Spooky Relations

Had this tale reached me a couple of weeks earlier it would have been perfect timing for Halloween, but better late than never, right? Sure, I could have kept it under my hat until next year, but this bit of family weirdness can’t wait. There’s not much to the story, really, and certainly everyone has heard more eerie or horrific tales, but I’m absolutely floored that this sort of thing took place in my family. Dad’s side of the family consisted of miners and farmers, conservative Ohio folk that were known for their dignity and moral propriety. It’s their upstanding demeanor and quiet reserve that makes this tale of the occult truly extraordinary.
My grandmother, Goldie Stevens (born Goldie Parker), was almost seventy in 1957, the year I was born, but I got to know her well enough to see her as guiding force behind dad’s strength of character. Goldie passed on in 1979, and my grandfather, Homer Stevens, died in 1961. I was too young to remember my grandfather, but from all accounts he too was possessed of a character that was beyond reproach. Not much was known of the Stevens or Parkers beyond my grandparents generation, and no prospects for further information were in sight until a few weeks ago. In the course of doing our genealogy research my sister Carol has corresponded with our aunt Dorothy Jean, hoping to add a generation or two to the family tree. Little was gained in that regard, but instead what surfaced was a number of priceless family anecdotes. This one, set somewhere around the year 1900, is centered around Goldie’s childhood and the family pastime, playing with a Ouija Board.
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