Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:06] I'm Ben and welcome to the show where you and I gather around this campfire to hear some of our fellow campers scariest experiences. So whether you're a new or returning camper, I'm happy to have you. Tonight we hear about the haunting halls of the Elizabeth V. Edwards School. A story sent in by a camper and former school janitor named Sal who witnessed something that, well, defies explanation there, as always. Before we begin the show, if you'd like to check out our camp's monthly bonus episodes, head over to patreon.com do you want to hear a ghost story? You'll also gain early access to ad free episodes, get a shout out at the end of one, and much more. Now without further ado, do you want to hear a ghost story?
[00:00:53] They called Me Sal. Not Mr. Frazetta or sir or anything fancy. Just Sal the janitor. It suited me fine. I wasn't there for anything glamorous. The Elizabeth V. Edwards School wasn't much to look at back then or when it was built in the 1930s. It did have that Depression era charm, though. Peeling paint, drafty windows, and a faint smell of mildew that could never quite be cleaned out.
[00:01:22] But it was my job, and I did it well. I started working there in the early 90s. Night shift mostly. Just me, my mop in those.
[00:01:33] Those empty halls. At first it was peaceful. If only I knew that the quiet of the job wouldn't last long.
[00:01:42] It was my third month on the job when the first incident happened. I was mopping the main corridor halfway through my shift when.
[00:01:53] What the hell? It was coming from the auditorium. I figured maybe a teacher left a tape in the sound system or something like that. So I went to check it out.
[00:02:04] Hello? There was nothing. Just rows of empty seats in that old piano gathering dust up on the stage. I told myself that it was just the intercom acting up. This place was ancient after all. But as I turned to leave, I felt someone's eyes on me. Someone there.
[00:02:25] Over the next few weeks, things escalated. Lights would flicker when I was mopping the hallways and cleaning lockers. Phones would ring from disconnected lines in the administrator's offices. And the most ominous of all, the basement door.
[00:02:42] It was always locked.
[00:02:45] No one ever went down there, not even the maintenance crew. But I always heard things from down in there. Faint scratching, footsteps, screaming. And sometimes I swear I'd even see the doorknob jiggle, as if someone was on the other side trying to get out. I stopped going near the basement door altogether after A while. One night, I was cleaning the cafeteria windows. It was late, sometime after midnight. I remember wiping the glass, looking out into the dark courtyard below. I was zoned out in the monotonous of the cloth, cleaning the glass, when. What the fu. I saw a woman's face outside the window. Her face was pale with dark eyes pressed right up against the sides of the glass, with her hands cupped around her eyes, like she was trying to see inside. But here's the thing. The cafeteria was on the second floor. I stumbled backwards, falling over my mop bucket. And when I looked back, she was gone.
[00:03:51] After that, I decided I needed answers. What was going on at the Elizabeth V. Edwards School?
[00:03:57] All. All I could surmount was this rumor that went around the teaching staff. A legend, really, about the school being haunted. About George. Depending on who told you the story, it might vary a little, but the basics were. George was an old custodian who supposedly died of a heart attack in the 1970s while mopping in the basement. It is said he spent hours trying to get someone's attention, scratching and tugging at the door. But, you know, I suppose that's the thing about the rumor mill. Because it happened that I knew the truth of this one. And in my opinion, the truth was much worse.
[00:04:36] George didn't die here at the school. He collapsed in the basement, sure, but he was alive when they carried him out. He died alone, hours later, in a hospital, miles away from the job he loved, waiting for a surgery that he couldn't afford. That night, I went back to the basement. I don't know why. Maybe I wanted to prove something to myself. Or maybe I just wanted everything to stop.
[00:05:02] The air was colder down here. Heavy, too, like breathing in water.
[00:05:08] As I made my way into the basement is when, hand to God, I saw him. I saw George.
[00:05:16] George.
[00:05:17] He was standing there in the middle of the room, holding his chest. When his eyes locked onto mine, they were full of pain and sorrow.
[00:05:27] Help me.
[00:05:30] I wanted to run, but I couldn't. I stepped forward, helping this man who I knew was dead.
[00:05:37] George or. George? You're not supposed to be here anymore.
[00:05:41] I can't believe.
[00:05:45] And as the basement lights flickered, George vanished before my eyes.
[00:05:50] I stayed at the Elizabeth V. Edwards School for about another year after that, though I didn't tell anyone about George. I mean, what would I say in my last year there? Sometimes I could still hear him scratching at the walls, calling out from the basement. But I know he's not the only one who haunts this place.
[00:06:11] Thank you, Sal, for allowing me to share your story, might I just add this Holy shit.
[00:06:19] You know, I've heard of a lot of people's paranormal experiences at work, but this one. Well, this one really takes the cake. I looked up the school to try to find some history on it. I couldn't find much, but I did see that it's been shut down since the mid 2000s. I know a good bit of my show's listenership is from New Jersey, so I'm curious, have you heard of this school or do you know anyone with an experience from there?
[00:06:44] Please let me know if you're listening on YouTube or Spotify. Leave a comment for show announcements I would like to wish you all a very happy New Year and thank you for making 2024 so special for me. I hope that our weekly campfire stories have helped make it special for you as well. With that, I will leave you here for the night. If you want early access to ad free episodes, a shout out at the end of one, head over to patreon.com do you want to hear Ghost Stories? And I'm glad to have you all as campers on this journey. Please keep sharing the show with anyone you think might like these stories or someone you're just trying to scare. And if you're enjoying it, go ahead and leave a review. I would love to hear from you. Until next time.
