I don’t know what has been going on lately … but have you been experiencing more paranormal activity … Things going “bump” in the night?

Or sounds that have you jumping out of your skin … or feeling a bit anxious?

With some of the sounds I’ve been hearing I’m not sure if they are inside or outside the house. At first I thought there were car doors slamming … then I wasn’t sure. I usually don’t look out — That’s right, I’m afraid what I might see …

It does seem that many ghost hunters are experiencing more activity — sometimes needing to run out of places they’re exploring … Then going back … All I can say is that something different is going on …

I’ve been enjoying spring break and a buggy ride … and meeting some people …

I enjoy the old part of town.

There are modern shops, but there is evidence of the old depot and some of the old shops. I especially like the trees that grow in the parkway casting shadows along the walkway.  Listening to the wind blow through the trees gives an eerie sound that feed the imagination.

I have heard the clip-clop of horse hoofs and I have seen phantom horse drawn buggies among the modern traffic on the street from time to time.

Last week, I noticed a horse drawn wagon going through town. Spring Break comes at different times for the public schools and the private schools and the different colleges in the area. I don’t know if someone hired them or they were just out to see if there was an interest in a wagon ride. It’s nice when you have out-of-town guests visiting to treat them to a horse drawn wagon ride. It’s something they enjoy and will tell their friends and family back home.

I especially like it when there is a mix of people, young and old. On this particular day it seemed to be an impromptu group selected by the young man at the reins.

“Do you want a ride?” he called out.

Several people climbed on and my cousin and I decided to join them.

One man asked, “Do you do Haunted Hay Rides?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact we do. There is a favorite place we go that always gives everyone a scare. Do you want to go?”

Everyone seemed to be in agreement. We were headed toward the old movie theater. I had heard stories about how popular it was during the days of silent pictures and continued with the talkies. Today there are larger ones that have replaced it, but it is still used for private showings.

Since it was daylight, no one expected to see anything spooky, but our driver said it would give us a scare. I wondered what he had planned.  This may not have been as impromptu as I originally imagined.

One young woman spoke how at one time there was an element that would come to town (of course from Los Angeles). One of the projection rooms was used for gambling. One game got a bit out of hand and there was gun fire, but the movie watchers didn’t notice because the shots seemed to correspond to the gun shots of the western that was playing.

We were told to squint just a little and look at the front of the theater. I thought I saw a man in a suit with a hat — he looked like a private eye of days gone by. Others saw people coming out of the theater eating popcorn. One man pointed to the roof. He said there was a man up there smoking a cigar. It seemed strange, but several of us smelled cigar smoke. Power of suggestion or there was someone real or in spirit form smoking a cigar.

Not too far from the theater was the old hospital that many claim to be haunted. One woman spoke about the stories her grandmother told of the old haunted hospital. One man on the ride told about when he was a kid, he and some friends went out there one night and they heard screaming coming from the building. The woman confirmed that the third floor was for patients who received electroshock therapy. Even when the third floor was shut down, many of the nurses heard crying and screaming coming from the third floor.

I felt a sudden chill and others in the wagon remarked how they, too, felt cold. Neither my cousin nor I heard any screaming, crying or distress.

We just about jumped out of our skin when the driver’s cell phone started playing music. We were on our way back to the old part of town, our ride was coming to an end.

Many of us went to a restaurant to continue talking and telling stories. I’m always interested in the experiences of others or urban legends from other places.

Leo’s Story

Leo is from Vermont and is visiting his daughter and son-in-law. When he was a child, his mother took him shopping for school clothes. She was always looking for bargains and the basement seemed to have all the discounted clothes. They were going down in the basement when he began to feel ill. Before they got to the last step, he heard a man shout, “Run! Get Out!”

His mother started running up the stairs leaving him behind. He shouted, “Wait for me! Don’t leave me!”

She kept running right up the stairs and out of the store. Leo caught up to her at the bus stop. The look on his mother’s face told him not to say anything.

Days later, his grandmother came with bags of school clothes for him. His mother refused to go in that store again or any store for that matter. She was afraid from that moment to leave the house.

His grandmother tried to find out what happened that day, but his mother wouldn’t talk about it. Leo told her that he wasn’t feeling well as they were going down in the basement. He heard a man yelling to run and get out. His mother ran, forgetting all about him.

This remained a mystery until a few years ago when there was an article in the newspaper about it being the 100th year anniversary that a man committed suicide in the basement of that store. His mother must have heard what he heard and perhaps saw the ghost of the dead man, which he hadn’t seen.

That was a bit creepy for a Real Ghost Story. I hope you enjoyed it!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon