Comments on: Hometown Haunts T-Shirt Contest http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035 Feel Smart Again Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:59:48 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: MattM http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-56039 MattM Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:45:01 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-56039 I went to college in San Antonio, Texas. There's a place outside of San Antonio called the "ghost tracks." Supposedly a school bus stalled on the railroad tracks, a train hit the bus, and all the kids died. As you drive out to the tracks, all the streets are named after the kids who died in the bus crash. It's one of those things that kind of sneaks up on you. All of a sudden you look up and see "Timmy Street" and "Susie Lane" and "Alice Avenue," and you know you're getting close. Here's the way it works. The road rises slightly toward the tracks, and then the tracks themselves are sort of raised, so as you're driving across the tracks there's a bump in the road. It's steep enough that you wouldn't want to go over it too fast. So you park about 50 feet away from the tracks, and put your car in neutral. I suggest turning off your engine to heighten the dramatic tension. And ever so slowly, the car begins to move. But it doesn't move downhill. The car begins to roll uphill, toward the tracks. You slowly pick up speed -- while rolling uphill -- and then you roll over the bump and railroad tracks themselves. Once you're past the railroad tracks, your car comes to a stop. The story is that the kids' ghosts hang around the railroad tracks to make sure no one ever gets hit by another train, so they push cars past the tracks. And supposedly, if you put talcum powder on your trunk and bumper, when the kids are finished pushing you over the tracks, there will be tiny hand prints left in the powder. I went to college in San Antonio, Texas. There’s a place outside of San Antonio called the “ghost tracks.” Supposedly a school bus stalled on the railroad tracks, a train hit the bus, and all the kids died.

As you drive out to the tracks, all the streets are named after the kids who died in the bus crash. It’s one of those things that kind of sneaks up on you. All of a sudden you look up and see “Timmy Street” and “Susie Lane” and “Alice Avenue,” and you know you’re getting close.

Here’s the way it works. The road rises slightly toward the tracks, and then the tracks themselves are sort of raised, so as you’re driving across the tracks there’s a bump in the road. It’s steep enough that you wouldn’t want to go over it too fast.

So you park about 50 feet away from the tracks, and put your car in neutral. I suggest turning off your engine to heighten the dramatic tension.

And ever so slowly, the car begins to move. But it doesn’t move downhill. The car begins to roll uphill, toward the tracks. You slowly pick up speed — while rolling uphill — and then you roll over the bump and railroad tracks themselves. Once you’re past the railroad tracks, your car comes to a stop.

The story is that the kids’ ghosts hang around the railroad tracks to make sure no one ever gets hit by another train, so they push cars past the tracks. And supposedly, if you put talcum powder on your trunk and bumper, when the kids are finished pushing you over the tracks, there will be tiny hand prints left in the powder.

]]> By: lauren http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55998 lauren Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:45:06 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55998 I live in Asheville, NC which also seems to have an extraordinarily high ghost-to-resident ratio. The city took into the 1980s to repay its debt from the depression so there are still a ton of buildings from the 1920s and earlier, which I think is part of why so many older inhabitants have hung around. The Grove Park Inn is a resort hotel that was built in 1912, and home to The Pink Lady. A young woman fell off an indoor balcony, fell to her death, and never left the property. Several employees have seen her (she wears a pink nightgown) and there have been reports of strange feelings and sounds in the room she occupied. One woman even called the front desk to thank the hotel profusely because her young son had been lost wandering the halls and a nice 'employee' in a pink dress had led him back to his room safe and sound. An old mansion now owned by the inn is also haunted by Alice, a servant who died there. She tends to turn lights off and on, slam doors, and move things around while people are setting up for banquets. Alice has been seen walking towards the actual inn, and apparently hangs out with the Pink Lady on the golf course at night. The Biltmore Estate is probably Asheville's most famous attraction: a huge mansion the George W. Vanderbilt occupied. After his death, his wife used to stay up all night and talk to him in front of a huge marble fireplace (the servants thought she was crazy). You can still hear the two of them talking quietly at night. The swimming pool in the basement is also haunted; workers have heard maniacal laughter coming from the pool drain, and the whole floor of the building fills with the sounds of people swimming at night. One of the local high schools is built on an old cemetery, and many janitors have claimed that the spirits of the dead are present but refuse to say exactly what happens. A woman named Helen who lost her young child in a fire hanged herself from the beaucatcher mountain bridge. Many many people now report totally inexplicable car trouble when on or near the bridge. There are also a few ghosts of bankers and businessmen who killed themselves during the depression. They now haunt the offices of the businesses which have moved in since. There are literally dozens more haunted sites in and around town, but those are the ones I'm most familiar with. Pretty crazy for a city with under 80,000 living residents! I live in Asheville, NC which also seems to have an extraordinarily high ghost-to-resident ratio. The city took into the 1980s to repay its debt from the depression so there are still a ton of buildings from the 1920s and earlier, which I think is part of why so many older inhabitants have hung around.

