Haunted Places - do you have a story?

[maelstrom0370]

Speaking of ghosts and hauntings, I coulda swore I posted in here earlier!!!

ANYwho...The property the resort I work for sits on dates back quite a ways and the majority of the island was English, French or Indian burial ground at one time or another, so I hear similar stories from employees and guests alike season after season.
To name a few:
The painting of the little girl whose hands switch positions (left over right, right over left)
The boy who plays ball in the main lobby
The girl who plays piano in the theater and the man who sits in the balcony of the same
The woman (who's only ever seen from the waist up) who wanders around the outside of the main lobby
and Harvey...our generic catchall ghost who, depending on the story, is a former guest or student (this resort was a college at one time) who was killed/committed suicide/died of natural causes.

Also, the company I work for owns the resort that inspired "The Shining" as well as the resort the original movie was filmed in and the resort the made-for-TV remake was shot at.

[Whistler Fred]

At the Stronghold Olde English Faire, there a castle on the grounds where they have regular tours. There is an upstairs nursery room in the castle that I've toured through more than once.  It has always given me the creeps for some reason.  Some have maintained that the room is haunted.  Whether or not, it isn't a very cheerful room and I can't imagine what it would be like trying to sleep there at night.

[McGuinness]

The grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and the mansion it was built around have lots of stories attached. The grounds have their own stories that aren't necessarily related to the mansion, but if you believe in that type of thing there are a few past owners and residents sticking around the mansion. The mansion was built in the early 1800's and renovated several times (most of the "big" stuff happened in 1890 with the last family owner, Daisy Grubb). I haven't seen anything major but I've felt stuff in there several times. We keep trying to get management to bring in The Ghost Hunters or someone to investigate or let us do some of our own little sleepovers or whatnot. Fun stuff that most of the PaRF patrons have no idea about!

[Elkyn]

I work at the Scott Theatre in Fort Worth, and in the 60s a stagehand hung himself in the sub-basement.  There's a ton of stories, so my dad (who has his own paranormal investigation group) decided to check it out and brought me along.  The first year we did it, we got several evps, two which contained my name!  The second year we investigated, we were all in the sub-basement and heard someone walking above us, but thought it was the guys that were still there working.  When we got upstairs, they swear they had been in a totally different room watching tv for the past hour.  And where the footsteps were coming from was covered in scenery, so there's no way anyone could have been walking there...

I used to work in that building!  Can't say I recall ever having any paranormal experiences.  But I generally stayed in one little isolated area toward the rear (Montgomery Street) exit.  Seems that I vaguely remember a Texas Wesleyan stagehand telling me one time about how he was working really late there one night and swore someone else was in the building (when he knew there could not have been).  I think he heard some noises or something.  Went to investigate and couldn't find anything.

[Casche]

I used to work in that building!  Can't say I recall ever having any paranormal experiences.  But I generally stayed in one little isolated area toward the rear (Montgomery Street) exit.  Seems that I vaguely remember a Texas Wesleyan stagehand telling me one time about how he was working really late there one night and swore someone else was in the building (when he knew there could not have been).  I think he heard some noises or something.  Went to investigate and couldn't find anything.

Actually, I think I know who you're talking about (I used to be completely in love with him, heh).  I only work there now during the summer with Kids Who Care, but I do a lot of costuming, which means I'm down in the sub-basement a lot... Mostly by myself.  It's pretty creepy down there even if you didn't know someone died down there!

