When the Ghost Screams

by Leslie Rule

  The ghostly goings on of Helena Blunden have become part of the focus of a hobby utilizing ghost cams. In countless haunted places throughout the world, video cameras have been set up and connected to the Internet so that ghost enthusiasts can watch twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, if they choose.

  People stare wide-eyed at their computers, trying not to blink lest they miss an apparition. Often, message boards are attached to the Web sites so that viewers can record their observations.

  Helena Blunden had dreamed of being a star. Today, she is one of the stars of Ghost Watch, a Web site that features a ghost cam trained on the print shop where Helena’s restless spirit roams. According to the folks who run the site, Helena toiled sixty hours a week in the place when it was a linen mill.

  Her job was in the spinning room, and the cheerful girl hummed while she worked, despite the poor conditions. Summer days brought stifling heat, and it was not unusual for workers to faint there.

  Helena, however, did not let the environment get her down. She had hopes for the future. She was going to be a singer. She loved music, and on Sunday, April 14, 1912, she had plans to go to a concert at the Grand Opera House immediately after work.

  According to Ghost Watch, a grumpy old woman named Margaret was in charge of mopping the stairs. When a boy walked over the damp stairs, Margaret dropped her mop and proceeded to scold him.

  Helena finished her work at seven p.m. and was headed down the stairs when she tripped over the forgotten mop. She toppled over the banister, screaming as she fell. The impact killed her instantly.

  In addition to the sound of her disembodied screams, employees in the old building have reported the sound of Helena’s humming. Sometimes her apparition materializes, and sometimes folks know she’s around because items are mysteriously misplaced.

  Since the live Web cam was installed in 1998, watchers regularly post their ghost sightings on the Web site. They record such paranormal happenings as boxes moving on their own, the press inexplicably running, and the appearances of ghosts.

  www.irelandseye.com/ghost/index.shtm

  Blue Bell Hell

  In a scenario that sounds as if it came straight out of the plot of the 1960s hit television program The Twilight Zone, a driver in southeast England thought he had struck a young woman as he drove along a dark road in November 1992.

  When the accident victim mysteriously vanished, the distraught driver went to the police, who returned with him to help search. When no victim could be found, it was concluded he had encountered a ghost.

  Blue Bell Hill near Maidstone in Kent soon became notorious as a haunted spot when the figure materialized in the paths of at least two other vehicles that November.

  Paranormal investigators speculate that the apparition belongs to a bride who was killed on the road on her way to her wedding in November 1965. Two of her bridesmaids also died in the car collision.

  Newspaper articles chronicled the supernatural experiences, including the details of the encounter of one horrified driver who wrapped the victim in a blanket and placed her beside the road before rushing to get help. Upon return, the injured woman was missing.

  The witness descriptions of the ghost varied. While some described the apparition as lovely and young, others shuddered as they remembered a shriveled screaming face.

  It may be that all three of the women killed there are appearing, each taking on a different form. Or the bride may be materializing in varying moods. She had experienced a gamut of emotions on that fateful day, and witnesses may be sensing a range of these.

  Paramount Joe

  According to local lore, the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky, is haunted by a worker who died there in a freak accident.

  In 1931 the historic building debuted as a plush movie theater, complete with a stage and heavy curtains. While workers were putting the finishing touches on the theater, a man died in a freak accident, say locals.

  “Paramount Joe” was left alone in the building while the rest of the crew went to lunch. When they returned, they found he had been strangled in the ropes that operated the stage curtains.

  While actual documentation of the death has eluded researchers, many have witnessed odd things there, and some have speculated that the dead man’s spirit is still there. Does he blame the crew for abandoning him in his time of need?

  Witnesses have seen the lights turn themselves on and off and heard the sound of heavy boots clomping across the empty stage. When Ghost Chasers International, a paranormal research team, investigated the old theater, its EMF meters picked up inexplicable energy, particularly on the stage.

  ————

  PARAMOUNT ARTS CENTER

  1300 Winchester Avenue

  Ashland, KY

  (606) 324-3175

  www.paramountartscenter.com

  Tragedy on Virginia Street

  Owners of Cal Neva’s Nevadan Hotel have plans to turn the building into a condominium complex. Reno ghost enthusiasts are waiting to see if the change will release the spirit of a woman stuck there for over three decades.

  It was November 22, 1973, when a forty-seven-year-old Canadian woman had the misfortunate to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was strolling past the old Hilps Drug Store on Virginia Street as workers dismantled the building.

  The building collapsed prematurely, dumping heavy debris onto passersby. Two people were injured, and the Canadian woman was killed.

  When the hotel was later built on that spot, folks began to spy an attractive woman who was not of this world. The slender redhead wore bright red lipstick and smiled at those she encountered. A painter reported that while he was working in the basement men’s room he heard the phantom steps of a high-heeled woman tapping across the tile floor.

  Many believe that the friendly ghost belongs to the woman who died so suddenly when the building collapsed. If the new residents of the condominium should find the smiling ghost in their living room, a few kind words could help her to move along.

  The Nevadan is on Virginia Street in downtown Reno, Nevada.