The Grove Park Inn is a resort hotel that was built in 1912, and home to The Pink Lady. A young woman fell off an indoor balcony, fell to her death, and never left the property. Several employees have seen her (she wears a pink nightgown) and there have been reports of strange feelings and sounds in the room she occupied. One woman even called the front desk to thank the hotel profusely because her young son had been lost wandering the halls and a nice ‘employee’ in a pink dress had led him back to his room safe and sound. An old mansion now owned by the inn is also haunted by Alice, a servant who died there. She tends to turn lights off and on, slam doors, and move things around while people are setting up for banquets. Alice has been seen walking towards the actual inn, and apparently hangs out with the Pink Lady on the golf course at night.

The Biltmore Estate is probably Asheville’s most famous attraction: a huge mansion the George W. Vanderbilt occupied. After his death, his wife used to stay up all night and talk to him in front of a huge marble fireplace (the servants thought she was crazy). You can still hear the two of them talking quietly at night. The swimming pool in the basement is also haunted; workers have heard maniacal laughter coming from the pool drain, and the whole floor of the building fills with the sounds of people swimming at night.

One of the local high schools is built on an old cemetery, and many janitors have claimed that the spirits of the dead are present but refuse to say exactly what happens.

A woman named Helen who lost her young child in a fire hanged herself from the beaucatcher mountain bridge. Many many people now report totally inexplicable car trouble when on or near the bridge.

There are also a few ghosts of bankers and businessmen who killed themselves during the depression. They now haunt the offices of the businesses which have moved in since.

There are literally dozens more haunted sites in and around town, but those are the ones I’m most familiar with. Pretty crazy for a city with under 80,000 living residents!

]]> By: Leigh http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55916 Leigh Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:25:25 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55916 In my hometown, the local legend goes like this: Back in the 1800's, a young girl named Sally Carter went to her sister's house for a visit. While she was there, she took sick and died. She was buried in the family cemetery at her sister's estate. Years and years later, a party was held at the estate. Several party-goes stayed overnight at the house. During the night a terrible thunderstorm blew up with lots of thunder, lightning, and wind. One young man woke during the night to see a young lady standing at the foot of his bed. She said "my tombstone has been knocked over." Upon investigation the next morning, it was found that the storm had indeed blown Sally's tombstone over. I am an avid ghost-hunter! While I have not witnessed any ghosts first-hand, I did have an interesting thing show up on my digital camera. I took a series of 3 photos of an antebellum house. In the second photo, an apparition appears in the left-hand corner of a window! It's a small boy -- you can clearly see his head, hair, eyes, and mouth!!! The first and third pictures in the trio show no apparition. In my hometown, the local legend goes like this: Back in the 1800’s, a young girl named Sally Carter went to her sister’s house for a visit. While she was there, she took sick and died. She was buried in the family cemetery at her sister’s estate. Years and years later, a party was held at the estate. Several party-goes stayed overnight at the house. During the night a terrible thunderstorm blew up with lots of thunder, lightning, and wind. One young man woke during the night to see a young lady standing at the foot of his bed. She said “my tombstone has been knocked over.” Upon investigation the next morning, it was found that the storm had indeed blown Sally’s tombstone over.

I am an avid ghost-hunter! While I have not witnessed any ghosts first-hand, I did have an interesting thing show up on my digital camera. I took a series of 3 photos of an antebellum house. In the second photo, an apparition appears in the left-hand corner of a window! It’s a small boy — you can clearly see his head, hair, eyes, and mouth!!! The first and third pictures in the trio show no apparition.

