The Tallman Hauntings

In the beginning of February 1987, Allen and Debbie Tallman residents of Horicon, Wisconsin would make purchase they would regret for the rest of their lives. While the couple was out shopping, they purchased a bunk bed from a secondhand shop for their children. Initially They assembled the bed and stored it in their basement. Later that year in May, the Tallmans moved the bed upstairs and from the first night it was slept in, odd things began to happen. 

Danny Tallman would be the first to experience the strange events. He was sleeping in the room next to the bunkbed, when the clock radio in his room began acting strangely. After his parents said goodnight, Danny said that he saw the radio’s indicator moving itself. Also, the clock radio turned itself on and off and randomly switched the channels by itself. Initially when he told his parents about his clock radio, they didn’t believe him. 

However, that would soon change. 

A few weeks later, Allen Tallman was painting the walls in his basement. He decided to take a break and he went upstairs for lunch. Before heading upstairs, He placed the paint brush on the table. When he got back, the brush was in the bucket with the bristles sticking up and the handle in the paint. 

Things would only get more terrifying though. 

When the youngest daughter was sleeping in the bunk bed, she alleged that she had seen a red-eyed witch behind her door. 

The children saw an ugly old woman in their room with long black hair and a glow like fire. 

The family, who were very religious, brought in their priest and he would feel the presence of evil as well. 

Unfortunately, the spirit refused to leave, and things only got worse in the coming months. 

The strange activity lingered, and all sorts of paranormal activity occurred. Doors slammed close and flew open themselves, a chair rocked by itself, Disembodied voices called out from empty rooms.

A week before Christmas, the Tallman’s son Danny again saw something horrifying and told his mother that he wanted to leave. 

Angered the entity was going after his children, Allen walked into the house shouting at the top of his lungs, “Pick on me, leave my kids alone!”

Three weeks later, around 2AM on January 7, 1988, Allen returned home from the late shift. Outside the garage, he heard an eerie howling sound, and went to see what it was. He finally heard a voice came out of the wind and it said, “Come here.” He went around the side of the garage to see if anyone was there, but there was nobody. He then walked back in front of the garage and saw a strange orange glow.  Allen got scared and ran inside the house and thought that the house was on fire. He grabbed a fire extinguisher, but when he came back out, the orange glow that looked like fire was gone. The garage door looked normal and there were no visible signs of fire damage. 

When Allen got back inside, he went to reach his lunch pail that he had set down, but out of nowhere, the entity grabbed it from him and then threw it across the room. 

Allen began sleeping in his daughters’ room to protect the frightened children. One night, while sleeping a fog began ascending around him. A voice came out of the fog and said, “You’re dead.” This terrified Allen and left him speechless and unable to tell Debbie what he had seen. Worried for Allen , Debbie called their priest to come over. He would comfort Allen and when interviewed would state that a demonic presence was inside the house. 

A few days later, Allen was working late and asked a relative, who was skeptical of the spirit, to watch the girls. While watching the girls, the same terrifying figure the children had seen appeared to him. The shellshocked relative let out a loud scream and was visibly shaken. After hearing the incident, Debbie had had enough. She told the relative to get the kids together, and that they were leaving the house forever.

Two weeks later, the Tallmans had the bunk beds destroyed in a private landfill, the location unknown. After these events, the Tallmans had no further paranormal experiences. Since there departure, no strange experiences have been reported in the home. 

The Tallman case is one of the most popular paranormal cases in Wisconsin and in the Midwestern United States. It’s truly strange and frightening raising a number of important questions.

First, what is the origin of the bunkbed? This appears to be the source of the evil, and it would be interesting know who sold the bunkbed to the thrift store. While not uncommon for entities to attach themselves to inanimate objects like dolls and paintings, a bunkbed is somewhat of an odd choice. 

Some would argue that maybe something terrible happened in the bunkbed and this invited in the dark spirits. 

While there’s numerous possibilities surrounding the bunkbed, one question concerns the home itself, was the house itself actually haunted not the bunkbed? The family had just moved in it November 1986, only a few months before acquiring the bunkbed. It’s not like they had lived there for years. 

So, was the bunkbed itself not related to the haunting? Perhaps it was just coincidence that the activity began the first night the bunkbed was moved upstairs. If the family had removed it, and the strange activity had ceased, this would have answered the question. Unfortunately, though, the family, who were understandably frightened and confused chose to abandon the house, not abandon the bunkbed. 

Since they left, there hasn’t been any paranormal activity with any of the new owners, but it’s not unheard of for paranormal activity to affect some occupants and not others. 

Some believe the Tallman’s made the whole story up as way to make money. It’s important to point out that they didn’t seek attention with their case though. They did appear on a 1988 episode of Unsolved Mysteries, but the producers of the show, hearing about this strange story, tracked them down for the story. In the episode, Allen and Debbie are interviewed but conceal their faces. They also discuss how traumatized their family still is after leaving. 

This case is also intriguing and frequenting in that it shows anyone, or any family can find themselves tormented by a spirit. The Tallmans were a normal, happy family with no obvious issues. However, they, especially their 3 children, were subject to terrifying events that would even traumatize most adults. 

It’s unclear what happened to the children as they grew older. Let’s hope though, they were able to move forward with their lives with these events in the rearview mirror.