Vancouver Ghost Stories: Clark County Historical Museum

During this time of year, I always get the hankering to watch a “scary movie.” I seldom have the patience to sit through a two-plus-hour movie, so I tend to be fairly picky about the ones I watch. The hunt for the perfect film for a spooky October night usually ends in frustration as I scroll through endless previews of slasher, jump scare and zombie flicks. However, I have found that the perfect ingredient for a movie that will send a chill down my spine is the child ghost. Maybe it is the tragedy of a life cut short or my curmudgeonly avoidance of small and noisy creatures, but nothing scares the bejeebers out of me like an undead kid. Today’s story deals with such a ghost.

The Clark County Historical Museum is housed in a stately red brick building at the southeast corner of Main Street and E 16th Street. It was constructed in 1909 (with Hidden bricks, of course) as the City’s first public library and operated in that capacity until the early 1960s when the museum took over the space. The museum is operated by the Clark County Historical Society and features many exhibits, artifacts and records spotlighting our local community. Volunteers at the museum have experienced strange occurrences in the building over the years.

The epicenter of these happenings appears to be in the basement. A cannon ball stored in the artifact room has mysteriously been discovered out of its storage box on more than one occasion. Strange knocking sounds have been heard here as well. Perhaps the most persistent unexplained incident is the appearance of a young boy wearing old-fashioned clothing. After one sighting, museum staff placed a bell near the location of his appearance and asked him to ring it if he was there. A short time later, the bell could be heard ringing after everyone had left the room. Local ghost hunter Jeff Davis reports hearing the same bell being rung on a different occasion when the room was unoccupied. If that is not creepy enough, a museum volunteer working in the basement claimed to hear a child’s voice cry “Help me", but there were no children in the building. No records of any tragedy or mishaps involving children on this property during its time as a library or museum have been found, so this one remains a mystery.

As this is the last Friday in October, this is the final installment of Vancouver Ghost Stories. If you missed the previous stories, I have linked them below. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

References:

  • Jollota, Pat. Haunted Vancouver, Washinghton. E-book edition, 2020.
  • Davis, Jefferson. Vancouver USA Ghosts, Volume I. Print edition, 2018.

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