Читать книгу Arizona Ghost Stories - Antonio Boone's Garcez - Страница 12

Laurie Doland

I’ve worked for the Copper Queen now for almost a year as front desk clerk. My first ghost experience took place just three months ago in June at about 2 a.m. I decided to get a drink of water and walked into the dining room, on my way to the kitchen. As I entered the dining room I saw a strange woman standing against one of the columns. I clearly saw that she had reddish brown hair, which she wore up in a bun, brown eyes, and a healthy pink complexion. She also wore a high collar blouse and was about, I’d guess in her mid-twenties.

“As I entered the dining room, I saw a strange woman standing against one of the columns.”

Immediately I knew this woman was a ghost! I knew this since I could only see her body from the waist up! Spotting her, I stood there, startled. I had come upon her so suddenly that I felt shock, but eventually, my shock turned to an intense fear. We both stood in place staring at each other for only a few seconds, until by chance, the owner of the hotel walked into the dining room. The ghost woman must not have wanted to stay around because she then quickly disappeared! I mentioned what I had just witnessed to the owner, but she refused to believe what I told her. Since that time, I have not seen the ghost woman again. I have no idea why she chose to appear to me as she did. However, from time to time, as I’m alone in the dining room, I have heard both the footsteps, and the movement of her long, crisp skirt—as it moved across the dining room floor.

Sometimes at night, I’ll be visited by yet another spirit. I’ll be alone at the front office, working at the hotel’s computer, when I’ll suddenly feel the presence of someone walk into the office. I always can tell when this spirit enters the office because the hairs on my arms stand on end, and an obvious thick atmosphere will fill the room. I’ll begin to get a chilling feeling and soon I’m covered from head to toe in goose bumps. To date, this has happened to me about five times.

Fellow male employees have told me about seeing a woman dressed in a black dress that walks up and down the staircase in our lobby. The stairs are located directly to the front of the main desk. Interestingly enough, the woman in black chooses to make her appearances only to men. The latest incident with her took place this year, in July, at approximately 3 a.m. The employee saw the ghost walk down the stairs and enter the dining room. As she walked up to the dining room doors she disappeared! The employee described the ghost as being dressed in an early 1900s style of clothes.

A female employee also reported to me that late one evening as she walked through the dining room, she felt someone physically grab at her shoulder. When she turned around, there was no one. That was the last time she has ever entered the dining room alone, day or night!

The sound of a man’s heavy shoes walking down the hallways is very common and one that both guests and employees continually hear in the hotel. I myself have heard these sounds on several occasions. Some nights, while standing in the hotel lobby, I have heard the sounds of unseen people engaged in an uproar of conversation. I can’t tell what they are all saying, but they sure do make a ruckus!

What has also become commonplace is employees hearing their names called out, and as they turn around to answer the person they think is calling them, of course there is no one there. This happens so frequently that we all now take it in stride. Our thought is that the ghosts are keeping their watchful eyes on us.

“The employee saw the ghost walk down the stairs…”