STRANGE BUT TRUE TALES

ANDREW J., HOUSTON, USA

By Andrew J.

I live in a neighbourhood in West Houston where the houses are tight and streets have many cars parked. I have a couple of roommates and between having to share the driveway and front of our house with them and my wife, I generally have to park on a perpendicular street a few houses down.

One day because I had quite a few groceries, I just parked in front of a house that is across the street and diagonal to the right when facing it from my front door. We must keep in mind that it is perfectly legal to park there as long as the driveway is not blocked. That homeowner does not own any part of the street (though we may keep some courtesies in mind).

Later, I left for my afternoon hospital shift and as I got in my car, the owner of the house was coming to put a note on my car. As he saw me inside, he spouted off about me blocking his mailbox (which I wasn't, I was a few feet away and was nonetheless parked legally), parking in front of his house and asked me where I lived. He was angry and, again, it was a very scary looking face.

I retorted, "I'm not telling you where I live and you don't own the street!"

But the Caucasian man's face, it was a very mean-looking face. Scary. Seemingly perpetually angry eyes and slanted eyebrows with a pointy chin. His appearance was somewhere in his late 50s to early 60s.

I rolled up my window and drove off. This was around May 2014. I never parked in front of his house again and never had any run ins after that.

Then in one mid-October night as I was walking to my house after work from around the corner, there were many ambulances and fire trucks. I didn't know whose house they were responding to so I went in my house and didn't think about it anymore.

Not long after, I noticed activity at the angry man's house on some days. His garage was being emptied of junk over a period of some weekends (three years living in my neighbourhood, I've never seen his garage door open). People who apparently were relatives were taking some things out of the house. His mini-van was even parked back in, and he never did that, and consequently was never driven over a two week period from that spot. Except for one mass clean-up, trash was never put out. And then one day, his mini-van was gone.

Presumably the angry man had passed away.

Recent nights, I thought of parking in front of the angry man's house again. One night after work, I parked briefly there but looked at the window (where the light is left on) and felt a little spooked. So I drove to my usual spot on the street around the corner and parked. I always feel comfortable parking there.

But a street project just started and my usual spot was blocked off two days ago. So two nights ago, I parked in front of the angry man's house. As I was gathering my things, I heard...a KNOCK KNOCK, a real KNOCK KNOCK on one of the rear side windows of my SUV. No one was there. No, it wasn't a nut or something that fell on my vehicle from a tree branch above. It was a loud KNOCK KNOCK, like a person would do. I was out of my car and there was no one in sight in or around or down the neighbourhood street. And why would there be, really? KNOCK KNOCK for what?

Last night I parked again in front of the angry man's house but there was no KNOCK KNOCK. BUT...earlier in the day, my wife and the female roommate took one of the dogs to the veterinarian. When they returned home, they found the paper towel holder in the kitchen TORN OFF from the cupboard. It was in place when they left. No signs of any break in. I told my wife about the KNOCK KNOCK on my car.

Though we do not consider our house to be active or haunted, it has had some odd varied occurrences in the past. But nothing consistently noteworthy. There are very long stretches where the house is normal and quiet though it feels it has the potential for odd things. But my parking in front of the angry man's house. I wonder if something was disturbed or has begun? He has no right to be angry at me, even in death. I am not disturbing his property in any way.