How I Met Henry + The Hunchback Woman | True Ghost Stories | Ep #26

0:00 If you have a true strange story of the unexplained you'd like to hear, read on the podcast, e-mail it to madamstrangeways@gmail.com or go to madamstrangeways.com or just check the show notes for a link. I can't wait to read it. Welcome strangers and strangelings to Madam Strangeways, where I, Madam Strangeways, narrate true strange stories of the unexplained. And as always, solicited or not, usually not. I share my thoughts and observations after each spooky tale. Today I've got 2 new true strange stories for you. But first.

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2:10 How I Met Henry by Tori I grew up in a haunted house in the 80s and 90s and heard and saw many strange things. I have been sensitive to activities since I was a young child and my mother was thankfully very accepting of this since she was sensitive to the story that I want to share. Happened in the late 90s when I had just moved back home for a while. After renting out my house and moving out of state I decided that I wanted to come back to Texas and since my tenants lease was still active I asked my mom and granny if I could stay with them a few months.

3:00 Of course they were. Happy to have me. The first night that I was home, I was putting away my clothes in the closet, which was next to the bedroom door that led to the hall, and my mom's room was directly across the hall. Maybe. 8 to 10 feet, so not far. As I was leaning into the small closet to hang things up I heard someone clap very loudly right next to my ear which was on the door side. I screamed very loudly since it startled me and yelled Not funny mom. She didn't answer me so I looked into the hallway and her door was closed so I presumed she had went back in there and walked to the door.

3:50 As I was walking there is an arch to the right that goes to the laundry room and then a door to the main part of the house. As the small hallway and bedrooms were in addition put in when my grandparents needed another room for my aunt and mom so they wouldn't have to share a room with their brothers. So when I got to the arch I could hear my mom and granny laughing up front in my granny's room. I went up there to confront my mom about trying to scare me and my granny asked if I saw a spider. They both know I have been. Scared of them? Since I was a child, I told them what happened and they looked at each other and simultaneously said Henry, which confused me.

4:37 I asked who is Henry and they went on to tell me they had been seeing a man walking in the house and he liked to turn door knobs, flip the light switches but not turn them on. The house was built in the early 40s and had those really old loud clicking ones. They had the deed to the land from the 1800s and he was the first known to build on the land and when they had called him other names that had been listed as owning the property they got chills. But when they said Henry, there was a warm comfort around them so. They figured.

5:21 That is who it was. I spent several months living there and had plenty of time with Henry. But he always seemed. Respectful thankfully. When he would twist my door knob without opening my door or click the laundry room light switch I would just ask him to stop and he would. He also never seemed to enter bedrooms or bathrooms but we would hear and see him all around the house. My mom passed a few years ago and I haven't been back to the house. It sat empty for a few years and now we rent it out but I haven't heard anyone say anything about him after my mom was gone.

6:07 Thankfully Henry was kind, but not all of the spirits there were. But that is a story for another time. I would love to. Share more in the future with you and your listeners if you would like. So that horrifying story was submitted via e-mail by Tori. Thank you Tori. What? You're setting such a great example for the listeners. Tori took herself to Gmail or whatever e-mail she uses, can't remember, and Tori typed up her story. And she?

6:53 Emailed it to me at Madam Strange Ways. At gmail.com. Thank you so much, Tori. Seriously, it made my day to receive that e-mail. It always makes my day when y'all submit something. It's just, it just means a lot to me because I know like these are really stressful stories, even if they happened a long time ago, remembering them is stressful. And then it's tough just writing it down, you know, even if it's not traumatic, even if it just happened a while ago, you have to remember it. And then you got to get your timeline right. And then you just, you want to it's, it's just, I understand it's a lot because I have not fully put my experiences in writing either.

