Long story about a Motorola found on an abandoned farm

[zenithfan1]

As some of you know, I like to go to abandoned houses. I went to three over the Easter break. I always take a souvenir when I leave and I always hope to find an old set in one of those places, this time I did. But something’s wrong with this old farm. I parked down the road since the driveway is gated and I didn’t want cops seeing my car out front. I walk to the back where I find an old 1955 or so Chevy work truck with a flatbed, sunk to its axles in the dirt, I felt bad for it and shut the open door after sitting in it for a minute and shifting the gears. I was already picking up a “weird vibe” that I didn’t like but there was so much cool shit to look at that I couldn’t leave. I found a total of I think 5 cars and trucks, two Chevy long bed pick ups from about 1975 one being a camper special, it’s been awhile since I‘ve seen one of those. One truck had been wrecked in the front. Two were AMC wagons from the early to mid 70s. All had plates that expired in 1983, all were sunk to the axles in the dirt. They looked to be in good condition when left, almost no rust or dents, just vandalism and theft of parts. One AMC had maps and a coat on the seat amongst other crap, the cars were simply driven there and left to rot. The Chevy trucks were rotted away from sitting, those mid 70s Chevy trucks in particular would rust a week after they rolled off the assembly line, the imported steel they used was very bad.

THEN there is the barns and garages, nothing good in there but they are all full, the hayloft is full of very old hay. The main barn had a lot of old household crap and magazines laying everywhere. Outside in the yard is farm equipment, tractor from the 20s that have been stripped for parts, a very large combine and other equipment, engines, barrels and shit. The garage stunk of chemicals, there are old metal cans of antifreeze and paint thinner rusting and leaking all over. All cabinets and drawers gone through and pulled out, things everywhere. You could tell people have taken anything of value, but there is so much there still. Sadly, no lawnmowers, probably stolen years ago. I don’t think anything was taken by the owners, only abandoned. WHY?

I saved the house for last, it had the most foreboding feeling of any old house I checked out. All windows are broken except a few which is too bad because that is why so much water is getting in. The back door was wide open, the second I walked up I got a chill and my intuition or inner voice, whatever you want to call it was saying get the f out of there. Did I leave? No. I probably should have but no. I went on in, smashed glass and crap all over the kitchen floor, looked into the living room, there was furniture, personal paperwork, family and school pictures, kids homework and more, all at least 20 years old. In the old front porch which had been turned into a room in the 70s had a lonely 1975 Zenith SS black and white tv and a 1987 MGA color set that was laying on the floor next to the very old bedframe that was in there. The roof has been leaking for some time now, the stairs have rotted badly so getting up there was not easy, water damage from top to bottom. The other side of the house has a leak in the roof in the same place, opposite the other leak. It is going to meet in the middle and the house will fall down in a few more years. The bathroom is upstairs and has the water damage from the other leak. More personal belongings up there, one bedroom has two beds for kids and a 1969ish Motorola 19” B/W set. The bed has seemingly been moved out of the way of the leaking water as if someone cares about it. The tv was on the floor in front of the two beds and a box fan is by the wall, wind howling thorough the broken windows. There is a very surreal and SAD feeling in this house. The only thing I noticed totally missing are clothes, I think that’s all they took like they left in the middle of the night and never came back. The other rooms have more paperwork, bills and crap.

There is something weird about the way this house seems to cry for help, it’s all I can do not to go out there and tarp up the roof and start fixing things. I usually never feel this way about them and have been in many, it’s like it’s calling me back. I was thinking of the house on Monday night laying in bed when it was raining, sad that more water is getting in. I have also never felt so compelled to write my story down. I am going back to check it out better and find info on the people that lived there and do some more exploring. I took the Motorola tv and it has the creepiest feeling, even after I got home. I may just bring it back to the house, I don’t want that energy at my house, I never brought it in, I just put it out in the garage. I doubt I’ll bring it back up those stairs but I’ll leave it in the living room. I also find it odd that there has been vandalism but no one smashed those tvs. Maybe it looked somewhat like this when they left, I don’t have any idea. I’m starting to wish I had never stopped there, it’s like I feel different now and can't explain it. I should have listened to my intuition. Thanks for reading my insanely long story about a wierd house and a crappy tv that none of us are really crazy about. I’m posting the story now but I’m going back this week to take pictures and bring that set back. I’ll post the pics.