]]> By: septer http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55896 septer Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:26:20 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55896 I am gonna have hard time going to sleep tonight!! I am gonna have hard time going to sleep tonight!!

]]> By: Lea http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55880 Lea Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:30:31 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55880 I live in Cincinnati and I have always, always sworn that the Cincinnati art museum was haunted. As a child I went there often with my parents and HATED the rooms with Spanish rennaisance art. One room holds a giant tripdich depicting the crucifixion. Everytime I went in there, I felt watched. I don't know how, but I knew it was a tall, thin hooded figure in black and that it was NOT a good "thing". Years later, I was reading one of the "Haunted Ohio" books that told of the exact figure that I always felt being seen in the same place I felt it by security guards! My mom is still skeptical but I know it's there. The Museum is in Eden Park, which is also haunted. An old Gazebo in the park is haunted by the spirit of a woman who was murdered there by her abusive husband. Another famously haunted place in Cincinnati is the 20th Century Theater, built in the 20s as a movie-house. My great-aunt had a house in a Cincinnati neighborhood of Reading that was haunted by a poltergeist and the ghost of a murdered native american man. One room always stayed cold and had a blood stain in the floor that refused to disappear, no matter the scrubbing. Things would fly off the walls and the lights and TV turned on and off by themselves. Apparently the famous ghost hunter Hans Holzer himself investigated the goings-on with the help of a psychic (who identified the native american man). Later, bones were found in the dirt floor basement. My dad also had an apartment in reading and claimed to hear footsteps and other mysterious sounds when no one else was in the whole building (it was a small four-family building occupied by my dad, uncle, and some friends). My grandmother seems to attract a certain amount of ethereal attention also, but she resides in Burnside, KY. She told me of an early September morning, before the sun rose, when everything became still and silent and then she heard the sounds of horses and Indians whooping down the dirt road that runs behind her house. Later that week, her neighbor down the road mentioned the incident to her (not knowing what she had experienced). More personally, my grandfather was murdered my senior year of highschool just before Christmas. On New Year's Day following, my grandmother received a call from my deceased grandfather. He told her "It's OK" and she felt better. While helping out after the funeral and helping to get all the affairs in order, I was falling asleep one night and felt my grandfather holding my hand. I knew it was him and felt comforted. My mother was very close to her grandfather and when he passed away (natural causes), he too visited her to help her. She said she was choking in her sleep and he said "Wake up, Donna" and saved her. I guess my family attracts the paranormal. I live in Cincinnati and I have always, always sworn that the Cincinnati art museum was haunted. As a child I went there often with my parents and HATED the rooms with Spanish rennaisance art. One room holds a giant tripdich depicting the crucifixion. Everytime I went in there, I felt watched. I don’t know how, but I knew it was a tall, thin hooded figure in black and that it was NOT a good “thing”. Years later, I was reading one of the “Haunted Ohio” books that told of the exact figure that I always felt being seen in the same place I felt it by security guards! My mom is still skeptical but I know it’s there. The Museum is in Eden Park, which is also haunted. An old Gazebo in the park is haunted by the spirit of a woman who was murdered there by her abusive husband. Another famously haunted place in Cincinnati is the 20th Century Theater, built in the 20s as a movie-house. My great-aunt had a house in a Cincinnati neighborhood of Reading that was haunted by a poltergeist and the ghost of a murdered native american man. One room always stayed cold and had a blood stain in the floor that refused to disappear, no matter the scrubbing. Things would fly off the walls and the lights and TV turned on and off by themselves. Apparently the famous ghost hunter Hans Holzer himself investigated the goings-on with the help of a psychic (who identified the native american man). Later, bones were found in the dirt floor basement. My dad also had an apartment in reading and claimed to hear footsteps and other mysterious sounds when no one else was in the whole building (it was a small four-family building occupied by my dad, uncle, and some friends).
My grandmother seems to attract a certain amount of ethereal attention also, but she resides in Burnside, KY. She told me of an early September morning, before the sun rose, when everything became still and silent and then she heard the sounds of horses and Indians whooping down the dirt road that runs behind her house. Later that week, her neighbor down the road mentioned the incident to her (not knowing what she had experienced). More personally, my grandfather was murdered my senior year of highschool just before Christmas. On New Year’s Day following, my grandmother received a call from my deceased grandfather. He told her “It’s OK” and she felt better. While helping out after the funeral and helping to get all the affairs in order, I was falling asleep one night and felt my grandfather holding my hand. I knew it was him and felt comforted.
My mother was very close to her grandfather and when he passed away (natural causes), he too visited her to help her. She said she was choking in her sleep and he said “Wake up, Donna” and saved her. I guess my family attracts the paranormal.

