Have you ever worked somewhere haunted? On this #ParanormalTuesday, Mike and Wendy talk about what it's like to clock in at a location with a resident ghost, and how some workplaces embrace the stories instead of hiding them.
Mike shares memories of his early restaurant days and a place called Heaven City, which was a religious commune in the 1950s and, as the story goes, a bar and brothel during Prohibition. Staff told stories of a ghostly presence in the women's restroom, and with underground tunnels nearby, a little bootlegging history could give the legend some legitimacy.
Then it's on to Madison's Majestic Theatre, built around 1906 as a vaudeville house. Its women's room was once a dressing room, and staff believed it was haunted by a heartbroken actor. Mike points out he couldn't find newspaper records of the story, a good reminder that not every legend can be verified. They also share the tale of a woman who waited at a bus depot for her husband to come home from World War II and is said to be seen in a green army jacket.
There's a Wisconsin Dells story from Mike's ghost tour work, and a bartender at a tavern with an old bank vault in the basement who has watched glasses slide down the bar. Is he scared working alone? The first couple of times, sure. Then you get used to it.
See Madison's haunted landmarks for yourself on our Madison Ghost Walks: Capitol Square tour.