[Elkyn]

Was it around 1995 or 96? (actually 96 would be more accurate in my time frame)

[Elkyn]

Well, I'll weigh in with my brush with he paranormal.  I'm going to preface this with the statement that I do not believe in ghosts, BUT I once saw something for which I could/can find no plausible explanation:

Many years ago in my familys old house (built in 1979-we were the first people to live in it), my grandmother came to visit us.  She was sleeping in the livingroom on the hide-a-bed couch. I had always been a 'night-owl' and my habit was to stay up very late reading,painting or drawing.
This particular night, I had just finished a book (or a chapter of a book) and decided that I would retire for the evening (everyone else had gone to bed hours before).  But before bedding down for the night, I needed to take care of some-er- necessary business before hand.  I stepped out into the hallway into darkness to begin my trek to 'that little room' and thought I saw something moving in the living room. I looked to the left up the hall into the living room where my grandmother was sleeping soundly and that's when I saw the strangest, most inexplicable thing I have ever seen. Two or three little flashing orbs of a blue-ish silvery light floating about two or three feet above where Mammaw was sleeping.  They looked like slow-motion camera flashes, only tiny.  And they were NOT fireflies (wrong color, too stationary and wrong time of year).  I stood there and watched to see if it happened again.  Nothing.  Almost as if they knew they'd been seen.  I considered and explored every possible explanation for the occurance, but nothing panned out.  To this day, I have no explanation for what happened that night.

[DonaCatalina]

Alice, Texas - The Old Rialto Theater on Main Street - This movie theater closed in the 1980's. Former employees and an occasional patron claimed to have seen shadowy figures in the upper darkened hallways and to have experienced feelings of dread. Feelings of being watched from the upper levels were a common experience. An old story passed down among some employees claimed that a manager was killed during a light night robbery. No one has ever unearthed a police report for this.

[DonaCatalina]

