However, choosing to not believe in something does not mean your brain has to listen.
In this post, I will be diving a bit into surface-level ghost “stuff”, as well as sharing two of my own stories, which may or may not have been encounters with otherworldly beings.
Before I get started, I want to say the reason I am posting about ghosts in August is that this October, I have volunteered to spend the night in a haunted hotel to raise breast cancer awareness for breast cancer awareness month. If you are able to, I welcome all donations to the “Boos for Boobs” GoFundMe page here to help off-set the costs of the hotel booking and travel, and any excess funds raised will be donated to a breast cancer charity.
Diving In
 |
| Photo by Pedro Figueras from Pexels |
Ghosts have been around for centuries. According to an article from History.com, “Roman author and statesman Pliny the Younger recorded one of the first notable ghost stories in his letters” dating back to the first century A.D., in which he described the ghost of an old man with a long beard and rattling chains who was haunting his house in Athens. Stories such as this have since become a norm, especially in paranormal-related communities. I am a fan of the YouTube series Buzzfeed Unsolved, and during their ghost-hunting episodes, the viewer hears about supposed ghost-sightings and paranormal “activity” before skeptic Shane Madej and believer Ryan Bergara head out into the field to perform their own investigation. When I spent a semester of college in Maine, I joined the paranormal club because I’m a fan of adventure and wanted to go ghost-hunting (though I keep telling myself they aren’t real). So yeah, ghosts are relatively common to hear about though there is yet to be definitive proof of their existence, which is widely accepted by the scientific community.
Until then, we are left with rumors of haunted ships like that of the HMS Queen Mary, whose decks supposedly are alive with the hauntings of sailors and passengers from the ship’s past, tales of the ghosts of historical figures like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln, and stories of supernatural experiences we find ourselves telling our friends after the fact.
Two Ghost Stories
 |
| Storytime! Image by PDPhotos from Pixabay |
I do not believe in ghosts. That is a fact that I often remind myself when I am in less than ideal situations. Both of these two stories occurred within the last year or so of writing this post. The first takes place in a property in my hometown, which is currently for sale. The second is one which takes place just down the street, at my store, Basil E. Bacorn Books, Art, and More. (I hope this won’t be bad for business…)
My hometown is full of old buildings that may be more than meets the eye. Dating back to the late 1700s and early 1800’s, Athens, Pennsylvania could easily be a collection bucket of ghosts. Given my personal experiences, if I decided to believe in ghosts, I would definitely say there is a high chance of hauntings in this town.
Building For Sale
 |
| Dark hallways... Original photo by Isabella Mendes from Pexels |
This first story happened in October 2018 if I remember correctly. Because the building is currently for sale, I am going to be vague so no one accuses me of driving the value down.
I was visiting home from Maine when it happened. Back then, Basil E. Bacorn Books, Art, and More was the book section of another local business. The store was to be moving into a new location, so I had to stop by to set-up my books. It was not difficult, nor was it particularly scary. The building could certainly be in better condition, but it was in the process of being readied for the store’s grand opening in a few weeks or so.
It was when the sun set, though, that things took a creepy turn.
My second day of setting-up began at about eight, since I was busy all day with familial obligations. Visiting home from college is destined to give you a tight schedule. Anyway, I get to the store, and head inside. It is a beautifully designed property, and has a ton of potential. It just needs a lot of work. A place that hadn’t been opened for about seven years is bound to need TLC. As I would come to find out, TLC can’t fix everything. Ghosts do what ghosts do.
If I believed in ghosts, I would say with 98% certainty that this building is haunted. I didn’t see any full-body apparitions. But I did end up leaving very quickly after what did go down.
Like I said, I arrived around eight. I would say It was between 9:30 and 10:00 pm that I heard the first noise. I knew I was alone, but since I try not to let myself believe in ghosts, I thought nothing of it. After all, old buildings creak. Maybe something was settling. It is hard to tell. All I know was it was a faint clank sound. It sounded metallic.
Instead of investigating, I just turned on my music and continued working.
Around ten, I hear what sounded like a knock. It was loud enough that I heard it over the sound of my jams, but I figured it was the building settling again, and continued stocking shelves.