]]> By: Steve http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55834 Steve Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:01:30 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55834 I went to school at Norwich University in Vermont. It is a small military school with a very long history and many ghost stories. What happened to me was not in any story I had heard before. In my freshman year I was not allowed to leave my dorm at night, but my best friend Joe and I never paid much attention to the rules, so we regularly went out and caused mischief (I know it is silly to think that leaving your room at night is not allowed, but at military school what is allowed becomes very restrictive). So Joe and I would go out and smoke cigarettes or spy on upperclassmen or just goof off before going back to our separate dorms. One Tuesday night I snuck out of my room and left the building, walking down towards the hockey rink where we usually met, and waited for Joe to arrive. After 20 minutes I figured he had fallen asleep and began to slowly make my way back to Goodyear Hall. Going back up the fire road behind the other buildings was the best way to stay unnoticed, so that's what I did, but I couldn't help but feel a strange presence behind me. I turned around at one point and saw a cadet officer in full 'Class A' uniform standing about 50 feet behind me, staring in my direction. It wasn't strange for an upperclassmen to be dressed in his best uniform on Tuesdays because we had inspection, but nobody wore them after dinner, let alone midnight. Now I thought I was screwed because I had been caught sneaking out, so I stopped where I was, stood at attention, saluted, and shouted "Good evening sir" (which is how freshmen greeted officers). He didn't move after I said this, or even acknowledge me. He just stared from his distance. Even in the dark I could see him well; grey tunic, grey pants, black dress shoes, white gloves and sheathed saber. I stood there for a minute but after nothing happened I awkwardly walked away. I didn't turn around again until I reached the side door of my dorm, and he was still standing behind me, only now about 20 feet away. I was so scared I could barely breathe. He wasn't looking at me, but through me. A nonexpressive, cold, stone face. The kind of sober determination you only see in soldiers. I stared back at him for a moment and had an eternity's worth of time to notice every detail about his character and dress. The feeling that rushed over me was completely unnatural and I knew I've never been so scared of anything. It's not that anything happened, but the way he choked the life out of the clean mountain air. I think about that night and the feelings I had all the time. Sometimes I dream about it. Just writing this gives me chills. I went to school at Norwich University in Vermont. It is a small military school with a very long history and many ghost stories. What happened to me was not in any story I had heard before. In my freshman year I was not allowed to leave my dorm at night, but my best friend Joe and I never paid much attention to the rules, so we regularly went out and caused mischief (I know it is silly to think that leaving your room at night is not allowed, but at military school what is allowed becomes very restrictive). So Joe and I would go out and smoke cigarettes or spy on upperclassmen or just goof off before going back to our separate dorms. One Tuesday night I snuck out of my room and left the building, walking down towards the hockey rink where we usually met, and waited for Joe to arrive. After 20 minutes I figured he had fallen asleep and began to slowly make my way back to Goodyear Hall. Going back up the fire road behind the other buildings was the best way to stay unnoticed, so that’s what I did, but I couldn’t help but feel a strange presence behind me. I turned around at one point and saw a cadet officer in full ‘Class A’ uniform standing about 50 feet behind me, staring in my direction. It wasn’t strange for an upperclassmen to be dressed in his best uniform on Tuesdays because we had inspection, but nobody wore them after dinner, let alone midnight. Now I thought I was screwed because I had been caught sneaking out, so I stopped where I was, stood at attention, saluted, and shouted “Good evening sir” (which is how freshmen greeted officers). He didn’t move after I said this, or even acknowledge me. He just stared from his distance. Even in the dark I could see him well; grey tunic, grey pants, black dress shoes, white gloves and sheathed saber. I stood there for a minute but after nothing happened I awkwardly walked away. I didn’t turn around again until I reached the side door of my dorm, and he was still standing behind me, only now about 20 feet away. I was so scared I could barely breathe. He wasn’t looking at me, but through me. A nonexpressive, cold, stone face. The kind of sober determination you only see in soldiers. I stared back at him for a moment and had an eternity’s worth of time to notice every detail about his character and dress. The feeling that rushed over me was completely unnatural and I knew I’ve never been so scared of anything. It’s not that anything happened, but the way he choked the life out of the clean mountain air. I think about that night and the feelings I had all the time. Sometimes I dream about it. Just writing this gives me chills.

