GHOSTS OF THE PRAIRIE

THE MERIDIAN COFFEE HOUSE

There are many places where you can go and never suspect the location might be haunted. The Meridian Coffee House, located on Broadway Street in Alton, is just such a place. The coffee house is a cheery business with eclectic decorations, a fully stocked coffee bar and even a kitchen for hot and cold sandwiches. On just about any night, when you walk in the door, you will find tables of students and young people, poring over text books, casually reading, or simply spending time with their friends.  There is nothing sinister or ominous about the place and if you never hear the stories and rumors, you will never suspect that something otherworldly lurks in the shadowy corners of the Meridian... unless you are one of the unwitting customers to encounter that inexplicable "something".

You see, Brenda French and Scott Baalman certainly had no interest in opening a haunted coffee house in the summer of 1998.... but unfortunately, they didn’t have much of a choice.

Brenda and Scott first looked at the building back in the autumn of 1997 but renovations did not begin until Spring of 1998. It would be a short time after that when Brenda and Scott would realize everyone was experiencing some unusual things in the building and that the odd feelings, and strange sounds,  seemed to be centered around the second floor.  Once they started to remodel it, they started becoming very uncomfortable about working there alone. Brenda recalled coming up to the large sink on the second floor to wash out paint brushes and being sure that someone was standing behind her. She kept looking over her shoulder while she worked, convinced she was not alone. She always found no one was there and when she would go downstairs and ask, everyone would deny being up there with her. And Brenda would not be the only one to feel this way. Other people helping with the remodeling also felt very unnerved on the second floor and several of them claimed to hear knocking noises... seemingly coming from inside the walls.

The sounds, movements and feelings soon intensified into other things... namely the first sighting of an actual apparition in the building. Brenda was up on the second floor, the day before the coffee house opened, looking for Scott. As she walked through, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a man in a striped shirt sitting in one of the small study rooms. He appeared to be resting in a chair that was situated in the corner of the room. When she turned for another look, the man vanished!

One morning, Scott and Brenda came in early, as they normally did, to get some work done before the place opened for the day. Scott was in the office when he heard the sound of stomping coming from the ceiling over his head.... it was the sound of footsteps on the second floor. The footsteps were very rapid and moved quickly across the floor. They searched the building, looking for a source for the sounds,  sure that someone had to be in the building.... there was no other explanation for the sounds.   They checked everywhere but found no one.
Strangely, this would continue to happen many more times in the coming months, along with a variety of other phenomena, witnessed by customers and staff members alike.

Perhaps the most inexplicable event occurred toward the end of the summer in 1998. At that time, the Meridian had small tables which they placed in front of the building during the day and evening for those who wanted to enjoy coffee in the warm weather. It was late and Scott, Brenda and Brenda’s daughter, Nicole, were closing up for the night. Brenda was in the office, sitting at the desk, and looked up to see Scott and Nicole, who were carrying in the outdoor tables, displayed on the monitor for the security camera. The camera was located above the front counter and was aimed toward the front door.
On the monitor, Brenda saw them carry the tables in and place them to the left of the front door. As they were doing this, a man stepped inside, walked directly past Scott and Nicole and went upstairs.  Even though Brenda had clearly seen the man walk past them on the security monitor, neither Scott nor Nicole has witnessed anyone walking past them. To make matters worse, Brenda also heard the man walking around upstairs.
Again, they were convinced that someone was in the building and the three of them ran upstairs to see. Once again, they found the second floor to be deserted.

By this time, Scott and Brenda became convinced the building was haunted. They had no idea why however. Looking into the history of the address, I have never been able to find a time when some sort of dramatic event could have occurred there to cause a haunting. Over the years, the building has played host to a law office, beauty salons, a dentist’s office, a justice of the peace, an antique store and many other small businesses. However, none of them would suggest a haunting at first glance. Of course, terrible events do occur at times, even in the most mundane establishments. I have never been able to track down a record of any such event in this building though.
It was also possible that the lingering spirit may have simply been someone who loved the building in the past and didn’t want to leave. There was also the idea that perhaps the ghost had been brought to the building. When they furnished the place, Brenda and Scott bought mostly used furniture. It is not uncommon for people who purchase old or antique furniture to suddenly find that their house has become haunted. These "possessed possessions" will sometimes cause the phenomena to occur.

And that has not been end of the ghostly occurrences at the Meridian Coffee House. On an almost weekly basis, and sometimes a daily basis, customers and staff members have their own strange encounters. 

The Meridan Coffee House is located on Broadway Street in Alton.

Copyright 1999 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

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