Not even five minutes pass, and I hear it again. Louder. Three knocks coming from the rear of the building. The premises consists of a few halls connecting several rooms. The room I was working in was the only room with a light on, and it was towards the front of the store. There was a back door, but it led out into a very tangled mess of weeds so no one would have a reason to enter through that way. Nevertheless, I thought maybe it was someone who needed to get in or talk to me.
I walk down the dark hall to go see, but when I arrived at the back door, all I saw through the window were weeds in the light of the moon. I didn’t feel comfortable going outside in the dark at that hour - I didn’t need to get mugged… or worse…
So I hurried back to the room with light, though I did not make it that far with what I heard it again. Louder. Angrier. From a room, that did not have an outside door.
At this point, my worst fear is that someone was hiding in the darkness of the room, waiting to attack. I think it was a flag pole or something, but I grabbed a long object to defend myself with, and went towards the room I heard the banging coming from.
I know darkness plays tricks on the eye, but I peered into the room and asked the darkness, “Is anyone here?” Hearing my voice made me realize just how scared I was.
Please don’t answer, I think to myself, saying, “Hello?!”
I looked in further, and as I think I see something, BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!
The noise sent me running through the halls. I grabbed my stuff, turned off the lights, and booked it to the door. What did I think I see? Well, it was probably just my imagination, but I think I might have seen, crouching in the shadows, a dark figure looking right back at me. With a smile.
Working Late
 |
| These stairs lead to the "empty" apartment upstairs... Photo taken by Basil E. Bacorn |
That previous story… I hate it. I try to pretend it never happened, but I swear I will never, ever enter that place again. Especially after dark.
I will preface my next story with this: I have never had any spooky experiences at the shop during busy hours, and it has been very rare that anything has happened during the day. So if a store being haunted is enough for you to not shop there, do not worry. You’ll be fine.
Anyway, I have had several moments over the past few months that have me wondering about the possibility of maybe, perhaps, some type of ghost-ish activity.
There was a single brief incident at the temporary location, but the current location is admittedly pretty… exciting… in the spooky way.
The noises have become less frequent, which is the only reason I feel comfortable telling you my store might have been slightly haunted - that is, if I actually believed in ghosts.
Which I don’t.
Obviously.
Like I mentioned in the previous story, the buildings of Athens are pretty old, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have the occasional settling noises.
This is nowhere near as spooky as the first story, but I felt the need to include it.
There is an apartment upstairs, however it has no tenants.
So, when it is late at night, and you hear what sounds terrifyingly like footsteps… coming from a supposedly vacant apartment… you only have so many explanations - few of which are good.
Theory 1: It’s the ventilation system or something similar. This is a very possible explanation, which I choose to accept, however it doesn’t explain some of the other things, which I will get to shortly.
Theory 2: Squatters. Maybe there actually are people up there, they just aren’t supposed to be there. Not paranormal, but still not my favorite thing to think about while I am alone here.
And Theory 3: Ghosts.
This one in particular makes the most… I’m not going to finish that sentence.
Ghosts could be occupying the apartment upstairs. It would explain the footsteps, but it would also explain the sliding.
The first time I heard the noise, it reminded me of what I assumed a large wooden board sliding down the roof would sound like to the people inside. It wasn’t scraping, but it sounded like a giant sheet of something sliding down the walls and crashing to the floor.
I’ve done a little research, but nothing matches what I have heard here after hours. It’s happened three or four times so far. Like a large chunk of ice sliding off a polar ice cap, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor.
I don’t investigate partly because I don’t want to know what’s making the noises. I’d rather just assume it is the air conditioning than find an unhinged old man feasting on a dead bird he caught. Or… a ghost.
***
What do you think? Are ghosts real? Have you had your own spooky experiences you’d like to share? Drop a comment below!
Thanks for reading, and if you want to send me to a haunted hotel for a night of fright to raise breast cancer awareness, don’t forget to check out the “Boos for Boobs” GoFundMe page here! :)
Post Note: If you know any verifiable information about the town of Athens, Pennsylvania’s history, feel free to email me at basil@basilebacorn.com.
0 Comments