Is the store where I work haunted in a super-boring way? Pt. II
4Almost exactly one year ago I asked here if the store where I work is haunted, based on clicking security cameras and a SPOOKY CORNER. The general consensus was that, while it may or may not be haunted, the clicking cameras probably had nothing to do with it. And the SPOOKY CORNER doesn’t appear to be spooky anymore, so it may have been a SPOOKY BATTERY-POWERED SECURITY LIGHT IN CASE OF POWER OUTAGES which was haunted, and has since been removed.
The store always has some noise, because we don’t have a drop ceiling and hear everything from the roof when it’s windy, or if the air conditioning is acting weird, or really, any time. Our doorbell goes off ALL THE DAMN TIME, even when no one is anywhere near the path of the sensor, or in the front of the store, possibly because of the air conditioning blowing the window shades. Possibly. This is all fine.
But the noises have changed this summer. Sometimes when I’m in the back of the store, at the end of the day, by myself, sounds come from the office like someone is in there. Specifically, shifting their weight or turning around in one of the chairs, and sometimes something that sounds like shuffling papers. The office is up a short flight of stairs and I have my back to it when I’m doing end-of-day stuff. It doesn’t scare me, but a few times it was loud enough that I got up and stuck my head in the office to see if anyone was in there.
I mentioned this to one of the managers, who responded that yeah, the noises are getting worse. I’ve worked in this store for 15 years (good god), and he’s been here for 12 years. I also mentioned it to the other manager (also 12 years), who was convinced before that something was watching her from the southeast corner of the ceiling in the back of the store. I was out of town recently, and when I got back she said to me that she heard the noise I was talking about when she was closing one night, it sounded exactly like the general manager turning around in his chair. And I was like, RIGHT? IT’S NOT SCARY, IT’S JUST WEIRD.
So, here are my questions:
Is the store where I work haunted?
Could it be security cameras again? A camera in the office definitely clicks when I’m moving around, but this is happening when the the office is empty and lit (there is a monitor with the security camera feeds on it–could it be activating the camera?). And can a security camera sound like a swivel office chair?
Is the chair haunted?
Is the general manager visiting the office in his astral body? Can an astral body affect a swivel office chair?
Why did this start in the summer? Is the air conditioner haunted?
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The answer to these, and many other questions is…
I have no idea.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@ruouttaurmind Thank you.
/giphy ghost hunter
Where do the cameras broadcast to? Are they audio enabled? Maybe you’re hearing a bored security guard turning in his chair.
@therealjrn I don’t think the security cameras broadcast anywhere in particular other than a hard drive.
@mossygreen hmm
In other news, I was “driving for dollars” looking around to see if I could find some distressed property that I could maybe get a deal on and I found this little apartment complex that was all boarded up but didn’t look too beat to hell…
Researching it, I found out a double-homicide had occurred there when it was still a going concern last year. One dude had shot another dude in the head during a drug deal, then dead dude’s buddy shot the shooter dead in turn.
Pretty neat huh?
So my questions are, would you live in an apartment where such an occurrence had happened? Do you think the place might be haunted now by bad drug dealer ghosts? And they were bad drug dealers, they left all the drugs behind for the police to find when they investigated the shots fired call.
@therealjrn Interesting question! Last month I was reading an article on Atlas Obscura about the house where the Heaven’s Gate cult committed their mass suicide and how cheap it was for awhile (eventually it was bought and the house torn down) and feeling geniunely regretful for not being fabulously wealthy, because I would have absolutely bought and lived in that house, had I had the cash to buy it. So: crazy cult suicide house? Sure! Nasty double homicide house? Not sure. Those would probably not be gentle ghosts.
@mossygreen Hmm, maybe. You might have a point. And probably not very smart ghosts either.
I don’t think it would bother me, because people die all the time. We all have to die somewhere, right?
Bur nasty double homicide ghosts are probably pissed off to boot.
@therealjrn I mean, at the least they’re probably easily confused and impulsive.
@therealjrn I definitely would (live there). It would make for an interesting story in case anybody was interested, and not to sound mean, but knowing it was a drug deal gone bad murder, instead of something like a dad shooting and killing his wife, 5 small children, cat and dog. That kind of thing would totally deter me. But not the drug deal thing. I’d only worry it was in a bad neighborhood I guess.
@moonhat That’s my thinking too. It’s different from those premeditated family massacres. Those are just so sad and hold so much bad juju. I still have to track down the owners, find out if they want to sell and figure out if it’s worth it to rehab the place.
