Waitsburg’s Haunted Houses

One time last winter when Dizzy and I were alone at the Seven Porches Guest House, I heard some inexplicable sounds in the big empty house at night. The hinge of a downstairs door open- ing while it was windless outside.

Dizzy sat up and issued a low growl. I told him not to worry. It was just Stella, I assured him, and she was friendly. He relaxed as though he had understood me or maybe it was the lack of apprehension in my voice.

Stella Stimmel, who, along with her husband, had our house on 329 Main Street built more than 100 years ago, came with the home when we bought it from Andy and Denise Win- nett five years ago. Or at least her spirit did.

The Winnetts told us she was a friendly ghost to those who were friendly to the house, and I never felt oth- erwise, perhaps because we did so many authentic his- torical remodeling projects on one of the bedrooms, the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen with the kind help of Leroy Cunningham, Steve Leamy and Mickey Richards. Since we have Stella, the friendly ghost and hostess of the Seven Porches, we're on the first-of-its-kind Haunt- ed House tour that Allison Bond is putting together for Sunday, Oct. 27, to raise money for the Friends of the Weller Library. A mere $10 will get a ticket for the tour that starts at the library at 4 p.m., and ends at Coppei Coffee with a performance by Rogue Lobster, a Whit- man College folk band, at 6:30 p.m.

"We're getting a huge response," Bond said about the pre-Halloween event that promises to give tickethold- ers a glimpse into the souls, spirits and saints that reportedly guard a handful of the homes and some of the businesses on Main Street in Waitsburg.

"Most are kind, nice and happy ghosts," the coffee shop owner said. "Appar- ently, Waitsburg ancestors have been good people even in the afterlife."

Bond hopes the tour "will get the blood going for Halloween" the next week. Halloween costumes are encouraged and kids are welcome, since the event "is only a little bit scary." The Commercial Club donated funds to advertise the tour, whose proceeds will help the library buy books, comput- ers and so on.

Denise Winnett can at- test to the friendliness of our ghost Stella. When they had just moved to the house, their daughter Micah was 5 and daughter Jesse was 11. Since Micah was diabetic, Denise and Andy had to get up every several hours to check Micah's blood sugar to make sure it didn't drop to a dangerously low level in the middle of the night.

Sometimes the couple was so exhausted they would miss their 2 a.m. alarm, but there was always Stella, who made sure they awoke before Micah's levels would send the girl into shock or a coma, they said.

"We would hear footsteps or a door would creak or a light bulb would suddenly go out," Denise Winnett said. "We never had to send her to the hospital in an ambulance. We are very grateful to Stella for that."

The Winnetts loved Stella's home as we have. Whoever stepped across the threshold felt an immediate calm, as though someone loving and nurturing pulled them into a warm embrace. The girls were never nervous about staying in the big old alone, Denise recalled.

To this day, the house exudes a gentle, caring spirit. Most guests I show in say they feel immediately at home and I too attribute that to Stella, once the wife of a banker and now our friendly ghost.