My interest was piqued when I heard that police were investigating the possibility of a homeless man sleeping overnight in the abandoned, creepy upstairs area of the newspaper office. Staff members had seen and heard a number of odd things over the last month, culminating in the sound of someone walking around and a pair of sandals found by an upstairs door.
The old newspaper building, which also housed the printing press when I first arrived, is sort of an eerie place at night. Especially when the wind is blowing and it howls through vents. That’s probably where the rumors that the building is haunted started. When I first got here, an oldtimer warned me about an apparition, though it always seemed like an odd place for a ghost. It’s sort of a boring place unless you enjoy cynical jokes and the smell of newsprint and stale coffee.
I don’t believe in ghosts, not even a little, but it’s oddly fun to write about those translucent intruders, as well as aliens and inexplicable events. I’ve written a dozen stories about ghosts and haunted places on Whidbey, from child ghosts in a one-room school house on Penn Cove to a haunted house that mysteriously burned down in Coupeville. Not to mention the aliens that were cutting cats in half or the crop circles that sprouted up in Coupeville. I heard a rumor about Penny, the Penn Cove monster, but I never could find a witness.
Whidbey residents: Do you have a ghost or a homeless guy living in your attic? Are you a witch or a warlock? Is you dog a serial killer? Drop me a line at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com.