Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/570217
W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A . C O M 59 A LOVELY HISTORIC HOME ON HELENA'S LOW- ER WEST SIDE HAS GENERATED NUMEROUS CREDIBLE REPORTS OF PARANORMAL ACTIV- ITY. Built in the late 1870s, it was the longtime home of Christmas Gift Evans, a pioneer businessman. Born on Christmas Day, his parents considered him a gift and named him accordingly. "Chris" Evans acquired the stunning French Second Empire style residence when he and his business partner traded homes in 1883. After his first wife died in 1894, Evans remarried and the couple had two children. en in 1915, circulatory problems necessitated the amputation of Evans' leg. e surgery took place in the home as was sometimes customary. Evans died later that night. He lies beneath a fine marble monument at Forestvale Cemetery, minus the leg he lost shortly before his death. Evans' widow and his daughter lived in the home until their deaths in 1940 and 197. Evans, both his wives, and his daughter all died in the house. Although Chris Evans might have the most pressing reason to come back for something he lost, his may not be the home's only ghostly energy. New owners purchased the house in 1979. ey carefully rehabili- tated and modernized the home and did extensive research to list it in the National Register of Historic Places. While the owners wintered in Arizona, Mike and Dee Ann Cooney rented the house from Novem- ber 1986 to April 1987. e Cooneys thoroughly enjoyed the historic home. During that time, Dee Ann had two remarkable experiences. e first occurred late one evening. Mike and their son Ryan, then a toddler, were already in bed upstairs. e house was still and dark. Dee Ann sat in the living room in a small circle of lamplight, reading. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught light or movement on the dark stairway. An odd object about the size of a basketball — kind of misty, whitish, and glowing — was moving slowly up the stairs. Dee Ann felt nothing extraordinary. e ball slowly ascended the stairs until it was out of sight. It was such a weird experience that she didn't even react and didn't think to follow it. She almost thought she was hallucinating en it happened again. Dee Ann was reading in a small room off the kitchen and the house was very still. She saw the three-dimen- sional ball of light hovering on the wall. As before, it moved very slowly. is time, though, it seemed to take longer and she stared at by ELLEN BAUMLER CONTINUED