"The Little Yellow House" by Annie McLeod Jenkins

“What’s that at the end of the other bed?”

Sometimes we say to our adult selves, “Did this really happen? What did we see?

Annie McLeod Jenkins grew up in South Carolina around folks who were storytellers, so she became one too.  Because she realized that no one else was going to tell her story, and with the opportunity that came with a slower life and a quieter house, she began writing down these personal recollections.  She lives in Winston-Salem, NC, where she is a paying, but relatively inactive, member of Winston-Salem Writers. A few of her stories have appeared in earlier editions of the Personal Story Publishing Project.

Author’s Talk

Annie McLeod Jenkins

The story of my experience in the Little Yellow House has been told and retold for years, whenever the subject of ghosts or apparitions or eerie happenings pop up in conversation. In fact, my daughter asked me to write it down several years ago; so, when this topic of “Unbelievable” came along, I was prepared. The only problem was the length. Instead of composing and creating to submit, I spent considerable time editing, revising, and shortening. No matter the length, this story is one that I love because the images of 15-year-old me are so clear in my mind’s eye. Everyone should be lucky enough to see a ghost in an attic room with a group of friends. Writing about my childhood and youth brings me joy and amusement, and I hope I don’t die before I run out of stories.