Monday, October 17, 2005

Exchange Street rumors

These are old, and actually came from a non-local source, originally. I never found any substantiation for them, but still am weirded out by the fact that I found out about them from a completely random out-of-state stranger, and wish I knew who told her about them.

When I was about 12 or 13, I started reading a new wave and pop magazine called Star Hits. Beyond the glossy photos of Duran Duran, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and the Psychedelic Furs, they also offered a Pen Pal Page, where needy loners such as myself could write in and request letters from potential pen pals all over the country who spent their allowances on the same magazine.

I wrote in and the response was a flood of over 100 letters from various points in the U.S. One letter was from a girl who wanted to know about a couple of paranormal hotspots she had heard about in Portland. Pure urban legend schmutz, but interesting anyhow! She wanted to know about a dark figure that was said to walk up and down in front of 41 Exchange Street, and about a body-shaped stain on the sidewalk in front of 10 Exchange Street.

It's been a long time since I had the letter (I wish I had kept it!), and I could easily have mixed up the addresses, or 41 Exchange could be 43 ... but you get the idea.

I of course diligently peered about at the locales I was directed to, but my eventual response to the querent was sadly lukewarm, in the negative, and contained no new information for her, and I never heard from her again.

Anyone else ever heard of these?

I wish I could remember what state she wrote from.... *grin*

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