “I’ll be there in an hour and a half.”

On the drive out there my partner kept making jokes. “Wouldn’t it be funny if it was the next farm with the house?” she quipped. Well, we drove past that damn house and the second driveway after was Ben’s farm. My partner was laughing and once again I said “If we have to live in that house I ain’t taking this job.”

We had the interview, it went so well that Ben and Chris offer me the job right there and then. I said, “I only have one question,” as I walked to the sink to put my coffee cup in it and pointed out the kitchen window. “Please tell me we don’t have to live in that house.” Ben and Chris both laugh and said “No, that’s Paul the second-in-charge’s house. If you take the job your house will be the one in front of ours.”

I took the job and two weeks later we moved out onto the farm. My partner and I, her two girls, and my dog Sam.

The House from Hell

Part Two – The smirking spectre

So apart from the house being a wee bit small for the four of us and a Labrador/Newfoundland puppy growing at a fast rate, life was good on the farm. Apart from when Paul, the second-in-charge, would sleep in and I would have to go wake him up, which was just about all the time. About six months later I decided to start taking Sam out with me on farm to get the cows in and do pasture walks.

I still remember this well. The first morning I took Sam with me to get the cows from Paul’s house paddock it was about 4am on a Friday. We got to the gate of the paddock and there were no cows waiting. I said to Sam, “That’s strange! There are no girls waiting for us.” Normally there is always some waiting.

So here I have to tell you a wee bit about Sam, so you understand what kind of dog he is. He is a big, gentle giant. He would have been pushing 60 kilograms back then, but he was so fast and never really growled or barked. If I told him to bark he would lie down and look at me as if to say “That’s too much effort.”

So I told Sam to go find the girls and off he went. I jumped back on my two-wheel and flicked on my headlamp so I would have light wherever my head was pointing, as well as the light from the bike. I could hear the cows moving so I knew they were up the back of the paddock.

Sam the dogI came up on Sam. I was about 10 feet away from him and he was standing dead still. He had lowered his body slightly to the ground like he was about to stalk someone and he was staring straight at Paul’s house. He started a low, quiet, guttural growl. I called him because he was starting to freak me out. He didn’t even acknowledge me. I yelled out “Sam, come!” but he didn’t even move a hair in my direction, he just keep growling. I was like, “Bugger you! Gary (the other worker) is at the shed waiting for cows.” So I left Sam and went up the paddock to get the cows.

When I found them they were stressed. They had churned up the back part of the paddock and they didn’t want to move from where they were. Then Sam started going off barking, the nastiest bark and growl I had ever heard. I knew the cows weren’t going to move so I raced back up to where Sam was nutting out. Just as I got there Paul came out his back door and told Sam to “Shut up!” and ask me “Why was he nutting out?”

“Do you see anything?” I asked, as I shined my headlamp in his direction. At the same time Sam was doing about a 20 foot dash to the right then back to the left. Paul said no, he couldn’t see anything and right then there was a loud thud. We turn to see Sam flying through the air and land with a yelp and then roll straight back on to his feet. He was even more pissed off than before. By this time, I was running to the spot where Sam had been before he was sent flying. With a whole lot of cursing, while looking in Sam’s direction, he was already at full pace and barking. When he reached the same spot, he was slavering. He just reminded me of the look a timber-wolf gets before they attack.

I got to within five feet of him when Sam turned looked at me. He started walking towards me barking, growling. I was like, “Like hell! Don’t you bark at me!”, then realized he wanted me to move back, which I did. He runs back to the same spot growling and snarling. Then I heard a noise from Paul’s house. He and his family were getting into their 4-wheel-drive. He yelled out “We’re out of here!” as he jumped in and they shot down the drive and were gone. Then I heard the sound of a Hilux coming down the lane. I was hoping it was Ben, my boss, and as I turned in the direction of the sound, there, standing about 20 feet in front of me and 10 feet in front of Sam, I finally saw what he was barking at. It was only for five seconds but I know I saw it. It was an older man, maybe in his 60’s, standing with his back to us. He was looking over his shoulder at us with a real evil glare in his eye and smirk on his face, and then he was gone.
Sam was still barking, but it was just a normal bark when Ben turned up. He asked me “What happened?” but I was just staring where I had seen that old man. Ben tapped me on my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin! He asked me, “Are you alright? What happened?” I just looked at him and said, “I don’t know how to tell you.”

