Have you Seen Marie? 

     In the 1970s,  two Milwaukee men, Paul Ranieri and Jeff Hicks, bought an old brick house in the 1600 block of National Avenue.  Built in 1840, it had served a number of purposes through the years, from being a private residence to a rooming house. There were stories that the building was haunted by Marie, who was said to have committed suicide. By the 1970s, the building was no longer occupied and was slated for demolition. Ranieri and Hicks set out to preserve the building for the sake of its architecture and history. 

    The first tenant, Donald E., moved in as soon as an upper rear apartment had been completed, and he worked on the renovations with the owners.  While in his apartment one day, he was startled to see a woman standing in his living room. He hadn't heard anyone coming up the stairs or entering the apartment. She had long brown hair, was barefoot and wore an ankle-length nightgown with lace.  Donald asked her several questions, but she didn't respond. She looked as solid as any living person, but strangely, it appeared as if there were a bright light shining on her, making her brighter than her surroundings. She then began a brief monologue about the house -- who had built it, and when different sections of the house had been added on. Suddenly, she simply turned and walked out the door. Donald jumped up and hurried to catch up with her, but when he reached the door and looked into the hallway, no one was there. This, it turned out, was the ghost of Marie.         
     The following Saturday morning, Donald joined the owners to work on renovating the building. He had brought in and installed a shelving unit from another apartment, and then went to join Paul and Jeff who were stripping off old wallpaper and preparing to refinish the hardwood floors in another part of the building. Suddenly, they heard the shelving unit crash down, and Donald ran to see what happened. The shelves were on the floor, but oddly, a potted plant that Donald had placed on a shelf was upright on the floor, as if it had been carefully set down.

     While Paul was working in one of the rooms one day, he had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching him. He glanced at the front hallway staircase and saw the filmy shape of a woman glide across the floor and melt into the wall! Paul said that the figure looked like the woman Donald had described, but was semi-transparent.  (continued...)