The House on Church Street: The Whole Story

This is a true story of my experience in the supernatural. The title I choose expresses the nightmare I once lived which started in 1972: This is a story about a haunted house I lived in about 30 years ago. In Standish, Mi. I was only 21 yrs old when I moved into this, very innocent looking, but very haunted house. After moving in, sometime later I had opened doors I could not close. I was to find out I had awoken the spirits that inhabited a, Native American Indian grave site under the house. My life turned into a nightmare that would escalate into a battle between good & evil nightly for 4 years. My dad purchased an old house that was estimated to be about 100 years old. While digging underneath the house in preparation to level it with jacks, he stumbled upon some bones. After a little thought and some dismay, he determined that the bones appeared to be human.. He was very upset and dumbfounded by this discovery. Still in shock and disbelief, he turned the bones over to an official to be tested. Later, he was told that the bones had been from the body of a Native American and that there could be more bones under the house. They believed that my dad may have discovered a Native American burial ground. At that time no one seemed concerned, as Michigan was known to have Native American burial sites state-wide. My dad did not wish to disturb the burial ground any more than he already had. He placed the bones back under the house and buried them in the same spot he had found them. He did not continue to investigate, hoping he had not disturbed any spirits that were at rest or protecting the burial ground. It was a well known fact that many burial grounds in the state of Michigan were thought to have had curses placed on them by the Native Americans years ago for protection against intruders. While researching for my book years later, I searched for a reason for the horrifying intensity of my encounter with the supernatural. I began to collect as much data as I could find. At the local area Pinconning Library, I discovered an interesting book about the area's Native American villages.

From the Publisher

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From the Inside Flap

I want to introduce the background of my Mother's heritage and blood line. With this information I hope to attempt to describe the family generational curse, and how it brought about my destiny. When you read the history behind my family, and the whole story behind The House On Church Street, I believe you will be able to draw the conclusion that there was a strong force drawing me into the world of the supernatural. My great great-grandfather's bloodline was the one that dominated everything we inherited in our family as far back as the 1600's or further. In 1870, Eighteen year old John Howden made a decision to sail across the ocean from Lancashire, England, with his sister Susan, age seventeen. They came to America by way of Dover, Canada, on one of many ships that carried passengers and goods. They left behind their parents, George and Ann Howden, and the remaining family members. They later emigrated to Arenac county. John discovered some land just off Shoreline Rd about eight miles, outside the city of Standish, Michigan. John Howden was a very well known farmer in the community. page 7 of 243 He named his ranch The Jock Twenty. There he farmed for 40 years before passing on in 1914 of Bright's disease (now known as sugar diabetes). The Howden blood line was very strong. John built a homestead for his wife, Emiline, four sons, and one daughter named Maud. Emiline decided it was time to impart what was called, the family power of healing to her only daughter Maud. This impartation was required to take place between a mother and her daughter. If that was not possible then the next female in the family line was to inherit the gifts. The stories that followed her healing gift were amazing and astounding. She was called upon often to assist doctors who had given up hope on their patients with a problem such as internal bleeding or a life- threatening sickness. She would spend a few moments with the patient talking, reading scripture from a King James Bible and then asking God for this healing power to be released upon this person's illness. The complete healing results were always overnight or instantaneous. Emiline gained a reputation among many in the area, but it was a very well- kept secret. She kept a diary which held many of her superstitious beliefs, along with healing recipes, and remedies, that were used when no doctor was available or affordable. For cuts, bruises, the common cold, flue, blood clots, pneumonia etc. page 8

From the Back Cover

When you read the History behind my family blood line and read this story "The House On Church Street,The Whole Story" i believe you will also come to the conclusion that a strong force was drawing in the world of the supernatural.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

In May of 1972, I was 20 years old and living in Pinconning. The city had a population of around 1,300 at that time. I was staying just outside of town with my aunt and uncle. Mom had made a decision to move to Mississippi and make a fresh start with her new fiancée, Tom. She spent many years being independent, working at several jobs from a bartender, a waitress, a beautician, to operating a school bus route for the Pinconning School System. When she met Tom she felt he was the man of her dreams. She took a risk and decided to leave everything from the past behind her. My younger brother and two sisters went with her. I was working in Standish in a small shop 12 miles north of Pinconning where I was a wire welder on first shift at Magline Inc. I wanted to stay here where our family roots started and try and make it on my own. My life took me down several turns, all leading to one narrow path, deeper and deeper into a world I could not escape. page 27 of 243 My aunt & uncle had seven children, but we all got along together just fine even though it was a tight fit for everyone. My uncle Lindy was proud of what life brought him, proud of his accomplishments. He worked very hard to get what he had. When I came home from work each day he would be sitting in his personal reserved chair in the livingroom. Holding a cigarette in one hand, and a beer in the other after a hard day at work. He laughed a lot and was an easy person to talk with. He worked for the Bay County Road Commission in Pinconning, where he operated a road grader. In the summer, he kept the back roads cleaned that were not paved yet. In the winter months of Michigan, he worked many hours plowying snow. He worked with his brother Jack who was at the time a supervisor. They had worked together with their father, John Moore, until he retired in the 1960's. My aunt Birdy was a part time school bus driver during the day trying to pull in extra money to help pay the bills. She worked a lot of hours for the nearby public school system. She then came home to take care of the house and her family. John was their oldest son (named after his grandfather). He was 24 yrs of age and was working for GM in Saginaw at the Steering Gear plant. page 28 of 243 I hung around with his younger brother, Jim, who was 19 yrs old. He held a maintenance job at the local Cheese Store in Pinconning. He had a love for cars, and was always working on his own, tuning it, fixing something or beefing up the motor. He owned a sharp looking 1967 Chevy. It was his best friend. It was never dirty nor held any rust on the body more than a day before he was removing and restoring it. We became close friends during that time, and hung out together on the weekends often. On friday & saturday nights we spent a lot of time driving through the nearby restaurants looking for girls. One day Jim introduced me to a new restaurant that had just opened in the area. It was a family owned business called "Pete's Restaurant". There were some very pretty waitresses that worked there, that drew both of our attention. Over the weeks to come, it turned out to be like the weekly show that was broadcast over TV, Happy Days, where the young crowd hangs out at Arnold's Restaurant. Over time Pete had placed a jukebox and a pool table in another room for all of us younger people. This was the greatest time of my life.. We ate, played pool or went partying afterwards in the evenings. I got acquainted with the place, and gained many new friends over the months to come. Jim didn't approve of the people I was hanging out with. He stopped coming around after a while and we went our separate ways. My new-found friends soon took me down a path I was going to live to regret.

About the Author

Was born in Pinconning Michigan about 2 1/2 hours north of detroit. He graduated from Pinconning High School in 1970. He then became a permanent resident of Standish Michigan around 1985. He attended Delta College and studied computer information systems. After working for small computer service companies over the years he was than hired by IBM in Midland Michigan where he had worked for 10 years as a Computer Service Specialist. Sometime in the early 1980's, Randy started writing his story after receiving much encouragement from several close friends and family. The title he chose expressed the nightmare he onced lived which started in 1972. The old working title was "You Shall Know The Truth". He then placed his story on the shelf after he had completed it almost 2 years later with frustration not knowing what type of audience it would reach. In the year 2003 almost 30 years later, He began experiencing urges over a period of several months to take his book off the shelf once again. He revamped the story from cover to cover. At that time he was offered voluntary layoff to begin the refurbishing project which is now know today as "The House On Church Street" named after the site where the house once stood. None of the facts were changed in the story, he tells it the way it happened orchestrating his story to attract an audience that would be interested in the supernatural.

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