By VETO F. ROLEY
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs may be one of the most haunted streets in the county.
In the 19th century, Ocean Springs was a popular health resort as tourists from New Orleans and Mobile came to the town to bath in its healing waters and take advantage of its location on the Gulf of Mexico.
Aunt Jenny's Catfish Restaurant, 1217 Washington Ave., and the Julep Room Lounge share an antebellum home built in 1852. Bartender Sheri Aiken noted that at one point, the home served as an asylum for people coming to the Coast for cures of their illnesses.
Several may have stayed.
Julep Room bartender Christina Johnson said there was an old jukebox that stood in one of the far corners of the Julep Room. At times, despite being un-plugged, the jukebox would start to play. Many times, the jukebox would play old ragtime songs, records that were not in the jukebox at the time.
"It's an old house," said Johnson. "People expect something."
Aiken said that most of the activities are harmless, such as unscrewing lights. A long-time customer at the bar, Randy Hines, said there was a time when customers would leave the restrooms and make sure the water was off at the sinks. However, when the next customer would go use the restroom, he would find the faucets running.
"They mostly seem to want attention," said Aiken. "Most of the time you see them out of the corner of your eye." She would see someone walk back to a small storage area, but no one would be there when she went to check on something.
Aiken said that customers would ask about a man sitting at the bar, drinking from a can despite the fact the Julep Lounge does not sell beer in a can. Many times customers will buy a drink for a man dressed in black pants and white shirt with dark hair, but there would be no one at the bar. "He's probably gotten 40 to 50 drinks bought for him," she said.
Aiken said the only thing that really unnerved her was when something whispered "Roxanne" in her ears. "I can still feel the breath on the back of my neck," she said.
Still, Aiken said she has "never felt scared" in the building, often closing late at night. "It is really a very comforting feeling."
Aiken, Johnson and Hines said a number of ghosts reportedly haunt the building. A person can be seen
staring out a window on the second floor. On the third floor resides the spirit of a girl bouncing a ball. The house has a vacant apartment that is used for storage. Aiken said moving certain furniture around in the apartment would cause an increase in incidences until the furniture was moved back.
South of Jenny's, at 424 Washington Avenue, is Denham Law Firm.
"I don't believe in ghosts in any real sense," said Earl Denham, a senior partner at the firm. However, he said he believed in what his employees have told him. He said his employees have independently described the same female presence to him a number of times.
The office is located partly in an old house that dates back to the 1900s. Soon after purchasing the building in the 1970s, Denham made extensive renovations and additions.
Denham said the ghost was present before he moved into the building. A recent client said that she and some friends were attending a monthly coffee klatch in the building when the presence walked through the room.
"She was still visibly upset by the experience," Denham said.
The most unusual thing about the ghost is that she only appears in the new part of the building.
"The presence has never hurt anybody," said Denham. "I have never seen her in the old part of the building. She walks up and down the stairs in a heavy trod, heavy footsteps. She will open and shut the doors. And, she sometimes appears."
Between Denham's and Jenny's is Martha's Tea Room at 715 Washington Ave. According to local legend, as related by Ocean Springs archivist Ray L. Bellande, Ocean Springs Police discovered the ghost after sunset, investigating a light left on at the business. According to the legend, policemen found an elderly woman in the restaurant who later disappeared.
Off Washington Avenue and near Old Fort Bayou Road, is the William Seymour Memorial Cemetery. Internet legends, like the list on www.juiceenewsdaily.com, has it that a woman in white rocks late at night at the cemetery. According to the legend, the gate closes behind visitors as the woman approaches.
Pascagoula has one of the more famous haunted houses in Jackson County -- the Longfellow House. Built in the 1850s, and originally named the Bellevue House, by New Orleans slave trader Daniel Smith Graharns, the Longfellow House has long been reputed to be haunted by at least one ghost.
According to stories located on the Internet, such as www.geocities.com, one of the antebellum owners nearly beat a slave to death. The slave escaped to the woods then surrounding the house, but died.
However, his spirit is said to remain at the house. According to the legend, psychic investigators said there were one-to-three ghosts in the house. When the house was used to hold receptions and weddings, staff named one of the ghosts "George."
According to the Internet story, a night auditor, Bobbi Slaughter, had her face slapped one night by the ghost. The account quoted Slaughter as saying, "The slap was loud enough for people to hear it. It was hard enough to leave a hand print."
However, new owner Dr. Randy Roth discounted the reports.
"I don't think it's haunted," he said. "I have been here four or five months, and I haven't heard anything. I think it's just in people's minds."
Reporter Veto F. Roley can be reached at vroley@themississippipress or (228) 934-1427.
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