Gary and Laura Monteleone were starting to build their dream restaurant. As Gary worked on demolition in the building that was to become Monteleone’s Restaurant, he was surprised to find a porcelain statue of the Virgin Mary buried in one of the walls.
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One day during the remodel, Gary had to leave construction worker Carlos Lugo alone in the building while he went to restock on supplies. Carlos saw a shadow that wasn’t his own, and when he followed it, he saw something that was not of this world. It was a person, he thought, but there were just holes in the eye sockets. Understandably, Carlos freaked out.
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The Monteleones finished renovations and opened the restaurant to much success. One night, they were called to the restaurant by the local police on a suspected break-in. The police search, but find nothing. The Monteleones search on their own, and Laura found it quite curious that the Virgin Mary statue that usually watches over the patrons was turned to face the wall. What could have been so bad even the Virgin Mary wouldn’t face it?
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As the Monteleones investigated the restaurant for themselves, Laura began to hear something whispering her name. She dismissed it at first, but when she and Gary heard hard banging inside the restaurant’s walls, they were both very shaken up. As they tried to walk out through the dining room, the cash register began going mad, receipt tape flying through the air. The insanity stopped just as quickly as it had begun.
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While they were really freaky, the disturbances weren’t affecting the business. Gary and Laura continued on, and when the opportunity to expand came, the bought the property next to the restaurant and began renovations. Gary found this weird little “room within a room” in the other building. In it had been buried some documents and a marble plaque. Not sure what to make of it all, Gary took them over to the restaurant for safe keeping and kept working.
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Ellie, a new addition to the kitchen staff to help Mrs. B, had just finished cleaning up after her shift when she began to feel very cold. She stepped out of the kitchen for a moment, only to come back and have it look like a bag of flour had exploded.
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One night, as Evelyn Nargete was alone in the dining room cleaning up the silverware, she got that same chill. Before she knew what was happening, what felt like a large hand grabbed her on the leg. Gary checked it out, but found nothing. Something was definitely up at Monteleone’s. A flying platter of lasagna headed right at him was enough to convince Gary that yes, the restaurant was haunted.
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As Gary and Mrs. B tried to make their escape, the candles on the tables in the dining room just kept re-lighting on their own. Mrs. B freaked out, and Gary was trying to hold it together. He didn’t want to leave the restaurant with burning candles on the tables. Finally, he got all of the candles into a pot and dumped them into the sink full of water. Mrs. B left, but Gary remained, distraught because he didn’t have any idea of what to do.
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As Gary was closing up one night, he began to get the overwhelming feeling that he wasn’t alone. Something was watching him, but he could find no evidence. Gary walked outside, grabbed the handle to close the door, and an arm reached out. Something grabbed the door and closed it, banging it like mad. Heart hammering in his chest, Gary wished he knew what to do about the paranormal events in the restaurant.
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After several bad experiences that day, Ellie was burned by a pot of boiling water that flew off of the stove. Mrs. B took Ellie to the ladies room to clean up, but Ellie ended up locked into the bathroom with a spirit she could only see in the mirror.
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Help finally came in the form of Diana and Robert Calamia. Diana was a local psychic, and was compelled to ask the Monteleones what was wrong. Robert realized that the restaurant was standing on what had been a Spiritualist Church in the 1920s. The items had been deliberately buried by the church to close that portal. Gary had accidentally opened it again.
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Re-bury the items, add in a ritual cleansing, and the Monteleones ended up with a successful, happy restaurant. Read Gary's follow-up interview here.
