This is real ghost stories online.

Is it better to understand the reason for a haunting or is one better off not knowing why the dead have returned to make themselves known.

That is the question we are left with after hearing this story.

Often when we hear a ghost story, there seems to be some rhyme or reason for the haunting to occur.

One can sometimes conclude that it's a deceased relative

coming back with a message or possibly a former resident still inhabiting the place they called home.

In some cases, it's a very dark entity with nothing but nefarious

intentions that simply latched on to an individual without their knowledge.

In this next case though the dead seem to make themselves known to not only the residents, but also their guests.

It also begs a question, do you let your guests know that you live in a haunted house or do you let them discover this little secret

on their own? Or do you hope and pray that it's never discovered?

Our listener shares his story about the haunting that he and his family experienced in their home.

This story takes place in the Lower Hudson Valley in a suburb of 20 minutes north of New York City.

Our area is steeped in lore and history going back to the founding of our nation.

We're famous for stories like the Headless horsemen and various Native American

legends abound, but I digress. My story begins in 2007 when I met my wife. I was a college kid in the city and my wife, girlfriend at the time, grew up relatively close to where I was going to school.

I'd stay over on a regular basis. I always felt uneasy when I was in the house alone

waiting for my wife to arrive back home from class or my in-laws to come back from

work. I'd spend most of my time downstairs in the basement watching TV with their old terrier.

I started to realize that I'd regularly hear footsteps on the first floor above me, then on the

stairs to the second floor. I would have the door shut to

the basement but the distinctive sound of feet on hardwood floors was something

...