The land past things living is one untouchable to people. Yet there are many stories of encounters with the dead. Though they are gone, no flesh or bones, somehow, someway, they seem to make contact and are able to walk among the living. Few people can see these living-like people — some are unfortunate enough to have an encounter with them.
There are many ghost stories spread and many can be heard around the time of October. People around the Halloween holiday spend most of their time scaring children with these stories. Most are untrue, meant to scare, but some are closer to the side of truth. This ghost story is about the old red-bricked Morrill house on Main Street in Junction, Utah.
Hunting season is one of the biggest times of the year for the quiet, little town in southern Utah. Most hunters go up the mountain, look for a nice deer, take the shot and come back down with a nice prize. This process takes time of course, so some hunters spend one night, maybe three in our little town. Chris and Trish Homequest were one such pair of visiting hunters. Staying in the red-brick home on Main street (also known as John Morrill’s old home), they peacefully spent their evenings enjoying time in the historic house.
One late night, an intruder decided to make a visit inside the house. Trish Homequest tells her story of her ghostly acquaintance:
“I was just alone in the house, in that master bedroom with the bathroom and I was still in bed by then [6-7 p.m.] not half asleep, but in a sleepy state. It was — I don’t know — 10-15 minutes after Chris and everybody went hunting and it was just like the room [had] just changed. You could just tell that it was different. I kind of rolled over and there was a guy standing by the side of the bed. He had one of those nightcaps, kinda [like] the gowns they used to wear. I sat up and flipped the light on and he was gone.
“‘I must be losing my mind,’ I thought. So I started to go back to sleep, but the room changed again. I looked over and he was kneeling on the bed that time, and I thought to myself — and I don’t know if I said it out loud but — ‘if you’re getting in, I’m getting out.’ I got my clothes and jumped in the shower and ran over to my friends’ [Kevin and Jodi Hurdsman’s] house.”
“I didn’t tell anyone. But when Chris and I went to sleep that [next] night, I was getting ready for bed, and I decided I had to tell him the story. After I told him and he goes, “Oh no, that’s way cool.”
“I’m like well don’t say anything because they will think I’m crazy. The minute we got over to our friends house for breakfast Sunday morning, Chris was telling everyone I had a really cool experience yesterday. Kevin got this history book of the town and showed me the page with some pictures on it.
He asked me if it was one of those guys and I pointed to one of the guys. Kevin said something about it being his great great grandfather (I don’t know how far back) that built the house. Kevin then asks me if I am sure it wasn’t a woman in a black dress. ‘It was definitely the guy in the book,’ I replied.”
– by Ari Hurdsman (17) Junction
Feature image caption: One of the men pictured here is said to be the ghost that haunts the old Morrill house behind him. Photo by Ashley Richmond.
Read more about old buildings in Piute County in Piute Heritage Courthouse Has 120 Years of Stories to Tell.
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.