The Daily News building was built in 1921 specifically for the town newspaper. Over the years, rumors and jokes have been heard from the newsroom to the press room about ghosts haunting the old building. Since inviting members of the Jasper County Paranormal Idealist to investigate the building on Oct. 20, Daily News workers have complained of papers disappearing from their desks and clocks being turned back. Whether the ghosts have been stirred into action or paranoia is sweeping through the creaky halls remains to be seen.
The 1860s building that houses the barbecue eatery has once been a post office, a general store, a butcher shop and an ice house, but it’s unknown who the woman is that haunts it. She wears a white dress and appears on the staircase. Sometimes lights come on and strange voices, footsteps or whispering are heard. One witness even saw the ghost cleaning the windows.
Denver Public Library has a ghost in the basement, say some. The ghost has been known to shove people hard as they walk, scaring some security guards so badly that at least one has quit because of it.
Folks have reported mysterious sounds and screams at night along the Rotary Park Woods nature trails, and some say the apparitions of little girls in white dresses can be seen. Rumor has it that these are the spirits of girls who were murdered in the woods.
Oasis Red Bull Tavern’s ghost is suspected to be a man who hanged himself in the basement around 1932 when the bar opened. Witnesses have reported ghostly footsteps, moving objects, icy drafts, electrical anomalies and intense feelings of uneasiness.
Near Oakwood Cemetery, at the corner of Brewer and Cannonsburg Roads, a woman has been seen standing in cold, rainy or snowy weather without a coat. All she does is stand there, mildly accepting of the cold and harsh elements surrounding her. It is suspected that she is a ghost, although her story is unknown.
Michigan Theatre was a fancy venue when it opened in 1930 for vaudeville and movies. Its basement is rumored to be haunted. Witnesses describe a sensation of dread or of being frozen in place, as well as an eerie feeling of being watched by something invisible.
Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, built in 1869, once had a ghost that carried its dim light up the stairs to the tower at night. However, the tower is now walled up, and the wall sports a painted mural of a lighthouse keeper.