[sampson159]

that is a good story,mark.i think we all have been in similar situations.at least you didn t trash the place more.most folks your age would have done so.please post pics of your find.will see you in hilliard!

[redcoates7]

I really enjoyed your post, and completely understand the feeling you had when you were around that house. Some places just have a stronger "imrpint" on them than others, and I can only imagine how much stronger that feeling is when the previous occupant's belongings are still strewn all over...

[zenith2134]

Some places definitely come to mind from your story...Places stuck in another time, like there's a layer of dust over a still-life of a deceased person. Sad indeed, but IMHO the TVs are still worth saving. Let's face it, no one wants them anymore and the place is probably going to be demolished one of these days.

It's eerie to think about what, if any, spirits or energies are attached to the possessions which come from these type of homes. I think most are benevolent, but you'd ''best watch out'' for the ones with malicious intentions.

Only one time, out of all the times I've taken stuff 'from the unknown' did I feel as though I had encountered a malevolent spirit:

A 1987 CTC-130 TV from the curb. Worked well enough as found. One day I went down to the room where it was set-up and it was on, with a blank picture. You can believe the next part or not, doesn't matter to me: But it did happen.

The set wouldn't shut off, or change channels, or do anything. You should have seen how fast I ran after I held the AC plug in my hands and a beyond-HD image of an old man's tattered face appeared.

Weird stuff associated with this hobby, for sure.

[eberts]

Houses like that are breeding grounds for all sorts of fatal to humans bacteria & viruses.
That creepy feeling or vibe you picked up is death reaching out towards you.
Better call the EPA if chemicals are leaking into farmland soil.

[qboneus]

Being raised on one of these farms/ranches before I moved to 'town' I can identify and totally recognize the scene you have described.
In fact, we still own several like you described.
Many farms here are conglomerations; a few thousand acres here, and then another thousand here, thousand there, Like us as people sold out to my family over the years as they left the trade for greener pastures.
Some of the previous owners stuff still resides here, and there in a few of our 'YARDS' as there is no garbage disposal services on the farm other than a dump, and burning barrel.... who wants to drive for 45 minutes or more just to reach a landfill, especially to throw away stuff that isn't theirs!!

When we moved to town all those years ago we selected things we wanted, and things we would sooner forget stayed out
Some are just acreage with a grainery here or there; the larger ones are peppered with a couple of houses and maybe a fuel tank or two with Toolbar's and disks, some seeders, combines, tractors ect, I just got done working on one of the farms last week.
Several farms have implements, but no tractor because the tractor goes from farm to farm with the operator rather than owning multiple expensive tractors and is stored off-site to prevent vandalism..

I was there from tuesday 7:00 am until 8:00 pm, same hours wednesday,thursday and also saturday last week.
I finished working the acreage and am not scheduled to return to this farm to work the land for another 3 YEARS, it is in CRP..
so for all parctical purposes this land is abandoned
So the farm is occupied approximately 48 hours over a 3 year period.
This can make for a pretty 'spooky' feeling for the uninitiated, non farm raised person but likely this scene would have not even caused me to pause for I know just how common it is.
To someone else coming to one of these farms/ranches from a busy, hustle, bustle city it could easily be culture shock; I can't even think how many 'farm garages' I have been in that look just like you described, pillaged and plundered; just like the owners left them
tal

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

Some places definitely come to mind from your story...Places stuck in another time, like there's a layer of dust over a still-life of a deceased person. Sad indeed, but IMHO the TVs are still worth saving. Let's face it, no one wants them anymore and the place is probably going to be demolished one of these days.

It's eerie to think about what, if any, spirits or energies are attached to the possessions which come from these type of homes. I think most are benevolent, but you'd ''best watch out'' for the ones with malicious intentions.

