HALLOWEEN is said to be the night when ghouls, goblins and spirits come out to play, but one North Vancouver restaurant claims to be haunted all year long.
Staff at the MarinaSide Grill, a former sawmill located at the foot of the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, said they've experienced more than their fare share of paranormal activity, which they attribute to a resident ghost.
"Styrofoam containers that we package food in . . . every once in a while those will go flying off the shelf," said Marie Dixon, general manager for the eatery.
"Another time, there was a group of us standing in the bar and a wine glass just came right off the rack - there's no reason why it should've come off. And all of us kind of looked at each other and said 'Oooh, it's the ghost of the building.'"
Aside from things being misplaced, or moving around seemingly without explanation, there have been a couple of eyewitness encounters with the ghost.
One involved a customer who was traumatized after she saw someone enter the women's bathroom, said Jeff Scott, a manager who has worked at MarinaSide for more than a decade.
"Apparently the ghost had a cart of some sort that it was pushing into the washroom and the wheels were squeaking so . . . she thought it was a cleaning person that was coming in to clean the washroom while she was in there," he said.
"I checked with the guys in the kitchen that would usually clean the washroom and they said, 'No, nobody's been in there.'"
On another few occasions, a security guard who was charging his phone on the restaurant's deck said he sensed a presence nearby.
"All the hair would be standing on the back of his neck and he would say it felt like somebody was watching him," said Dixon.
"A couple of times he swore he saw a figure move across the restaurant."
Although both Scott and Dixon are firm believers in the ghost, they do wonder about its origins.
"I don't know if anyone from the sawmill has died in the area and just hasn't gone to the afterlife or maybe it was the ghost of someone from the (Second Narrows) bridge, when it collapsed," said Dixon, adding that she's not scared, but she does take certain precautions.
"When I work late I close the office door. It just gives me some security."
