In 1980, Janice Cameron moved into a rented house in the affluent suburb of Alamo, CA, with a monthly rent of $125. To her surprise, she discovered she had a ghostly roommate, but she embraced the situation. Over time, her haunted house became a cherished companion. Here is her story.
Janice settled into the house at 836 El Pintado Rd right from the start. Reflecting on her move, she recalls, “The moment I moved in, I felt a connection with the place. It exuded a warm and inviting atmosphere. One of the first things I did was decide to repaint the walls with my girlfriend.”
The house’s ambiance would change depending on the ghost’s mood. The entire interior, including colors and scents, would transform dramatically. After painting the walls pink and refreshing the white trim, Janice notes, “As soon as we finished painting, the house seemed to radiate a kind of glow. It’s challenging to describe, but it became an incredibly joyful place.”
Later, when Janice brought a date home, and he turned out to be a negative presence, the house reacted strongly. According to Janice, “Whenever he came over, the house would become gloomy, and a strange odor would permeate the air. It was a peculiar sensation.”
The house’s energy would instantly shift from cheerful to somber when this person visited. Janice explains, “It was a noticeable and negative transformation. But the ghost clearly disliked him. When he left, the house brightened up again.”
The house helped Janice assess her dates. She says, “I found myself gauging the ghost’s reaction to people as they entered the house because the change was immediate.”
As an opera singer, Janice was musically inclined. The ghost enjoyed her singing but disapproved of another instrument. Janice chuckles as she mentions, “She loved it when I sang, and the atmosphere became warm and pleasant. However, when I played the accordion, she clearly didn’t approve. The house would become gloomy, and a musty smell would emerge.”
The ghost in Janice’s house possessed significant influence. Besides controlling the house’s sensory elements, it played tricks on Janice, hiding various items, from stove knobs to sheet music:
“After about a month, I started noticing strange occurrences. When I tried to use the stove, the knobs had mysteriously vanished. They would reappear in my drawer a day later. It was more amusing than frightening. I’d go to do laundry, and all my soap would be missing. The whole container was gone. It made no sense, but a week later, I’d find it in a bathroom drawer, leaving me bewildered. I thought I was losing my mind.”
The ghost’s actions perplexed Janice, but it seemed to have her best interests at heart. One day, before a church event where she had to sing a challenging song, Janice couldn’t find her sheet music. She had to perform without it, and upon returning home, the sheet music was neatly laid out in front of her.
Janice felt the ghost communicating with her, though not through words. She recalls, “I heard her, in a sense, saying, ‘You had that song. You could do that song.’ She seemed to understand exactly what I was going through.”
Over time, the Alamo house’s ghost became even more friendly. Janice describes the experience as overwhelming but comforting, saying, “It was startling and sometimes scary, but ultimately reassuring.”
During a major earthquake, the ghost provided comfort. Janice remembers, “Suddenly, it felt like someone had wrapped an electric blanket around me and gave me a comforting hug from behind.”
In that moment, Janice and the ghost shared another unspoken exchange. She explains, “I sensed her presence, and she reassured me, saying, ‘Don’t worry. This house has been here for many years and isn’t going anywhere. You’ll be fine. You’re safe.’ It was immensely comforting.”
Janice adds, “It was a distinctly feminine presence.” Through her research, she discovered that a woman had died just outside her room in the 1800s.
When Janice eventually left the house, it seemed as if the house wanted to preserve her changes and decorations. Janice notes, “The new owners attempted to paint over those pink walls five times, but the pink color bled through, no matter what they tried. They even used black as a base, but it persisted.”
The new owners had to sell the house quickly, and Janice had only ten days to vacate. Interestingly, the subsequent occupants lasted only three months, suggesting the ghost disapproved of them. Janice later heard, “They stayed about three months and despised it. They claimed, ‘There’s something wrong with that house.’ Clearly, the ghost did not like them, and they left.”
Janice fondly looks back on her time in the house, concluding, “The ghost was a significant presence, yet she didn’t disrupt my life. In fact, she enhanced it. I cherish those memories.”
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