by Debbi | Aug 29, 2011 | Downtown, Events, Our Ghost
Regular readers of this blog know that we've been serious about researching the ghost that seems to haunt the Sandbar.
Last week, on the 148th anniversary of Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, several Sandbar staff and friends went on a history tour around town.
Our chief ghost researcher, Emerson, believed at one time that our ghost was a soldier killed in the raid. He's since moved on to other potential theories, but during his research we got interested in the raid and thought it would be smart to learn more about it. Just in case our ghost really was a soldier.
We met up with the tour leader and other participants at the Eldridge Hotel, one of the most historic sites in Kansas related to the Civil War and also home to a ghost. From there, we traveled by van to Oak Hill Cemetery in East Lawrence, the site where Quantrill's raiders gathered and looked out over Lawrence before the raid; South Park, where Lawrence soldiers were camped; Pioneer Cemetery on the KU campus, where many of those killed in the raid are buried; and finally back to the Eldridge.
The tour we took was through Paranormal Adventures USA. This group offers a variety of history and ghost tours around Kansas and Missouri, including some "ghosts and grapes" tours at wineries that really piqued our interest!
They also offer the opportunity to "clear your space" of ghosts, something we're not really sure we want to do as our ghost appears to be friendly and harmless, as well as ghost investigations. We're hoping to schedule an investigation sometime soon so we can learn more about our ghost.
In the meantime, though, we'd like to encourage everyone to learn more about the history of Lawrence, especially the Civil War and Quantrill's Raid. It was a significant event in this country's history, and it gives a lot of insight to today's ongoing sports rivalry between Kansas and Missouri!
by Debbi | Aug 24, 2011 | Our Ghost
The ghost made another appearance late at night a few weeks ago.
Tyler called Dave at home after they closed up the bar and told him the ghost had been particularly active that night; Emerson even claimed to have seen the ghost standing over by the jukebox.
Dave pulled up the webcam online to take a look at the bar, and he noticed that the guys had left the "open" sign on. He called Tyler back.
"Hey, you guys left the "open" sign on."
"No we didn't," Tyler said. "I know we turned it off, because I had to go back in and unplug the specials sign."
Dave was positive it was on, so he actually rode his scooter down to the bar- and the "open" sign was on. He was too freaked out to go inside, so he went back home and pulled up the webcam again.
This time the sign was off.
Dave really freaked out, until he found out that Tyler had gone back to the bar and turned it off, apparently during the short time Dave was driving home.
But, they all still swear the ghost turned the light on in the first place.
by Debbi | Jun 17, 2011 | Our Ghost, People, Stories
Clearly Sandbar ghost stories are a hit with our small but loyal audience. Our recent post about Dave's first sighting of the ghost got quite a bit of traffic.
According to Dave, the ghost had been quiet for a long time. Until recently, because of a good friend and regular who shall remain nameless because he is terrified of the ghost and he might lose credibility in his day job if we named him.
This friend decided to start looking into old city records to find out what businesses have been in our building in the past and see if there was a connection. Around that time, the ghost started acting up- and that's when Dave saw him.
The ghost also made an appearance the night of the infamous toilet-trashing episode. While the guys were cleaning the bar up after closing time, they heard the distinctive sound of a chiming doorbell coming from the bathroom. There is nothing in the bar that would make the sound of a doorbell.
Of course the recent ghost activity freaked our friend out, and he's decided to stop snooping in city records. (He also may never use the restroom in the bar again.) And the ghost has been quiet ever since.
by Debbi | Jun 6, 2011 | Our Ghost
Dave was working late one night upstairs in the office. He heard someone coming up the stairs and assumed it was Tyler, heading into the upstairs front room to turn off the neon lights in the windows. He even caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye as he passed the office door.
Dave walked into the front room, but didn't see Tyler anywhere.
He went downstairs, where he found Tyler cleaning up. Dave asked him if he'd been upstairs at all, and Tyler said no.
This is the first sighting of the Sandbar ghost. We've heard lots of stories of the ghost playing tricks on the staff, but to my knowledge no one has actually seen the ghost yet. Until now.
For more ghost stories, click here.
by Debbi | Jul 30, 2010 | Our Ghost
The Sandbar ghost seems to be making frequent appearances lately. Here's an excerpt from our "door diary" about the ghost's recent contact.
It was a sweltering hot Monday night at the Sandbar in the middle of July. It was closing time and the two employees, Tyler and Fyler, thought they were all alone. At 2:07 a.m., Fyler's phone rang and logged a conversation lasting six seconds.
Confused, Fyler asked Tyler "Why are you calling me?"
Tyler looked at his phone and realized it had made no such call.
Have you ever felt like you weren't alone in the Sandbar at closing time?
This is the first story we've heard about the ghost making phone calls. In the past, he's hidden money, knocked trashcans down the stairs, or messed with the fish tank.
Wonder what he'll do next?
