Ghost Stories of Texas written by Joanne Christensen, published by Lompine Publishing. The
night Shift Visitor, another story of a haunted hospital, took place in a
small facility in Royal, Texas. A woman named Loureen Fitzer, who once
worked in night shift in the general emitting office, would later write of a
strange experience that she had over the course of several January nights. It started
on one particularly cold night, when the dull moan of the winter wind could
be heard outside the hospital's windows and doors. Fitzer was doing some paperwork at
her desk around two a m. When she heard the front door squeak loudly
on its hinges. The sound of the wind intensified briefly, and a blast
of icy air reached the office. Someone slowly made his way down the hallway
toward the office, and the sound of bootheels on the marble could be heard.
Then there was a pause and the screeping sound of a foot being shuffled
sideways as the visitor turned to face the admitting office window. It was only
then when she knew that the late night visitor was waiting to see her,
that Fitzer finally rose from her paperwork but when she walked over to the window,
she found no one there. Fitzer leaned out of the window and scanned
the hallway up and down. It was deserted. Cursing her imagination, she
returned to her desk. The incident might easily have been forgotten if it hadn't
happened again. But the very next night, Fitzer was mystified by the same
sounds of the opening door and the slow, deliberate footsteps. Again, she
heard the rub of leather on the floor as the visitor turned on his heel
to face the window, and again no one was there to be seen.
The phenomenon occurred on a regular basis. Fitzer was understandably curious and anxious to
solve the mystery. She grilled her coworkers trying to determine if someone was playing
a trick on her. She got in the habit of rushing over to where
she could see the front door whenever she heard it open. Still, she
found no rational explanation for the strange, disembodied footsteps. One night, Fitzer
happened to be away from her desk when the ghostly visitor arrived. From where
she was she had a full view of the front door and hallway leading up
to the office window, but Fitzer saw, or rather didn't, sy astonished
her. As usual, her attention was caught by the loud squeaking of the
door's hinges. She looked up to the sound of the door slowly closing,
but could see that it was actually securely shut. Then came the footsteps.
Although she could clearly see that no one was there, Fitzer heard the slow
walk down the hallway and the sound of a boot as its wearer turned to
face the window. It was then that Noreen Fitzer decided to speak. She
greeted the spirit warmly and invited it to sit down with her. Stay as
long as you like, She said, I'm lonely too. It was the
last time that the ghosts and the cowboy boots dropped by, but Fitzer felt
that warm, peaceful presence remained with her. I have never felt alone or
lonely since, she wrote, I have a friend, and so does the
spirit, whom she welcomed into her life.