Arty HQ haunted by noises that some think may be ghosts®
By JACK BAUMANN
Staff writer
December 5, 1974
BABENHAUSEN,
Germany (S&S) A ghostly, unauthorized visitor has been disturbing
the peace and quiet of the early-morning hours at a headquarters
building here.
The
men who guard the 41st Field Arty Group Hq have heard mysterious sounds
of footsteps, movement of furniture, creaking floors and flushing
toilets from the tightly locked fourth and fifth floors.
According
to Sgt. Robert A. Weaver, "There's definitely something up there.
"During the middle of August I was on duty and around 4 a.m. I heard a
loud bang, like something was dropped," said Weaver. "Then I heard
footsteps walking across the floor. They have wooden floors up there,
and I could hear the wood creaking, "I checked it out, but there was
nobody up there," Weaver said.
On
other occasions, while he was pulling guard duty in the headquarters
building, Weaver has heard what sounded like "furniture being moved
around." Whenever anyone approaches the fourth and fifth floors to
investigate, the noises cease. The furniture always remains stationary
when the rooms are examined.
Maj.
Roy A. Highsmith, 41st Group adjutant; has also had some strange
experiences in the building. "One night I was , working late, and I kept
feeling this sensation that someone was staring at me outside in the
hall," said Highsmith. "The door opened several times, but it probably
the wind. I lifted my head several times because I thought I saw someone
walk by the door. No one was there when I went out to look. I could
have sworn I heard someone walking down the hall," Highsmith said.
Like
the majority of those who have pulled guard duty in the building,
Highsmith has heard the sound of footsteps originating from the top
floors. Sgt. Michael Wilson believes that some" unnatural thing haunts
the fourth and fifth floors of the building. During the daytime, these
floors are used as Babenhausen's education offices.
Wilson
said he was on duty one night when he heard what sounded like "somebody
running around on the top floor.""Between 1:30 and 2 a.m. I heard the
steps coming from above, so I went upstairs to check it out. "It was
very distinct. There wasn't anybody up there, so I came down again. Two
or three minutes later it happened all over. As soon as I got up to the
fourth floor it stopped. So I went down again. "I heard the noises for a
third time, but I didn't bother with It. From 2 until 5:30 a.m. I heard
the toilets flushing, desks being pushed around and running sounds. It
was really strange”, Wilson said.
Of
course, there are skeptics among the GI’s who discount the weird sounds
and inexplicable noises. Capt Benny Dever attributes the poltergeist
rumors lo pure imagination. "On two of three occasions I've heard doors
opening and closing up there — and footsteps, too. But I think I made
myself believe in this ghost business because I've heard so many stories
about it.'' These people don't know what the wind sounds like," said
S.Sgt. John R., Seals. ''This building isn't haunted."
Another
soldier claims that the noises are merely caused by the "settling of
the foundation," M.Sgt. Richard J. Soska said, "Until I heard It myself,
I didn't believe in it," But between 3 and 3:30 a.m. on Monday, Soska
said he heard someone walking the length of the third floor, directly
above his guard duty position. "It was loud and clear, like someone was
walking with boots or-heavy shoes," he .said. Upon investigation,
nothing unusual was observed, and the hallway door remained locked and
bolted.
Muffled
voices also were heard on the same night by an officer, who did not
want to be identified. Naturally, the possibility of a hoax does exist.
But on two occasions, a group of skeptical off-duty Stars and Stripes
staffers spent the night in the building.
Before
starting the ghost watch, we thoroughly examined the fourth and fifth
floors, fastening every window and locking every door. Each hallway is
locked and bolted, and an armed guard stays on the second floor. The
only access to the top floors, aside from the main hallway, is a fire
escape on-the fourth floor. If a prankster did pull off a hoax, it's
difficult to see how.
The
first night proved worthless for the ghost watchers, but the second
occasion was far more productive. From 1 to 1:15 a.m., distinct
footsteps were heard coming from the floor above. Various scraping and
bumping sounds were also heard, but these could have been noises front
water pipes .and the high winds that night;" At 2:15, five more steps
were heard. Until 2:43 a.m. rather vague noises echoed through the halls
from upstairs. One very distinct scrape was heard from the east end of
the building. We investigated the noise immediately but found nothing.
After 3 a.m. the only sounds came from the streets outside. Apparently,
2,a.m. is prime ghost time. Nearly all the people interviewed mentioned
that it was between 2 and 2:30 a.m. when the footsteps were heard. Only
one person — Capt. Norman R. Cherry — actually has seen anything unusual
so far, but he isn't exactly sure what he saw. "I came up here one
night to pick up some papers. It was about 9: 15 p.m. On the way out of
the office I turned the lights out, walked down the hallway, locked the
(hallway) door and glanced over my shoulder," said Cherry. “I saw a
shadow walking down the hall towards me." Cherry says the "shadow" may
have come from the headlight of a passing car or plane, but his office
is located on the third floor.
The
history of the town of Babenhausen also lends a supernatural aura to
the tales dealing with the casern. During the 17th century, 50 women
were executed as suspected witches. The women were imprisoned in the
town's Hexenturrn (witch tower) and burned alive in. the market place.
One of the victims of the witchcraft hysteria was Frau Muller, accused
of killing three men through sorcery.
In
1843, a woman supposedly related to Frau Muller was stoned to death
during another witchhunt. Twenty-four hours after her death, her
boyfriend died without any explanation, a history of the town claims. A
young soldier who jumped from the fifth floor of the headquarters
building in June 1920 was planning to marry a woman who worked on the
casern. Her last name was Muller. Following the suicide she was never
heard of again, the town’s history relates.
The
headquarters building was constructed by the Germans during 1900 and
1901. Since that time the casern has been occupied by the French, the
Hessian Police, the Freiwillige Arbeitsdienst (volunteer work service)
and the Wehrkreis Rdt und Fahrschule (District Army Riding and Driving
School). After World War II, the United States took over the casern as a
discharge camp for German POW’s.
According to legend, a young German
soldier committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor. During the
investigation, the bodies of five missing men were discovered in the
attic. Their deaths remain a mystery. Poltergeist is a German word that
means a spirit (geist) that creates a noise (polter), Many people
classify these spirits along with leprechauns, elves and werewolves.
Tell someone that you believe in ghosts, and they'll usually label you a weirdo! But not in Babenhausen.
Used with permission from Stars and Stripes. ©1974,2013 Stars and Stripes
