{"id":815,"date":"2024-07-16T01:44:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T01:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/?p=815"},"modified":"2024-07-16T01:51:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T01:51:01","slug":"ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"815\" class=\"elementor elementor-815\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a67f4d4 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5a67f4d4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b481347 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3b481347\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the fall of 2014, I had recently started exploring my interest in documenting community history. My efforts included digitizing yearbooks and visiting the historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/cemetery\/2450036\/james-family-cemetery\">James Cemetery<\/a> next to the school to practice indexing graves, especially the documenting of those with missing or unknown markers.<\/p><p>At that time, I lived adjacent to the school, making it easy to walk over through a gap in the fence. I was also volunteering at the school library, assisting with a highly successful student reading and literacy program. This program required extensive behind-the-scenes preparation to be effective. I would often work with the librarian after 5 PM, sometimes staying until 7 or 8 PM to complete various tasks. On this particular evening, we had a few extra tasks that included setting up the book fair.<\/p><p>As I arrived at the school that evening, the only people present were the principal and the librarian. After settling in and completing some tasks, I was asked to make copies of a flyer advertising the book fair. The principal and librarian remained in the library, working on organizing and setting up.<\/p><p>It was between 5 and 6 PM, and though it was starting to get dark, it was not yet completely dark outside. The hallway lights were off, and the only illumination came from an Aquafina vending machine near the end of the hall, with additional light coming through the entry door from an outside light.<\/p><p>Expecting nothing unusual, I took the flyer and walked down the hallway from the library, past closed classrooms and the office. As I turned to enter the workroom at the bottom of the stairs, I heard it\u2014giggling. It was the same sound I had previously documented in the accounts of others who had experienced what is believed to be a paranormal event. I stopped immediately and took stock of my surroundings. The library door had closed behind me, and there was no sound of talking. The giggling resembled the garbled, mechanical laughter of a Chatty Cathy doll.<\/p><p>I decided the sound likely came from the direction of one of the rooms towards the cafeteria. The vending machine&#8217;s blue-white glow would have revealed anyone crossing in front of it. I left my papers on the copy machine in the workroom and slowly walked down the hallway towards the vending machine to investigate.<\/p><p>As I passed the main entry door, the boys\u2019 restroom, and the classrooms, I felt certain that the little ghost girl I had heard about was manifesting that evening. The classroom doors were closed and locked, and peering inside confirmed that the rooms were empty and quiet. At the end of the hallway, I checked the exit door and the door to the cafeteria serving line. Both were closed and locked, with no lights on and nothing unusual occurring.<\/p><p>To ensure nothing else was causing the sound, I randomly pressed some buttons on the vending machine. Nothing happened.<\/p><p>I returned to the workroom to make my copies. As I walked back up the hallway, I noted my shadow cast by the vending machine\u2019s light. I pondered whether people truly found the school creepy when dark and empty, while recalling my father\u2019s explanations for various noises, such as water hammer or steam pipes during his time as a custodian in the 70s and 80s.<\/p><p>On my way back to the workroom, I checked the gym doors, which were unlocked and uneventful. When I was nearly back to the workroom, I quietly said aloud, \u201cI know who you are and I heard that.&#8221;\u00a0 At that moment, the vending machine flickered. I made my copies and returned to the library, where the principal and librarian were still working around a table. Neither had left the room or made any sounds that could have reached the workroom. We finished updating the reading program and I taped up the flyers around the school. Nothing further occurred, and we all left together, locking up the school before I walked home.<\/p><p><strong><em>Additional Accounts of the Little Ghost Girl<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>**April 21, 2017:**<\/p><p>I spoke with retired teacher Maxine Reedy, who had taught at Sugar Grove School for nearly 40 years and was now 82 years old. Our conversation took place at Wharf Hill UMC&#8217;s fellowship hall after my grandfather&#8217;s graveside service. Mrs. Reedy had been involved with some other church ladies in putting on the meal for the family, and we discussed various topics, including my father&#8217;s then recent college graduation among other things.<\/p><p>I took the opportunity to ask\u00a0 about the little ghost girl at the school. Her expression revealed she did in fact know something about this topic. She confirmed had heard her herself. Unlike other accounts, Mrs. Reedy described hearing laughter evolve into a recognizable melody, \u201cRing Around The Rosie,\u201d before returning to playful laughter and then abruptly stopping.<\/p><p>When I asked if this was the only time she had heard humming, she said that most of the time it was just giggles. She remembered hearing about the ghost activity as early as the mid-70s but noted that people spoke more openly about it in the 90s. Some believed in the ghost, while others sought logical explanations and refused to attribute any of this to paranormal activity.