Posted on 01/02/2007 8:09:59 PM PST by CurlyBill
RIO GRANDE CITY — Haunted houses are nothing new in Starr County. At the historic La Borde House, which is home to county offices, a restaurant and a hotel, the locals say things go bump in the night — and during the day. At the county courthouse, lawyers and clerks tell stories of whispering ghosts in the halls.
But knowing about these haunted buildings didn’t lessen the surprise of the county’s compliance and collection department when pictures started falling off the walls of their new office space in a small house on East Street.
"Everything we put on the walls, they either fall down by the afternoon or we find them on the floor the next day," said Lisa Barrera, a collections department supervisor.
The department moved into the house, which it shares with another county office, in October. But it looks like they just moved in. The walls are almost bare, the almost-empty reception area, clean. The only things on the walls of Barrera’s spacious office are a calendar — which she patiently re-hangs on its nail every morning because it always slips off overnight — and a small framed picture of angels. The angels are the only things that have remained on the walls for any length of time.
"Maybe they like that one," Barrera said.
Who "they" are is unclear at best. While previous tenants have complained of phantoms, the last family to live in the house never saw or heard anything out of the ordinary.
"This is the first time I’ve heard of this," said Sonata Sanchez, whose husband’s family lived in the house until about 1989. None of the family members she asked knew of any specters or ghouls and said there’s never been a haunting in the house.
County attorney Victor Canales once worked in the building in the late 1990s when it housed a private law practice.
"I’m not one to believe much in the paranormal, to be honest," he said.
Still, a few of the sightings there freaked him out.
"I had one instance where myself and another lady were there, and I thought I saw her, she had crossed over the hallway. I called out ‘Hey, Debbie,’ and lo and behold, Debbie was actually at her desk on the other side of the house," he said.
For the collections department, the paranormal interference goes beyond disapproval of the decor. They have found imprints on tables that cannot be wiped off — imprints of backsides too narrow to belong to office employees, as if a skinny girl had perched there.
They say they hear the front door open and close with a clatter of Venetian blinds, but find no one there. Friends call their names from adjacent rooms, but don’t admit to speaking. Occasionally, the ghosts will wash some invisible dishes in the kitchen sink, filling the house with the sound of running water.
And there’s the smell.
"Out of the blue, you’ll get this bitter smell," Barrera said. "Some days, we have to be with the Lysol all over the place, because it’s just — an old-man smell. It’s really strong, and then it just goes away."
The tenants have made their peace with the odd little incidents, Barrera said. They’re funny, not really scary, she said, although the crash of light paintings hitting desks and the tinkle of broken glass can put employees on edge.
"Nobody likes to be here after five," she said.
Ghost Ping!!
Ghost Ping!!
If it were Chicago, I might think they're just dead "Democrats" still on the voter rolls.
Hi Bill, good story.
I got it!! It's Venetians.....
You suppose this ghost story was invented as an excuse to make sure government workers leave by five o'clock?
My hubby told me some very strange happenings in Court House East, Kalispell, Mt. Made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
well dont tease us.....share
Now you just can't leave us hanging with that...
As he looked out the door there was nothing or no one there, he then heard the footsteps stop right in front of him, something then hit him on his shoulder hard. He started high tailing it toward the only door. Between him and that only door he heard more footsteps, as he ran past the sound, the air turned very cold and he bolted for the door.
Every tool he own that earned our bread and butter was left near that old morgue until Monday morning.
Wow. Then what? Did he continue to work there? Ifso, did he have others with him?
Another story from my son and daughter coming up in the same building. They have to dictate it to me.
"They have found imprints on tables that cannot be wiped off — imprints of backsides too narrow to belong to office employees, as if a skinny girl had perched there."
A ghost that leaves butt prints??????
Cool thread. Thanks for posting.
She was working with her dad on a Saturday, she was going up and down the elevator bringing materials back and forth. The elevator stopped on the second floor and she got out and walked down the hall where she was supposed to be going and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, so she headed back to the elevator and the elevator doors closed, she pressed the button to open it back up, nothing happened. She stood there waiting for the elevator to come back and she heard footsteps at the end of the long corridor to her right and she hollered'dad, dad, is that you'? She didn't get an answer and heard footsteps on the left side of her at the other end of the corridor. She kept saying, dad, dad is that you? are you playing a trick on me.' She heard a clicking sound like a womans high heels, and at the other end, like a heavy boot, all the time she keeps hitting the button getting more and more scared.
As the steps are getting closer and closer she couldn't run because there was footsteps in both directions. When the sounds were almost on her, the doors finally opened, she was crying and screaming for her dad. She got in and threw the materials on the elevator floor and kept pushing the ground floor button, when the doors finally opened she ran straight outside and started looking up at the building screaming for him. She left the materials in the elevator where she dropped them. She never went back in that building again.
Another story from my son and daughter coming up in the same building. They have to dictate it to me.
Cool. Anxiously awaiting.....
ROFL!!!
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's nothing. Satan, himself, is openly running Capitol Hill these days.
He was like seven or eight years old, he went downstairs to the main lobby to get a coke out of the coke machine. He got his soda and went back to the elevator, when he hit the two button to go back to the second floor. In the elevator going up, he heard labored raspy breathing all around him. About four or five seconds before the door opened. He freaked out and ran out the elevator and stopped outside and he heard footsteps to his left and the breathing continued. He ran straight to his dad crying, terrified. He never went back again.
Now, these stories are too spooky. I'm skeered.
