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You Can't Steal From Charlie!

Heather, PA, USA
June 2000

About 2 years ago I worked for a farm store that sold produce. The store was built beside the farm house that was approximately 150 years old.

In those days, there were no closets in the house and a large bell was mounted on the roof that was rung at supper time. The owner of the property had lived there with his wife until his demise many years ago. The house still had some furnishings due to the fact that migrant orchard workers often stayed there in the summer months.

Things began happening almost immediately after I started working there. I find the easiest way to relate them is to make a list.

Apples would sometimes lift straight up in the air from atop a basket, drop to the floor then roll to the other side of the room.
Once when I was outside, I saw an apple drop from the roof out of the corner of my eye. I have no idea how it would get there.

We (co-worker Hannah and myself) would often hear a thump and find bags of cookies and such had fallen on the floor. The bags were kept in baskets so you would have to lift them out of the basked to get them to fall. We would put them back and hear the plop a few minutes later. It was so annoying, we left these items lying on the floor. We didn't need to worry because they would be returned to their position hours later by someone unseen!

I had gone next door to the house one day to get some water (the store water tasted horrible!) I was standing at the kitchen sink when I realized the shower was running upstairs. I heard it shut off so I decided to see who was up there. It was off season and there shouldn't have been anyone in the house. I called upstairs and when no one answered I climbed the steps and found the shower was completely dry but the toilet was running as though recently flushed. No one was upstairs, so I went back down. A minute later, I heard the sound of someone walking out of the bathroom (the bathroom was a newer addition to the house when indoor bathrooms became popular and had a step coming out of the bathroom door) down the step and across the hall to the front bedroom.
There was a creak of bedsprings as though someone heavy had sat down on the bed. I went upstairs and checked all bedrooms and armoires. I even went as far as checking the attic and cellar thinking someone was playing a prank but no one was there.

We were standing outside the house one day when we heard one clang of the bell?that used to be there! It had been removed years ago but we heard it clang one time from atop the house.

We were listening to the radio when the dial began flipping through all the channels. The radio then went off and on. I finally went over and unplugged the radio. We then heard a musical phrase come right from the radio I had just unplugged!

A woman came up to me almost in tears and said "Do you know this place is haunted?" She was upset because a bag of cookies kept falling off the shelf when she tried to put them back. She left without making a purchase.

Hannah and I were chatting with two customers right before closing. Suddenly there was a noise that sounded like someone dragging a box in the back storage room. One of the ladies turned around and said "What on Earth is going on back there?" I went to check but nothing was out of place and the door was still locked. The bathroom light was on and I have no idea how it came on.

We would often hear whistling or humming in the back room or if we were in the back room it came from the front. Another thing I began to notice was that every person that came through the door, young or old male or female, would begin to whistle.

The scariest thing that happened was when Hannah was standing about ten feet in front of a shelf talking to me. She had just walked away when a glass lantern flew straight out from the shelf and broke all over the floor where she had been standing.

I always felt someone was watching us when we were together. It was later found out that Hannah was stealing money from the business and I believe that Charles was upset that she was doing this. Nearly everything happened when she was around. The lantern that fell seemed to be a warning to her. I do recall one time when she had taken a twenty dollar bill and said she was going to make change from the safe in the back. After she had walked through the door, I felt a sharp tug on my shirt as if someone was trying to get my attention.

Once when our radio went off, I joked "Charlie, please turn the radio on." Our laughing stopped as the radio came right back on.

I haven't worked there for two years and as far as I know Hannah is no longer there either. I do not know if it is still haunted.

Heather, PA, USA
00:00 / 01:04
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