Names will be changed to protect identities. Sorry but it’s the only way I could get permission to relate the events to you.

In the N.D.G. district of Montreal, you will find the street, Old Orchard. Below Sherbrooke Street, is an old three story walk-up apartment and the location of some pretty scary events. The individual involved is extremely level headed and not prone to flights of imagination by any means and if you ask him about the story? He will not discuss it, for a couple of reasons; first, and foremost, he is not inclined to be the object of someone else’s disbelief and amusement, second, talking about what went on still scares him.

The gentleman who shared this story with me will be referred to as M, his female companion will be C and their child will be referred to as B.

Shortly after the birth of his first child, M and his companion moved into a 3 story walk-up on Old Orchard in N.D.G. It was a typical older building in the neighbourhood, nothing to look at and the interior was unkempt. Their apartment was long and narrow, the rooms connected by an equally long and narrow hallway. It was rather dark and not a very cheery place.

It wasn’t long before they experienced some rather bizarre goings-on. They would put an article down in one spot, only to find it had been moved. Doors would open of their own volition but as mentioned, M was logical about the doors and attributed the opening and closing to be characteristic of an old building and this would be true had it not been for the combination of other events.

Being Catholic by birth, a crucifix was hung in the baby’s room. C. went in to check on their child while M was in their living room, watching television, after checking on the baby, she noticed the crucifix had somehow slipped and was now hanging upside down. She and the baby joined M in the living room and C mentioned the crucifix, asking M to fix it. M thought this to be very strange because of the way the crucifix had been attached but went into the room to put it right side up. Upon entering the baby’s room however, he noticed a decided chill and adjusted the thermostat. He checked the crucifix and it appeared someone had taken the icon from the wall and deliberately re-hung it. After he had fixed the problem, he went back to the living room to ask C if she had tried to fix it and inadvertently left it upside down. C told him that she hadn’t touched it since he had hung it up there, some weeks prior. M. shrugged it off.

The next day, C took the baby to visit some friends and M stayed home, he had to go to work later on in the day. He decided to shower and then watch a bit of television; upon coming out of the shower, however, he noted the bathroom door was open, although he knew he had closed it, his clothing was hanging on the hook. This wasn’t the first time he had encountered problems with doors opening and closing, as mentioned earlier but this was the first time he felt any real unease.

When he had finished his grooming, he closed the bathroom door, tightly and made his way to the living room. All the doors down the hallway were closed. Those doors had been open when he decided to shower. Walking down the hallway, he re-opened the doors and started back to the living room. The bathroom door was now fully opened even though he had closed it.

C had mentioned to M that she had noticed things out of the corner of her eye but when turning to look, nothing would be there and she also told him that she felt like she was being watched. M was now experiencing that same feeling; that someone was watching him. He tried to shrug it off and sat down in his living room, his choice of chair faced the hallway as well as the television, as he was about to flip the t.v. on, his attention was drawn to the hallway and to his unpleasant surprise, he was witness to an opaque, dark, clearly defined shadow form walk past the door and disappear. He jumped up, of course, to investigate but there was nothing there. The hall was empty.

The following series of events made it very clear to the young couple that they were living in the wrong place and needed to re-locate, as soon as possible.

When M arrived home from work the following day, C told him that he would have to rehang the crucifix again as it had flipped upside down again. M. knew this wasn’t likely as he had secured the cross to the wall to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. He went toward the baby’s bedroom and as he was about to enter the room, he was first hit by a blast of cold, at the same time he saw a dark shadow that seemed to be leaning over his baby’s crib. He advanced toward the shadow and felt as if he was being pushed back; he lunged forward and the shadow disappeared, his son began to cry. He grabbed up B and as he fled the room, he noticed that the crucifix was, indeed, upside down, again.

Following that incident, C refused to stay in the apartment another night and with M’s help, they packed up the baby’s belongings and necessities; she went to stay with family while M prepared the little family for their move out.

The problems continued as M tried to pack their belongings. He would fill a box, only to find some of the objects out of the box and on the floor as soon as he turned his back. And the crucifix? He was finishing up the baby’s room when it flew off the wall and hitting the opposite wall.

Whatever was in the apartment remained there because once the little family moved out, they had no further problems.