Probably won’t come to anything for me though but it’ll be an interesting process at least. One historical Yelp review of the place mentioned shady characters in and out and living there. Sounds to me like absentee, disinterested owners. Places don’t get run down overnight.
It’s in a working class type neighborhood and very close to a police station so that holds promise. It’s near the bus lines and shopping too.
@therealjrn so would you disclose the double homicide to perspective renters?
I would not live there. Someone died of natural causes, sure! Someone was murdered, nnooooo way!!
@tinamarie1974 Oh…probably not go out of my way to say something. It was sorta big news, but not news for any length of time when it happened. I mean, what’s the purpose? It’ll just be like in those movies where the unsuspecting residents don’t know why their home is being engulfed in horror. LOL
This particular murder was stupid fast. Not like where somebody was held captive and died slowly or something. You probably drive over any number of death scenes in your daily commute for example.
The unit where my daughter and the grands are living had a nice old couple die in it within a couple of weeks of each other (how romantic) but they haven’t reported any ghosts.
I didn’t tell my daughter but some blab-mouth neighbor told her. grr But no harm done. I figure this place will be the same.
@therealjrn yeah I was honestly just curious. I don’t know if I had an opinion either way, but wasn’t sure if there were any rules surrounding disclosure.
@tinamarie1974 not for a rental I imagine. Sales rules are there but difficult to enforce.
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974 murder, shmurder
@therealjrn - I’d go the opposite direction - advertise the whole place as haunted! Say that the tenants may occasionally appear on tv or YouTube ghost hunter videos, but only if they grant permission. Explain that the ghosts only manifest during drug deals, violent altercations, and the hogging of the parking spaces.
@aetris
Hmm
I like that! Keep the bad elements out!
@therealjrn out of curiosity, I just reviewed our state’s latest 2 page Seller Disclosure Form…
Couldn’t find anything asking about either deaths or ghosts.
But then, an attorney friend recommends the Seller, rather than answering Yes/No to each item, answer “Unknown” to every single item.
Not sure how that helps obviate legal risk since if the buyer can prove you knew the condition existed, you’d be in potential trouble for either a “No” or “Unknown” answer.
friend of mine, when he finished his gen ed classes at the local Ohio State Branch campus, and moved to the main campus to finish his degree, got an apt JUST off campus ( like if the Michigan game is at OSU that year, you either leave weds night, or you ain’t leaving until monday), ground floor, right inside the entrance, freshly refurbished, for a good deal cheaper than the other units in the building…
turns out the previous tenant, had committed suicide with a pistol, AND the bullet went clear through his head, and took out his rather large saltwater aquarium as well…
he was only discovered a few weeks later after the neighbors complained about the smell.
apparently when they went to clean the place up, the funk was so bad, when they opened the windows, the air movement stirred up enough…stuff… it set off the smoke alarms…
didn’t bother him any, strict atheist, so he “knew” that ghosts weren’t real.
@earlyre Oh, those poor fish…
@earlyre @therealjrn
Why, because they lived so close to OSU?
@mossygreen… Ive worked retail the last 21 years, we’re a big box 24hr regional chain. used to work thirds as a cashier. at that time, the west entrance was the 24 hr entrance, now they’ve switched it to the east side.
back in the day, the west doors from the lobby into the store, would open all by themselves overnight. newbies would either get a bit freaked out about it, or try to figure out why they were opening.
I just said it was the ghosts from Lowes (across the street)that get bored when the store was closed overnight… they would just laugh it off.
then i had to explain to them that i grew up right there (literally, my grandparents house used to be between the 2 stores) and when they built Lowes, they relocated an old family cemetery that was atop a small hill they tore down.
we used to play up there as kids…so did my dad and his brothers… there were no markers left… last burial up there was just after the civil war…
@earlyre
/image they’re here
@earlyre This is a wonderful story.
Nope.
Can’t be haunted because there’s no such thing.
@DennisG2014 I’ll let the ghosts know.
The only ghosts are in my head. And they are friendly. Most of the time.
@PlutoIsAPlanet
/giphy Casper the friendly ghost
So you don’t have to disclose if people have been murdered when selling a house? I thought you had to. Man tv lies about everything lol
@star2236 Well, states regulate the disclosure rules for property sales. I’m not convinced those same somewhat hard-to-enforce rules extend to rentals. Frequently deaths from accidents or natural causes don’t need to be disclosed.
I’m just going to go with being shot in the head is a natural consequence of drug dealing…or an accident…one of those. LOL