No, you read that right. Although anywhere could be haunted, if asked to think of a haunted place, a dollar store would not be the first place to enter my mind. Recently I popped into the long nondescript dollar store that is on my way home. It is in a tiny plaza with an electronics store and a take-out pizza store. Years ago it was just a liquor store and a pizza place (I can’t remember which one) and remained that way for at least 20 years. Around 2019 a fresh coat of paint was applied to the building and the parking lot was redone all to prepare for yet another dollar store.
I stop at this one every so often because they have quite a large children’s craft selection. My grandson especially enjoys their thin wooden seasonal shapes. Yesterday I ran in to grab a few wooden pumpkins.
I perused the front isles filled with fall decorations and crafts. Found the pumpkins headed to the checkout. The store was empty except for myself and the cashier. It is rarely busy there, and has never had more than two employees, which I always found odd.
The cashier scanned the pumpkins and as he placed them into my green bag something caught my eye. It took a second to process it, but my mind quickly confirmed that I had indeed just seen a cart removed from the row by the door… by no-one. It didn’t pop out of the stack, it didn’t slowly creep out of place. It moved exactly the way a cart would if a person had grabbed it to start shopping. I turned my head back to the cashier and locked eyes with him. He turned his head toward the carts, “That’s nothin’. It messes with the carts at least three times a day. I’ve seen it,” he clarified as he announced I owed him $4.10, “It’s a figure, like a person, but a figure.” I dug into my wallet retrieving a five dollar bill and a dime. The cashier had turned back to the carts speaking in their direction, “I see you okay? I see you.” He took the cash from my hand and explained, “you have to acknowledge it. Can’t engage, just let it know you saw what it did. If you don’t, it’ll start knocking down boxes and merchandise.”
I was taken back by his matter of fact calmness about the situation. He shared his desire to find another job as he handed me my change and bag. Thinking back to the few times I had shopped there before I recalled that the store has always had a strange vibe. Quiet and cold, almost as if a sadness permeates the air.
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