Ted Bundy's Childhood Home Haunted, Claims Contractor
Ted Bundy's family bought the home in 1955, and sold it in 1965. (Image credit: KOMO)
Casey Clopton, owner of Extreme Contracting, claims to have experienced about 30 incidents of paranormal activity in the seven months he spent renovating the childhood home of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, according to KOMO News. The Tacoma, Washington home, purchased by an unnamed investor in 2016 to be flipped, gave Clopton pause as early as his second visit, when his 11-year-old daughter appeared to be frightened of something in the house.
“I just chalked it up to a little girl being scared of the dark,” said Clopton.
Problems persisted in the workplace as Clopton's crew claimed to encounter a plethora of paranormal phenomena; everything from jiggling doorknobs to phantom footsteps, and cell phones mysteriously dying--one worker even says he heard a knock at the door, only to open it and find nobody on the other side.
"Periodically, throughout the course of the job, we had weird things keep happening," said Clopton.
Says they'd hear jiggling doorknobs & phantom footsteps. They'd find open drawers in the morning even tho alarm was still on. #komonews pic.twitter.com/J6zK8KcTjS
— Gabe Cohen (@GabeCohenKOMO) May 8, 2017
Other manifestations were more physical, including several drawers and cabinets found open in the morning when the contractors would arrive for work. Clopton and crew don't suspect intruders, because the exterior doors were still locked, and the alarm activated.
One of the most powerful physical displays occurred when a dresser that was wedged into the wall inexplicably fell.
This dresser that was wedged in the wall also suddenly fell. Contractor says it landed oddly far from the hole where it had sat. #komonews pic.twitter.com/HXMPS6RLoN
— Gabe Cohen (@GabeCohenKOMO) May 8, 2017
“To take that out, it takes you two people,” he said. “It was tipped over, moved over across the hall a little bit, and on its face.”
At first Clopton thought that someone was pranking him, but the incidents persisted. Some validation came for the contractor when the real estate broker handling the property, James Pitts, claims his cell phone malfunctioned in a way that he can't explain.
“My phone kept resetting, and kept resetting until it wouldn’t turn itself back on anymore,” said Pitts. “It just crashed pretty much.”
Perhaps the creepiest activity to take place were two messages found in and around the home. One crew member found the word "Leave" written in sawdust in a bedroom, and later the phrase "Help Me" was found in the dirt inside of a basement window. A screwed-on screen protector would have made it impossible for anyone outside of the house to write it, says Clopton.
Creepiest of all, they found "leave" written in sawdust in a bedroom. #komonews pic.twitter.com/04Sw7vrmBf
— Gabe Cohen (@GabeCohenKOMO) May 8, 2017
Eventually, Clopton grew tired of the supernatural shenanigans and began penciling Bible verses on the walls of the home. He even brought in pastors from a nearby church in Puyallup to bless the property. Clopton later instituted a rule that Christian music must be playing inside the house at all times.
Clopton says that things calmed down after that, but the delays caused the project to take four months longer than expected.
The experience has left the initially skeptical Clopton as a believer in the supernatural.
"I'm not one to believe a lot of this stuff, but this house made me a believer."
The home has since been sold to new owners.