7:35 And I've started them and it's a process. So I appreciate every single person who said submits a story to me. But Tori, thank you so much. I incredibly appreciate you because wow, what a creepy story. I know and see OK, we love a respectful man. We also. Love a respectful ghost. Man, man. Ghost, we love it, love to hear it. You know that he didn't, that he didn't enter any bedrooms or especially bathrooms. I thought that was very, very, very thoughtful of him. I was going to say very demure, but like, I'm not trying to. I'm not, I'm not trying to get in on that social media trend. I mean, it's it's like 10 years old now at this point, OK? It's like 2 months old, maybe 3.

8:24 Months. Four months. This year has felt like a decade, so it's really hard to say. Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. But I'm not trying to get into that. I'm just saying that I just that, yeah, that's very thoughtful of Henry to not barge in when you're in your bedroom, private safe space. Most ghosts don't follow that. Most ghosts. Some ghosts follow you under the covers, like. Juwan in in that movie. The grudge that was. Really scary because. Come on under the covers. That's safe. So that was really thoughtful of Henry to not bother you when you're in your when you're in your bedroom, but probably also really, really.

9:07 Off putting. Even even if he is being really respectful and also you just you're just going to casually mention like, oh, Henry though, was not as respectful as some of the other entities in the house. Excuse me, I'm going to need that information immediately. I need it yesterday. I need to know more about it. I know. Again, I know it's stressful. So take your. Time. But when you're ready, I want to hear about some of the other things that. Happened in that house. Super, super interested. I I did some Googling. It's difficult because I didn't have a last name and I could have asked.

9:50 I could have, I could have asked Tori for more details. I didn't, but I just did some mild Googling. Just wondering, you know what can? We find. Regarding Henry's in the 1800s in the. Area which was in. Brazoria County, which is in Smithville, TX, so like not that far from Austin, pretty close to Austin. So let me share with you what I did find. I don't know how. Relevant it is. So the first Henry. Is Henry Gordon Smith. He was born. In 1888. Which I think is maybe just a little too late because he would have had to be a teenager if his name was on like the land rights or the land deed in the 18. Hundreds so.

10:34 Probably not him, but I did find. Like. Genealogy stuff on him. So I was really wanting it to be him and then I kind of did the math and womp, womp. OK. But the other Henry, which is also a Henry Smith, is the other one Smith. Is the other one Smith? Yeah, what the heck? Both Henry Smith's apparently a very common name in the 1800s. This one Henry Smith was born in 1788, which means this could definitely be him. And he was actually the first American born governor of the Mexican territory of. Texas. So yeah. I mean, the timing is right. He would have been there early days and he would have had access to whatever land he wanted.

11:19 So very possible that he was the one that owned that land. However, here's what I'm going to say. Here's. What I'm? Going to say. You know he's a politician and the Henry ghost in your. House was really. Respectful. So I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. At first I was thinking, I'm not sure if this is him, like, I don't know, maybe, maybe. But here is some some little little snippets of his personal life, which kind of makes me think that the Henry in your house is probably not the same Henry. So this this Henry Henry Smith.

12:02 Married. Harriet Gillette In 1815. They had three sons. Then they moved to Missouri where Harriet died, which is tragic. Then Smith married Harriet's sister, Elizabeth. OK. They had five daughters. OK, calm down. Then they moved to Texas, and then Elizabeth, his second wife, who is the sister of his first wife, dies of cholera like you do in the 1800s. And then six years later, he marries Elizabeth's twin Sarah.

12:42 So he married Harriet, then she died, and then he marries Harriet's sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth dies, and then he marries Elizabeth's twin sister. So he just married through the sisters and then Sarah died shortly after. And I don't think it doesn't say that any of his. Wives died from. Childbirth, but like, oh, OK, OK, we've got cholera. I'm just saying how is he surviving? It's just suspicious. It's a little, it's a little SUS. So I don't know. If this is him. I would love to look into more of the history of the house though. Tori, if you want to send me any details, I'd be happy to poke around and see what I can find.

