In other unrelated news, what are we thinking of American Idol so far? My TIVO had an unexpected brain fart and did not record Wednesday's show, so I only saw Tuesday's shenanigans. All I have to say is:
Girlfriend, Sandy called, and she wants her outfit back (minus the shoes). You are not starring in a traveling Broadway production of Grease. Change your clothes, stat. Also, Chris Daughtry sang that song before, and he did it better. It's all about song choice, Dawg.
Moving on! Today we're talking about Casper and his friendly and not-so-friendly ghostly cohorts.
When I graduated college, I decided to immediately start working on my master's degree at the College of Charleston. While I was going to school, I was also working full-time as a Residence Hall Director. Part of my salary was a furnished apartment in the residence hall. My second year as a RHD saw me living and working at Berry Residence Hall, which houses 700 undergraduate females, 20 staff members, myself, and my co-RHD.
Rumor has it that Berry Residence Hall is built on the site of an orphanage, which burnt to the ground sometime in the 1800s. Rumor also has it that many children died in that fire. Before I moved in, my predecessor told me numerous stories about supposed hauntings, but I shrugged it off as good natured banter. After moving in, I had many residents report that while they were in their rooms, they would hear children's laughter. Their televisions and radios would turn on and off. Pictures taken in the room would be blurry or would contain strange white orbs.
I thought these stories were interesting, but I still didn't really believe any of them until strange things started happening to me. My television would change channels and I would be nowhere near the remote. My radio's signal would be perfect one minute, and full of static the next. The station would change on its own. Here's the kicker, though, and it was something I really couldn't ignore or explain: I would go to bed at night, and when I would wake up in the morning, all the cabinet doors in my kitchen would be open. Every single one, every single night.
This still didn't really scare me. I thought it was kind of neat, actually. I had a friendly, mischievous ghost! Rock on! Then one night I woke up in the middle of the night for no known reason. I was sleeping on my stomach and had my head turned away from my bedroom door. In that moment when I first woke up, I KNEW that there was someone standing beside my bed. I KNEW that if I rolled over, I would see a ghost. In that moment, I was officially terrified. I never did roll over. I lay in my bed, frozen, and eventually the feeling went away.
Fast forward to winter break, when all the students and staff had left for the semester and the building was on lock down. At that point, the building was completely closed and the doors were dead bolted. The only people who had keys were myself, my co-RHD, and the janitorial staff. One night around 6:30 p.m., I was watching television and relaxing when I began hearing a commotion in the building. It was the sound of someone or something running in the hall above, opening and slamming doors shut, one after another. The problem? There was absolutely no one in the building. Those doors were shut and locked, and there were only two people with keys.
I opened my door to run out into the lobby, and was greeted by my co-RHD's terrified face. We looked at each other for a few seconds and then made a mad dash for the telephone. It was like something out of the movies: we were elbowing each other to get through the doorway, hopping over sofas, and dodging sofas to call someone, ANYONE, who would make this madness stop immediately. Fortunately, it was a slow night for Public Safety and they made to the building pretty quickly. They did a walk-through of the entire building and what did they find? Nothing. There was no one in the building except the two of us.
When I've told this story before, some people have asked me why we didn't go to investigate. Seriously? People, I am not stupid. I am not the girl in the movies who goes to investigate the strange noise and gets chopped to pieces. I get while the getting is good. Hasta la vista, baby.
Charleston is a great city to visit if you are into ghosts and spirits. I wanted to share with you the story of Poogan's Porch, which is a restaurant located downtown. Poogan's is reported to be haunted by two ghosts. One is the ghost of Poogan, a West Highland Terrier that passed away in 1979. Guests of the restaurant report that they can feel the dog nudging their ankles while they eat and that they hear the sound of nails clicking on the hardwood floors.
Guests of the restaurant also report seeing an older woman, dressed in black, who appears in the upper story windows, front foyer, and in the ladies restroom. There is a hotel across the street from the restaurant, and many of the hotel's guest report seeing the ghost on the veranda in the middle of the night. For the record, Jason and I have eaten at this restaurant twice, and have never experienced anything paranormal.
A few weeks ago, I went to dinner with my parents and a few of their friends. One of my mother's friends, Elizabeth, has a son who works on the Charleston Police Department, and she shared some fascinating stories he has told her about Poogan's Porch.
Jason (Elizabeth's son, a deputy) and his partner responded to a disturbance of the peace call at Poogan's Porch one night around 1:00 a.m. The call reported that the lights were on and loud music was playing. When they arrived, the house was lit up, and the front door was unlocked. When they stepped in the foyer, the lights went off and the music stopped. Both deputies were so freaked out that they stepped back inside to wait on the restaurant's owner. The owner's wife appeared a few minutes later and told them that after she got the call, she got dressed and went downstairs to leave. She stepped into her garage and her garage door was already open, and her car door was as well, with the keys in the ignition. Freaky!
Jason also reported that they had to respond to a call at Poogan's Porch regarding a guest who had gotten stuck in the ladies restroom. The guest states that she went in to use the bathroom, and while she was washing her hands she looked up to see a woman dressed in black standing behind her. She turned around and there was no one there. When she turned back to the mirror, there was the woman in black. She began to panic and tried to leave the restroom, but the door would not open. The lock wouldn't budge. The police were called and had to remove the door from the hinges to get her out of the bathroom.
Y'all, I would DIE.
So I want to hear from you. Have you had any paranormal experiences? Do you believe in ghosts? Sound off in the comments!
A few weeks ago, I went to dinner with my parents and a few of their friends. One of my mother's friends, Elizabeth, has a son who works on the Charleston Police Department, and she shared some fascinating stories he has told her about Poogan's Porch.
Jason (Elizabeth's son, a deputy) and his partner responded to a disturbance of the peace call at Poogan's Porch one night around 1:00 a.m. The call reported that the lights were on and loud music was playing. When they arrived, the house was lit up, and the front door was unlocked. When they stepped in the foyer, the lights went off and the music stopped. Both deputies were so freaked out that they stepped back inside to wait on the restaurant's owner. The owner's wife appeared a few minutes later and told them that after she got the call, she got dressed and went downstairs to leave. She stepped into her garage and her garage door was already open, and her car door was as well, with the keys in the ignition. Freaky!
Jason also reported that they had to respond to a call at Poogan's Porch regarding a guest who had gotten stuck in the ladies restroom. The guest states that she went in to use the bathroom, and while she was washing her hands she looked up to see a woman dressed in black standing behind her. She turned around and there was no one there. When she turned back to the mirror, there was the woman in black. She began to panic and tried to leave the restroom, but the door would not open. The lock wouldn't budge. The police were called and had to remove the door from the hinges to get her out of the bathroom.
Y'all, I would DIE.
So I want to hear from you. Have you had any paranormal experiences? Do you believe in ghosts? Sound off in the comments!
