The Sallie House haunting is one of the most notorious in the world and has attracted attention from paranormal investigators, psychics and TV shows. Tony & Debra Pickman and their newborn son Taylor experienced it from the day they moved until they finally fled in terror. They shared their account with Dave Schrader (email) of the ghost girl who haunted the home, and sparked endless rumors and theories of murder, cover-ups, racism, and abuse.
Debra, who was pregnant when they moved into the house in 1992, recalled how warm, inviting, and cozy the place felt when the couple first looked at it. Tony agreed, describing it as a normal-looking home. Unexplained activity, such as lights and appliances turning off or on by themselves, began so innocuously the two did not realize there was anything unusual happening around them. We rationalized it as electrical problems but an electrician found no issues with the house, the couple revealed. "You just don't automatically think you have a ghost," Debra noted.
Tony recalled his first 'freak out moment' when he witnessed a crib mobile in the nursery begin to play on its own, spin abnormally fast, and then come to an instant stop. "It was at that point I thought that is just not natural," he said. The strange activity continued. Tony, Debra, and her sister returned home one day to find stuffed animals moved from their shelves and placed in a circle on the floor of the nursery. Later that evening a teddy bear was found in the middle of the stairs. We checked for magnets, strings going out windows, and even in closets and other rooms to see if someone was in the house playing a prank on us, Debra explained. We put the toys away, walked downstairs, saw a light turn on upstairs, and once again found the stuff animals gathered on the floor, she added.
Tony described seeing an apparition of a little girl dressed in period clothes. He recounted the time he was laying on the floor watching television, felt an excruciating pain, and looked to find teeth marks on the back of his thigh. Tony related a frightening experience that occurred in his bedroom one night when the ghostly girl appeared and grabbed him. We found small hand prints burned into his arm, the couple said. According to Tony, the malevolent apparition changed appearances until it settled on a form resembling Mrs. Olsen from Little House on the Prairie. The couple spoke about how the evil force in the house negatively influenced them and caused a rift in their relationship, with Tony admitting he entertained thoughts of killing Debra.
The final hour was devoted to Open Lines.