THE CHURCH GHOST - Horror - http://maxpages.com/folklore/the_church

THIS STORY AINT ABOUT ME OK.

When I was in my teens and very active in my church, I was in charge of decorating the church basement for a Halloween party we were having that night. (Yes, that was back in the days when everyone didn't feel the need to be so P.C. and the church didn't have any problem with a Halloween Party.) I was given the key to the church since no one was going to be there to let us in that day. My friend and I let ourselves in and very carefully -- and immediately -- locked the door behind us. We proceeded to the basement to put up the decorations. All was very quiet and we had no music playing. Suddenly, we realized that we could hear footsteps overhead. The footsteps went 'round and 'round the sanctuary which was directly overhead. We crept to the phone (which, thank God, was very nearby) and called the police for help. We did not go upstairs or try to confront whoever or whatever it was because, quite frankly, we were terrified.

Very quickly, a nice police officer arrived and as we let him in, he could tell by our faces that we were very upset. He did a most thorough search of the church, starting on the 2nd floor and working his was down to the sub-basement. He even opened the back doors of the church and flagged down some passing garbage-men to ask if they had seen anyone lurking about. They hadn't.

He assusred us all was well and we went back down to the basement so he could take our names and some info for the report he would later write up.

Unexpectedly, as we quietly sat there talking, the footsteps started up again, directly over our heads. I know my eyes were as big as saucers as they met the policeman's equally as big eyes. My friend's teeth literally began to chatter she was so afraid. There was a moment of stunned silence and he said, very calmly, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting out of here."

And we were out of there before you could blink. I even left my coat behind to be picked up later. I like to think now, from the safety of many years later, that we looked like a Marx Brothers moment -- all of us trying to get out the door at the same time. I often wonder what he wrote on his report.

Years later, my father, who was a Scout Master at that church and held his meetings in the sub-basement, told me it was not unusual to hear unexplained noises there. He too had heard the footsteps.

We know for a fact that one man did die in the sanctuary, in fact, he died in my father's arms. An older gent, he had a heart attack just upon arriving for church and as he fell, my father caught him -- the man was not a member of our church and no one had ever seen him before. But we can no longer remember if his death came before or after we heard the footsteps.

This church had an "annex" which seemed equally haunted but was, somehow, more sinister -- no one would ever go in there alone. The footsteps in the church scared us only because we knew they did not belong there but they didn't really cause the feeling of fear that was often felt in the "annex" part of the church. The annex was an old YMCA and I'm sure it had many, many stories of it's own to tell. Strangely enough, the only "ghost" that I actually saw there was female -- but I'd sure love to know the story behind THAT restless spirit!

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Page Updated Thu Jul 4, 2002 1:06pm EDT