Following introduction is written by
Matthew Smith,
The Curry County Reporter
The Ghost Cottage - It looks like any
other house as you drive down Mateer Drive in the Hunter Creek
area, but owner Kelli Ryan says there’s something unusual about her home.
She has owned the property for around four
years now.
Ryan, who says she has always had psychic abilities since she can
remember, didn’t intentionally purchase a haunted dwelling.
“I wouldn’t have bought this place if I had known,” said Ryan.
“Once things began happening, I befriended the spirits to make
sure we could get along.”
She now embraces her psychic abilities, but it made for a
troubling childhood.
“When I was only two to three years old, I would say something was
going to happen and it would,” stated Ryan. “When my parents would
be making plans for the following week, I would tell them not to
schedule anything for that day, because so-and-so’s funeral was
that day. That person hadn’t passed away yet, and they would pass
away shortly after.”
Ryan says that when someone was going to pass away, she would see
heat waves around the person, similar to those rising off an
extremely hot roadway. These experiences occurred until she was a
teenager.
The house and property surrounding the house has become a popular
site for paranormal researchers. Many of their experiences on the
property have even been uploaded as You Tube videos.
“Many researchers say this is the most active place they have
visited,” said Ryan.
Among some the evidence that researchers commonly see and collect
are pictures and video white masses, shadows, orbs and recordings
of disembodied voices.
The Property
Several ghosts inhabit the property and house. The hills above her
house is reportedly home to Valkeryies, also sometimes referred to
as forest guardians or fairies, and have been seen by many people
as a traveling mist that moves throughout the forest. Ryan even
has a collection of gifts from them. She says they give her many
sculptures and special rocks, many contain heart-shaped rocks –
which Ryan believes it is a sign they like her.
“I used to sing Irish songs to them and nothing ever appeared,”
said Ryan. “Once I learned some Celtic songs, they started leaving
me stuff. I wanted one of those rocks with a cone-shaped hole in
it, after watching The Spiderwick Chronicles. The next day, there
was one outside.”
Bill Starkey
Another ghost that roams the property is that of Bill Starkey, who
once owned the house above hers.
“One day, I was walking my dogs up there and I suddenly got very
overwhelmed. I thought a cougar or something was about to pounce
on me,” said Ryan. “Suddenly, I felt something touch my shoulder
and a voice tell me, ‘Honey, it will be alright.’”
“I immediately thought, ‘I need to get off this hill now,’” added
Ryan. “I came back later and asked him his name, and he just said
Starkey, which I mistook for Star Key. Later on during a
conversation with another person, I learned that this was his last
name only.”
Bill Wells
The most active ghost in the house is a former pharmacist named
Bill Wells, who died in a car wreck in 1978. He has been known to
bang pots in the kitchen and can be seen walking around the house,
especially near the laundry room and hallway. He is one of the
past owners that haunt the property.
“He treats the house like it’s his. We don’t mind, though. He is
fine with us being here,” said Ryan. “You can really see him
around 10:30 at night.”
Lilly The Witch
Prior to the home’s construction, purportedly there was a witch
named Lilly that lived in a trailer in the exact spot where the
house would later be built. According to local lore, she suffered
a mysterious death after making someone’s wife sick.
“I don’t really take action against the nicer spirits; they are no
threat to anyone,” said Ryan. “I do take action to keep the mean
ones, like Lilly, away.”
Lilly’s mean streak was a threat to the Ryans. She would turn
appliances on and off; make them dizzy and sick; lock Kelli in the
bathroom; move objects and even assaulted them. “We would go to
Brookings and she would turn on the stove or coffee pot,” said
Ryan. “She was doing some extremely dangerous things. She could
have burned down the house. She drew so much energy from us to do
these things, we would get sick.”
“Bill gets along with most of the others, but he doesn’t want her
in his house. He protects us from her. She likes to hang out
around the doors and sneak in at night when we go outside,” added
Ryan.
Dan Kuykendall
A previous owner of the house died after crashing his plane into a
mountain, and reportedly walks the property. He rarely visits the
actual house itself, spending most of his time outside. He even
has an additional connection to another person haunting the house;
Kuykendall married Wells’ widow and moved into the house after his
death.
Jean Hawkins
Ryan was in need of a bed to finish one of the bedrooms, so she
traded her piano for one she really liked. She knew the bed had
once belonged to Jean Hawkins, who had passed away. What she
didn’t know was she was getting more than a bed; apparently it was
one of Hawkins’ most prized possessions. The bedroom in which the
bed is placed has become known as the Rose Room. People who knew
Hawkins are amazed at how much it looks like something Jean would
have done.
Ryan stated that Hawkins likes to look at the front windows of the
house, something she liked to do while living.
“You can see a black figure kind of lean out of the kitchen area
and look towards the window,” said Ryan.
The Myrtlewood Grove
Ryan believes how the property was created has something to do
with all the paranormal activity.
“I have heard from people that were around while the property was
being developed that a big grove of Myrtlewood trees were
destroyed, then a huge slice of hill was taken out to flatten the
property,” stated Ryan. “I know the forest guardians are not happy
that occurred. Those are sacred trees.”
Water Intensifying Activity
There is a belief that water intensifies paranormal activity, and
Ryan thinks that between the Pacific Ocean, the Rogue River and
other numerous waterways in and around Gold Beach, we are more
prone to have such activity.
“The Chinese never build their homes facing a river; they believe
that the river will carry more spirits towards their home,” said
Ryan.
Educating The Public
The Ghost Cottage is also home of the Southern Oregon Paranormal
Research Association, which Ryan runs. She helps other researchers
by allowing them to use her home and property as a learning
environment. She also teaches classes on improving people’s
psychic and intuition abilities.
“I believe everyone is psychic; I just help them hone and refine
that ability,” said Ryan. “A lot of them say, ‘I don’t want to be
a fortune teller or something.’ It isn’t about that; it is about
using it to enhance their everyday life.”
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