Does a "Ghost" haunt this North Carolina Sheriff's Office ??

GREENSBORO — Deep in the halls of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, in the wee hours when no one’s around, things go bump in the night.

Footsteps echoing where no one’s walking. Employees hearing their names called from empty rooms. Objects that are left in one place at the end of the day and show up somewhere else in the morning. Faucets and lights turning on and off at random.

“I don’t know whether it was haunted or not, but I did hear and see some weird things,” said Maj. Tom Sheppard, who retired from the sheriff’s office two years ago.

During his time in the office, Sheppard had pencils move around on his desk and saw full pots of coffee mysteriously go empty.

“If it was a ghost, it was a benevolent ghost,” he said. “I never believed in ghosts, to be honest with you, but now I’m kind of having second thoughts.”

Otto Zenke

The building, located at 400 W. Washington St. between Eugene Street and Blandwood Avenue, isn’t
particularly old, but it does have a bit of a checkered past. Sheriff BJ Barnes and his staff have worked there since late 1995. Before that, this L-shaped building served as a furniture showroom and residence for famed interior designer Otto Zenke.

And since they moved in 20 years ago, law enforcement employees consistently have reported strange happenings. Footsteps when there’s no one in the office. Objects moving around. Names being called — loudly, distinctly — from empty rooms.

And the epicenter of all that activity seems to focus on Zenke’s master bedroom, now used as an administrative office.

“I’ve had employees that said they’ve had furniture move and things have fallen,” Col. Randy Powers said. “They’ve heard voices. It’s usually down in the front part, the older part, where (Zenke) actually lived.”

Read Full Story: Greensboro News & Record