<\/p><p><em><strong>Research &amp; Facts as They Relate to Paranormal Activity<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>&#8211; The school was vacant during a fire in December 1935. The custodian, Roy Fulton, was the only person known to be there, checking the boilers at the time of the fire that burned the school down. Blizzard conditions were documented in the newspaper causing the Marion Fire Brigade not to be able to get to Sugar Grove to put out the fire efficiently.<br \/>&#8211; There have been no documented deaths at the school or on the property.<br \/>&#8211; Various accounts of paranormal activity began emerging in the late 70s or early 80s.<br \/>&#8211; Most accounts are consistently descriptions of giggles or sightings of a little girl, around 6-8 years old, appearing in classrooms and then vanishing.<br \/>&#8211; The James Cemetery adjacent to the school holds graves of three siblings who died of diphtheria in 1880. The descriptions of the ghostly girl match the usual appearance of a child who lived in the 1880s, leading to speculation that they might be manifesting as the \u201clittle ghost girl.\u201d<br \/>&#8211; It is reasonable to consider that the cemetery being located on the school&#8217;s property is the result of the community church that was once located on the lower portion of the property which later split into the Baptist and Methodist denominations we have today in the community. Many of those contained in the James Cemetery were documented to have attended this community church.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em>~Personal Account of Sarah Combs-Taylor<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9089cab elementor-arrows-position-inside elementor-pagination-position-outside elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-carousel\" data-id=\"9089cab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;navigation&quot;:&quot;both&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_hover&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_interaction&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;autoplay_speed&quot;:5000,&quot;infinite&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:500}\" data-widget_type=\"image-carousel.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel-wrapper swiper\" role=\"region\" aria-roledescription=\"carousel\" aria-label=\"Image Carousel\" dir=\"ltr\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel swiper-wrapper\" aria-live=\"off\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"1 of 4\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice-2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Alice James\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"2 of 4\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Cornelia-James-Marker-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Cornelia James\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"3 of 4\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Willie-James-Marker-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Willie James\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"4 of 4\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Cemetery-1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"The James Cemetery\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-swiper-button elementor-swiper-button-prev\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-chevron-left\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M646 125C629 125 613 133 604 142L308 442C296 454 292 471 292 487 292 504 296 521 308 533L604 854C617 867 629 875 646 875 663 875 679 871 692 858 704 846 713 829 713 812 713 796 708 779 692 767L438 487 692 225C700 217 708 204 708 187 708 171 704 154 692 142 675 129 663 125 646 125Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-swiper-button elementor-swiper-button-next\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-chevron-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M696 533C708 521 713 504 713 487 713 471 708 454 696 446L400 146C388 133 375 125 354 125 338 125 325 129 313 142 300 154 292 171 292 187 292 204 296 221 308 233L563 492 304 771C292 783 288 800 288 817 288 833 296 850 308 863 321 871 338 875 354 875 371 875 388 867 400 854L696 533Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8bf4c1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8bf4c1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In remembrance of Alice, Cornelia and Willie James&#8211;Photos of their grave markers pictured above.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the fall of 2014, I had recently started exploring my interest in documenting community history. My efforts included digitizing yearbooks and visiting the historic James Cemetery next to the school to practice indexing graves, especially the documenting of those with missing or unknown markers. At that time, I lived adjacent to the school, making it easy to walk over through a gap in the fence. I was also volunteering at the school library, assisting with a highly successful student reading and literacy program. This program required extensive behind-the-scenes preparation to be effective. I would often work with the librarian after 5 PM, sometimes staying until 7 or 8 PM to complete various tasks. On this particular evening, we had a few extra tasks that included setting up the book fair. As I arrived at the school that evening, the only people present were the principal and the librarian. After settling in and completing some tasks, I was asked to make copies of a flyer advertising the book fair. The principal and librarian remained in the library, working on organizing and setting up. It was between 5 and 6 PM, and though it was starting to get dark, it was not yet completely dark outside. The hallway lights were off, and the only illumination came from an