One Monday morning a few years ago, a woman was peering into an interesting old armoire when the lights in the showroom began to flicker. Startled, she closed the armoire doors. The lights brightened and steadied. Then, a bit timidly, she reopened the doors – and the lights flickered again.
That’s when she scurried over to Ron, a longtime staffer at FCG. “It’s Mother,” she whispered confidentially in his ear. “She died years ago. But she’s taken up residence in that armoire. Trust me. I know these things.”
A nut job? Don’t be so quick to judge until you hear the rest of the story.
Of course, she bought the armoire. The lights were flickering excitedly as we rang up the sale and loaded the piece into her car. As she pulled out of the parking lot, the lights beamed with a brightness never seen before – or since.
FCG isn’t planning a séance anytime soon, but the possibility of an enchanted showroom will always spark a debate among staffers. “Impossible!” said Brian, manager of our store in Hanover. “Ghosts can’t get stuck in furniture unless they die in it.”
How he knows this for sure, I have no clue, but he maintains that it is possible for ghosts to be trapped in a netherworld between ours and the next. I was impressed with his certainty – and curious. Do these ghosts have special powers? If they can dim the lights, can they predict the Super Bowl? Just askin’ … I wouldn’t mind putting some more money down on the Pats.
So I decided to survey the staff on this important question. Brad, Ron’s identical brother and manager of our store in Plymouth, was a bit skeptical about Mother-in-the-Armoire. But he does believe that spirits have the power to attach themselves to items that they were fond of while living.
“If someone really loved a dresser in life, I believe after death its spirit might just nestle into it for comfort,” he explained. “Then, it gives off certain energies.”
Hmmmm. Now that’s a troubling thought. I really love my new running shoes, but is that where I’d like to spend Eternity? A soul trapped in a sole? What if Diana tossed them out after the funeral?
Brad wasn’t about to tackle that delicate question but he was willing to expound on his theory. Consider, for instance, a situation in which a buyer was drawn to a certain piece of furniture, but the spirit inside it didn’t approve. “That dresser will emit a negative energy to repel the buyer,” he stated firmly.
Spirits, it turns out, are remarkably picky. And they’re mind-readers, according to Brad. You might be looking for a dresser for storage in the basement. “That’s a lonely place for a spirit,” he said. “It would nix the deal.” Conversely, if you’re looking for a crayon and toy chest for the playroom, a maternal spirit will almost carry that dresser out to the car for you. Too bad they don’t come with Visas.
This was all getting pretty technical for me. I had a lot of questions. Do spirits get tired of residing in a certain piece? Can they kick a weaker spirit out of the one across the aisle? Is there a market for luxury spirit residences?
Stop by one of our stores this weekend and see if you can find a kindred spirit in the showroom. And if we find you standing in front of a piece of furniture having a chat with Mother, we won’t say a word. You’ve got my promise.