Also, we lived in what hubby and kids call the'ghost house' on the West side of town. Almost every night something would happen to them, some occurance. They never told me anything about it until more than 10 years later. All 5 of my kids(at the time) and hubby had something happen to them almost nightly and I never knew about any of it. They never told me. If they had, we'd have moved out of that place so damned fast.
I don't know why at either place they left me alone. I asked my hubby once why they didn't bother me, he said jokingly, that I was too mean, the ghost were probably afraid of me. At least, I hope he was joking.
I didn't really believe in Ghosts until I moved into the house I live in now.
I have heard strange noises in the house quite often at first foot steps etc. About every other day there is a knock on the front door and nobody is there and it comes at all different times. I have had people here when it happens and they can't believe it because its so loud.
Another time a friend of mine was in the living room and I was in my den on the computer. He watched the door down the hallway open then slam shut. I heard it slam shut and he yelled for me, thinking that I had went past him down the hall while he wasn't looking. He got really frightened when I answered him because I was actually still in the den (which is the other direction) and not near the hallway.
The other night I heard that door slam shut again but didn't even bother looking.
I sleep in a bedroom that is an add on to the house and nothing happens in there so as long as they stay in the back of the house I could care less. Although answering the door is annoying.
I sleep in a bedroom that is an add on to the house and nothing happens in there so as long as they stay in the back of the house I could care less.
That's what I mean, your new addition has nothing to do with the original part of the house.
We live in the country and I hear sounds outside late at night when everybody else is sleeping. I grab a gun and walk around outside to take a look around. I don't expect to see ghost or anything, if I did, what good would a gun do me----
I'm such a wuss that I could never live in that house, especially alone.
Nothing drives people as crazy as someone posting on one of these threads, 'I had a really unbelievable incident kind of like this one, but more interesting/scary/unbelievable'.
C'mon, you're among friends.
I wonder if the smell might signal some electromagnetic phenomenon.
In Kalispell, Mt. There's a cemetery named, Conrad cemetery. In that cemetery there was a set of steps called, 'fairy steps' They started at the back corner of the graveyard and led down to a small river. In the middle of these steps, carved into the side of the rock was a resting place for the coffin and the priest on the journey up from the river. Now, the thing about these steps is there's 99 going down and 101 going up. Two of my daughters have traveled these steps many times trying to figure this marvel out. It can't be explained.
Now, the second story. This is about .21. At the same cemetery there is a statue of Jesus, and at the base of this is a plaque. There's a story on this plaque but she can't remember the story. On the plaque there is an indent that holds coins the size of two dimes and a penny. They aren't actually coins, but, they look like it. All the kids around there call it two dimes and a penny. Kids will take the two dimes and the penny off the statue and go back later and the .21 is back and they can't find the coins that they originally took. It's like they returned to their place all on their own.
So cool! The steps story is amazing.
Isn't it though.
Have you ever walked and counted the steps?
If anyone on FR is from that area, they'll know what I'm talking about.
I'm sure the women in the office really appreciate that quote.
Perhaps someone pooped their pants?
I don't know if anyone died here and i dont know any past history.
When I was at college, I lived in the dorm and had a poltergeist. My room was in the newer wind attached to the older section so I don't know if "the something" just moved to nicer digs or what. I usually didn't have a room mate so none of the hauntings could be blamed on a live person. Among his/its usual antics of taking stuff and returning it, or the money thing, was the door opening. The door would suddenly open and then shut all by itself as if someone had come in and shut it behind them. It didn't matter if I was alone or there were friends over. The door had one of those latches where it could only be opened with a key. It couldn't slip open without actually turning the knob because of the deadbolt. There were no drafts because the windows couldn't be opened. The door frame was metal and the door fit securely. We'd run to look out into the hallway but no one would ever be there. It was a long hall straight hall with tile floors so any sound echoed so you could hear if it were pranks and someone was running away and into another room. It became so common, we'd just tell it hello and go on with whatever we were doing.
One semester, I moved to another room but it didn't follow me. The next semester, I moved back to my old room and he/it was still there. He/made it plain for a couple weeks that he/it wasn't happy I had moved out but after a few hissy fits, I guess all was forgiven and things settled back to their usual quirkiness.
Hey, I know, I know (waving hand frantically)! I think our two spirits are in cahoots. I just posted about my college poltergeist and he/it used to leave me money. About every few days or so I'd find two one dollar bills folded into fourths in my pocket. It was always $2 in ones and folded. Sometimes it'd be my jeans pocket or other times it'd be in my jacket. As I said earlier I usually didn't have a room mate, my friends were as broke as I was, and I never went back home except between semesters so it wasn't family. I just put it down to payment from him/it for "borrowing" my things or rent.
It would be interesting to know. Maybe...
Some things just can't be explained. I believe in ghost, poltergeist, haunts, spirits, whatever people like to call them. If I ever run across one-or one runs across me, I'll give it a wide berth.
thought you'd like to read my post #45.
Heck, go to Chicago or Philadelphia. Every government office has a ghost employee or two on the payroll.
Leni
That gave me chill bumps. Very spooky.
That was a few years ago and to this day my buddy does not like to remember this event nor talk about it.
I can understand that. I had to squeeze my son's story from him. He refuses to talk about it. He told me last night if he could erase any memory from his mind, it would be that experience.
I kept the lights on.
I would have as well.
Many strange and unexplained things.
Dangit, my stomach rolled. It startled me.
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