I put Sam on the deck of his truck. “You gotta see the cows” I said, and we drove down to the back of the paddock. When he saw the cows in a tight bunch and the way they had churned up the ground, he was like “What the hell?” We still couldn’t get them to come up the paddock past Paul’s house even with two dogs, Ben and myself herding them. We ended up letting them though the next paddock, over through a back gate, and they were fine. By the time we started milking, Sam was asleep on his bed in the corner of the cow shed about 15 feet from us. He slept there right up until we started putting the wash through the plant.

All that morning Ben was quizzing me. In the end I said, “You won’t believe me, but are we still having a BBQ at yours tonight?” he said, “Yes, of course.” “Well, ask me then and I will try to tell you.” Later that night, when the kids had gone to bed, and there was only Ben, Chris, Gary, Beth and my partner and myself, I told them everything. They gave me a bit of a hard time about it, until Paul turned up and handed in his notice. He told them what he had seen, which helped confirm my story. The laughing seemed to stop real quick…

Part Three – Taking possession

Paul moves out – we move in.

After Paul handed in his notice, Ben and Chris had to get another worker. After a long talk, and a lot convincing, they talked me and my family into moving into Paul’s old house. The first thing I noticed was there was a room with no windows in it, which was just weird. But it was a good room to put the drum kit in, so we moved in and we all liked having a lot more room and not living on top of each other. The kitchen, dining room and living room was open plan in an L shape. Things were good for a time, about four months. Our girls were happy and my partner was happy and life was good.

But I still had the same feelings about the place.

Then one night, when we were watching Deadliest Catch, two of the top cupboard doors in the kitchen just opened on their own. I knew the girls had seen it by the looks on their faces. I got up and went to the kitchen and closed the cupboard doors. Then I walked back and sat down. Next minute, the cutlery drawer flew across the kitchen! It scared the hell out of everyone! Then the lights started flickering…

Sam was already on his feet, growling, and the girls were crying, hugging their Mum and she was looking at me as if I could explain what just happened. I told my partner, “Go pack a bag for you and the girls,” and rang Ben and Chris. I told them to get down here ASAP! Lights were flickering and the cupboards and drawers were opening and closing, but this was only happening in the kitchen, living and dining rooms.

Cutlery drawerMy partner had gone with the girls to the bedrooms to pack, and Sam and I were still in the living room. I could see Ben and Chris’s Hilux coming down the road. As they came inside I could see the terror on their faces. Ben was a big boy, standing well over 6 feet, and Chris, she was a fiery red-head, but I could see they were both very scared.

By now, everyone was back in the living room, near the back door, except for Sam who was standing on a rug in the dining room and whimpering. Ben and I ran over to see what was going on, but Sam wouldn’t come after I called him. He was standing there shaking, peeing on the rug which was being pulled somehow towards the hallway. Sam was yelping and then growling as if he was being hit. Ben and I both grabbed the rug and tried to pull it back, but couldn’t.

I got between Sam and whatever was trying to get him. All of a sudden my back felt like it was burning! But I didn’t have time to worry about that. (Later on, when I was getting changed, I discovered I had five big scratch marks going diagonally down my back.) Eventually I got Sam off the rug and Ben let it go and it flew into the hallway. Ben, Sam and I ran out of the house, jumped into our trucks, and tore off down the drive. I had never seen my partner drive the way she did that night. I keep looking back at the house and the lights were going nuts inside.

When we got back to Ben and Chris’s place, I had a glass of bourbon followed by a strong coffee. I don’t think many of us got much sleep that night, or for many more nights thereafter. I handed in my notice and stayed at Ben and Chris’s while I worked out my notice period with Sam. We moved out of that house, but only during daylight hours. My partner and the girls moved back to town and stayed with family until we could move back into our own home.

Today I live in Auckland and yes, Sam is still with me. A little bit greyer, but just as lovable as ever. However, now he has bad dreams cries and growls in his sleep. I wake him up and let him know he is fine and safe with Mum and Dad. As for myself, I try not to think about that house and what happened there. Even though I can still picture it as if I am right back there, even after all this time. I could still drive there tomorrow, but I will never set foot back on that property again.

Man standing

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