The Gift of a Ghostly Apparition in Lake George New York

[Bill Walker]

In a previous blog I spoke of an entity that was able to shut down the electricity in a restaurant that I worked at in upstate New York. But they had made their presence known to me way before that night.

     If you’ve ever been to Lake George or most any town in the Northeast you’ll probably notice that many of the buildings are hundreds of years old. And Lake George is certainly no exception. And the activity that I was to experience at the restaurant that I worked at started the very first night I worked there. The Shepard Park Cafe and Diner was designed like many other diners in New York with the kitchen along one wall right in the dinning room. There was also a prep room with a doorway that connected the kitchen area to the back of the building. And this is where the ghosts made their presence first known to me.

     The prep room was also where the employees stored any personal items that they may have brought with them while they worked. It was also back here where each employee had his or her own cups for when they were thirsty. The cups were arranged on a shelf about head high where they were easy to reach but also out of the way. On my very first night alone as I was closing down I was walking past this shelf when one of the cups suddenly shot off the shelf and over my head. It surprised me but didn’t scare me as I already had sensed spirit energy in the building. I calmly walked over picked up the cup and replaced it on the shelf stating out loud, “I know your hear so your going to have to do better than that if you’re trying to scare me.”

     And so began my first of three summers of working at the diner. And these spirits seemed to enjoy flicking cups off that shelf as this was something that happened periodically throughout the three summers I was there and not just for my amusement either. The ghosts loved performing this ability to other employees as well. I can still remember the shocked expression on many of my coworkers as they came to find me and tell me what had just occurred to them. I found it very amusing and they questioned how I could stand working in a haunted building all by myself every night after we closed. I often explained that the only difference between the shocked employee and those ghosts was that the employee had a physical body and the ghost didn’t have one anymore so what should I be afraid of? That never seemed to go over well tho, but it’s true.

     My other nightly responsibilities included cleaning the restroom that sat down a hallway off the other side of the restaurant from the dining area. And of course because this building was so old many of the floor boards in the hallway creaked when you stepped on them. It didn’t take long for my ghostly friends to devise a new game besides cup tossing. After a few nights of closing I became aware of which floorboards creaked and which ones didn’t. And on many nights as I walked down the hallway there would be the boards that creaked when I stepped on them as well as the ones that would creak behind me after I was well passed them. And when I realized what they were doing I decided to play along. On some nights I would purposely stop dead in my tracks to see if the floorboards behind me would continue to creak. When they did I would laugh out loud and say, “Got you!” and then continue on. And on some nights there were no creaks behind me at all. On these nights I figured the spirits had better things to do or they had found someone in another building to try and scare the daylights out of because, I assume, this is what makes them happy to be ghosts!

*****

     When I arrived to work my second summer at the diner some things had changed. The state of New York had decided that it was no longer a good idea to have the kitchen out in the dining area so the buildings owner moved all of the cooking equipment like fryers and grills and stoves back into what we had been using as a prep area. And looking back on it now I guess that it was a pretty good idea if you’re concerned about liability. And it was also in that summer when the ghosts decided that it was fun to move objects around so I would have to play hide and seek with them. This game, to be honest, I found a bit annoying. I played along if the night was slow enough that I could keep up with my cooking but at times I would openly say, “Not tonight guys, I’m to busy for games.” and thankfully that would end it for the night.

     But it was at almost the end of my third summer of working in the diner that the most impressive experience that I was to have in the restaurant took place. And in a way I felt that this experience was not only planned but executed for my benefit because I believe that one of the spirits was aware that this would be my last summer working there even if at the time, I didn’t.

     On this late afternoon as I was setting up to work my shift for the evening. I was standing behind the grill making sure everything was in order when I noticed to my right where the doorway from the dining room entered the prep area what I can only describe as a bubble of light entering the room and moving across the floor to a doorway on the far side of the prep room that led outside. In the middle of this bubble I could plainly see a man staring at me with a smile on his face. I could only see the top half to three quarters of him but he was surely male and portrayed himself as somewhat older than I was at the time. He was wearing clothing but it was hard to make out anything that would give me a clue as to the time period his cloths might have imparted to me as a clue. However, I got the very real sense that this gentlemen was quite likely the builder and original owner of the building in which I was now standing. As I watched him he crossed over to the outside exit door on the far wall and passed right through it.

     Perhaps oddly enough and perhaps not, there were other employees in that back room preparing for work, but I was the only one to see his ghostly apparition walk through the room. Which gave me the impression that ghosts can make themselves visible to just one person if that is what they wish and choose to do. Which also begs the question how do they connect with just one physical consciousness when there are others right in the same room or proximity?

     If this was a going away gift that spirit had knowledge that I most certainly did not. Because it’s been thirty plus years and I have never been back though at some point I would love to return and see if I still sense their humorous energy as they try and scare the living daylights out of anyone who might work there now. If they are still around I’m quite certain that they haven’t forgotten me because I know that I sure haven’t forgotten them!

by,

Bill Walker

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

Great story. The best thing is that he wasn't a dark spirit.

[Bill Walker]

The only truly dark spirit I have ever encountered is in my discussion below, The Devil's Den.

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

I'll check.

[Ogrin]

"Which gave me the impression that ghosts can make themselves visible to just one person if that is what they wish and choose to do. Which also begs the question how do they connect with just one physical consciousness when there are others right in the same room or proximity?"

I wonder if it's somewhat like animals.  Ya know how they tend to know who to go to for pets when introduced to strangers and who isn't interested in petting them, whatever.  Or like my dog that would bark at my friends that were trouble or overly negative types.  Also could be like when you enter a room full of strangers for the first time.  You scan the room, maybe even subconsciously, and tend to sit with those that we perceive as friendly, attractive, similar, or just make eye contact with.   Interesting.  Thanks Bill.