Ghost Hunting + Pierogies = Awesome

I wake up most mornings feeling like Ke$ha. I grab my clothes, sometimes lunch (when I am not on a stout diet), and then I shoot out the door to work.  Mostly because I cannot wait to get there. From day to day, there is no telling what might happen.

A lot of people wonder what it is like working the best job ever.  I always reply that I would not know, because I have worked mediocre jobs, good jobs, and the uber best job ever (we use a lot of German in brewing).  Philosophers have often pondered, "what is it that separates the 'best job ever' from the 'uber best job ever'?"  The Romans once posited, "caveat emptor et semper ubi sub ubi" and I think that they were right. However, what makes this job the uber best job ever, is that I do not just work in a brewery, I work in a haunted brewery.

You read that right. I work in a haunted brewery.

My first impression of the haunting occurred one day when I walked past my desk and saw someone sitting at it. I did a double take, because I am very territorial and paranoid about people messing with my computer.  When I looked back, there was no one there, but the screensaver on my computer had been replaced with my desktop.  I thought nothing of it later, until I was talking to the boss.

I was talking about how much more interesting our brewery would be haunted  (I think the best idea for a show would be one where people ghost hunt while eating ridiculous amounts of fried, local food.  It would be called Food Vs. Ghosts, Diners, Drive-ins, and the Deceased...or something.  The idea is still in its infancy).  Anyway, he asked me what had happened that made me think that it was haunted.  When I replied that nothing had, really, he launched into the strange goings-on in the brewery.

Ghost Hunting + Pierogies = Awesome

At first I thought he was joking.  But later, I was talking to some of the brewers, who were unaware of my conversation with the boss.  I asked them if anything strange had ever happened to them while they were working.  Apparently, strange things occur when you are alone.  Those who have encountered those acts believe them to have been perpetrated by the shadow people.

One of the brewers, kind of one of my favorites, Dan, told me of one morning when he was by himself in the brewery, milling in the malt for the day.  He had gone to make a pot of coffee, as was his usual routine, when he heard a noise out on the floor.  Leaving the coffee pot in the machine, he went to check it out.  At first he thought that another employee might have come in early, but as he called out to ascertain who it might be, there was no reply.  Giving up, he went back to get his cup of coffee... Imagine his surprise, when the coffee pot was not where he left it, and the coffee in it was still sloshing from side to side from the sudden movement.

I thought that they were pulling my leg at first. I am the new person and it is always fun to mess with the new person (that is kind of my third favorite hobby).  But then, I had my official haunting experience.  Let me tell you, I am a little girl when it comes to ghosts. Mostly because I don't know how accurate their portrayal in movies is, so I am not sure how to relate to them (are they friendly? are they vindictive?).

Friendly Ghost...

One night, Mr. Hobbs and I were closing up after a tour; it was shortly after I had heard about the haunting.  We were shutting things down as usual, but there were a lot of strange sounds that we had never heard before; a banging like someone was hitting the pipes with a baseball bat. We were a little freaked out and tried to ignore it.  We closed up the cooler, locked all of the doors, and turned off the lights.  It was pitch black when I turned on the alarm and left the building.

...Not so friendly ghost.

We were standing outside when Ryan realized that he left his car keys inside.  Being the responsible manager that I am, I went to open the building to let him in again, while I turned off the alarm.  I swear to you, when I opened that door ALL OF THE LIGHTS IN THE BREWERY WERE ON.  I definitely  sent Mr. Hobbs into the brewery to get his keys, by himself, while I cowered by the door.

A lot of my coworkers tell me about the strange things that the shadow people do.  They really don't like some of the music selections, so they turn off the radio sometimes.  We have also found that our bottling machine, which works great all day long, will not work some mornings, as pieces will have been knocked out of place. They also like to move things.  Our Cellarman told me that he usually just likes to give them their space, and as long as we let them do their own thing, they don't get too annoying.

The Delaware Ghost Hunters are coming to check things out soon.  Hopefully, they will be able to tell us who our shadow people are and why they are here.