A Ghost Story: The Ghostly Giggler
Written by Donna Davies
The Ghostly Giggler
Mohonk Mountain House – New Paltz, NY- For five years I worked part time in the gift shop at Mohonk Mountain House. Anyone who had worked there long enough had some kind of personal ghost story to tell, but I was always skeptical. But one early morning in the dead of winter changed my mind.
The hotel gets pretty quiet in the winter. Families stayed away and rooms were never sold out and the ones that were booked were usually with corporate retreats. This particular day I was working the opening shift, as I typically did. I arrived around 7:30 a.m. expecting to spend the next half hour alone preparing the store to open for the day.
The building is old, dating back to 1869 and the heat is hard to regulate. As I unlocked the doors I immediately started stripping off my winter coat and scarf, the closed up shop was unbearably hot. Before I could start my morning routine I needed a cold beverage before I started to sweat. I rounded the counter and bent down to slide open the old cooler. As I bent down to grab a bottle of water I heard a noise directly behind me.
A child giggling.
I immediately spun around, startled as I didn’t think anyone was there with me. And yet, I was more surprised to see that there was no one there.
I had worked there long enough to recognize the strange noises that the old building made. I knew the routines of my coworkers. I know that that noise was abnormal. It wasn’t a noise, it was a giggle.
Even though I know for a fact what I heard I was still skeptical. I checked under tables for the secret intruder. I checked the floors above and below the shop, the rooms were empty and locked. I finally checked the guest registry and I found what I expected. The hotel was only booked by a corporate group and there were no kids registered.
I never figured out who my ghostly giggler was. Was it someone related to the ghost who touches peoples shoulders in the parlour? The child of the woman who can be seen in mirrors. Was it the child who was rumored to be hanged in the attic? I have no idea. But I’m sure that child is still laughing somewhere in that hotel.
Author: Anonymous, Pleasant Valley, NY
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Some people get freaked out by the idea of hauntings and won’t stay at a location because of it I guess. On the flip side, I think there is a large community of people who stay there just for that reason.
I’ve always thought that there MUST be spirits in a place like Mohonk, but have never been able to find anything on the subject. They must want that info to stay a very well-kept secret for some reason.