Only one time, out of all the times I've taken stuff 'from the unknown' did I feel as though I had encountered a malevolent spirit:

A 1987 CTC-130 TV from the curb. Worked well enough as found. One day I went down to the room where it was set-up and it was on, with a blank picture. You can believe the next part or not, doesn't matter to me: But it did happen.

The set wouldn't shut off, or change channels, or do anything. You should have seen how fast I ran after I held the AC plug in my hands and a beyond-HD image of an old man's tattered face appeared.

Weird stuff associated with this hobby, for sure.

I believe it. With all the experiences I've had, I whole heartedly believe it. This might just be one of those tvs. I did plug it in as found, it tried to work but no HV, not bad for a set that has been in front of a broken window for years with the elements blowing in on it. I really don't know if I want it. No other "souvenir" form an old house ever gave me this errie feeling before, at least not THIS bad. What did you do with that RCA??? It would be scary just carrying the set out of the house after that. Weird stuff indeed....

[zenithfan1]

Hey Tal, thanks for sharing, this stuff usually don't bother me either but it was different this time for some reason. I too was raised in the county and we had a farm. I can't wait to go get the pics to share. It took a couple hours to look at it all, there is a few things I'm going to check better. It is weird that the tractors are there, like you said those usually go with the people because they cost so much.
eberts, I agree with you on the bacteria and viruses. I do this stuff at my own risk. These places are extremely dangerous, to think I used to do this as a teenager with no cell phone and no one knowing where I was......at least this time I had a phone

[zenith2134]

Yeah, Mark.....about that RCA....I didn't tell anyone why i wanted to get rid of it, and my buddy took it for free. Never saw it again, and he used it for another year or two and then upgraded. He threw it out.

[Sandy G]

There is a place near here called Pressmen's Home. It was the headquarters of the printing pressmen's union from 1911-1969. They built several buildings there, the most impressive of which was the Technical Trade school Building, a massive 5 story structure built at a cost of a million dollars in 1948. It was a swanky place in its day-the lobby had 2 man elevators in it, & was finished in pink variegated East Tennessee marble. Anyhow, I took a self-guided tour of the place in Feb 1991-by myself. The main floor was where they had printing presses set up, above that, the various floors had layout/stripping equpment, offices, classrooms, drafting/layout light tables, darkrooms, & the top floor was a 1000 seat auditorium. All the photographic/printing press equipment was long gone, but quite a few of the layout/stripping/drafting tables were still there. I guess I spent an hour or so wandering thru there, it was a bright warm Sunday afternoon, NOBODY else was there-And I had no real business being in there, either-But I'll swear on a stack of Bibles that I was positive I was being watched the whole time I was there. Nothing malevolent, you understand, just "under observation". There was one section of the building that I didn't go into-it was built into the side of a hill, & was black as pitch, & my Spidey-Sense said "Stay the F out, Fat Boy !" & I did. I guess I was so fascinated by all the stuff that was in there, that overcame my fear of being in a potentially dangerous place. I drive thru that settlement every so often, & almost every time I do, I get a feeling of almost indescribable sadness. But y'all know how sentimental about stuff I am. Maybe that's why the spooks 'n' ghosts didn't bother me the day I was there...

[70salesguy]

I travel quite a bit with my business, most of it in my Tahoe. I certainly run the interstate some and major highways as well, but a fair amount is on 2-lane country roads. As a result, I see a lot of abandoned houses.

The thoughts run through your head, what happened? Why is that house abandoned? Did they die and leave no heirs, or could the heirs not agree about what to do, or how to "divide up" the estate?

They seem to range from "already fallen in" to just starting to look scruffy.

The saddest part is seeing those big old houses that were beautiful at one time and maybe a few years ago, could have been saved, but now are too far gone.

I've never ventured inside one, for lots of good reasons, but practically every day I see one of them.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by qboneus

Some are just acreage with a grainery here or there; the larger ones are peppered with a couple of houses and maybe a fuel tank or two with Toolbar's and disks, some seeders, combines, tractors etc, I just got done working on one of the farms last week.
Several farms have implements, but no tractor because the tractor goes from farm to farm with the operator rather than owning multiple expensive tractors and is stored off-site to prevent vandalism..

