WAKE FOREST, N.C. — With Halloween decorations galore, a Wake Forest house may seem like any other during the spookiest time of year. Although, as one of the owners will tell you, the real haunts of this place won’t be found on any holiday trinket.
“Doors open and lights turn themselves on. We hear things, footsteps. So, why not play, play it up,” Rebecca Bissette said.
What You Need To Know
It’s officially spooky season, a time to confront your greatest fears or fill your trick or treat bag to the brim with sugary goodness
A Wake Forest family celebrates Halloween all year round and not by choice
The Bissette family says they live in a haunted house. It’s so haunted, they decided to turn it into a business
Bissette’s favorite holiday isn’t just about the really cool arts and crafts. Because if she wasn’t dead serious already, her house doesn’t need any sprucing up to provide a good scare.
Squeaky floors and rusty doors only add to the ambiance, she says, as does the imagination.
“Shadows can look totally different once the lights go out. It suddenly becomes a person. Or a pile of clothes becomes a scary person in the corner,” she said.
If you’re still not convinced, why not come see for yourself?
“We thought that people that like that thing. You know, this will be their place. And ones that don’t won’t stay here,” Rebecca Bissette said.
A side of the home is now an air bnb. A project Bissette and her husband, David Bissette, have been running for the last five years. The Stroud House, built in 1940s, has been in David Bissette’s family for five generations.
He says things going bump in the night have always been a common occurrence, and the guests agree.
“We had a guest that had her makeup bag knocked off the toilet in the bathroom, and we asked her if it just fell, and she said no it actually flew into the wall and slid down the wall. We’ve even had guests ask if we would scare them, but we don’t do that,” Rebecca Bissette said.
Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, the home’s appeal is eerie-sistible.
“We block weeks off so we can take vacations. Cause if not, we would have guests pretty much at least three to four times a month,” she said.
But beware, a visit may leave you with memories or nightmares.
“We love the stories, not just the stories that we bring to them. But the stories they bring to us as well,” said David Bissette.
“There’s been a lot of traffic through this house. And I think sometimes some of it has stayed. They liked the house so much they decided to stay on,” Rebecca Bissette said.
