MaryAnn conducted extensive research with the original intent of organizing ghost tours in Emmaus but soon found that she had enough material to write a book - so she did!
Thank you, MaryAnn, for sharing this story with Hauntingly PENNSYLVANIA™ - and best of luck to the Emmaus Historical Society during the upcoming "ghost tour" season.
♦♦♦
A Nurturing Ghost
In the northern section of Emmaus
there is a constant, unassuming ghost who has been given the name Lillian. Lillian and her husband were the last occupants of the
house until the current occupants took procession. That is why the
ghost has been given the name Lillian. This apparition also has the
same physical characteristics as Lillian. That couple is the last of
several generations of a family that lived in the house.
It was common knowledge that Lillian
and her husband were not very compatible. The husband was considered
to be very “colorful”. He had very unusual and sometimes bizarre
habits. An example of his eccentricity is the fact that he kept a
casket in the basement of the house. The wife was very quiet and
unassuming. She did not approve of the peculiar escapades her
husband would become involved in. She liked domestic things like
gardening. Maybe an attachment to this house explains why her spirit
continues to inhabit the home. She always exhibited kind and loving
ways. Everyone, who knew Lillian, agrees that she was very warm and
nurturing. One day, Lillian visited the neighbors and told them she
was saying goodbye. Not too long after that, Lillian died in her
home. Lillian’s death confused the neighbors. It seems she must
have had a premonition of her impending departure.
The current occupants have lived in
this chic house for 18 years. From the very beginning, the ghost
Lillian has been a guest in their home. Very shortly after moving
into the house, the first encounter happened. The couple and friends
were in the basement when they heard the door open and footsteps walk
across the room. When no one made an appearance, they decided to
do a search upstairs. No one was seen or no source of the sound was
found. These footsteps continue from time to time.
At a later date, the current lady of
the house decided to engage the help of her husband and tour the
house and talk to the spirit. They walked through the house and into
every room and told the ghost she was “welcome to stay as long as
she wanted to, but she should not harm anyone”. Ever since that
day, the ghost has kept that covenant and has been in the house in
spirit only, with one exception. At that time she did make an
appearance.
Two years ago while the man of the
house was recovering from surgery, the spirit did make an appearance.
In the middle of the night, something awoke the lady of the house.
She was startled and stunned to see the apparition. The apparition
had the profile of Lillian. Lillian was hovering over her sleeping
husband. Immediately the lady of the house warned the apparition
“you are too close-move away”. The apparition vanished. This
incident gives credence to her reputation that she is a caring ghost.
Was she concerned over the man’s physical condition? No actual
sightings have occurred since that incident but her presence
continues to be felt.
The ghost is never far away. The lady
of the house feels her presence whenever she vacuums. She can feel
the ghost shadowing her as she moves about doing her task. There are
times when the spirit is so close it feels as if she is being hugged.
When relatives and friends enter the house, they feel the presence
of someone they don’t see. Depending on a person’s sensitivity
to such spirits, they will not spend long periods in the house.
As time marches on and the presence of
this spirit stays within this house, this couple continues to live in
harmony with this very caring force.