Posted on 04/30/2004 7:12:03 PM PDT by CurlyBill
ST. THOMAS -- Somebody calls the newspaper with a tip and I find myself clambering up the steps of the old St. Thomas courthouse, thinking I'm wasting my time on a wild goose chase. Maybe a wild ghost chase.
It's a grand old building, to be sure. First built in 1852, it burned down in 1898 and was rebuilt the following year. Situated atop the hill on Wellington Street, the three-storey structure features five arches out front and a cupola on top.
The building, which is being renovated, holds a Crown attorney's office, a land registry office and provincial and Superior courtrooms.
Maybe the courthouse holds something else, too.
Several people tell me that years ago, a husband and wife team of custodians lived on the top floor. They say the wife died in a tragic accident and she has haunted the building ever since.
I tug on the door leading to the top-floor apartments, but it's locked.
I hear that, for years, there have been strange things happening here. Most of the people who tell me these tales don't want their name in the newspaper. Not in a ghost story, anyway.
One yarn goes like this: A caretaker, spooked by a vacuum cleaner that kept mysteriously turning off, finally lost his patience and spoke aloud. "Now look," he said. "The sooner you let me finish my work, the sooner I'll be out of here."
The vacuum immediately started up.
I'm told nighttime cleaners have found all the trash cans upended. I'm told a worker changed the brand of liquid cleanser she was using; later, she found all the new cleaning bottles on the floor, tops off, spilling into a drain.
I talk to a St. Thomas police officer in one of the courtrooms. He tells me that about 20 years ago, he and his partner responded to a possible B and E -- breaking and entering -- at the old courthouse.
It was a hot summer night. But, he says, as the two men climbed a rickety staircase to the top floor, the temperature suddenly dropped.
"It got so damn cold," he says, "it was like climbing into a fridge."
Then, he says, he felt a pressure on his left side and was shoved aside with such force that he would've tumbled off the steps if his partner hadn't grabbed him.
"That was my last experience being in here at night," says the cop. He laughs, but I don't think he finds it funny.
Then I meet a couple of electricians working on the renovations. Do they know anything about the ghost? One nods.
Dave Eels tells the story matter-of-factly, almost as if I'd asked him how to upgrade a fuse box.
Eels says it happened back in February. It was dark, about 7:30 p.m., and Eels and two other men were working in the courthouse. One of the guys asked if they wanted to go outside for a break.
Later, the man explained why he'd wanted to leave the courthouse: He'd been working alone in the basement when he felt something tug his overalls.
Then the room turned suddenly cold -- so cold, says Eels, the man could see his breath.
While they were standing outside, the three men heard a loud noise -- a sort of banging -- echo from the supposedly empty building. One guy figured a sheet of drywall had fallen. They heard more noises and went back to investigate.
And this is what they found in the small basement room where the one man had been working: They found the man's drill case, where he'd left it. Atop that they found the man's sweater, where he'd left it. And atop that they found a wooden chair, smashed to pieces.
Eels says the chair had been sitting, intact, in another room down the hall.
Eels shows me the broken chair. I ask if he believes in ghosts.
"Something was going on that night," he says.
Later, I re-enter the small basement room, with its curved, brick ceiling and old stone walls. I'm a skeptical guy. It's mid-afternoon. There are at least a dozen people upstairs.
Still, it feels good to get out of there. And I do. Fast.
I've thought of that. I tried reasoning one day with it that it should really go on, that there were 'better things' for it to do than to hang around. It seemed it was gone for a few days after that. I really do not know what else should be said or done to help it make its way to wherever it is going next. And I am still not convinced it is a dead soul. Supernatural, positively. Dead soul? I really do not know.
it's not normal to have a spirit reside in your house
Perhaps. I'm always hopeful I meet someone else (a real person :-) that currently has a ethereal visitor hanging around. Until then, it really does not bother me and I guess I really do not bother it. But maybe if I asked it to help with the bills...
You're lain' some new lingo on me here. I don't know what Earth Muffins or harpies are. But from the stories I've heard, "dabbling in witchcraft" is like "dabbling in heroin".
Ummm... the "ectomist" in your flash picture looks a great deal like light reflected by the metal cover of the box in the foreground. ...
My parents' cat does that, shoots up the stairs thru the kitchen, every single time he's been to The Box.
That story sounds like "The Bell Witch." ANyone else agree?
Hi CurlyBill, please add me to your list too!
You might be on to somethng,...I do seem to remember Hillary once saying something about Bill awakening with 'sleep horrors' or words to that effect...isn't that what she was talking about????
I wonder how many of them are still of flesh and blood????
A couple of thoughts.
First, there isn't any Scripture that encourages us to consort with spirits. Quite the opposite, we are warned of fallen angels and of deceiving spirits.
A used car salesman can be very freindly and seemingly benign, especially if it is an attempt to influence your thinking, decisions, and behavior.
Secondly, Scripture tells us plenty about the supernatural and how we today have access to all things through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This doesn't mean one should seek to elevate ourselves by supernatural occurances, rather God has already provided everything we need and more through faith in Him. Those who seek supernatural things outside of His protocol are now dabbling in a domain where creatures who have existed for millenia reside and have also been described as malevolent deceivers in some situations.
Dabbling in that domain is sort of like swimming in the ocean. God has provided eternal life in a regenerated spirit to man through faith in Christ. Sortof like swimming at the beach in his plan.
On the other hand, if we jump in to a shark's nest and rebel from God's protocol for us, we might quickly discover some things exist that are very, very real and not in our best interest.
BTW, since He created all things and has a plan for every man to come to Him on His terms with love, if confronted with such spirits, first pray to God for confession of any known sin and ensure that you are on the right track with Him first. Remain faithful to Him and regardless the occurance you are on the right track. Also remember, God has recorded many situations where he is displeased with man consorting with familiar spirits, to the point of causing physical death of the man involved in that situation. This doesn;t mean all spirits are evil,..we have the opportunity to be endwelt by the Holy Spirit, and there are many testimonials of elect angels having assisted man.
Outside from Scriptural basis, encounters with the supernatural might also invite some very unwanted involvement.
Simple explanation for that one, we have it too. With a slow leak around the flapper valve in the bottom of the tank, when the water level in the tank falls to a certain point the fill valve will open to let more water in, causing the "flushing" sound . . . no, I can't explain the other stories on this thread.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.