Halloween is upon us which means ghosts and a fascination with all things ghostly. I have never encountered a ghost, but I’ve always been interested in them. Who are these good spirits and bad, inhabiting our world for reasons we cannot know, some to protect and warn, others to share the misery they suffered during their mortal lives?
Winder has its share of ghost tales, so in the spirit of the season, I will share some of the versions I have heard, as I remember them, with you.
My house has a ghost. His name is Pete. We don’t know why he’s here or when he came, but tales of him proceed our family’s 23 years in this drafty old home, which was built in 1903. Pete is a happy-go-lucky sort with the energy of a young man. He mostly appears to young people and seems to have the most “fun” when gaggles of teens hang out here. He likes to hide keys, bang on drum sets and pianos, and occasionally, cast a chill on a guest he doesn’t feel should be here. Other than that, Pete’s very low key, so we are happy to have him here.
The Winder Fire Station has, over the years, been rumored to harbor the ghost of an older man, who like Pete, means no harm. Reports of strange lights, a door opening and closing, or sounds from the engine bay that shouldn’t be there are not uncommon.
One retired fire chief told me stories about the Firehouse Ghost abounded back when the department was housed in its previous location. There didn’t seem to be any paranormal activity at the new station until the last load was moved, on an old fire truck no longer in use. The Firehouse Ghost must have sensed change and hopped on board, because as soon as that load showed up, he began to appear in the new station.
The “Old Hospital” on E. Broad St., now the county administration building, is also the scene of various “bumps in the night.” The most consistent tale is of an old caretaker, who may have lived in a room in the hospital basement. He had a rocking chair that has been seen rocking, dust covered and forgotten, in the basement, with no one in it. There were also stories of sounds as he made his rounds through the old part of the building. As with the two previous “haints” I described, no one seems to sense that he means any harm.
The Barrow Journal’s reporter Susan Norman wrote an interesting story in the Feb. 22 edition about ghosts associated with the now demolished Granite Hotel on Broad St. Granite reportedly attracts spirits and so the old hotel was a hotspot for paranormal activity.
The Humble Grounds Restaurant, located in the Granite Hotel building some 15 years ago, was the scene of so many doors opening and closing, lights and TVs going on and off, and people feeling as if they had been touched when no one was there, that the Humble brothers, who owned the place, kept a “Ghost Log.”
The same location was H’s Grill for years before that and I had heard stories of a ghost there. Just one, with a similar modus operandi as the Firehouse Ghost and the Old Hospital Ghost. The man worked at the diner for years and apparently, after death, had no place else to go, so he continued to inhabit his old stomping ground, especially early in the morning or on a brisk night.
My favorite Humble Grounds story is told by a local man who stopped in for a brew one evening. While he was sitting at the 10-seat counter, he had a vision of a woman, “a fiery young redhead” who sat down beside him and sent such a sensation of “warmth and comfort” over him that he felt like his “soul had been touched.” A few months later he had not only met the woman in his vision, but married her and some dozen years later, they remain together and in love.
Scarier tales come from Ham & Jam Creations, another business once located a few doors down from the Granite Hotel. The owners of that shop encountered so many power outages, odd noises, visions and unnerving events that they moved to a less “colorful” location as soon as their lease was up.
The “Old Courthouse” ghosts, as reported by Susan Norman, are also not a friendly bunch. In addition to opening and closing doors, moving chairs and odd lights, deputies on security checks hear footsteps, odd noises and experience unexplainable events, especially in the old courtroom. One of them was even scratched on the back, by nothing there...visibly scratched.
If stories like this interest you, then check out the Barrow County Paranormal Society on Facebook. (I’ll admit, I clicked Like...)
As you set out this Halloween, for whatever festivities you have planned, I offer up this Scottish prayer: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” Have fun and stay safe.
Lorin Sinn-Clark is a writer for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.
