I own a coffee shop in Southern Indiana. I have a room in the back where I spend most of the week. I had just bought this place and after a few weeks I realized how strange it really was.

 

The first time that I noticed some strange happenings was about a week after I had opened the shop. It was getting late and I was closing the shop for the night. I heard something back in my room. I thought maybe it was just my cat playing with one of my feather pens until I heard a pop, like the sound a champagne¹ bottle makes when the cork² pops out. I inched my way toward the door and heard it again. I picked up a metal ruler on the counter and swung open the door. My cat flew between my feet and nearly scared me into a heart attack.

 

I stepped into the bedroom and looked around, but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. I went around the corner into the bathroom and saw that my medicine cabinet was open. There was spilled peroxide all over the floor and aspirin³ spread all around in the sink. The shampoo bottle head had been unscrewed completely and spilled on the floor, seeping⁴ into the mat. I shut the door and searched the rest of the place, which seemed normal enough.

 

After I had cleaned the mess and locked up, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking I wasn't alone.

 

A few days later at about 2:00 in the afternoon, the busy part of my day, I was in my room typing and heard a commotion⁵ in the front. I hurried to the door thinking we were being robbed. I opened it and there were customers lining⁶ up in front of the register covered from head to toe in coffee foam⁷ or soda⁸. I looked over at the machines and they were spraying foam and soda everywhere! I rushed over to it and unplugged it, now sticky and wet myself. I apologized for the inconvenience and offered everyone a free breakfast for the next day. I closed for clean up and called a repair man. He said there was nothing wrong with the machine and it was running fine.

 

Later, after I had cleaned the mess and ate supper, I was sitting at the bar drinking milk and balancing my checkbook when I saw someone sitting in the corner at one of the tables. I stood up and said, "We are closed. How did you get in?" He didn't answer, but stood up and walked toward the bar. I reached over toward the kitchen knives (which I keep on the underside of the counter for cooking), but when I looked back, he was not solid anymore, but more of a wisp of a shadow figure. As I watched, the closer he got, the more he continued to fade. By the time he reached me, he had vanished.

 

Since then, my coffee shop has become a 24-hour "haunted coffee shop," where people drop by for supper, hoping to see the ghost.

 

我在南印第安纳州开了间咖啡屋，咖啡屋后面还有间屋子，我就在那度过一周的大部分时间。我才刚刚买下这个地方，但是仅仅几周过后我就意识到了这里是多么的不寻常。

 

我第一次感到有些异样是在咖啡屋开业的一个星期以后。那天的晚些时候，我关了店门，这时听到后面的屋子传来一阵声音。开始我以为是猫咪在玩鹅毛笔，但是随后我听见砰的一声，就好像我们开香槟拔出瓶塞时发出的声音一样。我蹑手蹑脚的朝屋门走过去，这个声音又发出了一次。于是我从柜台拿起一把铁尺，举在手里，推开了门。猫咪嗖的一下从我两腿之间窜过去，吓得我差点犯了心脏病。

 

我走进卧室，朝四下里张望，没看见有什么异常。转个弯进了卫生间，才发现医药箱被打开了，过氧化氢撒了一地，阿司匹林给倒进了水池里。洗发水的瓶盖拧开了，都流到了地上，渗进地毯里。我关上门，又检查了其他地方，看上去一切都正常。

 

我把地上打扫干净，重新锁好医药箱。我睡不着了，总觉得这里还有其他人。

 

几天以后，大约是下午两点钟，一天中我最忙的时候。我正在后面的屋子打点资料，突然听见前面一阵骚动。我赶忙朝屋门跑去，以为是有人抢劫。打开门，只见在计数器前排队的顾客们从头到脚满是咖啡泡沫和苏打水。我定睛观看那台机器，发现从里面朝四面八方喷着咖啡泡沫和苏打水。我赶忙跑过去拔下插座，当然也弄得浑身粘乎乎的。我向顾客们道歉，并且答应转天免费为他们提供早餐。我打烊清理卫生，也打电话叫了人来修理机器。但是他却说机器一切正常运行良好。

 

把铺子整理好以后我吃了晚饭，随后我坐在吧台上喝牛奶，一边检查最近的收支状况。这时我见有个人坐在角落里的一张桌子旁，于是我站起来对他说，“我们已经关门了，您是怎么进来的?”他没出声，但是站起来朝吧台这边走。我赶忙伸手去拿刀子（我一直放在柜台下面准备做饭时用的），当我再转回身，他已经不象刚才那么清晰可见了，而是变成了一小束影子。我定睛观看，他一边朝我这边走，一边渐渐地越来越模糊。在他来到我跟前的时候，完全消失了。

 

从那以后，我的咖啡屋成了一家“闹鬼咖啡屋”，人们络绎不绝的来吃晚餐，希望能和鬼魂见上一面。

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