I LOVE hearing ghost stories from people you don’t expect to hear ghost stories from. My favorite group of “non-expectant” storytellers are first responders. These folks are trained observers, and they take their jobs very seriously. So, when they share something that happened to them, well, it gives it a whole other layer of believability. Here are some of my first-responder favorites:
“About 10 years ago, my wife and two other officers were called to a residence after owners called to report a suspected break-in. Upon arriving, all 3 officers reported hearing a “pounding” sound. Upon further investigation, no 3rd parties were located. However, the noises persisted. My wife asked the owners if these sounds were a regular occurrence. The owners said they’d heard them before, but never that audible (which is why they called the police.) My wife and another officer went outside the residence while the third remained in. The officers were able to “recreate” similar sounds, yet the original thumping continued. My wife said it literally sounded as if someone was loudly pounding on a window or wall. Was this seismic activity? I don’t know, but it sure was strange.”
“I had a call from a woman who complained someone was in her apartment. I was talking in her apartment and heard movement in the kitchen and things being moved. I asked her who was there, and she said her husband had just passed. I have no explanation for what happened. She knew it was her husband coming back.”
“My brother is a deputy, and at the time, I worked as an EMT for a few small towns in northeast Colorado. I frequently went on ride-alongs with him while waiting for 9/11 calls to come in. This took place in Amherst, Colorado. The town is very small; Amherst has about 50 people, a church, some houses, a grain tower, and a park. It was about 3 am, and we were about to call it a night. As we were making our last check on Amherst, we noticed movement at the park but couldn’t tell exactly what was going on because it was pitch black. We drove up and stopped alongside the dirt road, flipped on the spotlight, and as we moved the light around the park, it finally settled on the back of a young girl (maybe 13) sitting on a swing with her back facing us. We left the spotlight on her; she wasn’t moving; she just sat there facing away from us, looking down at the ground. Needless to say, it was a very creepy situation. We both looked at each other with that face you would make when something is out of the ordinary. I quickly suggested that we should call her over, using the PA system. He agreed. As we looked back over, she was gone. I mean, no signs of anyone anywhere. The park was in a wide-open area; she couldn’t have gotten out of sight in the amount of time that we had our exchange of words. I remember saying, “Should we get out and look for her?” Maybe she hid behind one of the park toys or something. My brother just looked at me and said, “hell to the no,” and drove away. It still creeps me out to this day.”
“Police officer working the desk 1500 – 2300, fire alarm signal goes off (many, many years ago, the police department offered alarm monitoring service. We still had 10-12 places that were hard-wired, and it would require pulling apart a lot of equipment to disconnect the system, so we just kept it going). 1st shift dispatch is already punched in, so she took it.
I’m headed out the door to the fire department when 911 rings from the same address; I answer it. No one on the other end. I assumed they barely got to call before passing out; I bolted out the back door, hopped in a squad car, and radioed in the 911 call on channel three that both police/fire could hear and that I was going directly to the house.
Arrive just as another unit shows up. No signs of smoke, no sign of anything.
An older woman comes walking up the street pushing a wheelchair with an elderly lady (her mother.) They live there and just went out for an early evening stroll before dinner.
Tell them what we have going on. Nobody else lives there, and as far as the elderly lady can remember, the alarm was disconnected from the house years ago during some renovations. They don’t have an alarm system either, just a couple of smoke/fire detectors.
We walk around the house and get to the back door of the kitchen, and you can clearly see and smell gas.
We turned off the gas at the main, set up some fans to air it out, and found a cracked gas line going to the oven. The daughter said she spilled some coffee she was making for their walk and had to move the oven a few inches to clean it. She probably broke the line, pushing the oven back in. Nothing else in the house is disturbed, and both phones are on the hook.
The fire chief shows up about 15 minutes into the call. He goes over to the two ladies and gives them both a hug; he’s nearly in tears.
The elderly lady in the wheelchair’s husband was the fire chief for our department 60+ years ago. The daughter’s husband passed away a few years ago; he was also a member of our department.
I never believed in ghosts or spirits, but that call made me think that maybe people who spend their lives doing good are allowed by some power to look over their loved ones every so often.”
“I’m a second-generation firefighter. My father spent the latter days of his career as a fire safety director at a massive mental asylum. Our state version of OSHA has to come and do inspections at all facilities. His was no exception, so the OSHA inspectors made their way to an abandoned part of the facility that used to house the criminally insane. The absolute worst of the worst. Serial killers, rapists, cannibals, etc. My father left them with keys and a flashlight because the electricity didn’t work. The inspectors were radioing back to my father that they kept hearing talking and footsteps, which was impossible. Not even squatters could move around because each section is isolated with locked doors to prevent escape. Eventually, the inspectors give up and actually flee without finishing. My dad decided to stick around and check the alarm boxes they didn’t. As he is checking one of the alarms, he feels as if someone is watching him from down the hall. As he looks, a shadow forms with a head, shoulders, and torso but no legs and just two holes where there should be eyes. My dad noped the hell on out of there.
Since the hospital shut down, it has been on Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, and a myriad of other shows and movies. My dad has been in some of them. Jason from Ghost Hunters called it the scariest place he’s ever investigated.”
I got chills!
Happy Friday!!!
I sincerely hope I never experience paranormal activity. I just don’t have the nerves for it at this point.