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My family ties here go back 100+ years, and as a child, visiting my grandma here in the early 70's, I remember being terrified of the place. I was afraid to even walk past it. No one knew the present owners (out-of-staters), but it doesn't matter, for in that great small town tradition, it was simply called by the name of the original residents; The Old Adkins Place.
As you can see, it looks pretty sweet, and it always has (I took the photo above this past Sunday), but that's the creepy part: It always looked PERFECT!. No peeling paint, lawn immaculately groomed, not even a single dandelion or loose shingle. As kids, and even today, we were creeped out by the fact that nobody was ever there. It hadn't been lived in since the 40's (according to my uncle), and we never saw anyone taking care of the place. Word spread among the kids (and a few adults) that it must be ghosts. Kind of like Hill House in Shirley Jackson's novel: From the outside, it's looking pretty good, but inside something sinister was afoot.
This whole area (Madison County, MT), was a violent, rough and tumble gold mining region in the late 1800's, before the mines went dry by 1910, and is said to be one of the most haunted areas in the state, so this house fit right in with local lore.
As a 43 yr old adult, I know it's just an investment property/vacation home for a non-resident, and they come once or twice a year to visit and do maintenence, and they pay someone to maintain the lawn, etc.....but....
I can't walk by it today without getting a Grade-A case of the Creeps.
Such is the power of childhood myth
