Charlotte the ghost of old post

[Ogrin]

     9 year old me came hurtling through the front door of our house.  I shed my winter outerwear, 6 million dollar man lunch box and backpack with a shrug, all of it landing in the exact spots Mom wanted them to be in.   Mary Poppins would have been proud.

Mom was on our new touch tone mustard yellow phone as I walked by to grab my afternoon snack in the kitchen.  While preparing my snack I heard the word "Ghost" and like all little kids eavesdropping on the adults, I began to match the speed of spreading peanut butter on crackers to that of the ongoing conversation.  Unfortunately I had come in on the end of the conversation so didn't get many details..  So I asked...

Evidently the Colonels wife had reported some paranormal activity soon after moving into their quarters in the "Old Post" section of the Fort.  The house at one time had been a hospital, it's lower level the morgue.

She told me about an electrical outlet that would only work when it wanted too despite the best efforts of the electricians to solve the issue.  There were pictures that had recently been hung in a certain part of the house, yes the same area as the intermittently working outlet, that had all come crashing down while the family was out one day.  A neighbor boy had reported seeing a woman standing in the front doorway but again no one was home at that time.  There was a rocking chair that would sometimes rock on it's own and a cold spot in yep, you guessed it, the area near the fore-mentioned electrical outlet.  This area became known as "Charlotte's spot"

One of the kids began to have interactions with an imaginary friend she called "Barbie."  However the Mom had a sense the beings name is "Charlotte" and it stuck.   A search of old records, the post cemetery, the old town cemetery, etc turned up no leads, no record besides that a young female and her infant had died during child birth.

I did visit the house once with my Mom.  It was just a casual visit to drop some things off.  I saw "Charlotte's spot", the rocking chair with a doll sitting in it that would sometimes rock on it's own, a lamp plugged into the infamous outlet that would sometimes turn on and off when "Charlotte was in her spot"  I went upstairs to use the bathroom and thought I saw a shadow go by while I had the door open and was washing my hands...but one of the daughters was home and had come upstairs to her room.  She had to walk by the bathroom so I figured it was just her.

2 years later we moved to Europe.  We returned 4 years later.  I was teen.  My Dad worked in the civil service on the Fort and me and my friends had many adventures exploring the canyons, old post, cemetery, and museum.  We took pics from the street with our old 110 Kodak Instamatics, no ghosts.  We would drive by the house real slow to maybe see Charlotte looking back at us.  We did our own investigation into who "Charlotte" really was, or if she was really a he, and theorized all sorts of stuff from a wounded Apache warrior succumbing to his wounds while under care of the Army doc to an Elemental who has called that land home since time began.

In the article I'll link below this spirit seems to exhibit some rather masculine traits when it has it's bouts of creative trouble making.  Unlocking and locking doors, throwing tools all over, knocking pictures down, bending metal sculptures, etc  Almost poltergeist like activity.  Makes you wonder about the Mom and daughters latent medium abilities.  There is also the possibility that this young person was unwed and we all know that wasn't a pleasant experience to be a part of back then.  Maybe that's why no grave?  No name in the records? 

https://hauntedhouses.com/arizona/the-carleton-house-fort-huachuca/

That's the fun part of ghost stories all the what if's? 

Happy Spooky month to you all and "Thanks" for reading my blurb.

[Bill Walker]

The ghost sounds more like a male entity than female, like you stated. I haven't read the story you attached yet so I'll see what I feel from that later. Your Apache guess sounds more reasonable since this ghost sounds a bit angry which is another reason I say it sounds more male than female. 

[Bill Walker]

OK, now that I've read the attachment story, I believe  that it is most likely multiple ghosts that still reside on the grounds the fort!

[Ogrin]

 I only remember 2 occasions of being frightened by something paranormal on the Fort and I chalked those up to being in a group of high strung teens...mass hysteria type deal.  I spent quite a bit of time in the museum as a kid and remember there were a couple areas that I'd move past quickly. 

There is a Clovis as well as a mammoth hunt site find within 10 miles of the Fort so that area has been busy with people for quite a long time.  The Spanish tried to build a presido near a bluff along the river but were driven off by the natives and malaria.  Not to mention Tombstone is only a 20 minute drive from the Fort. 

So I'm sure if you go looking for ghosts you can probably find some...

One of my old high school friends is in a ghost hunting group down there.  They've captured some interesting EVPs touring the ghost towns of the old mining districts, jailhouses, and some of the other old Cavalry Forts that guarded the railway and stage coach lines.

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

I'm not scared, but I'm very curious.
After all, it is a fantasy or a fantasy reality.
Thanks for sharing.

[Ogrin]

You're welcome and Thank you! for commenting.  :)