Re: Ghost Stories
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:01 amFor Halloween here is another ghost story, this one about my dad .
It also took place in the summer of 71,August I'm thinking. He worked at the biggest dept. store around, in their warehouse doing furniture repairs , also his brother did upholstery work there. The warehouse was located in the west bottoms district one of the oldest in KC ,it was a large 4-5 story stone and brick mortar building with oak plank floors . Some buildings there were built in the last quarter of the 1800's and this one was too I believe.
One day they had a bring your kid to work day, really a 6 hour day, with a big lunch. I stayed around Dad at his work space but at the lunch about a dozen workers and office staff were starring at me strangely ,I am sure the story's I listed before were told there probably by my uncle and every one knew ,wanted to get a look at me .
A worker came up to me later when I was next to Dad working trying to assist and with a grin wanted me to go back down a hall of sorts and look for a bucket . Dad lightly said No ,but I said okay
He snickered as I walked away I walked down this drive like area in the building and turned the corner where they kept the service van ,the forklift ,floor sweeper machine ,there was a work bench too and janitor tools . it was dimly lit only by a window 12 ' up as the lights were off . There was a wooden bucket , but it looked a hundred years old and was missing a piece in the bottom , I saw no other serviceable bucket ,so I went half way back and told the guy this he said find a bucket again ,I saw no reason for getting it and headed back to them . He said he wanted to see it so we walked back there but it was gone,which I could not figure out ,it was just there . the guy wanted to know exactly how it looked and his face lost color.
this place gave me the creeps too, so we headed back ,turning the corner now 5 or 6 other coworkers were starring at me . An hour or so later we went home .
That winter I was roped into going Rabbit hunting with dad ,his brother , and a new co worker from the warehouse . They were drinking a beer or two and eating a sandwich taking a break from killing rabbits and the new guy asked about the place where they kept the van and forklift ,which got my attention . Dad and his brother grinning said oh some people say it is haunted back there . we had a old janitor for years said it was ,he retired and then we couldn't keep the position filled ,they quit saying it was too creepy a place to work , strange noises etc. for a while when the manager went to lock the door at night he kept hearing a noise like a broom knocked over or such coming from that area and we found a very old bucket back there no one knows how it got there. One day as the manager arrived he heard a noise and called police who surrounded the building but found nothing. I then knew what the wooden bucket thing was about that day.
In summer of next year ,one week day Dad drove the service van home and left our Impala at work ,he said I need to pick up chemicals tomorrow morning for work . he showed me the van and gave me a ride to the store and back ,it was a brand new one had the company name on the front ,in back were only a pile of furniture pads , a 2' tool box some cardboard boxes with spray cans etc. ,behind the seats was a wall of parts drawers to near the top . He said watch the clock in the dash ,see if it stops running explaining that it has quit running 3 times but the shop can't seem to fix or find anything wrong with it .
The next day ,I out riding my bike came home about 11 am to see Dad's car in the drive . Going inside I find dad is in bed trying to sleep,mom says to leave him alone Dad it appeared had a few drinks of whiskey to do that .
At 5 pm the KC star gets here ,on the front page was a photo of a crime scene where two people were killed in a robbery at a chemical supply store south of downtown, in the photo parked in the street was the van my dad was driving.
Days later just me and Dad driving in the car he told me about the event. he left home at 7am that day to get to the chemical supply place before 8am so he could be 1 or 2 in line to buy the naptha ,stain ,varnish in 5 galon drums .
soon after leaving home though ,he hears some scratching coming from inside the back of the van but ignores it , thinking it is a branch under the van ,then a door handle seems to be rattling . he pulls over and carefully stares through the back and only window of the panel van ,then opens the door seeing nothing and cannot understand what the noises were . he drove this van every Friday on house calls and never heard it before . Checking the back took 2 minutes, back on the road he arrives at the supply store which is in a somewhat residential section of town and not a great one at that. Parked out on the street as he starts into the place he see's a man from another rival dept. store, shot dying on the walk ,inside the one clerk is too and he said if I had not stopped to check out the strange noise I would have been dead too.
