Written By: Shawn Blaschka

Having been a former worker in the field of "security", I can say without hesitation that it is often thought of as boring, mundane and repetitious. However, sometimes it can be exciting or even frightening! Well, of course that all depends upon your point of view. This true story comes from the former JI Case factory located in Schofield, Wisconsin (currently Merrill Iron & Steel). It was here where a night watchman had experienced "poltergeist" activity. The word poltergeist, polter which is German, meaning (to knock) and geist which is French, meaning (spirit) is defined by Webster's dictionary as: a noisy, mischievous ghost held to be responsible for unexplained noises. .

For some time there had been reports of ghostly activity within the factory. Mr. Blaschka had even been told of some experiences his coworkers have had but didn't really believe them to be true. Blaschka had been working at the factory as a night watchman for the past three months and hadn't seen anything unusual. So he put the stories out of his mind as he went about his normal evening rounds. He would usually use the company car to get to the first building on his round, as it was a great distance to walk and he had several buildings to check, on the factory grounds. Blaschka pulled up to the first building and exited his car. It was a cold night and the snow crunched under his feet as he hurried toward the building. While walking he heard a noise that broke the late night silence. He looked toward the building and noticed one of the overhead doors opening up. At the same time on the other end of the building another overhead door was opening. Once the doors were open he heard the distinct sound of hammering and factory worker's working coming from within the building. He did not see any light's on inside the building and thought it odd that workers were there so late, because normally they did not work during his shift. Blaschka entered the building to check out what was going on. As he entered the area the sounds of working stopped. A further check showed that no one was present. Moments later both of the overhead doors closed on their own. Blaschka proceeded out a side exit to check if maybe someone had just left the building but there was no sign of anyone, no fresh footprints in the snow and all was quiet. He again checked over the building to make sure it was secure and then left the same way he had entered. Once outside, he again heard the hammering noises and voices of men working within. He went back in a second time and the sounds all stopped, just as before. Blaschka needless to say was very scared and decided to leave in a hurry and finish the rest of his rounds. He saw nothing more that evening. The next morning he reported the malfunction of the doors. An electrician checked them out and found nothing wrong with them.

A few months had passed since the strange occurrences Blaschka had experienced. He was again in the same building performing his normal rounds. Again, as usual no other workers were present and the building was quiet. Blaschka walked by a work area where a metal tray with raised edges was sitting. Inside the tray lay a large metallic bolt, as he passed the area the bolt began to move and flipped out of the tray to the floor. This startled Blaschka, as he could find no explanation for what happened. He continued his round quickly. He came to an area near the overhead doors where several pallets were sitting with very heavy machinery on them. He heard a noise and saw one of the pallets lift off the floor about six inches and then fall back down again. Blaschka became very frightened and ran out of the building. He did not return that evening. He was relieved that he never experienced any strange activity again while working there. However, many workers reported the same experiences while working in that building long after Blaschka had stopped working there. Who were the phantom workers and why were they there? Is the old JI Case building still haunted by this spirit? I guess we may never know.

· Any reproduction or use of this story without the sole consent of Shawn Blaschka is strictly prohibited.