Aquafina vending machine near the end of the hall, with additional light coming through the entry door from an outside light. Expecting nothing unusual, I took the flyer and walked down the hallway from the library, past closed classrooms and the office. As I turned to enter the workroom at the bottom of the stairs, I heard it\u2014giggling. It was the same sound I had previously documented in the accounts of others who had experienced what is believed to be a paranormal event. I stopped immediately and took stock of my surroundings. The library door had closed behind me, and there was no sound of talking. The giggling resembled the garbled, mechanical laughter of a Chatty Cathy doll. I decided the sound likely came from the direction of one of the rooms towards the cafeteria. The vending machine&#8217;s blue-white glow would have revealed anyone crossing in front of it. I left my papers on the copy machine in the workroom and slowly walked down the hallway towards the vending machine to investigate. As I passed the main entry door, the boys\u2019 restroom, and the classrooms, I felt certain that the little ghost girl I had heard about was manifesting that evening. The classroom doors were closed and locked, and peering inside confirmed that the rooms were empty and quiet. At the end of the hallway, I checked the exit door and the door to the cafeteria serving line. Both were closed and locked, with no lights on and nothing unusual occurring. To ensure nothing else was causing the sound, I randomly pressed some buttons on the vending machine. Nothing happened. I returned to the workroom to make my copies. As I walked back up the hallway, I noted my shadow cast by the vending machine\u2019s light. I pondered whether people truly found the school creepy when dark and empty, while recalling my father\u2019s explanations for various noises, such as water hammer or steam pipes during his time as a custodian in the 70s and 80s. On my way back to the workroom, I checked the gym doors, which were unlocked and uneventful. When I was nearly back to the workroom, I quietly said aloud, \u201cI know who you are and I heard that.&#8221;\u00a0 At that moment, the vending machine flickered. I made my copies and returned to the library, where the principal and librarian were still working around a table. Neither had left the room or made any sounds that could have reached the workroom. We finished updating the reading program and I taped up the flyers around the school. Nothing further occurred, and we all left together, locking up the school before I walked home. Additional Accounts of the Little Ghost Girl **April 21, 2017:** I spoke with retired teacher Maxine Reedy, who had taught at Sugar Grove School for nearly 40 years and was now 82 years old. Our conversation took place at Wharf Hill UMC&#8217;s fellowship hall after my grandfather&#8217;s graveside service. Mrs. Reedy had been involved with some other church ladies in putting on the meal for the family, and we discussed various topics, including my father&#8217;s then recent college graduation among other things. I took the opportunity to ask\u00a0 about the little ghost girl at the school. Her expression revealed she did in fact know something about this topic. She confirmed had heard her herself. Unlike other accounts, Mrs. Reedy described hearing laughter evolve into a recognizable melody, \u201cRing Around The Rosie,\u201d before returning to playful laughter and then abruptly stopping. When I asked if this was the only time she had heard humming, she said that most of the time it was just giggles. She remembered hearing about the ghost activity as early as the mid-70s but noted that people spoke more openly about it in the 90s. Some believed in the ghost, while others sought logical explanations and refused to attribute any of this to paranormal activity. Research &amp; Facts as They Relate to Paranormal Activity &#8211; The school was vacant during a fire in December 1935. The custodian, Roy Fulton, was the only person known to be there, checking the boilers at the time of the fire that burned the school down. Blizzard conditions were documented in the newspaper causing the Marion Fire Brigade not to be able to get to Sugar Grove to put out the fire efficiently.&#8211; There have been no documented deaths at the school or on the property.&#8211; Various accounts of paranormal activity began emerging in the late 70s or early 80s.&#8211; Most accounts are consistently descriptions of giggles or sightings of a little girl, around 6-8 years old, appearing in classrooms and then vanishing.&#8211; The James Cemetery adjacent to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,41],"tags":[55,109,65,42],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","category-sugar-grove-school","tag-james","tag-mysteries","tag-stories","tag-sugar-grove-school"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter - Rye Valley History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter - Rye Valley History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the fall of 2014, I had recently started exploring my interest in documenting community history. My efforts included digitizing yearbooks and visiting the historic James Cemetery next to the school to practice indexing graves, especially the documenting of those with missing or unknown markers. At that time, I lived adjacent to the school, making it easy to walk over through a gap in the fence. I was also volunteering at the school library, assisting with a highly successful student reading and literacy program. This program required extensive behind-the-scenes preparation to be effective. I would often work with the librarian after 5 PM, sometimes staying until 7 or 8 PM to complete various tasks. On this particular evening, we had a few extra tasks that included setting up the book fair. As I arrived at the school that evening, the only people present were the principal