The “Haunted” Song Loretta Lynn Wrote Sitting on the Stairs in Patsy Cline’s Home Shorty After Her Death in 1963

On June 14, 1961, Patsy Cline and her younger brother were involved in a near-fatal car crash in Madison, Tennessee, leaving her with a broken wrist and ribs, a dislocated hip, and a severe cut to her forehead. While hospitalized for a month, Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” went to No. 1 on the Country chart. Her Harlan Howard and Hank Cochran-penned ballad was also a significant crossover hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During her hospitalization, Cline heard a young country artist singing her recent hit live on the Midnight Jamboree radio show. After hearing of Cline’s accident, Loretta Lynn dedicated her rendition of “I Fall to Pieces” to the country star, who was so moved by the tribute that she invited the singer to visit her. After their first meeting at the hospital, their friendship blossomed, and Cline became a mentor to Lynn, giving her advice on everything from hair and makeup to standing up for herself in a male-dominated industry.

“She came into my life and changed everything,” wrote Lynn in her 2020 memoir Me and Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship With Patsy Cline. “That’s what real friendships do. We made each other better.”

Videos by American Songwriter

“This Haunted House”

By the time she started working on her 1964 album, Before I’m Over You, Loretta had penned “Where Were You” and another song shortly after losing Cline in a plane crash on March 5, 1963.

“When I heard that morning that Patsy was gone, I said out loud, ‘What am I going to do?’” said Lynn. “It was like a rug had been pulled out from under me. She was my friend, my mentor, my strength.”

After her death, the Lynns visited Cline’s children, Julie and Randy, and her husband, Charlie Dick. While Oliver talked to Charlie, Loretta felt inspired to write. Sitting on the stairs to the recreation room in Cline’’s home, Loretta started writing “This Haunted House” and finished it within 20 minutes before playing it on guitar for Charlie.

[RELATED: A Look Behind the Death of Patsy Cline and Her Lasting Legacy Today]

Also credited to her husband, Oliver Lynn, “This Haunted House” chronicles the phases of grief, following the loss of a loved one, and how Cline’s house felt more “haunted” without her presence.

I watched you leave, that’s how I know you’re gone
But this heart of mine keeps tellin’ me I’m wrong
I see your face before me every night
In this haunted house, when I turn off the light

Sometimes I hear you walk across the floor
And my arms reach out to hold you like before
I live for all the things we used to do
In this haunted house, I’m filled with love for you

This haunted house I’m livin’ in is killin’ me
And the ghost of your love won’t set me free
Each morning finds me cryin’ and alone
In this haunted house, we used to call our home

“This Haunted House” was never released as a single but reappeared on Lynn’s 1972 compilation Alone With You. In 1977, Lynn released the tribute album I Remember Patsy, which included Cline’s 1961 No. 1 “I Fall to Pieces.” Nearly 60 years after its original release, Lynn also released a rerecorded version of the Cline hit in 2020. 

“It was sad when we lost Patsy,” said Lynn in 2009. “She was my only girlfriend at the time. She took me under her wing, and when I lost her, it was something else. I still miss her to this day.”

Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images