Strange happenings recorded through the years in historic house
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By CONNIE CARTMELL
LITTLE HOCKING - On a gray, wind-blown autumn afternoon, the somber
and stately house, poised on a rise above the banks of the Ohio River,
wraps herself in a brooding air, as if watching or waiting for
someone.
"People can believe what they want, but things really happened in that
house," said Linda Roush, a former resident. "I remember the sensation
of a presence in the house, always gentle and kind, but a definite
presence."
During the 16 years Roush and her late husband, Herbert, lived in the
Sawyer-Curtis house near Little Hocking, the couple recorded no fewer
than 60 unusual and unexplained incidents.
Herbert Roush, a retired minister, author and historian, carefully
recorded each incident in his journal.
Nov. 11, 1982
"It was about this time we were made aware of a dull thumping sound
from time to time in the house. It occurred in both day and night
times. No reason has ever been found for it, but it is heavy enough to
suggest a person bumping into a wall. It is definitely not a knocking,
but a muffled thud that is often repeated. The presence continues to
make itself real."
The Sawyer-Curtis house is one of the oldest standing in Ohio.
Built by Nathaniel Sawyer in 1798, the house is, at the very least,
the oldest in the region. For a brief time, Sawyer and his family
lived there. It also was home to generations of the Horace Curtis
family.
As a proven station on the Underground Railroad, on the National
Register of Historic Places, the house has an impressive pedigree.
But there is more.
Feb. 9, 1983
"On this particular cold winter morning, Linda prepared for work,
while I remained in bed meditating on the day ahead. I was thinking
how chilly it had gotten in the night and that I had left the bedroom
window fully raised. I was staring at the window thinking I must get
up and close it, but just as the thought crossed my mind, I was amazed
to watch the window close by itself. It made no sound and came down
slowly as though by an unseen hand. It touched the sill in silence."
Some say the house is haunted.
"There's been all kinds of stories, and, yes, ghost stories right
along," said Nancy Sams, president of the Belpre Historical Society.
"When Herb (Roush) lived there, he tried to restore the house to how
it was. He didn't ever want to remove the old railing upstairs because
he always said it was rubbed off with the 'hands of time.'"
What Herbert Roush simply called "the happenings" began shortly after
he and Linda moved to the graceful, historic house, Oct. 23, 1982.
"There is no logical explanation for what is happening here," Roush
said in an interview before his death. "Windows shut by themselves;
candlesticks fly off the wall; there is a warm presence. When we moved
into the house 16 years ago, neither my wife nor I believed in ghosts
and always refused to call what happened 'ghost' stories."
Today, Linda Roush lives miles from the house, but she still believes.
"I recall coming home from work and smelling the wonderful aroma of
roast beef cooking. I called to Herb, to thank him for cooking this
fabulous dinner," she said. "But there was nothing cooking in the
kitchen and no roast beef dinner."
First, you must love history, Linda Roush said.
"Love history with all your heart," she said. "Herb was an authority
on the house. Truth mattered to him. There was a beautiful lady who
once sat on the end of my bed. She had a music box and played it for
me. She was sweet. I don't care if anybody believes it."
The Roushes soon connected to the old house. It became far more than
wood and stone, but an "entity" with a life of its own.
Oct. 17, 1985
"I personally heard a man and woman talking during the night. It
awakened me and, as usual, the words were inaudible, but clear enough
to convince me of the reality of the conversations."
Herbert Roush had his own theory.
For generations, people called it the "Curtis" house, because the
Curtis family lived there more than 100 years. But Roush reasoned
Sawyer, the original builder of the house and one of the earliest
settlers of the area, felt rebuffed.
To this day, nobody knows why Sawyer left the house and area.
"I was obsessed to make him remembered," Roush had said. "When I moved
in I had no idea who built the house. They said it was the Curtis
house. History forgot Sawyer. He got involved in the Blennerhassett
conspiracy, lost his fortune, died rejected and outcast. He was a
personal friend of Aaron Burr."
Aug. 29, 1987
"We have experienced disappearing articles. Linda's watch has been
gone for three years. This time my plastic 'throwaway' watch was taken
from the dresser last night. It has no monetary value and has never
been found."
New owner Judy Gregg, a descendant of Horace Curtis, puts little
credence in the notion of "ghosts" and said she has never had an odd
or unexplained experience in her house.
"I like to wander around a corner and wonder what is on the other
side, wonder what's there. I like surprises, just not too many
surprises." she said.
Nov. 3, 1989
"I have been working in the downstairs bath, remodeling. I was alone
and at about 4 p.m. I heard a man's voice at the bath door very loudly
call my name: 'Herbert!' Of course, no one was present in the house.
During remodeling, I have heard conversational voices at different
times."
Horace Curtis was postmaster of Little Hocking, and the post office
was located just behind his house. The family had 12 children.
Gregg led a tour to the cellar, showing its massive central fireplace
(used for candle and soap-making long ago), stone walls and dirt
floor.
"This is a ghost area, I've heard," she said. "But the house has a
real friendly feel to me."
Roush had the same feelings, and more. A journal entry the day the
couple moved into the house says: "The neighbors and some of my
friends smiled when I bought her (the house). They called it a
'December-May' romance and, in quiet whispers, they wondered what I
saw in her."
June 1, 1992
"During the month of May, we uncovered a fireplace in the northeast
bedroom that had been hidden over 100 years. When we started to paper
the original ceiling, there were several long, ugly stains showing. We
put sizing over them and then papered the ceiling. When it dried, the
stains still bled through. We painted over the stubborn stains, but
they are still there today."
Jeff and Debbie Householder purchased the Sawyer-Curtis house from the
Roushes and lived there more than five years. They sold the house to
Gregg in August. The couple and their children never felt a "presence"
or experienced anything ... except for one incident.
"There was only this one that seemed odd," Debbie Householder said.
"My husband collects Santa figurines, and we had one by the end table
in what we called the dining room. One day we noticed it was missing.
We asked, but no one knew where it was. In a couple of days, my
daughter found it on her dresser. Who knows?"
Householder said that was the only unusual thing she recalls.
"Our children were older at the time, and I know the girls thought it
was a creepy house," she said.
July 2, 1996
"Twice on this day, Linda heard someone distinctly walking through the
house. Thinking I had come in from the office, she got up and looked
through the downstairs. There was no one there."
Local author and black historian Henry Burke visited once, researching
the Underground Railroad tie, and brought a friend, Debbie Householder
said.
"The two of them walked into the southeast bedroom and said they felt
'something.'" she said. "I guess I'm just not in tune with it."
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