A few people have asked me recently about my encounter with Mr. Snedeker, and coincidence or not, we were driving down Granville Road two days ago, drove in front of "that" house, and something got my attention. Something, or someone, was silhouetted in a second floor window, with an arm raised, in a waving motion. It made me remember my first encounter with him.
The incident I will never forget. In 1969, I had a tavern here in town, and one evening, a good friend, will call him Jim, was going to "do the town" with one of my customers. I drove them to the customers home, so he could get out of his work clothes and get in to something more appropriate for the evening ahead.
It was an old house, as all of them were in this particular neighborhood of Newark, Ohio. I pulled up in front of the house, and was able to park. We walked up the walk, on to the porch, and through the large, heavy, glass front door, and in to the foyer of this older, but well kept home.
The foyer connected to a large hallway, filled with interesting objects, that intrigued me. Jim went in to the study to wait, and I stayed out in the hall, roaming around.
The family cat came up to me, and I petted him behind the ears and said a few nice things to him. He apparently accepted me, and went off in to the study where Jim was waiting.
A number of times I thought I felt something touch me, or something game me some very strange feelings. Each time I would turn to look, nothing would be there. I continued checking everything out, but for some reason, I did not feel that I was alone, yet nothing was there.
They were all ready to go, so I drove them downtown and dropped them off, and went home, thinking no more about the incident.
The next afternoon, Jim came in, and we got to talking about the evening before.
"Darndest thing, I was sitting there, waiting, and a cat walked into the room and came over to me. I was just getting ready to pet him, when suddenly I felt a cold draft, and just that time that cat stopped and I swear the hair on his neck stood straight out on him, and his tail shot up in the air. It was the strangest thing. The air in that room got cooler, and it was a few moments until that cats hair settled down and he got back to normal."
He said he mentioned the incident to his friend, who replied, "Oh, that's just Mr. Snedeker, a ghost that lives here. The story goes that he was a caretaker here when this was the parish house for the Catholic Church down the street. Those who happened to be here when it happened said he was a devout Catholic, had a heart attack and died on the stairway. There were no Priests available, and he died without receiving his last rites. So, they say he still lives in this house. He doesn't bother us much, moves things around sometimes. Last night, I was reading in bed and lit a cigarette. Put the lighter on the night stand. Next morning, he had moved it to my dresser. He just does things like that, we've just gotten used to him."
Since that time I have talked with a number of people who have entered that house, for one reason or another, and either had strange occurrences, or felt strange sensations of cold.
Over the years, the house has sold, but I have often thought of Snedeker, especially when I drive by the house.
A short time ago my wife was talking with a lady she had worked with, and during the course of their conversation she mentioned that she was working at a "half way" house on Granville, and further mentioned that they had a very devastating fire in the house one night, but, fortunately, everyone got out safely. There were about 25 people living in the home, some with varying degrees of being handicapped.
She further mentioned that when the fire started, everyone was asleep, but that they said they were all awakened by something, or someone, but no one saw anything, they were just awakened, and led to their doors, to get outside and to safety.
My wife asked which house it was, and they she realized that it was the house of Mr. Snedeker, and she related the story to her.
She said that explained, to her, what happened, because no one in the house had done, or been able, to do anything to lead the people to safety. She said she originally thought that perhaps a "divine hand" had done it, but now, she could give Mr. Snedeker credit for the rescue. After the fire, they all agreed that some miracle had happened, to get all those people out of that smoke filled house.
The interior of the house has been fixed, the exterior looks the same, but every time I drive by that house I get the strangest feeling that someone is taking a ride with me in the car. I generally just say "Hi Mr. Snedeker," and keep on driving.