13:24 I'm going to say I don't think it's this Henry Smith. I just don't want it to be. I mean, although, you know, he, maybe he's looking for another wife, Tori, maybe he's just looking for another wife and that's why he's being so respectful as he's trying to just bag another wife. Maybe what? If. What if, OK, because you said hold on, you said that he kind of wasn't around as much after your mom passed, which I'm so sorry, so sorry to hear that. By the way, my condolences about your mother. But you did say, you said, I think you said you said that when your mom passed, you didn't really hear from Henry anymore, even though I think also you kind of weren't living there. But like, you haven't heard about him and I feel like you would.

14:11 Even from tenants. But if he kind of went away? When your mom passed. What if y'all are related? To the Gillette family. Let me know, e-mail me back. Because what if that's why he was so nice to y'all? Like what if y'all were like descendants of the Gillette family in which he loved that family because he married into it three times. OK, So we have two narratives here with the governor. Henry Smith. 2 Narratives 1. He murdered his wives and said this is not Henry. This is not the ghost Henry. OK. Or two Henry Smith, the governor, is the ghost Henry and he didn't murder his wives. And he just.

14:55 Really loves the Gillette family and y'all are descended from the Gillette family. OK if this isn't true, you know what you don't need to tell me that I'm wrong because I just love the narrative of this so much and this is a good book I would read this book like I would read it so somebody write it let me know give me credit I don't need I don't need the money. I just want the fame and the credit when you. Publish this book. There's something there I don't know. There's something there. So Tori also mentioned in her e-mail to me a little bit of history so. Yes, the house. Is in Smithville, TX and her grandparents built it back in the 40s on an empty lot after their house burned down in town. And they lost.

15:39 Their first two. Children in the fire. Before her mom was. Born. That's so sad, so tragic. But like it's, I think it like there's like something there, right, Like with all of the the loss. And. Desperation that had to be kind of imprinted on your family when that happens, right So Tori also. Said that let. Me just hold there's like a spoiler I don't want to share for a future story. But then she also says, interestingly, there is a cemetery. Down the street. And we used to walk by that. As a kid and would see things inside the gates. Things like what I want to know, Tori, don't leave me hanging. I'm so curious as to what you.

16:22 Saw in the cemetery. Gates I'm ready for it to keep me up at night, so. Just hit me. Up. Let me know when you're ready and I cannot wait to share your other stories. With our listeners. Thank you so much. Haunted trailer in Southwest Virginia from 1984 by far. Promise 62 O 5. As a child, my family moved around a lot. I never knew why until I was an adult and realized it had much to do with my mother's ADHD.

17:12 Maybe she was running from something. My older sister says she was protecting us. Anyway, we moved nearly 30 times before I graduated high school, and many of the homes we lived in, I saw things that only I could see. This one place is among the most remarkable. I was 14. It was 1984 and summertime. My family had just moved into a single wide trailer in a large. Trailer Park. Immediately I began to see and hear things and it took me a few days to realize they were paranormal.

17:57 I would lay in my bed at night and hear loud growls coming from under my bed from my room. I would also hear my mother in the kitchen and smell food cooking. In the early hours. Pans clanking and such and go into the kitchen and the lights would be off and no one was there. This happened many times and everyone in the house says they experienced this at least once. My mother would wake us up in the middle of the night with the door wide open, screaming leave us.

18:39 Alone, please just leave. This happened a lot. I remember my aunt coming over to take care of us because my mom was in the hospital and she made us all sleep together in the living room. Because. She was scared. The most terrifying experience was early one morning. I was wide awake and laying in the bed with the room door wide open. Everyone was asleep and I could see down the hall into the kitchen. I saw a short, dark figure with a hunch back rise off the kitchen table and slowly walk down the hall toward my door. When it reached my door, it stared at me briefly and turned away.

19:35 I was terrified, gasping for breath. It was just dark with no features. I believed it to be a woman, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we moved shortly after. This is the only house we lived in that everyone saw things. Usually it was just me. Far promise. 62 O 5. Thank you so much for allowing. Me to reach your. Story Your.

