And Don't think they're gone!

Who, among us, hasn't seen a ghost, or knows someone who has seen one?  It is reported that approximately one-third of the American public believes in or has experienced something from the ìother world.î  Let's look at the situation locally.  Oddly enough, the several incidents Iíve put together all involve buildings on Broad and North Broad Street.

Historically, ghosts or spirits haunt buildings, not people.  It's generally believed they are the spirits of people or animals who have passed on.  There are those who maintain that they are forms of an attempt to return to life.

Whatever the reason, Globe (and Broad Street in particular) is apparently a ghost heaven, and is visited by ghost-hunters from all over the world.  Here are a couple of things going on recently.

The Drift Inn, at 636 North Broad, is a hotbed of spiritual activity.  Lisa Brazil, one of the proprietors, hasn't given him a name, but an old cowboy in a long gray duster seems to inhabit the kitchen and storage room.  He likes to stand behind people, looking over their shoulders and never says a word.  When you reach out to touch him, he simply disappears.  Lisa thinks he was a customer back about the beginning of the 1900's.   Lisa's partner, Eileen Townsend, says she thinks he's looking for one more cold one before heading back out onto the range. 

Shirley Woods, a long-time employee at the Inn, once had a dog barking when there was no dog there.  Looking for the source of the barking, what she did find was a fire which she would not have known about otherwise, and was able to put it out because she had spotted it early enough to avoid what could have been a disaster.  Who knows what might have happened if the dog who wasn't there hadn't alerted Shirley?

Molly Cornwell talks about her experiences in the basement of the old Gila County Courthouse, now the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts, at 101 North Broad.  When dance classes for the kids are going on upstairs, the spirits in the basement become very active.  Many people tell of footsteps behind them and even following them up the stairs.  When they turn around to see who it is, thereís no one there!  Also, there ís a very maternal mother figure seen, who is extremely protective of people, especially children.  In addition to all this, there is a very young girl's voice heard frequently, calling out to people and using their names, but no one has ever reported seeing her.  Itís generally believed she is the spirit of a young girl trapped in the boiler room many years ago, and, legend has it, died there.
 
Amber Coombs, manager at the Adobe Health Spa, at 138 Broad, has four lady spirits occupying her building.  Their names are Lydia, Sophia, Ashley and Sarah.  There is also a cat with them.  They all occupy the second floor where shadows are cast but any image seen of them is filmy, or transparent.  Sometimes bottles fly across the room and recently a man was lying on a treatment table while the therapist was standing at the top of the table, near his head, and he asked if she was touching his back.  When she told him she was not, he said someone was tracing the letter "L" there.  Employees feel it was Lydia.

How were the ladies' names learned?  A ghost-hunter took readings on the building in 2004.  No name was ever discovered for the cat.  Another incident that has brought about taking the matter more seriously is a door at the top of the stairs that goes nowhere at all except to a brick wall.  Itís been known to fly open when someone is either going down or up the stairs.

This has created a tradition at the Spa.  Whenever employees leave the second floor to go home for the day, they never fail to say "Goodnight, Ladies."

All in all, Globe is blessed (or cursed, depending on your outlook) with a large band of friendly, helpful spirits that show a sense of humor, and every once in a while, seem to cross the divide to come in contact with us humans.  Like it or not, they're here, they're ours, and it doesn't appear they'll be leaving anytime soon.

During the course of writing this report, no ghost or spirit showed any willingness to be interviewed.  Maybe next time.