and the librarian. After settling in and completing some tasks, I was asked to make copies of a flyer advertising the book fair. The principal and librarian remained in the library, working on organizing and setting up. It was between 5 and 6 PM, and though it was starting to get dark, it was not yet completely dark outside. The hallway lights were off, and the only illumination came from an Aquafina vending machine near the end of the hall, with additional light coming through the entry door from an outside light. Expecting nothing unusual, I took the flyer and walked down the hallway from the library, past closed classrooms and the office. As I turned to enter the workroom at the bottom of the stairs, I heard it\u2014giggling. It was the same sound I had previously documented in the accounts of others who had experienced what is believed to be a paranormal event. I stopped immediately and took stock of my surroundings. The library door had closed behind me, and there was no sound of talking. The giggling resembled the garbled, mechanical laughter of a Chatty Cathy doll. I decided the sound likely came from the direction of one of the rooms towards the cafeteria. The vending machine&#8217;s blue-white glow would have revealed anyone crossing in front of it. I left my papers on the copy machine in the workroom and slowly walked down the hallway towards the vending machine to investigate. As I passed the main entry door, the boys\u2019 restroom, and the classrooms, I felt certain that the little ghost girl I had heard about was manifesting that evening. The classroom doors were closed and locked, and peering inside confirmed that the rooms were empty and quiet. At the end of the hallway, I checked the exit door and the door to the cafeteria serving line. Both were closed and locked, with no lights on and nothing unusual occurring. To ensure nothing else was causing the sound, I randomly pressed some buttons on the vending machine. Nothing happened. I returned to the workroom to make my copies. As I walked back up the hallway, I noted my shadow cast by the vending machine\u2019s light. I pondered whether people truly found the school creepy when dark and empty, while recalling my father\u2019s explanations for various noises, such as water hammer or steam pipes during his time as a custodian in the 70s and 80s. On my way back to the workroom, I checked the gym doors, which were unlocked and uneventful. When I was nearly back to the workroom, I quietly said aloud, \u201cI know who you are and I heard that.&#8221;\u00a0 At that moment, the vending machine flickered. I made my copies and returned to the library, where the principal and librarian were still working around a table. Neither had left the room or made any sounds that could have reached the workroom. We finished updating the reading program and I taped up the flyers around the school. Nothing further occurred, and we all left together, locking up the school before I walked home. Additional Accounts of the Little Ghost Girl **April 21, 2017:** I spoke with retired teacher Maxine Reedy, who had taught at Sugar Grove School for nearly 40 years and was now 82 years old. Our conversation took place at Wharf Hill UMC&#8217;s fellowship hall after my grandfather&#8217;s graveside service. Mrs. Reedy had been involved with some other church ladies in putting on the meal for the family, and we discussed various topics, including my father&#8217;s then recent college graduation among other things. I took the opportunity to ask\u00a0 about the little ghost girl at the school. Her expression revealed she did in fact know something about this topic. She confirmed had heard her herself. Unlike other accounts, Mrs. Reedy described hearing laughter evolve into a recognizable melody, \u201cRing Around The Rosie,\u201d before returning to playful laughter and then abruptly stopping. When I asked if this was the only time she had heard humming, she said that most of the time it was just giggles. She remembered hearing about the ghost activity as early as the mid-70s but noted that people spoke more openly about it in the 90s. Some believed in the ghost, while others sought logical explanations and refused to attribute any of this to paranormal activity. Research &amp; Facts as They Relate to Paranormal Activity &#8211; The school was vacant during a fire in December 1935. The custodian, Roy Fulton, was the only person known to be there, checking the boilers at the time of the fire that burned the school down. Blizzard conditions were documented in the newspaper causing the Marion Fire Brigade not to be able to get to Sugar Grove to put out the fire efficiently.&#8211; There have been no documented deaths at the school or on the property.&#8211; Various accounts of paranormal activity began emerging in the late 70s or early 80s.&#8211; Most accounts are consistently descriptions of giggles or sightings of a little girl, around 6-8 years old, appearing in classrooms and then vanishing.&#8211; The James Cemetery adjacent to...Read More &ldquo;Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter&rdquo; &raquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rye Valley History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/162341033791855\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-16T01:44:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-16T01:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/little-ghost-girl.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6308938c62392deddff1e341295e52f6\"},\"headline\":\"Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-16T01:44:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-16T01:51:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1133,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/little-ghost-girl.