Author’s Name Omitted By Request
Ten years ago, my husband and I purchased a building in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, with plans to open a restaurant.
We were able to get an excellent bargain on the building as it had been the recent site of a murder of a well-liked area man. After closing the deal, we had lots of work to do before we could even begin to think about a restaurant. The bullet holes were still in the walls; bloodstains remained on the carpets.
Finally, after the restoration was completed, the building housed both the restaurant and an apartment where we lived with our two young sons, who were four and six at the time.
After we had opened the restaurant, I began to see a black silhouette in the apartment. This is where the young man was murdered. Other things also began to occur. Often, when employees would ask my boys what they were doing, the pair would respond that they were talking to a friend. However, there was no one there. Employees began to report that their names were called out in a loud male voice in the banquet hall when they were closing up for the night. We have had our hair pulled, televisions turning on by themselves, wafts of cold air floating through the building, and the constant feeling of being watched.
Other employees also started to see the black silhouette. Our security system tripped, and nothing appeared on the security tapes. Bartenders straightened the bar stools only to find that they had been moved again. Our dogs bark and stare at something that none of us can see.
We had the building blessed, but the odd happenings continued. We finally got a little too frightened and moved our children to another home.
However, we still love the restaurant, and now we chuckle when the ghosts play pranks on us. Their practical jokes are never malicious, and we have since begun to feel as if the ghost of the young man is watching over us.
At first, I thought it was just me, and my husband thought I was crazy. However, when employees started to confirm their experiences and discuss with him that they didn’t feel comfortable closing up alone, he, too, became a believer.
Submitted February 2005, updated March 2025.
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Legends, Ghosts, Myths & Mysteries