A man walks through the first floor of a house, then vanishes without a trace. An empty porch swing begins swaying on a breezeless day. The thick scent of cigarettes hovers in a home where no one smokes.
Among the people who describe strange occurrences in the places where they live , not everyone is quick to use the word ghost ; some aren’t quite sure how to define what they’ve seen or heard (or smelled). But many can’t quite shake the suspicion that they’re sharing a living space with something, or someone, that isn’t actually living . And their experiences aren’t especially rare: A 2022 YouGov poll found 25% of Americans believe they have lived in a house they thought was haunted, while another 10% said they were not sure.
We asked readers to share stories of their haunted homes . The following accounts have been edited for length and clarity. The sound of children’s voices Our house was built before the Civil War.
I’ve lived in this area my whole life, and this house always had a reputation for being haunted. At first, we figured these stories we’d heard were all made up..
