The building I work in is haunted. It's true. At least according to the many employees who have personally had an encounter with our incorporeal mischief maker known as Jarvis. There are other spirits that call the Dow Centre home as well, but Jarvis is the one who gets the credit when things seem to be going awry. I've always found it fascinating that when some people have an experience that they can't immediately identify, they label it as paranormal. Hear a creak in the night? Must be a ghost. Got a chill? Those wacky spooks must be trying to get you riled again. Hear an eerie whisper? That's just dear departed Granny Betty wishing you a good night. Why don't people look into a natural cause first? I guess when something unexplained and scary happens, they have to justify it in their minds to make sense of it and be able to deal.
I find the main reason many of the people I've talked to believe in ghosts is because they have had an experience that they just couldn't explain and it was much too weird and spooky to be anything but a ghost. However, many of these people were believers beforehand and the spooky thing usually happens at night or when they are alone. If you are already jumpy and going into a situation with a preconceived bias, then any little thing will likely make you jump and reach the wrong conclusions. People's senses are easily fooled. What we see and hear isn't always accurate to what is really happening. Take for example a magic trick. Magicians rely on this natural human condition to make it seem that something is happening when it's not. You know the coin didn't really disappear but your eyesight has told you differently. That's why when someone says that they KNOW it's true because they saw it with their own eyes, you still can't be sure. One of the main things skeptics are known to repeat is that anecdotes do not equal evidence and no matter how many compelling ghost stories there are, without real proof, they are just stories.
I find the main reason many of the people I've talked to believe in ghosts is because they have had an experience that they just couldn't explain and it was much too weird and spooky to be anything but a ghost. However, many of these people were believers beforehand and the spooky thing usually happens at night or when they are alone. If you are already jumpy and going into a situation with a preconceived bias, then any little thing will likely make you jump and reach the wrong conclusions. People's senses are easily fooled. What we see and hear isn't always accurate to what is really happening. Take for example a magic trick. Magicians rely on this natural human condition to make it seem that something is happening when it's not. You know the coin didn't really disappear but your eyesight has told you differently. That's why when someone says that they KNOW it's true because they saw it with their own eyes, you still can't be sure. One of the main things skeptics are known to repeat is that anecdotes do not equal evidence and no matter how many compelling ghost stories there are, without real proof, they are just stories.
People who have had experiences triumphantly ask me to "explain that!" Well, I can't, I wasn't there. I can give you my guesses as to what it may have really been but without actually witnessing it myself of course I can't explain it. They count that as a victory for the "you see, it must be a ghost" side. I've asked my co-workers to tell me about some of their experiences but the response has been less than enthusiastic. Most of them know my opinion on such matters and I think they are worried that the only reason I want their stories is for some nefarious pointing and laughing on my part. But I'm really just curious. Honestly. Well, I have heard stories and will try to type them from memory. These are second and perhaps third story accounts so accuracy is not guaranteed.
There is a small child spectre amongst us. I have heard tell of a child's laughter in the hallway late at night and the sound of quick footsteps running up behind a person but when they turn around, nothing. The little horsey on a spring in the play area has been said to start rocking entirely on it's own. A custodian saw the ladies washroom door open as if someone had just walked in. When she checked, no one was in there. One custodian is especially interesting as he claims to not only be able to see the ghosts but interact with them as well.
I did get one e-mail from a former theatre employee and she had this story to relate:
"We were in the box office (Theatre Lobby) talking. It was probably close to 4:30 pm. Marian and I were talking about food - Ukrainian farm food. We were standing in front of her desk (next to the wall across from the box office rolling gate). Out of the corner of my eye I saw a ball of light fall down in an arc (close to her desk). It went from the ceiling to the floor. Marian and I both stopped talking and I asked her "did you see that?" Oh yeah, we both saw it. She went home and left me in the office!!!
Now, please keep in mind that I wear glasses and have no clear peripheral vision. The "orb" was a little fuzzy! But since Marian saw it too, I was sure it happened!"
She also added this about some other co-workers:
"They both heard a voice in the box office one evening. I was there too but I was in the Lobby at the time. They were really freaked out. Also, someone (can't remember who, maintenance or a custodian) told a story about the mirrors in the men's lobby washroom. They were foggy. Thinking the mirrors were dirty, they went to touch it and the fog disappeared."
My own experience was easily explained. I was told that when you go to the bathroom it sometimes appears as though someone is silently gliding in front of the stall. Sure enough, one day, whilst peeing, the light outside the stall dimmed in such a way that it looked for all the world like a non-existent person had just walked by. While washing my hands it took only a moment for me for realize that when the Booster Juice right beside the bathrooms turns on the blenders, the lights momentarily dim. It's just a matter of looking at the experience in a different way to discover the truth but people don't want the truth. They want to persist in the delusion.
I did get one e-mail from a former theatre employee and she had this story to relate:
"We were in the box office (Theatre Lobby) talking. It was probably close to 4:30 pm. Marian and I were talking about food - Ukrainian farm food. We were standing in front of her desk (next to the wall across from the box office rolling gate). Out of the corner of my eye I saw a ball of light fall down in an arc (close to her desk). It went from the ceiling to the floor. Marian and I both stopped talking and I asked her "did you see that?" Oh yeah, we both saw it. She went home and left me in the office!!!
Now, please keep in mind that I wear glasses and have no clear peripheral vision. The "orb" was a little fuzzy! But since Marian saw it too, I was sure it happened!"
She also added this about some other co-workers:
"They both heard a voice in the box office one evening. I was there too but I was in the Lobby at the time. They were really freaked out. Also, someone (can't remember who, maintenance or a custodian) told a story about the mirrors in the men's lobby washroom. They were foggy. Thinking the mirrors were dirty, they went to touch it and the fog disappeared."
My own experience was easily explained. I was told that when you go to the bathroom it sometimes appears as though someone is silently gliding in front of the stall. Sure enough, one day, whilst peeing, the light outside the stall dimmed in such a way that it looked for all the world like a non-existent person had just walked by. While washing my hands it took only a moment for me for realize that when the Booster Juice right beside the bathrooms turns on the blenders, the lights momentarily dim. It's just a matter of looking at the experience in a different way to discover the truth but people don't want the truth. They want to persist in the delusion.
Comments