Alexander, Texas - McDow's Hole - The frontier cabin where she met her fate is long gone, but perhaps ... something of Jenny Papworth still remains at the old McDow Ghost Hole about two miles south of Harbin, Texas.
  She was a pretty girl, supposedly. No raving beauty to be sure, but the frontier life suited her well, and she was the sum total of Charlie Papworth's world. She and Charlie, along with her oldest son, Temple, had undertaken the difficult trek from Georgia to what would become Erath County in the 1870s. Charlie had made the journey earlier, and Jenny and her son followed shortly thereafter. They settled on a stretch of land near Green's Creek, next to a wide meadow and near the McDow watering hole. Their neighbors, the McDows and Keiths, came to help build their cabin, and at least for a time all was calm. Jenny had another baby and the four of them lived happily together. Then Charlie received a letter and had to go away. Both of his parents had died, and he had inherited much of their property, He decided the best thing for Jenny would be to have her stay with one of their two friendly neighbors during the evenings. He felt she would be safe enough during the day, but he feared the growing outlaw bands to the east. Charlie thought his plan was foolproof. After all, the railroad was a growing thing, and enough track had been laid to make the journey back to Georgia much easier than their original overland trek. He'd be back before she even knew it. Thus, Jenny spent each day at the cabin, and then she, the baby and Temple would spend the night at the Keith's or McDow's. This continued for several nights, until one evening when she did not show up at either home. Both families initially thought she had gone to stay with the other. But when morning came Jenny was nowhere to be found, nowhere at all. The families frantically began a search. They went to the cabin and found it apparently deserted. Blood was on the floor.  A thorough search found young Temple, weeping incoherently, under the rawhide bed in the room. The search spread out far and wide. Comanche Indians were accused, but the suspected tribe, which lived near the site of the present-day city of Coleman, Texas, was later found to be friendly. Many of the Indians knew Charlie and Jenny Papworth. They were upset to hear she had vanished. So, inevitably, suspicion fell on the man who insisted so strongly that the Comanches were to blame, a man suspected of outlaw dealings himself. Legend names him W. P. Brownlow. Charlie returned and Brownlow became a certain target. Faced with doom at the end of Papworth's rifle, he began what can only be called a smear campaign. Papworth and Jenny had prospered in the two years they had remained in the territory. How? Brownlow asserted it was because Charlie was a rustler. Surprisingly, some people began to believe him. The outcome was inevitable. After witnessing the abduction and death of his mother, Temple woke again to see a horde of masked men coming for his father. Along with six other men, he was hanged on a tree near the McDow Hole. Temple bravely climbed the tree and cut down the men. Six Death had already claimed, but Charlie Papworth was miraculously alive. They rode off together, away from the horrors they had known. But Jenny, Charlie's beloved, remained. The first to see her were members of the Keith family. A drought had gripped the land, and the McDow hole was one of the last bastions of good water left in the area. Three nights Bill Keith and his 13-year-old son attempted to stay in the cabin, and three nights Jenny visited them, each apparition more horrible than the last. On the first night, someone was at the door. It was Jenny, holding her baby. As Keith and his son looked on in terror, she vanished without a sound.    "A dream," Keith told himself the next morning. He was determined to stay. The next evening Jenny appeared again, gliding through the walls of the cabin. Still, Keith thought it was all only a dream. And then, on the third night, he knew the visions shared by him and his son had been no dream. She was there at the door again, so real he could have reached out and touched her. He asked if it was truly her, if she was really alive and had escaped from whatever fate had held her. She screamed. The terrible sound reverberated through the twilight, and then Jenny was gone. Only the night remained, cold and unforgiving. Thereafter, Keith avoided the Papworth cabin at all costs. After that, Jenny's shade was reported ranging all over the Erath County countryside. She would appear holding her baby on nearby railroad tracks. The engineer would hurriedly throw the brakes, bringing the thundering locomotive to a stop -- usually too late. Yet, when the panic-stricken crew would leap out to examine the tracks, there was never any trace of Jenny or her infant child. Tales of Jenny's haunting continued. Many thought she was looking for her killer. Others said she wanted to lead someone to her bones. Perhaps, though, Jenny got her revenge on her murderer and her husband's would-be killer. Brownlow had moved far to the east along the county line and lived a secluded existence. Word came that he was sick and that he had a disease no doctor could cure. On his deathbed, Brownlow is said to have confessed to the murder of Jenny Papworth. She had seen him talking to known cattle rustlers, and he had to kill her. Just before he confessed, Brownlow supposedly writhed under the influence of a terrible dream, screaming "Don't let her touch me!" and "The blood!" over and over again. After his confession, Brownlow gave up the ghost himself. Most believe it was also Brownlow who led the masked men who tried to hang Charlie Papworth. Brownlow wasn't the only casualty of Jenny's wrath, though. A Pennsylvanian coffin-maker had moved into the territory. He was supposedly a talented fiddle player, and his music could be heard easily. Then for several days his fiddle fell silent. Finally, neighbors came to visit the cabin. They found the coffin-maker on the floor, his face drawn into a rictus of fear and dread. The coffin-maker was suddenly in need of a coffin himself. Another time, a group of robbers visited the cabin. They suffered the same fate; their fright-contorted faces the only testament to whatever ghastly events had transpired. Far and wide, stories of Jenny spread. One legend says Green's Creek changed course and some human bones were found in an old well. Popular opinion holds that these were the mortal remains of Jenny and her baby, but the validity of the story is questionable.
    Even today, though, stories are still told about the McDow Hole Ghost. In fact, so many stories have been told the legend has even attracted "professionals." Mary Joe Clendenin, a local author, says her father, Joe Fitzgerald, told her the story of Jenny many years ago when she was a young girl. It is from her father's account that many of the "Jenny" stories spring. Among the many souls who have attempted to lay Jenny's spirit to rest included a traveling medium that came to the area in the 1950s, she said. The medium said he intended to free Jenny's wandering shade. Clendenin said she wasn't certain he did. "He stopped at our house to ask directions to the McDow Hole," she said. "He claimed he was planning to lay Jenny's spirit to rest. We never saw him after that, so I don't know if he was successful." Wes Miller of Morgan Mill said he had fished, swam and worked the land around the McDow Hole all of his life, ever since 1927. Often, his mules would become skittish around the watering hole, and he felt a presence around the hole itself.    Once, when he was a young boy, he came there to swim one day. A chill suddenly filled the watering hole. Miller and several of his young companions built a fire, but it scattered and went out quickly. "What would cause a cold like that and a fire to go out so suddenly?" he asked. "I don't know. I've had a lot of time to think about that incident, though." Miller said he felt more-or-less accepted by whatever he felt at the watering hole. He said he sensed no real danger there, but he added he would still find it hard to spend the night there alone, even at 77 years of age. So, the question remains: Is Jenny still around? Did Clendenin's mysterious spiritualist release her soul? If those bleached bones really were hers, did she slowly weaken and fade? Or does some remnant of Jenny Papworth even now remain, lost and fated to haunt the darkness? Clendenin said she didn't know. "I certainly believe that she was real," Clendenin said. "I've never been fortunate enough to see a ghost, though. Something of Jenny may still remain, but I can't say." Miller agreed, saying where Jenny was couldn't be known. "Of Jenny's ghost, who can say?" he said. "Who knows what sort of place she is in here in our world -- or out of our world?"

