Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cat Ghost II

Poltergeistgrl from Virginia sent me this tale (tail? ha-ha) about her cat who died, but continued to hang out with her. I have heard stories about cat ghosts before (check out the story from California) and this is another great one for my collection. Read on:

hey J!

Your book is awesome! i had no clue that creepy things happened in EVERY state of the US. Im not what u would call a UFO or paranormal freak, but my friends and I have had our share of creepy experiences around our little Virginia town. i have plenty to share with u about all of my friends stories but this one is by far the scariest ever!

ok, i was only six and i had been at school when my cat, Alley, who i had since i was born got run over by a car. When i got home my parents had to tell me the grisly news. i saw her put to rest in our backyard and we went on with our lives. the next Halloween (coincidentally, her birthday) i set a grave stone where we had buried her with her picture and then i went trick-or-treating. when i got back i glanced at her grave, nothing was there. No picture, no gravestone, nothing! i quickly ran inside my house to ask my family what happened but no one was there but me. later i went to bed, securely closing my door and laying down. After an hour or so, I heard MROWWWWWWW! I quicky sat up and sitting on my dresser was Alley! She had a weird blue aura around her and had stars in her eyes! i was freaked. when i moved over to touch her, she vanished! in the morning when I dragged myself out of bed i asked my parents if they heard anything weird, they said i was crazy! you believe me dont u? -Poltergeistgrl

Of course. I always trust that the people who send me stories are telling the truth. And, as I mentioned, this is not first case of a cat ghost I have heard about. Thanks!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Ghost in the Tollhouse

Emily from Maryland e-mailed me asking if she could "share her scares." So naturally I wrote back and said YEAH! as loud as I could (or as loud as anyone can using e-mail). And so she sent me back this creepy, creepy tale about the restaurant her mom works in. Here it is:

Jason,

Well, first of all, this story takes place in Maryland at a restaurant called Mrs. K's Tollhouse. I've been told that there was a ghost here by most of the employees. In fact, I'm in the restaurant right now! I've never come in contact with the ghost, but my mom and many other employees have. Here's the story:

The restaurant first started off as a toll house and a residence of the Kreuzberg family. A while later they turned it into a tavern and had many visitors. They lived and worked here for a while until Mrs. Mary Kreuzberg died of old age in one of the rooms on the upstairs floor. Her husband was so sad that he re-named the tavern "Mrs. K's Tollhouse". Soon, the current owners [my mom's bosses; husband and wife] bought the restaurant.

They were getting ready to close the restaurant one night when the husband left his office. He deadbolted the door and went downstairs. There was no else in the restaurant. The next day [before anyone arrived], he went back up to the office and the deadbolt had been un-screwed from the door.

He went downstairs to ask his wife if she had un-screwed it but she said she hadn't. At closing time that night, he went upstairs and re-screwed it on. The next day it happened again. He decided to just leave it off.

Things were quiet for a while after that. And then came the restroom construction...

The men's restroom, across the way from my mom's office, was being reconstructed. One of the workers had finished for the day so he started to close the door. But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an old woman in a rocking chair. This was in the heirloom corner where there are breakables and mirrors everywhere. "The woman was wearing old-fashioned clothing and was just watching me work," he said. Then again, a few years went by without any incidents or sighting.

Then, my mom started her job here as catering director. The restaurant started to close on Mondays. My mom was the only one at the restaurant on Mondays and soon the strangest thing happened. She was sitting at her desk working and listening to the radio when she heard a strange noise. It was a bell like from a trolley or something. She climbed up the stairs and it got louder. She thought it was coming from above the staircase. But when she got there she found no bell and no one.

I believe that the ghost of Mrs. K was trying to get someone's attention. Then I found out that the day my mom heard the bell, was the anniversary of the day Mrs. K had died!

Emily

Thanks for sharing, Emily. This, like so many stories I have encountered goes to show that not all ghosts are evil. Some just want to make sure they are not forgotten. And it doesn't sound like anyone in the Tollhouse will soon forget Mrs. K!