The Alamo

By Barek Halfhand

An impromptu Interview with the most recent resident on his moving day; A Halfhand Nation Exclusive.

The sun was a seldom seen anomaly on this mid February afternoon. I squinted at the glare on my salt dried, silted windshield as I weaved my way down the poorly plowed backstreets of the impoverished Gary, Indiana neighborhood, until I finally pulled over and discarded my crudely rendered hand drawn map in favor of my GPS…

The trip was reminiscent of Detroit with the burned out, boarded-up, gutted houses and buildings but much more disconcerting by way of the close proximity to my own back yard… There are Pitbulls on every other porch on every other block, disabled seeming vehicles buried under the snow …I tend to avoid topics related to religion, politics or other such inviolable dogma and while I do believe that there are negative and nefarious aspects of the spirit realm I think that assigning “demonic” influence to a location or individual has become somewhat gratuitous …that said; if I were to describe an area as “cursed”, it would be Gary Indiana…it is just awful…

Rounding the corner leading to that now infamous house on Carolina St. I could clearly see the bright red moving truck parked out front blocking most of the road save for a narrow strip of tire packed snow along the driver side…unfortunately there was a rather deep ditch on that side of the street cleverly concealed beneath the white mound from one of the infrequent snow plow visits … As I attempted to rock my way out of a deepening rut (and a growing panic at the prospect of getting stranded I that neighborhood) a tall, lanky gentleman appeared at the rear of the truck and advised me that he would not be able to move the truck for a little while, but offered push from the front while I ground my gears in a seeming futile attempt to extricate myself …

After several terrifying moments sliding deeper into the inexorable frozen morass, I somehow managed to grab dry pavement and screech my way out of the ditch just missing the moving truck by inches … I exhaled a sigh of relief as I parked my aging SUV on the corner and made my way back to thank the slim Samaritan …he asked me why I was there ( being white and all) and I admitted was there taking photos of the house …he then informed me he was the most recent resident of the house and this was the moving( out) day…he only identified himself as”Ed” but he did provide me cellphone # in the event I wanted to come back later in the day for inside photos ( for a small fee of course LOL)…while it was a tempting prospect, my intuition told me that waiting around Gary Indiana for several hours was a bad idea …( a Gary Police car rolled up when I was leaving and would have probably pulled e over had he been able to get around the moving truck)…

I did get a chance discuss the house that he lived in for the past few years which has become the subject of a recent media circus … The conversation begins with Berek spinning his tires in a progressively deepening rut next to the moving truck and “Ed” approaching the passenger side window …

“Ed”: You are just digging a deeper hole in that ditch, hold on” …

Mr Halfhand: “I think you’re right” (letting off the gas)…

“Ed” I’m not going to be able t move this truck for a while” (gesturing towards the extended ramp leading from he rear of the truck’s box)

Mr Halfhand: “ I should have just turned around “ …

“Ed”: “So what are you doing here anyway?… here to look at the house?”…

Mr Halfhand: “Yeah…I am” (sitting there with a camera in one hand and the steering wheel in the other )

Ed: “Not surprised, it’s been kinda crazy around here …”

Mr Halfhand: “Do you know the owner?..”

Ed: “Yes, but I have been living here for the last XX years (forgot precisely how long he said, didn’t take notes )…

Mr Halfhand: “So is it true what they have been saying about this house?…you know, ‘Portal-To- Hell’ and all?…”

Ed: (chuckling) “No, it’s all b***s***…”

(With the navigational prowess of “Ed” and a hefty push t precisely the right point of momentum ; I was able to extract myself from the quicksand-like winter quagmire, clearing the moving truck by mere inches . …I pulled up to the curb on the corner and hopped out to express my sincere gratitude )…

Mr Halfhand: (extending my hand) Thank you, sir, that would have been a tough call to Triple A followed by a long wait I’m sure…”

Ed: (accepting m handshake)You are welcome Sir …you are much more polite than most that have come down here to get a look at the house …one came all the way from England ”…

Mr Halfhand: “I take it some have been a little pushy? “…

Ed: “you might say that…if I didn’t answer the door, they tried to force the door open …seriously!”…

Mr Halfhand: “Is this why you are moving out?”…

Ed: No…the house was bought out from underneath me by some guy from California…some guy from one of those Paranoia TV shows”…(Yes, he did call it one of those “PARANOIA TV shows” LOL)

Mr Halfhand: :” So you weren’t planning on moving, you are being forced out?…”

Ed: “Pretty much, but I did get lucky and find a place I could afford not far from here”…(Sadly, it is not a stretch to assume Ed is economically challenged like 99.999% of Gary IND residents)…
Mr Halfhand: “I’m sorry Ed”..
Ed: “You know; if you are going to be round for a few hours I could let you have a look inside… (smiling) if you throw a little something my way”…

Now don’t get me wrong, if I had any cash on me, I would have at least tossed him a $20 or two for the help out of the ditch alone, but I as I have almost completely converted to plastic these days to complete most monetary transactions, I was figuratively penniless … plus I was a little limited, time wise …plus my intuition was nudging me along and I never question my instincts… the Gary Police cruiser crunched up to the rear of the moving truck right about then so hastened my exit , wishing Ed happiness (and peace) at his new residence…

I continued getting photos of the surrounding streets… while I did not perceive anything preponderant emanating from the “Demon House”, there is a very distinct sense of oppression here that transcends socioeconomic …as I continued canvassing the area for photo ops, there were certain structures that literally made my head pound when I stopped for a shot.. While I admittedly; never watched that ghost show on The Travel Channel (not sure if I even get that cable station), I’m quite certain there is nothing “demonic” present that particular house aside from media generated sensationalism and hype propagated by someone hoping for a book / movie deal…

As far as the new future resident from the”Paranoia TV show”… I only have the word of someone standing on the street claiming to be the most recent resident …I would hope this reality TV star would not intentionally displace a poor family for ratings…I leave that for you o decide ….

Mr Halfhand Here is the photo album (edited for color and clarity):
http://s541.photobucket.com/user/MrHalfhand/library/Gary%20Indiana%20Demon%20House?sort=3&page=1