Antique dealers say ghost haunts Illinois business

BENLD, Ill. -- Cheryl and Davey Hammond simultaneously sat up straight in bed, awakened by two hard knocks on the door of their camper. Who would be knocking at 3 a.m. in the tiny town of Benld? Their minds raced. Could it be a burglar? Perhaps it was Cheryl's brother playing a practical joke.

The couple stepped outside in hopes of finding a clue, and saw only two dollar bills crisply folded in half on their front step.

"It was her," said Cheryl as she made her way back to bed.

When the Hammonds bought The Coliseum Ball Room on historic Route 66 three years ago, they didn't know they were also getting a constant reminder of the building's past. They apparently acquired a spirit who wants to coexist with them in their new antique mall.

The Coliseum does feel like a ghost's home.

A life-size Farrah Fawcett wax sculpture, dressed and positioned like a Gypsy fortuneteller, greets every customer walking through. Aisles filled with antique collectibles maintain an atmosphere that unintentionally recreates the old days at the Coliseum. An original stage and three bars are constant reminders of the dancing days the floor once felt.

Hats women wore while dancing to the big band sounds of Lawrence Welk in his pre-TV days are on display. A fedora and cigar box are mute evidence of a gentleman's night out in the 1940s. Shoes, scarves and jewelry seem reunited under the roof where they feel most at home.

This may be the way "she" feels -- at home.

Cheryl says she has seen the ghost too many times to count. It appears in the form of a dark-haired woman about five feet tall. She has never seen the woman's face or noticed details of her dress, since the ghost always appears as one of the many customers who wander about the 15,000-square-foot building. With a second glance, the ghost is gone.

Cheryl is not the only one who is aware of the ghost's presence. Numerous dealers who display their antiques in the mall have also seen the ghost in different forms. Most encounters occur during regular business hours.

Kathy Kuhl sees the spirit as a mist and is never able to distinguish any features. Cindy Majzel, also a dealer, wants more than anything to see the ghost that many have seen, but she hasn't. Perhaps she is trying too hard.

While not everyone has seen "her," many people reportedly can detect a definite presence of the spirit. Cheryl Hammond spoke of more than a dozen instances of people experiencing the ghost.

She said she once saw a customer turn around as if he saw something and turn back around as if something had caught his eye from the opposite direction. The man confronted Cheryl and asked her if the building had birds. He said he could feel small gusts of wind against his face as if a bird were flying by.

There are also stories about a presence in an old men's restroom to the left of the stage. The Hammonds used it when they first purchased the building, but soon decided "she" didn't want anyone in that room. Toilet paper is known to unravel, the tissue holder has swayed back and forth, and one woman said a piece of plastic on the ceiling was flapping as though an exhaust fan was hitting it.

There was no exhaust fan.

Many townspeople have theories about the identity of the ghost, but Cheryl is content not knowing. She does not want to invade the ghost's space, and has asked the ghost not to appear to her face-to-face.

"I'm a chicken," Cheryl said.