]]> By: little gator http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55830 little gator Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:30:15 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55830 A building owned by the town of Westford MA is allegedly haunted by a lady in gray. The sports teams at Westford Academy, the town's high school, are called the Gray Ghosts. A friend of mine used to work in a daycare in that building and experienced something, but didn't tell me the details. She did say no one will go in that room alone. Apparently she doesn't show up if there are multiple ppl in the room. I don't think the town's history has any dead ladies in gray stories to account for this. A building owned by the town of Westford MA is allegedly haunted by a lady in gray. The sports teams at Westford Academy, the town’s high school, are called the Gray Ghosts.

A friend of mine used to work in a daycare in that building and experienced something, but didn’t tell me the details. She did say no one will go in that room alone. Apparently she doesn’t show up if there are multiple ppl in the room.

I don’t think the town’s history has any dead ladies in gray stories to account for this.

]]> By: Rachel http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55756 Rachel Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:13:42 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55756 How Strange! I was just in Lower Macungie with my fiance' (we're moving to Emmaus which is near by). We visited the library. He's moved up there already so maybe I'll ask him to look for that book in the library. How Strange! I was just in Lower Macungie with my fiance’ (we’re moving to Emmaus which is near by). We visited the library. He’s moved up there already so maybe I’ll ask him to look for that book in the library.

]]> By: Jill http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55755 Jill Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:12:47 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55755 Jessica - how on earth did you stay in that house?! You say it's for sale... I'd love to see the listing for it! Your story's probably one of the best I've heard. Chilling! Jessica – how on earth did you stay in that house?! You say it’s for sale… I’d love to see the listing for it! Your story’s probably one of the best I’ve heard. Chilling!

]]> By: thirty7 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035/comment-page-1#comment-55736 thirty7 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:21:57 +0000 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12035#comment-55736 Well,living in Emmaus, there's not much i can tell you about hauntings in this area that you don't already know. However, when i was younger, i held a job at a hotel in another state. Not a particularly old building, however there had been a handful of deaths over the years. In one room, a man had hung himself in the bathroom. I was working alone one night and got a frantic phonecall from a guest staying in that room, telling me that her 4 year old daughter had locked herself in the bathroom. Only problem with that was that there were no locks on the bathroom doors. I had to help this mother break the door down to get her child out. Another night, also working alone, i went to the indoor pool room to close down for the night. The lights in the room operate the same way gymnasium lights do: a slot in the wall where one can insert a key to turn the lights off. I walked to the back of the room to check the bathrooms, and when i looked into the men's room there was blood splattered on the floor. At the same instant i processed what i was seeing, the lights all went out. We didn't lose power, the lights were on everywhere else in the hotel. Just turned off in that room. I sure hated doing night time walk-throughs! Well,living in Emmaus, there’s not much i can tell you about hauntings in this area that you don’t already know. However, when i was younger, i held a job at a hotel in another state. Not a particularly old building, however there had been a handful of deaths over the years.
In one room, a man had hung himself in the bathroom. I was working alone one night and got a frantic phonecall from a guest staying in that room, telling me that her 4 year old daughter had locked herself in the bathroom. Only problem with that was that there were no locks on the bathroom doors. I had to help this mother break the door down to get her child out.
Another night, also working alone, i went to the indoor pool room to close down for the night. The lights in the room operate the same way gymnasium lights do: a slot in the wall where one can insert a key to turn the lights off. I walked to the back of the room to check the bathrooms, and when i looked into the men’s room there was blood splattered on the floor. At the same instant i processed what i was seeing, the lights all went out. We didn’t lose power, the lights were on everywhere else in the hotel. Just turned off in that room.
I sure hated doing night time walk-throughs!

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