







The following story was relayed to me today by a teacher in my department. It was far too good to remain in the confines of our lunch area, so I asked if I could share it here on the blog. It also involves one of our school's more infamous urban legends: The ghost of Mr. Jefferson.





No, not that one. But how awesome would that have been?







Years ago, the school had a janitor by the name of Mr. Jefferson. He was before my time, but those who remember him said that he was a very nice man.Years after he passed away, a few teachers in our old building noticed that some of the classroom doors near the back of the school would swing open or close randomly. This was due to the draft that could occur when the back door to the main building was open, but most would jokingly refer to this natural phenomenon as a visit from the ghost of Mr. Jefferson.



imdb.com Those teachers were sitting on a hit movie and they didn't even know it.







This tended to freak out a few of the kids, but most of them were old enough to realize that the ghost was not an actual apparition of a deceased janitor. Some, however, would give nervous glances towards the doors to their classrooms or even flat out refuse sit near them. This gullible group must have all ended up in one class, because one of our teachers decided it would be hilarious to take things to another level.





She told the terrified children that on Halloween, the ghost of Mr. Jefferson would wander down the streets where they lived, checking each door to see if the children had set out fruit for him outside their doors. Why Mr. Jefferson required fruit was not clear; ghosts cannot get scurvy and most likely do not deal with the gastrointestinal problems that can arise when one does eat enough dietary fiber.



Regardless, she insisted that they must have fruit placed in front of their houses when the ghost of Mr. Jefferson walked by...or else. If they did not have it waiting there for him (and they had misbehaved or talked excessively during her class), Mr. Jefferson would go inside their house and “take care of them.”





Despite the impending death, he would still do this dance upon entering the home.





Some children were terrified. Others predictably laughed it off as a silly and scary tale, but in the back of their minds were mildly terrified at the prospect of the ghost that always opened and closed our doors coming into their homes. The story had spread around the school enough that whether a child believed it or not, the doors randomly opening and closing tended to get quite a bit more attention and gasps than it had before.



