This Ghost Runs on Diesel: The Haunted Garage

Think your job has problems? Try working in a haunted diesel service shop where ghosts of past tragedies want to make sure you know they are still wandering around causing havoc. Remember how our last guest Cynthia told us about her daughter’s haunted diesel garage? Well, guess who we have on the show today? No, not Phil. We already said we weren’t talking to you, Phil.

Sara Rose is very familiar with Charlotte’s residents: both those who are alive and those who are supposed to be dead. It’s no wonder that so many of the things she saw in childhood she has blocked from memory. Today, however, she opens up and reveals profound things about the world on the other side of the veil.

Watch below, as former diesel mechanic Sara Rose shares her stories of how she tolerated—and eventually befriended—some of the spectral spooks at her job.

Or listen here:

Then, watch part two, as Sara Rose corroborates the stories her mom already told us, and shares her own experiences of the bizarre sightings around their North Carolina home.

Or listen to part two here:

About the Guest: Sara Rose

That’s right, Cynthia’s daughter Sara Rose is on the podcast today to tell the story of the ghost in her diesel garage. Hear how she helped rediscover the man behind the cautionary tale from an old garage accident, transitioning him from the butt of a joke to a helpful tool finder. She tells us, he had been dead for so long, he didn’t remember his name. Just don’t call him Pancake.

Like her mom, Sara Rose has had a ridiculous number of encounters with strange supernatural beings in her little corner of North Carolina. And in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Charleston, too. She takes us on a trip down memory lane, from her earliest memories of having night terrors of the Hat Man and Cerberus, to the time she and her friend saw a Slenderman crossing a bridge.

In today’s episode, Sarah Rose tells us the story of Phil. We just scratched the surface of this story a couple weeks ago when we interviewed her mom. Now, hear it from the point of view of the coworker of this diesel garage ghost.

He’d Been Dead So Long, He Didn’t Remember His Name

I’ll Always Drive A Little Faster Over That Bridge

During the second half of the interview, Sara Rose threw out the term “corn husk demon” as though everyone was familiar with this paranormal entity. Of all the personal paranormal stories we’ve heard, this is a new term for us. Apparently, it’s different from the dolls Becky made as a child (and tried to teach Diana how to make before Diana absconded with the corn husks to make tamales).

What is a corn husk demon?

Sara Rose tells us a corn husk demon has glowing eyes, and guards cornfields. Kind of like the creepy guy in Jeepers Creepers. You know, the one that everyone thinks is a scarecrow until he’s snatching them up with his talons. Or like what our previous guest Lindsey saw in the buckwheat field.

Feldgeister from German Folklore

Korndämonen are a type of Feldgeist, or field spirit, from German folklore. It turns out, there are ever so many types of Feldgeister. We have the Roggenwolf (“rye wolf”) who might just be the inspiration for werewolf legends. Also the Kornhund (“corn dog”) who is probably not the inspiration for the breaded hot dog on a stick. The primary purpose of Feldgeister seems to be kidnapping children. Which isn’t surprising, considering that’s basically what every German folk creature does, right?

There are a few notable exceptions.

• The Kiddelhunde (“titillation dogs”), who forego the kidnapping and just tickle children to death.
• The Habergeiß (“oat goat”), whose ominous call tells the future, and must never be imitated. It’s actually part bird as well, and ridden by the Devil during the Wild Hunt.
• The Roggenmuhme (“rye auntie”), who tosses her long, tar-filled breasts over her shoulders to get them out of the way so she can take the light out of children’s eyes with her lightning whip.

The Korndämon Sara Rose saw was likely the Hafermann (“oat man”), the corn demon who wears a big black hat and throws an iron shillelagh. He is famous for—you guessed it—snatching children from cornfields.

Haunted Diesel Garages in North Carolina

What do y’all think? Even been haunted by a ghost in a diesel garage or kidnapped by a demon in a cornfield? If so, why not submit your story to be on an episode of Homespun Haints in the future?

Until next time, have a spooky day!