But there are several people who swear it truly happened right there in Westmoreland County, with spirits, noises and an eerie, cold presence that made blood run cold.

They say all that and more, with something approaching straight faces.

The whole saga started a few summers back when a cousin of mine was about to be married.

Living in a house he owned with his sister, my cousin knew it was time to strike out on his own and find a home for him and his new bride.

Too young for much in the way of savings and with precious few houses to rent in that corner of Westmoreland, he seized on the notion of fixing up an empty farmhouse on a tract owned by his family.

It's a beautiful spot, on a little spread called Wiggington that's halfway between State Route 202 and the Potomac River at Coles Point.

With great diligence and considerable help from a team of carpenters and other handymen, the work progressed to the point where my cousin and his new bride contemplated moving in soon after marrying.

At least they did until they found the house was already, well, occupied.

Through the years, there had been stories about the house being haunted, about noises and the occasional appearance of apparitions.

Well, yeah, but what good, old country home in good standing doesn't have a few of those stories?

The time arrived when the young couple moved in for a short while. Soon after, my cousin had plans to go out of town one weekend, so his young bride invited her mother down for a visit.

Unbeknown to them, for weeks and months, other members of the family had been planting little seeds of fear, swearing now and again that the house was truly haunted.

For example, one Thanksgiving, a cousin had told the story of a man who was murdered in the house, whose ghost would haunt it until he got justice.