20:15 Just nightmarish story. Just I just the short dark. I'm going to just I saw a short dark. Figure with the hunchback. Rise off the kitchen table and. Slowly walk. Down the hall. Why is it on the table? Why is it on the table? Like, why is it on the table? When it reached my door, it stared at me briefly and turned away. And you know. Yeah. And then you gasped because of course you did. It was just dark with no features.

20:55 And then it's so interesting because you say like that you believed that it was a woman, but you know, how would you know? And it's, it's so dark. You just get the sense, right, that it's a woman. And why is it on the kitchen table? What's it doing on the? Kitchen table What? Why? Well, if you're wondering that, if you're if I'm, if you're wondering that and I'm not the only one wondering that. There's a comment that far promise left in the thread that. Gave me. Shivered me Timbers. Let's say here it is a neighbor. This is them. I'm quoting them.

21:36 A neighbor told me that the previous. Tenant died there. OK, OK, all right. So like a ghost, you know, the ghost of the lady that lived there last. OK, like, yeah, maybe that's it. OK, no, hold on. There's more. And this is the quote. And that she slept on the table and that she was unfriendly, even mean. She slept on the table, y'all. She slept on the table. OK, supposedly she had a bad back and had difficulty walking.

22:16 Which would explain. The hunchback. And this here it is. According to the neighbor, she died on the kitchen table. You can't see my face, but I am staring ahead like unfocused eyes. Unfocused, unseeing, Just 1000 yard stare. How would you? You wouldn't know that. Like a kid wouldn't know that. Even if, even if, even if, even if, even if you assume that like, you're 14, you hear things, you know you've been moved around a lot.

22:58 Which, by the way, that's incredibly stressful. I can't even imagine having moved 30 times before graduating high school. I really hope that your mom did successfully protect you in the process of moving you. I hope that she successfully protected you for something and and not that that was done for no reason. Although it sucks that it happened at all. So I'm sorry you went through that, but OK, so even if so, you're 14, you live in it. You live, you move into this new area, you hear people talking. Let's. Just say in passing. Without realizing it, you kind of hear someone mention, oh, the lady that used to live there died. OK, maybe you would hear that.

23:41 I think that's fair. And then maybe you would, you know, internalize it. And then you'd forget that you heard it. And then you're seeing shapes, you know? In in the. Trailer OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK. But the table. Like I just feel like that's not a detail. I just feel like that's not a normal detail. I I just think if you heard that someone died laying on the kitchen table because OK, how many times have you listener laid on the. Kitchen table. How many times? Let's say as an adult, OK, because I know kids are weird, right? As an adult, when was the last time that you laid down on any table?

24:31 I'm you know what I'm going to any table, coffee table, pool table. What are the kind of tables? Breakfast nook tables? Card tables? There's got to be other round tables. Perhaps in Camelot tables? Tables, tables, tables, tables, tables. Whatever have has have you, have you ever? I've never so I think if you heard hey, the lady that used to live here died and she was found dead on her kitchen table. I just think you would remember that. You would definitely remember it. It would stick out as a detail and it wouldn't be news to you the next time that you heard it.

25:13 You know what I'm saying? So like I just I I think far promise did not know before. Hearing it from the neighbor. Which is so scary. I don't know why it might. Is it just me? Let me know. Let me know. e-mail me madamstrangeways@gmail.com. Let me know if it's just me that that is so unsettling. It's dude, why are you? On the table get. Off. Just don't be on the table. That's so weird and. Then to die on the table. Man, I mean that Lady. Of course she was mean. Far Promise said that apparently she was very unfriendly, even mean. Yeah, no shit.

25:58 You know, 'cause the amount of pain that you would have to be in in order to feel like the way that you fix it is to lay on a kitchen table and that's where you sleep, that your bed is the kitchen table. That's an that's an incredible amount of pain. So just not shocking at all. I would be mean. Too. If I slept on a kitchen table I would be really mean, so I can't really blame her for being mean. But. Really weird if that was her, if that was the shape, the short hunchback figure rising off the kitchen. Table that's just so scary. That's just really scary.

