Alan Greenblatt is a GOVERNING correspondent.
E-mail: mailbox@governing.comTwitter: @governing
Politics
Haunted House--Or Senate
The people who work in the North Carolina state capitol building ain't afraid of no ghosts. But that's not because they think the apparitions are a hoax.
"There have been in the past several incidents that have occurred to both staff and security personnel at the capitol that are heretofore unexplained," says Raymond Beck, the capitol historian. "I think everybody on the staff is interested in trying to find the reasoning for some of the occurrences that have happened here," such as doors and floors creaking late at night.
So in November, capitol authorities allowed ghost hunters to inspect the building in Raleigh. Unlike most structures, the capitol, which was built of granite, contains no metal, which can interfere with the electronic voice readings and other explorations of ghost hunters.
Since the capitol search was part of a broader project, it's not yet clear whether researchers have come up with a specific cause for the creepy feelings experienced by Beck and his staff. But Penny Wilson, a director of the Ghost Research Foundation in central Pennsylvania, says that the building's history, including the debate over secession, make it more likely that ghosts could be in attendance. "Any place where great emotion's been expended is a place where you have a better chance of having a haunting."
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