Well, after seven years, I finally got to experience something kinda spooky at the Mansion. It’s not much, but it’s a great story...I’ve been hanging out at the Culbertson Mansion now since 2000, mostly doing Haunted House stuff, but in the more recent years I’ve been helping out with other events. I’ve come to really enjoy my time over there. I love all the people involved and I love that house.
With any old house come the obligatory ‘hauntings.’ Whether the house is really haunted or not I couldn’t say, Until last week, I was of the mind it wasn’t. I never felt any presence anywhere in that house (although the 3rd floor creeps me out - that’s only because it’s the only part that’s not restored yet). Hell, I’ve even slept in the Mansion for a few hours (in the master bedroom no less) and nothing happened.
Being a huge fan of Ghost Hunters and other paranormal shows, books and whatnot, I’ve been really hoping to see or experience something during my time roaming the enormous place. But nothing so far... until last Thursday.
Thursday nights are Work Nights for the Haunted House this year. Every Thursday after work I head across the river to New Albany, gather my little volunteer worker bees together and assign them projects, from moving props to painting, construction to set design.
Last Thursday around 4:30 I was down in the basement office, sitting with the Assistant Curator, Jamie, going over the Haunted House ‘To-Do’ list and new floorplan when...
WHOOP WHOOP!!! WHOOP WHOOP!!!
I’ve never seen that girl move that fast. She was up in a nanosecond, running for a cabinet, flinging it open to reveal a Fire Alarm System. We both watched the monitor as the warning scrolled across:
“ALARM PULL... 1ST FLOOR... FORMAL PARLOR...”
Alarm pull? Oh, shit! Someone pulled the fire alarm! Jamie did about 90mph running up the stairs to the Formal Parlor. A couple of minutes later she came back downstairs, puzzled.
“Well, that monitor says we have an alarm that’s been pulled, but the alarm in the Formal Parlor hasn’t been touched. Nobody pulled it. And the only other people in the House right now are a tour group on the third floor... Old Corny, she’s at it again”
(Cornelia was one of two wives to live the Mansion and is reputed to be the culprit of the strange goings-on.)
Jamie continued, “That’s the third thing to happen this week. Couple days ago the bell on the Gift Shop door rang but the door never opened and there wasn’t anyone outside trying to get in. Yesterday morning we heard someone walking around upstairs and the house was empty except for us in the office.”
(Seems that when strange stuff happens at the Mansion, it all happens at once, then everything goes quiet for weeks or even months.)
Ok, so it wasn’t a GREAT ghost story, but it was pretty damn exciting when it happened... although it wasn’t nearly as thrilling as my experience with ‘Stoney,’ but that’s another story. If yall are nice, I might repost it sometime...
5 comments:
It was a ghost for sure. Absolutely. No doubt about it. Couldn't have been anything else. HAD to have been a ghost. Can't imagine any other possibility. None. Absolutely. Case closed.
Or maybe it was an electrical glitch.
Yeah, it probably was something electrical, but it was kinda exciting when it all happened.
Personally, I'm still waiting for something really freaky to happen there. We'll let yall know as soon as it does...
Dude, I love the stories and all, but I wish they took place somewhere I didn't have to be! Every weekend in October for HALLOWEEN no less! GAAAAH!
You have to promise not to smack me if I beg you to hold my hand the next time I have to walk around in there. I still haven't formed a definite opinion on whether or not I believe in such things, but damnit, I'm a chicken shit!
I gets skeert!
-Nicograph
LOL! Poor Keli. We won't let big bad Corny get you. Promise. ;)
Jamie
Whether a legitimate ghost or not, it's still a good story.
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