The story of Oscar is a chilling account of a protective ghost that has followed my aunt’s friend, Doreen, since the 1970’s. It began shortly after Doreen and her husband purchased a home in Dearborn. Almost immediately, the atmosphere of the house shifted. Strange occurrences plagued their electronics, culminating in a terrifying incident where their stereo system inexplicably blew up. The activity grew so intense that they eventually contacted a research group from a local university to investigate the phenomena.
While the specific department remains a mystery, the investigators spent two weeks embedded in the home. They likely brought a psychic into the fold, because they eventually established a way to communicate with the entity. They discovered his name was Oscar, a fur trader from the late 1700s. Oscar claimed he had once set up camp by a creek that formerly ran across the property line. There, he was brutally attacked and left to die. He wasn’t there to haunt them out of malice, however; he insisted he was a protective ghost dedicated to Doreen.
My aunt vividly recalls the terrifying sounds of this devotion. She was once on the phone with Doreen when a rapid, violent knocking erupted from the other side of the line. It was so loud and aggressive that my aunt panicked. Doreen simply sighed and said, “Oscar, hold on, I’ll be with you in a minute.” The casual way she spoke to the spirit scared my aunt so deeply she had to hang up.
Oscar’s presence was felt in domestic ways as well. He would manifest as a protective ghost by performing small chores, such as turning on the coffee pot. Most incredibly, he was known to start Doreen’s car during freezing winter mornings. This was the 1970s, long before remote starters existed, yet the engine would be humming and warm before she ever stepped outside.
Despite his helpfulness, Oscar possessed a dark, jealous streak toward Doreen’s husband. Some speculated that Doreen was a reincarnation of someone from Oscar’s past life. To soothe his envy, the couple eventually sat Oscar down for a conversation. They explained that he was a vital part of the family. When Doreen became pregnant, Oscar’s agitation returned, requiring another heart-to-heart. They pleaded with the protective ghost to love and guard the baby as he did them.
The spirit eventually accepted the new arrival. If the infant cried in the middle of the night, Oscar would flick the parent’s bedroom lights on and off until the parents woke up to tend to the child. He became a spectral nanny, watching over the nursery with eternal vigilance.
When the family finally outgrew the Dearborn house, they didn’t want to leave their guardian behind. They sat down with Oscar one last time and asked if he wished to move with them. He did. The protective ghost packed up alongside the family and moved into their new home, continuing his watch from beyond the grave. To this day, Oscar remains a silent, hovering member of the family, proving that some bonds are too strong for even death to sever.