  Ghosts in the News

  Tea Dance Terror

  ONE MOMENT THEY WERE DANCING, laughing, and sipping champagne; the next they were dead, dying, or searching desperately for loved ones. A shocking Kansas City, Missouri, accident in 1981 may have launched some spirits on a journey backward in time, according to an October 27, 2005, edition of the Pitch, a Kansas City weekly newspaper.

  It was Friday night, July 18, 1981, and hundreds of people had gathered at the new Hyatt Regency for a “tea dance” in the lobby of the forty-story luxury hotel.

  Some of the crowd moved to the skywalks, where they leaned on the railing and chatted with each other as they watched the dancing couples below. At 7:05 p.m. those on the fourth-floor skywalk had no time to react when the floor beneath them vanished. The fourth-floor skywalk pancaked onto the second-floor skywalk, directly below it, and that in turn crashed to the floor. While some people were instantly killed, others were trapped in the wreckage.

  Firefighters and volunteers dug through the tangle of twisted steel, shattered glass, and debris, frantically trying to save those who cried for help. In the end 114 people were killed, and over 200 were hurt.

  An engineer hired by the Kansas City Star soon discovered the flaw in the design that caused the catastrophe. While the original design was sound, with each skywalk suspended from the ceiling with six rods, a change was made so that the second-floor skywalk hung from the fourth-floor skywalk. The strain on the higher skywalk was simply too great, and it gave way.

  In his 2005 article in the Pitch, writer Justin Kendall said that employees experienced a haunting at the hotel soon after the accident. He consulted two psychics who suggested that management may have secretly had the hotel cleansed of the energy left over from the trauma, as paranormal incidents reported there ceased shortly after the tragedy.

  Justin Kendall also wrote that the late Kansas City ghost invest
igator Maurice Schwalm had difficulty snapping a photograph at the scene of the disaster. Each time he tried to take a picture, an unseen hand jerked the camera.

  Oddest of all are the reports that Maurice Schwalm received prior to the tea dance tragedy. “Before the skywalks collapsed,” wrote Justin Kendall, “Schwalm was getting calls from neighbors of the Hyatt claiming they’d had visions of couples dancing outside of their windows.”

  It is possible the spirits of those killed in the horrific accident were so disoriented that they stepped out of time to appear to those in the past.

  ten

  Overnight with Ghosts

  Ghost enthusiasts are flocking to haunted hotels, inns, and B&Bs. In what other places can you have an entire night to encounter a specter and get room service? The longer you stay at a haunted place, the better your chances of having a paranormal experience. And if you get too scared, you can always check out!

  The most haunted hotels tend to be those where murder was committed. Here are a few such places with dark histories where ghosts have been experienced.

  No Vacancy

  When I visited the Menger Hotel in the summer of 2005, I was there on assignment for Reader’s Digest to cover the haunting by the murdered chambermaid.

  The historic San Antonio hotel is filled with ghosts. People from across the country travel to Texas to check into the Menger in hopes of encountering one.

  Since its grand opening in 1859, the Menger has had plenty of time to gather ghosts. Its proximity to one of the most famous bloodbaths in America probably adds to the spirit count. It sits adjacent to the Alamo, where men, women, and children suffered violent death in 1836.

  The old hotel may cater to some of the troubled spirits who wander in. As for the other ghosts, their stories are as elusive as they are. And as hard as I tried to open my third eye for a glimpse of them, it stayed stubbornly shut.

  Ernesto Malacara met a very unusual woman at the Menger Hotel. (Leslie Rule)

  At first I was envious when I learned of the guest who met a century-old ghost at the hotel. But when I learned how she had developed her ability to peer into the other side, I knew it was not a price that I would pay.

  The woman, according to hotel public relations director Ernesto Malacara, had a brain tumor that had heightened her psychic ability. Though the doctors told her that she was hallucinating when she confided that she could see ghosts, Ernesto believed her.

  It was a stifling hot day when the guest strolled through the rotunda room, just off of the lobby. The marble floors there are so shiny they reflect like mirrors, and the view to the ceiling is dizzying. The balconies to the second and third floors circle the room, and towering pillars support them.

  A woman in a heavy black dress appeared in front of the guest. The fashion was reminiscent of the late 1800s and not appropriate for a scorching summer day.

  As the guest studied the out-of-place woman, she was surprised to hear her say, “I did not jump. I was pushed.”

  The ghost had indicated a corner of the balcony on the third floor, and Ernesto pointed it out to me.

  Perhaps it was the power of suggestion, but I was not consciously thinking of it when I took photographs from the spot later. My mind was focused on framing an interesting shot.

  Suddenly, I felt a strong sense of a presence and turned around, expecting to see another guest peering over my shoulder.

  No one was there.

  One night around midnight, I was wandering through the hotel, wishing for a paranormal encounter, when I glanced up at the third-floor balcony to see that the light in the questionable spot had burned out.

  A moment later, it came back on. And then it winked off again. It repeated the pattern several more times over the next ten minutes while the other lights remained steadily burning.

  Coincidence?