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"James\",\"Mysteries\",\"Stories\",\"Sugar Grove School\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories\",\"Sugar Grove School\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/socialmogul.us\\\/RyeValleyHistory\\\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter - 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Rye Valley History","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/ghost-stories-a-late-evening-encounter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ghost Stories: A Late Evening Encounter - Rye Valley History","og_description":"In the fall of 2014, I had recently started exploring my interest in documenting community history. My efforts included digitizing yearbooks and visiting the historic James Cemetery next to the school to practice indexing graves, especially the documenting of those with missing or unknown markers. At that time, I lived adjacent to the school, making it easy to walk over through a gap in the fence. I was also volunteering at the school library, assisting with a highly successful student reading and literacy program. This program required extensive behind-the-scenes preparation to be effective. I would often work with the librarian after 5 PM, sometimes staying until 7 or 8 PM to complete various tasks. On this particular evening, we had a few extra tasks that included setting up the book fair. As I arrived at the school that evening, the only people present were the principal and the librarian. After settling in and completing some tasks, I was asked to make copies of a flyer advertising the book fair. The principal and librarian remained in the library, working on organizing and setting up. It was between 5 and 6 PM, and though it was starting to get dark, it was not yet completely dark outside. The hallway lights were off, and the only illumination came from an Aquafina vending machine near the end of the hall, with additional light coming through the entry door from an outside light. Expecting nothing unusual, I took the flyer and walked down the hallway from the library, past closed classrooms and the office. As I turned to enter the workroom at the bottom of the stairs, I heard it\u2014giggling. It was the same sound I had previously documented in the accounts of others who had experienced what is believed to be a paranormal event. I stopped immediately and took stock of my surroundings. The library door had closed behind me, and there was no sound of talking. The giggling resembled the garbled, mechanical laughter of a Chatty Cathy doll. I decided the sound likely came from the direction of one of the rooms towards the cafeteria. The vending machine&#8217;s blue-white glow would have revealed anyone crossing in front of it. I left my papers on the copy machine in the workroom and slowly walked down the hallway towards the vending machine to investigate. As I passed the main entry door, the boys\u2019 restroom, and the classrooms, I felt certain that the little ghost girl I had heard about was manifesting that evening. The classroom doors were closed and locked, and peering inside confirmed that the rooms were empty and quiet. At the end of the hallway, I checked the exit door and the door to the cafeteria serving line. Both were closed and locked, with no lights on and nothing unusual occurring. To ensure nothing else was causing the sound, I randomly pressed some buttons on the vending machine. Nothing happened. I returned to the workroom to make my copies. As I walked back up the hallway, I noted my shadow cast by the vending machine\u2019s light. I pondered whether people truly found the school creepy when dark and empty, while recalling my father\u2019s explanations for various noises, such as water hammer or steam pipes during his time as a custodian in the 70s and 80s. On my way back to the workroom, I checked the gym doors, which were unlocked and uneventful. When I was nearly back to the workroom, I quietly said aloud, \u201cI know who you are and I heard that.&#8221;\u00a0 At that moment, the vending machine flickered. I made my copies and returned to the library, where the principal and librarian were still working around a table. Neither had left the room or made any sounds that could have reached the workroom. We finished updating the reading program and I taped up the flyers around the school. Nothing further occurred, and we all left together, locking up the school before I walked home. Additional Accounts of the Little Ghost Girl **April 21, 2017:** I spoke with retired teacher Maxine Reedy, who had taught at Sugar Grove School for nearly 40 years and was now 82 years old. Our conversation took place at Wharf Hill UMC&#8217;s fellowship hall after my grandfather&#8217;s graveside service. Mrs. Reedy had been involved with some other church ladies in putting on the meal for the family, and we discussed various topics, including my father&#8217;s then recent college graduation among other things. I took the opportunity to ask\u00a0 about the little ghost girl at the school. Her expression revealed she did in fact know something about this topic. She confirmed had heard her herself. Unlike other accounts, Mrs. Reedy described hearing laughter evolve into a recognizable melody, \u201cRing Around The Rosie,\u201d before returning to playful laughter and then abruptly stopping. When I asked if this was the only time she had heard humming, she said that most of the time it was just giggles. She remembered hearing about the ghost activity as early as the mid-70s but noted that people spoke more openly about it in the 90s. Some believed in the ghost, while others sought logical explanations and refused to attribute any of this to paranormal activity. Research &amp; Facts as They Relate to Paranormal Activity &#8211; The school was vacant during a fire in December 1935. The custodian, Roy Fulton, was the only person known to be there, checking the boilers at the time of the fire that burned the school down. 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