The Ghost at 4015
I used to own a little house in Oregon. I knew it was my house the first time I saw it online. It was exactly what I had seen in my mind’s eye when I first decided to buy a house. Because of the location, it was outside my budget, but my friend took me to see it. I felt at home immediately. Tiny (660 sq. ft), cozy and dry, with a 1940’s kitchen and hardwood floors. The back yard had 3 big apple trees, and the grounds were covered with a year’s unharvested apples. We dubbed it The Apple House and began working to make it mine. I don’t know how I was approved for the mortgage. My credit was terrible. I was a single buyer, borrowing from my 401K for the down payment. We were on the verge of a real estate collapse and economic depression. Still, I closed on October 31, 2008. I rushed to my new home with 2 bags of Baby Ruth bars, a folding chair and a lamp, and welcomed my first trick or treaters to my first home. I had this feeling, under my ribs, that the former owner hel...
