An evening with the ghosts of The Bee
by ROBERT E. KUPCZYK Entertainment Associate Editor

In a photo illustration, Bob Kupczyk is startled by the image of Aunt Lena, The Bee's purported ghost, portrayed by Bee proofreader Kay Joyner.

There I sat in the darkened building of The Bee Group Newspapers at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, hoping to witness something unnatural ... oh, let's say supernatural.

There are a handful of ghost stories associated with The Bee, and I wanted to see for myself if I could scare up a spirit or two in the more than 100-year-old building.

Joining me for what I hoped was a night of ghostly fun was my wife, Leigha. Other Bee employees were invited but had prior commitments (in other words they were scaredy-cats).

Managing Editor David F. Sherman told me that on certain occasions on the weekends between 11 p.m. and midnight, he has heard footsteps above his office on the second floor of The Bee. Sherman said he was in the building alone during those times.

Taking a cue from the popular Sci FiChannel's "Ghost Hunters," I set up a video camera in the upstairs office around 10:45 p.m., thinking if there were footsteps, there might be something attached to the footsteps - like feet, legs and a ghostly apparition.

Leigha and I then sat in Sherman's darkened office for a while, twiddling our thumbs and keeping quiet. We didn't hear any footsteps. Apparently, the spirits didn't have happy feet that night.

The camera footage yielded nothing ghostly, but there is a knocking sound that's heard sporadically. I won't go on record and say this was a ghost.

The clock struck midnight, and it was time to head upstairs to the second floor, where all of the ghostly activity has been said to happen.

Feeling jittery, much like Don Knotts from the 1960s film "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," minus the bug-eyed look and sleeping bag, I slowly ascended the creaky stairs with Mrs. Kupczyk close behind me.

Advertising Coordinator Jenni Marazita said she was alone in the building working in her office on a Sunday afternoon when she heard what she called "a commotion" coming from the room next door, which holds a copier and computer.

Marazita said the noise was a slamming-type sound, and that something was telling her she was bothering it. She added that the copier and computer could not have produced the sound. Being a brave soul, she shouted that she was trying to work and to stop the racket - and it did, she said.

Employees say The Bee's ghost is Aunt Lena, Publisher Trey Measer's great-aunt. At one time, the second floor of the building was occupied by apartments, and Aunt Lena took up residence in Marazita's office, the copier room, and another office.

As far as the footsteps that Sherman heard, those were from a different set of apartments, and possibly a different ghost.

My wife and I sat in these quiet offices, trying to pick up the Aunt Lena vibe. I had a digital recorder along in case Aunt Lena had something to say.

In the ghost-hunting field there is something called electronic voice phenomenon, or EVP. This is where one records in a supernaturally active building, and a "ghost" voice that wasn't heard at the time appears on the recording. It sounds crazy, but there are many examples of it. Well, this amateurish investigation received no comments from the other side.

I then set up the video camera outside of Marazita's office and focused it on the copier room. I let it run for an hour or so. The camera filmed a couple of empty rooms, but nothing that goes bump in the night.

Speaking of things that go bump in the night, at one point, Leigha and I did hear a knocking sound while upstairs in one of the offices. Whether it was a ghost or a squirrel in the attic is anyone's guess. Now, if I had asked the supernatural occupants of The Bee a question and said "Knock once for yes, twice for no," then the knock would have been a supernatural knockout.

Another story involves Advertising Assistant Diana Niedzwiec, who said she was working late one night and heard footsteps coming down a short set of stairs. After hearing the footsteps and then not seeing anyone walk by, she peeked her head out and no one was there.

Production Manager Karl Scheitheir also said he has heard doors slam upstairs on weekends when no one is on the second floor.

Various members of the Editorial Department, certain they were working alone, said they have heard typing in another cubicle. They get up to look but find no one else at the keyboard.

Leigha and I left the ghosts of The Bee around 2 a.m. As it turned out, we didn't have a ghost of a chance of seeing anything that particular night. The supernatural can't be turned on like the flip of a switch just because someone is investigating

it. It happens when it happens, and I'm sure it will continue to happen at The Bee.

e-mail: bkupczyk@beenews.com