I Saw a Ghost Right Here in Colorado Springs!

In Colorado Springs, security officers brief a new member on their site by sharing their own experiences and any information that will help the newcomer to fit in and do their job well. And if the officer is working the graveyard shift, that briefing may well include a briefing on a resident ghost. That is how I learned about "George".

The building I had just been assigned to was a Colorado Springs city office building located in a converted school. Security officers there worked in teams of two, and I was assigned to the graveyard shift, which at that location meant that there were only a few employees on duty and most offices were empty and locked. Our job was to make certain that the building was locked and secure, and there were no problems with the furnaces and other equipment. We patrolled the entire building and the grounds and kept logs of our activities.

Invariably, as I was making my rounds through the building, checking for unlocked doors or other potential safety hazards, George followed me. I knew this because after I went through a door, making sure that it had closed behind me and walking through the office area or corridor, I would hear the sound of the door closing again. I had to walk back and make certain that the door was in fact closed.

Satisfied that the door was closed, I could then continue my patrol. But I would hear the sound of a file cabinet drawer opening, or of something falling, which meant I had to backtrack once more. Even though I was certain it was George, I still had to check. And all through the tour, I had the feeling that someone was behind me, or sometimes waiting for me at the next door. After a few days, I began to greet the unseen presence, explaining that I was just checking to make sure his building was safe.

Our station was at the front entrance of the building, and from there we could look over at the offices in the wing opposite the entrance. We also had cameras mounted so that we could keep an eye on traffic and pedestrians on the grounds and in the parking lot. There were two of us on duty at all times, with one monitoring the cameras while the other toured the building. Very often, we would hear footsteps in the hallway approaching our station. But no one was there, and the footsteps would fade away a few yards from the station.

Then one night, as I was monitoring the cameras and my partner was on patrol, I spotted a man walking next to the windows in one of the offices in the wing opposite the entrance. At first I assumed an employee was working late, which was extremely rare, and I reached for the radio to notify my partner that the man was there. But then I realized that the man was moving into the next office. At that instant it occurred to me that there were no doors next to the window. He was walking through the walls. It had to be George. I radioed my partner to alert him, and watched as George passed through to another office and then vanished.

Later that same week, as I was monitoring the exterior cameras, I saw a figure walking down the driveway. As soon as I saw him, I knew it was George. I immediately radioed my partner, hoping that he could get outside in time to see George. But by the time he got to the area, George had vanished once again.

No one really knows who George is, but I believe he may have been a teacher at the old school. He wears brown slacks and a light blue and white striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He appears to be in his mid-thirties and stands a little short of six feet, with dark brown hair. George is not malevolent, at least in my experience. He is just interested in what is going on in his building, and seems to like being spoken to.

I only spent a few months at that building, but George made that particular assignment a very interesting one. I occasionally encountered unseen things in other buildings, but he was by far the most active, and the only one I ever really saw. None of the guards ever reported actually seeing him, and I have wondered since if he let me see him because I talked to him during my rounds.