Ghosts in Stores and Malls

It is that time of year where the stores and malls will be crowded with people trying to get their Christmas shopping done. They come armed with lists, ads, credit and debit cards and cash, ready to find a bargain for that special person in their lives. The employees work hard to make sure that the stores run efficient. They stay late after the stores close to stock the shelves getting ready for the next day. In some of these stores an unseen force might be feeling frisky and undo all their work.

Some department stores employees and security have reported seeing apparitions, hearing footsteps and voices while the stores where close and all the shoppers were gone. Most of the reports were in stores that have been around for many years with a long history of many souls coming and going through the doors.

A Foley’s Department Store in Houston under construction has had several reports of apparitions and other unusual things happening while the store was closed for the day. There was one time were a temp worker was in the employee restroom late one night. This restroom used to be the customer’s before construction. While at the sink, she heard the door open and a woman come in. This woman was carrying two big shopping bags full of old fashion looking toys. The lady’s outfit looked out of place for the time, almost like 40’s clothing. She thought the lady was lost and wasn’t supposed to be there. The lady asked her to watch her bags while she went in one of the stalls. Right when the lady shut the stall door, another employee came in. She told her that the lady was not supposed to be there and needed to leave. She walked over to the stall and called out to the woman. She didn’t hear an answer and called out again. She peeked under the stall door and saw no feet and realized that the lady was gone. Both of the girls turned to look at the place where the packages were supposed to be, and they were gone too. Was this old woman a customer from long ago that is still shopping at Foley’s?

There is antique store in Bisbee that has a playful ghost. While I was visiting there the owners loved telling us about their ghost. This ghost does its pranks in the basement of the store. They have dolls that are set up in a particular way and place. In the morning these dolls have moved. This has happened on many occasions. They say that other things have been moved over night while the store was locked up tight.

One of the most famous stories about a ghost haunting a store is the famous Toys R Us Ghost in Sunnydale, CA. The employees named their ghost Johnson. They feel that is was a man, murdered in the orchard in which the Toys R Us was built on. This Toys R Us had many stories of things being pushed off the shelves and walls, and objects moving on their own. None of those people felt like they were in any danger, just scared by things suddenly moving. Apparently Johnson likes to play practical jokes.

The Sunnydale Toys R Us is not the only one that has reported unseen forces moving objects. Mike and both of my kids, worked at the Toys R Us in Phoenix. They have many stories about strange things that have happened to them. Click here to read Mike’s blog about his experience. Also just recently, Mike had ghostly experiences at the Buy Buy Baby store he was working at. Hopefully, he will either blog about it or write about his experience in a comment.

Stores are not the only places that ghosts seem to be hanging around. They like the malls too. Security and employees staying late have reported hearing unseen footsteps, disembodied voices and seeing apparitions in various places throughout the mall. In Chile the security camera caught what looks like a child apparition running across a mall. Some believe it to be true and others think it is a hoax. Watch the video and judge for yourself.



Where ever you choose to shop this holiday season, be safe and watch out for the unseen shoppers.

~Julie~