26:43 And see, this is the thing. This is the thing. This is a short story, you know this is 3. 172. Words, OK, and this is so unsettling, you know, if someone read this and they're like, wow, this is so scary. Let's turn this into a script. Let's get this green lit. Let's get this, let's make dolls and let's make merch and let's, let's do see, it's something viral on TikTok, you know, to promote the movie. Yeah, but like it's not going to be. Anywhere nearly as scary. It's, and it's only 372 words. You know, there's just something about something about brevity being the soul of horror.

27:30 Is that how that saying goes? Brevity is the soul of scary things? I don't know. I just, I just feel like this is way scarier than if you tried to turn this into like a movie, like a feature length movie film. Just don't do it. This is just really, really scary though. Like thank you. Thank you for the nightmare fuel for promise. I appreciate you. I'm. Sorry that you have seen things for so long, and I'm sure that lots of people doubted you. And that it's. Just kind of stressful probably trying to figure out who can you share it with and who can you tell it to and. Yeah, sorry about that.

28:11 Sorry you had to put up with that. But on the other hand. I would be so honored to read any other stories that you wanted to share that you felt comfortable sharing so. Just let me know Madam strangeways@gmail.com or you can DM me on Reddit where we've got a chat open. Thanks. Thank you so much for listening to these spooky stories. Remember that you can feel afraid and not be in danger, so if. You have a. True strange story that you'd like to hear read on the show.

28:55 Go ahead and send it to me, Madam strangeways@gmail.com or Madam strangeways.com and since word of. Mouth. Is so important for podcasts. If you could to. Me. Just one little weird spooky. Strange Solid. That would be amazing. And that would be telling your friends about the show. I'd really appreciate it. Madam Strange Ways is produced and narrated by me. Madam Strange Ways theme music is by marina.ryan@marinamakes.co. All stories are read with the explicit permission from their original authors.

29:35 Thank you so much for listening, see you next time. Table table table table table like a drafting table like an architect. 'S. Drafting table, a table table, poker table, kind of said card table but that's like a folding table.

30:19 I mean like a full on poker table. Why do poker tables? I feel like poker tables and pool tables have the same like material. On them. That's interesting. What are the kind of tables? Tables table tennis table table tennis table tennis table a table, an excel spreadsheet table. Well, you. Cannot physically sleep on. One of those, unless you printed it out first table table to like a a fold.

31:00 I've got I already said the card table. Which is like a folding table. There's got to be other kinds of tables. Dining table? Hold on, hold on. Types of tables. Types of tables. Dining, yes. Dining table? Coffee table? Duh. End table? OK, that should round. Table. Console table. Bedside table? It's just a night stand. Wouldn't call it a bedside table. Oh, maybe that did kind of roll off my tongue when I said it though. There's an Ottoman which is not really. A table? I guess you can use it as a table. It's not the same.

31:40 Banquet table. Conference table A. Dressing table. I should have thought of that. One folding table. Duh. OK, hold on. There's got to be more. Don't sleep on any. Of these chess chess. Table don't sleep on a chess table. That's weird, unless you're. A cat. You can sleep on any of these tables if you're a cat. Trestle table, whatever that is. Sewing table, snack table. I need some of those Bistro table, vanity table, workbench which I think by definition is not a table, so why would you even suggest that to me? I want to see how far this can go. Picnic.

32:34 Table that should have been way sooner on my list. That should have been way up there. That should have been like, the third thing I said was a picnic table. You know, weirdly there's not just like. Why isn't there like a Wikipedia? Page that's like, oh, there is table furniture, Princess. A table is an item of furniture with a raised flat top. It is supported most commonly by one to four legs, although some can have more. It's It is used as a surface for working at, eating from, or on which to place things. I'd put the emphasis on the wrong syllable there. Let's try that again.

33:15 It is used as a surface for working at, eating from, or on which to place things. Let me tell. You What it did not just say is that it's a place for sleeping, even if your bed or even if your back is bad.