I was there from Tuesday 7:00 am until 8:00 pm, same hours Wednesday,Thursday and also Saturday last week.
I finished working the acreage and am not scheduled to return to this farm to work the land for another 3 YEARS, it is in CRP..
so for all practical purposes this land is abandoned

I'm a city boy, so I have no idea what this machine does. Maybe it injects seeds into the ground?

I've heard that the government paid farmers to not farm their land. Is that what "CRP" is?

Where I grew up, northeast NJ, in surburban NYC, a farm was defined as "a piece of land where houses haven't been built yet". In Montvale NJ there was a roadside food store "Tice Farms" and a farm with apple trees and such behind it. One day a fire destroyed the store, and it got covered on the New York City local TV news. A friend who grew up in a farming community was laughing at the NY TV news reporters doing a story on this "farm". That he figured that most of the food sold there was trucked in from far away. The place later became the "Tice Industrial Park", with lots of parking lots and 3 story office buildings...

In upsate New York, along Route 17 I used to see lots of hilly farms, some with cows. Something about where milk comes from (I said I was a city boy )

[fsjonsey]

I'd love to see pictures of this set. Something about abandoned buildings, especially when their contents are left behind, really intrigues me.

[AUdubon5425]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

Thanks for reading my insanely long story about a wierd house and a crappy tv that none of us are really crazy about. I’m posting the story now but I’m going back this week to take pictures and bring that set back. I’ll post the pics.

I came across a house like the one in your story a couple of months ago. I saw an MLS listing for a cheap house on one of the only streets around me that fared well in Katrina. A little background - every structure in my parish (county) flooded except for about two dozen (my own best estimate), mostly a few old farm houses near the Mississippi River levee and about half the houses in this two-street subdivision. So I had to go check it out.

Now seeing tens of thousands of destroyed houses, with everyone's possessions strewn about the floors or piled 7-8 feet high on their front lawns kinda numbs you after a certain point. I drive over to this house, and start walking around the property. There's a large garage (4-6 car capacity) I look in first that is packed full of furniture and stuff - staring at me through the window is a rather large mid-late 80's console TV (Zenith or RCA.) I walk back to the house and looking through a back window into a bedroom I see the roof has been leaking for a long time, and on top of a dresser is a military burial flag in a wood & glass case. Odd that someone would leave that behind. But many people evacuated and were either too sick to return or died before they had the chance, so I'm figuring that's the case, maybe they had no family. I try the front door next, and it opens. First thing I see is a 1980 Quasar console TV, still in great shape, but all the furniture, newspapers, magazines, etc....everything looks like someone left for the store one day and never came back. Creepy. I've walked in 100 flooded houses, but my intuition was telling me not to go in, so I don't. Before I left I noticed another window and I look in - there are medicine bottles on the sill that expired in 1998.

So I'd really like to know the story behind this house - it is in a good neighborhood where houses just aren't abandoned like in some poorer parts of New Orleans. And why is it for sale now? Why would the heirs wait over ten years to sell a house that they could have gotten 3-4 times as much for before the roof went bad? Weird, just really weird.

Knowing that someone is going to have to pay to clear the house out, I thought about calling the listing agent and asking her about the Quasar, but heck, I really don't need another 80's console TV, don't know what I'd do with it. Maybe if I saw a ghost in it I could get on the Maury Povitch Show (or whatever program caters to that type of crap these days!)

[2DualsNotEnough]

I went into a few abandoned houses as a kid,but it always creeped me out too much to go back.But one time when I was in my late teens,I just couldnt resist.A friend of mine and I always loved the old building,so we climbed through a hole in the fence,and found an open door in the back.There were several theatre seats in various states of disrepair,and a roll of old tickets.We checked out the stage,and looked around.I wish I could have just stayed for a few hours to take in all the history.
BTW,it was the old Pan Pacific Auditorium in L.A.One of the most beautiful buildings ever,IMHO.There is a replica of it at the entrance to the MGM/Disney Studios tour at Disney World.
Jimmy