Our Friendly Haunted Tavern

Sam’s Bar & Grill, in Fords, was my favorite tavern, once upon a time. It was famous for its beef dip and its sandwiches. It was a nice place, no untoward happenings. My mother used to go there occasionally. Our county freeholders went there for Monday Night Football. Sam’s sponsored our softball team for quite a few years. My wife and I used to go there: she loved the sandwiches.

But as my desire to drink faded away, we didn’t go anymore and by and by, Sam’s went out of business.

Just for the heck of it, last night, I looked for Sam’s on the internet. Just to see if anyone remembered it.

Imagine my astonishment when I read that Sam’s Bar & Grill was believed to be… haunted. Ghosts. And I found that little video, displayed above.

Haunted? I must’ve been to Sam’s a thousand times, and never heard a word of any haunting. But then who would have told me? Not the owner. Not the bar maids. Nor was any ghost likely to put in an appearance while the bar was open, the lights were on, and patrons were enjoying themselves. I suppose the only people who knew those stories were those who lived in the neighborhood. Still, Weird N.J. Magazine lists Sam’s as a haunted site–so somebody was talking about it, even if the stories never reached my ears.

Gee, I wish I’d heard those stories.

It got me wondering about some of the other bars I used to go to–which led me to the startling discovery that they’re all gone. Not replaced by other bars. Gone. Where do you go to get a drink around here? But then I always liked quiet, restful places, so I wouldn’t be interested in going to any of the crowded sports bars that still look to be pretty abundant. I doubt you can enjoy a quiet conversation there.

So I wonder what I would have seen and heard if I’d been in Sam’s after it had shut down for the night and everyone had gone home. Anything? I’ll never know.