  Maybe. But the fact that so many credible folks have come forward to share their encounters, makes me wonder if it was something more. A woman from long ago could have been shoved from the third-floor balcony. The railing is low enough that I got a case of vertigo whenever I got near it.

  If there were no witnesses to the fatal push, the authorities may have believed it was a suicide. So far, my research has not turned up any old reports of a woman falling from the balcony.

  One of the reasons that Ernesto Malacara believed the guest’s account of the ghostly woman is that he, too, has met an interesting visitor there.

  One day in the lobby, he noticed an elderly lady knitting. “She was sitting in a big chair,” said Ernesto. “She wore a blue dress with hand-embroidered stars.” He noted the uneven stars and thought the design was a little unusual. The dress looked homemade. She also wore a beret, with a dangling tassel. Her small, metal-framed glasses appeared to be antiques.

  Ernesto approached the woman, explained that he was with the hotel, and politely asked, “Are you comfortable? Is there anything I can get you?”

  Indignantly, the woman snapped, “I am just fine! Thank you!”

  Suddenly, he found himself staring at the empty chair. She had vanished as quickly as a burst balloon.

  “I wish I had noticed what she was knitting,” he told me, explaining that that one detail could have been the clue to the mystery of her identity. Sometime later, a psychic visiting the hotel gave him a description of the same ghost.

  The Crockett Hotel, on the street behind the Menger, is not immune to paranormal activity. I spoke with an employee there who told me of a family that had made a special point to return for a second visit.

  View from the second floor of the Menger’s Rotunda Room. A ghost shared a shocking secret with a guest about the third-floor balcony. (Leslie Rule)

  The Menger Hotel may be one of the world’s most haunted hotels. (Leslie Rule)

  The Alamo’s tragic history populated the entire area with ghosts. (Leslie Rule)

  Perhaps some ghosts don’t want to “remember the Alamo” and choose instead to reside at the elegant Menger next door. (Leslie Rule)

  How many of the ghosts seen at the Menger Hotel were killed at the nearby Alamo? (Leslie Rule)

  “Our daughter wanted to play with her friend again,” the guests had informed the employee. The little girl was about five years old and had had such a great time with her friend that she had talked about her nonstop and begged her parents to take her back to the Crockett Hotel.

  The parents had never seen their daughter’s friend. But they saw their child’s eyes light up as she giggled in delight at the antics of an unseen presence.

  The friend was a ghost.

  The spirit of the little girl was a forever five-year-old and must have been tickled to have a playmate who could see her. Her identity remains an enigma, though I suspect that she was one of the children slain in their beds during the Alamo attack.

  ————

  THE MENGER HOTEL

  204 Alamo Plaza

  San Antonio, TX 78205

  (210) 223-4361

  www.mengerhotel.com

  Secrets in the Attic

  On a quiet summer day in 2002, ghost hunter Janice Oberding visited one of her favorite haunted places. She had brought her son, Brad, and daughter-in-law, Peggy, along for the adventure.

  As they drove up the hill to St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City, Nevada, they noticed that the big old house looked deserted.

  “I don’t think there is anyone here today,” said Janice.

  Her son pointed to the center attic window. “No, there is someone here,” Brad protested. “I just saw someone standing at the window.”

  Janice glanced at the window but did not see anyone there.

  Perhaps whoever Brad had seen was now running down the stairs to let them in. They rapped on the door and waited for a long moment on the big porch.

  Finally, the caretaker came around the side of the house. He had been in a back room, he said. Asked about the figure in the attic, he shook his head. He was the only one there, and he had not been
in the attic all day.

  Janice knew it was not the first time that ghostly eyes had watched visitors from the attic. “Many people have reported seeing a nun standing at that window,” she told me.

  Folks who know St. Mary’s Art Center are not surprised to hear reports of apparitions there. The place is extremely haunted, and is popular with ghost hunters. The entire house can be rented out for a weekend and is a favorite place for ghost investigators’ paranormal slumber parties.

  Built as a hospital in 1876 by the Sisters of Charity, the site had previously been Van Bokklen’s Beer Gardens. The mountainous land once echoed with drunken laughter as the beer flowed.

  Owner Jacob Van Bokklen was killed in an explosion in 1873. Some folks wonder if his ghost is among those who wander the rooms of St. Mary’s Art Center.

  A variety of art classes are taught at the nonprofit center, and the creative people who frequent the place may be more open to the idea of ghosts than most.

  “The ghost of the nun is seen most often,” said Janice, who explained that visitors to the center find the specter in white to be kind and gentle. “They usually see her in room 11. One student entered her room and was startled to see the nun sitting on her bed.”

  As the stunned student stared, a sad smile touched the nun’s lips, and then she vanished.

  But it was not the last she would see of her. That night, when the student was in bed, the nun again appeared and gently pulled the blankets up around the woman’s chin.

  Who peers from this window of St. Mary’s Art Center when all living people have vacated the premises? (Leslie Rule)

  A heavy snow falls upon the St. Mary’s Art Center, where the ghost of a nun wanders. (Leslie Rule)