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

Fire station #2 at RAF Mildenhall UK was supposedly the morgue during WW2. Spent more than a few nights there, never saw nothin. One 'o the tanker drivers claims to have seem something. He wern't right fer the next several hours

[Capt Gabriela Fullpepper]

Also, the company I work for owns the resort that inspired "The Shining" as well as the resort the original movie was filmed in and the resort the made-for-TV remake was shot at.

Might that be the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park?

From everything said Stephen King wrote the book after spending the night at the Stanley. I also know that the made for TV version was filmed there. Ghost Hunters have been there two times and coming back for a third. it truely is haunted.

Doors will open and close on their own and they were solidly closed. Glasses have just shattered, a little girls voice can be heard and will even respond.

[maelstrom0370]

Also, the company I work for owns the resort that inspired "The Shining" as well as the resort the original movie was filmed in and the resort the made-for-TV remake was shot at.

Might that be the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park?

From everything said Stephen King wrote the book after spending the night at the Stanley. I also know that the made for TV version was filmed there. Ghost Hunters have been there two times and coming back for a third. it truely is haunted.

Doors will open and close on their own and they were solidly closed. Glasses have just shattered, a little girls voice can be heard and will even respond.

That would be the one!  The original was filmed in Mt Hood, Oregon. I think it's called the Timberline.  And yea, Stephen King spent the winter at the Stanley with just the winter caretaker.  The former GM of the Stanley was responsible for getting the Ghost Hunters out there the second time.  Really raised revenue for the hotel!!  I used to work with the head of Maintenance for the Stanley.  He told me he couldn't keep the room number on the door of the suite King made so famous in the book (213? 223?) Guests kept stealing it off the door!! 

[DonaCatalina]

Alvin, Texas - Harby Jr. High - During the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, some people were buried where the school was eventually built. Official reports state that these were temporary burials caused by the large number of dead and lack of mortuary space. The bodies were later removed for permanent burial elsewhere by their families. Local stories say that not all of the bodies were found and moved. Teachers have reported seeing the faces of people in windows. Showers in the locker rooms will turn on without anyone being in the locker room. At least one visitor has claimed to have captured orbs or faces in photos of the school.

[DonaCatalina]

Anson, Texas - Anson Lights - The story was covered by the television series Unsolved Mysteries some time back . Many residents from Anson and the near town of Abilene have gone to witness these phenomenal lights. The cemetery is located going towards the country. The lights are viewed by driving down the dirt farm road equivalent of about a half mile or more. As you drive closer to the cemetery towards the lights they disappear. As for the actual story for this occurrence, is unsolved. Local myth says that this light is the ghost of a mother carrying a lantern looking for her missing child. The child had left the house on cold winter day and was lost and froze to death. The mother's spirit still searches for her child.

[DonaCatalina]

Aquilla, Texas - trains on the invisible railroads - There used to be a railroad track here. A long time ago the city burnt down twice because of the trains throwing sparks. When the line was abandoned they decided to just take up all the rails. Every now and then around in the middle of the night you can hear the train. Residents say it's so loud that it will wake you up from a dead sleep! You can see the light on the front and hear it blow its whistles! But it never stops it just goes right through town.