It also took place in the summer of 71,August I'm thinking. He worked at the biggest dept. store around, in their warehouse doing furniture repairs , also his brother did upholstery work there. The warehouse was located in the west bottoms district one of the oldest in KC ,it was a large 4-5 story stone and brick mortar building with oak plank floors . Some buildings there were built in the last quarter of the 1800's and this one was too I believe.
One day they had a bring your kid to work day, really a 6 hour day, with a big lunch. I stayed around Dad at his work space but at the lunch about a dozen workers and office staff were starring at me strangely ,I am sure the story's I listed before were told there probably by my uncle and every one knew ,wanted to get a look at me .
A worker came up to me later when I was next to Dad working trying to assist and with a grin wanted me to go back down a hall of sorts and look for a bucket . Dad lightly said No ,but I said okay
He snickered as I walked away I walked down this drive like area in the building and turned the corner where they kept the service van ,the forklift ,floor sweeper machine ,there was a work bench too and janitor tools . it was dimly lit only by a window 12 ' up as the lights were off . There was a wooden bucket , but it looked a hundred years old and was missing a piece in the bottom , I saw no other serviceable bucket ,so I went half way back and told the guy this he said find a bucket again ,I saw no reason for getting it and headed back to them . He said he wanted to see it so we walked back there but it was gone,which I could not figure out ,it was just there . the guy wanted to know exactly how it looked and his face lost color.
this place gave me the creeps too, so we headed back ,turning the corner now 5 or 6 other coworkers were starring at me . An hour or so later we went home .
That winter I was roped into going Rabbit hunting with dad ,his brother , and a new co worker from the warehouse . They were drinking a beer or two and eating a sandwich taking a break from killing rabbits and the new guy asked about the place where they kept the van and forklift ,which got my attention . Dad and his brother grinning said oh some people say it is haunted back there . we had a old janitor for years said it was ,he retired and then we couldn't keep the position filled ,they quit saying it was too creepy a place to work , strange noises etc. for a while when the manager went to lock the door at night he kept hearing a noise like a broom knocked over or such coming from that area and we found a very old bucket back there no one knows how it got there. One day as the manager arrived he heard a noise and called police who surrounded the building but found nothing. I then knew what the wooden bucket thing was about that day.
In summer of next year ,one week day Dad drove the service van home and left our Impala at work ,he said I need to pick up chemicals tomorrow morning for work . he showed me the van and gave me a ride to the store and back ,it was a brand new one had the company name on the front ,in back were only a pile of furniture pads , a 2' tool box some cardboard boxes with spray cans etc. ,behind the seats was a wall of parts drawers to near the top . He said watch the clock in the dash ,see if it stops running explaining that it has quit running 3 times but the shop can't seem to fix or find anything wrong with it .
The next day ,I out riding my bike came home about 11 am to see Dad's car in the drive . Going inside I find dad is in bed trying to sleep,mom says to leave him alone Dad it appeared had a few drinks of whiskey to do that .
At 5 pm the KC star gets here ,on the front page was a photo of a crime scene where two people were killed in a robbery at a chemical supply store south of downtown, in the photo parked in the street was the van my dad was driving.
Days later just me and Dad driving in the car he told me about the event. he left home at 7am that day to get to the chemical supply place before 8am so he could be 1 or 2 in line to buy the naptha ,stain ,varnish in 5 galon drums .
soon after leaving home though ,he hears some scratching coming from inside the back of the van but ignores it , thinking it is a branch under the van ,then a door handle seems to be rattling . he pulls over and carefully stares through the back and only window of the panel van ,then opens the door seeing nothing and cannot understand what the noises were . he drove this van every Friday on house calls and never heard it before . Checking the back took 2 minutes, back on the road he arrives at the supply store which is in a somewhat residential section of town and not a great one at that. Parked out on the street as he starts into the place he see's a man from another rival dept. store, shot dying on the walk ,inside the one clerk is too and he said if I had not stopped to check out the strange noise I would have been dead too.