The Antique Register™, Inc.

24 Sept-Oct 08
� Feature Story �
A “Haunted” Antique Mall in Tucson?
by Myra and Paul Rees
Do ghosts come out of the past? Most people think so. Well,
then, what more appropriate a place than an antique mall? Here
in Tucson we have such a “Haunted Antique Mall” at the 22nd
Street Antique Mall, 5302 E. 22nd Street.
Here are the facts:
• The Mall has a main store and a two-story adjacent annex.
It was built as a furniture store, with an office on the second
floor. In one booth upstairs was an antique typewriter last used
long ago. Several customers and employees reported hearing
a typewriter typing away over a period of months, but when
investigated, nobody was there. Many customers told employees
there were “ghosts” upstairs.
• The second floor booths mostly contain furniture—chairs
desks, tables, beds, etc. Several times, employees straightened
up the furniture before going home at 5 p.m., only to find it
rearranged, the chairs pulled out into the aisles and all askew,
the next morning.
• A radio tuned to a local station for background music was
left on upstairs while the store was open. Often it would increase
suddenly in volume when nobody was upstairs.
•. The following is a description from an employee who still
works at the mall: “The holiday season was upon us and we were
very busy. One of the employees was coming down the annex
stairs and we both were suddenly ‘frozen’ in our positions. The
people who were shopping all sped up like in a time warp. It
might have been only a matter of seconds but it seemed like
hours. Then everything slowed to a normal pace. My fellow
employee was still standing in the same position on the stairs
with a dazed look on her face. I said to her, ‘Did you see that?’
She replied, ‘What just happened?’ We were both shaken up.”
• One employee was bending over a jewelry showcase when
she felt something brush against her back. Looking up, she saw
a “transparent” figure of a young male with a mischievous look
on his face and then he quickly vanished.
• Several employees and customers were at the back of the
Mall when they heard a loud sound of crashing glass from one
of the front booths. They rushed to the booth, but nothing was
amiss. The booth was rented to a dealer who had died the month
before. His goods were still in the booth, mostly glassware. He
was known to the employees as a prankster.
• One elderly customer advised that he was coming slowly
down the stairs. He’d had double knee surgery recently, and was
having trouble with stairs. Then he felt as if strong hands were
on both sides, helping him, and he reportedly had no trouble
coming down the stairs after that.
• A few recent reports state that employees have felt pennies
hit them on the head or back, but nobody’s there to throw them.
Pennies are being found around The Mall floor.
Recently, we filmed a television commercial telling about
“The Haunted Mall.” On the evening before the commercial
was to be filmed, as the employees were about to exit the front
door, a loud sneeze (“Achoo” – obviously a sound from a man)
was heard, coming from back in the store. Thinking a customer
was still in the Mall, the employees went through the buildings
looking for a person, but nobody was there. The next morning,
the employee who was involved in the prior night’s closing
(who has a dealer booth) found her booth in disarray, with items
on the floor or tipped over on the shelves.
Confirming our “haunted” status, a team of “ghost-hunters”
investigated the Mall in February 2007. Their findings are
published in a new book, “Scare-izona, A Travel Guild To
Arizona’s Spookiest Spots “by Katie Mullaly and company.
We’re in Section Two of the book on pages 173-187. We’re
listed as having “Moderate” paranormal activity. The team
(on their own) wandered around the entire Mall, with digital
cameras and electronic equipment, before coming to interview
the employees and dealers who were there that evening.
Two specific areas were identified as having extra-sensory
“electricity.” One is Booth 52 on the second floor of the Annex
and the other is in the area in the warehouse from the electric
panels to the double entry doors. Paul is very skeptical about
these matters, but that night he saw three digital photos taken
in sequence along an aisle near the warehouse doors. Pictures 1
and 3 are normal, but picture 2 has an “orb” hanging in midair.
Coincidence?
Historically, the one-story Mall building (around 20,000
square feet) was built in 1961 and the 10,000 square feet Annex
added two years later. It was used as a furniture store until the
owner died. It was purchased from his estate, then continued as a
furniture store until the
late 1990s when it was
converted to an antique
mall. There is no
information as to prior
use of the real estate
now available. We have
over 150 dealer booths
and showcases with
room for more dealers.
The Mall is fully air-conditioned and comfortable on Tucson’s
hottest days. There are several good restaurants and small
businesses nearby on a busy arterial roadway. To our knowledge,
the only reasons for the “haunting” are the contents (antiques,
collectibles, jewelry, dishware, art, old western gear, etc.) or the
building itself. The “ghosts” themselves have all been friendly,
if somewhat mischievous. Nothing horrible has happened. We
do sponsor an annual Juried Scarecrow Exhibition in the fall,
and just maybe, the spirits are attracted by kindred presences,
even if only made of straw and old clothes!
Perhaps these are all examples of vivid imagination, but we
have documented all of these events from more than one source.
We have started a Haunted Journal, Book 1, which is kept at the
cashier’s desk, where employees, dealers and customers can
enter their own experiences. We have many pages already filled
with “happenings”. Is the Mall really haunted? Well . . . come
and see for yourselves.
Myra and Paul Rees are the owners of 22nd Street Antique
Mall.