Haunted: Harper’s Pub Clementon, NJ

It began as a beautiful dream – one I knew immediately was not mine. I am the mother of this amazing little creature, this son that I never knew would complete me in so many ways. I am rocking him in my arms, staring in utter amazement at the perfection of his features, breathing in the scent of him, a smell that is forever imprinted in my heart and Soul. This little boy has changed me forever, inside and out.

I began humming him a lullaby, holding him close, breathing him in one more time before placing him into his crib. Right now I may be half starved but his little belly is full.  He has no idea that everything wasn’t right in his small, safe little world and I intend to keep it that way.

I gently lay him down, my arms and my heart aching to keep him tight and close to me – for the warmth, comfort, and the love. My heart swells with this love, swells beyond what my chest can hold.  I swear I will burst open with this love – and with the despair that’s growing. A despair so deep, my body is wracked with it, I am trembling with it. All encompassing love and despair. How can a person feel such contrasting things so deeply at the same time? The love is forefront in my mind, but the despair runs the depth of my soul.

I continue my lullaby, making sure this tiny being that means everything to me is peaceful, loved, and deep asleep.

I continue to hum as I pick up the little pillow – the one that was given to me by a stranger on the street as she looked at me with pity and a little contempt in her eyes. The despair begins to take over. I know this is the only option and that I will save him… I pray to God for love, redemption, forgiveness.  Still I hum as I move the pillow over him…praying that it will not be long until I am with him again…

This is when I startle awake – thankfully.  A scream dying in my throat, the despair wracking through me. The lullaby still on my lips. My husband is looking at me with concern, asking why I was humming so loudly and crying in my sleep.

It started as a beautiful dream… And I immediately understood this was a memory being shared by Spirit. I had no idea, however, what was in store for me later in that day…

Clementon is a small borough in Camden County, NJ with roots that go back over 200 years. In the beginning, the town sprung up around a large and successful glass factory built by Jonathan Haines. It is also home to Clementon Park, an old amusement and water park in existence since 1907 and is touted as one of only a few trolley parks remaining in the US. Sitting in the center of this town, directly adjacent to the rail road tracks and near the rail station, sits a historic, iconic little place known as Harper’s Pub.

My husband and I were headed down to South Jersey on one of the first cold Saturday’s of this year, to meet with a PCINJ client and discuss their case. Hubby has a knack for searching out and finding little known historic – usually haunted – places to grab a bite and some craft beer as we are traversing around the tri-state area. He decided to search this morning for a historic place to could stop at during our short jaunt and came across Harper’s Pub. Although Clementon isn’t necessarily too far from us, I knew very little about the town or any of its history.

Pulling up to Harper’s Pub, it looked like any small-town pub in countless towns across America. There was nothing of note that would draw you in, and in fact, at first sight it didn’t appear to be historic. I was a bit skeptical but since he said they were known to have some decent craft beers on tap, I gave it a chance.

As I stepped out of the car, my attention was immediately drawn to an upstairs window. I saw the curtain shift and a woman peeking out at me from behind the window. Now, while I freely admit, this could easily have been a curious person, there was a strange feeling of recognition I got from the exchange. Putting it aside, because I was hungry, thirsty, and at this point not really all that curious, we went into the pub.

The inside matched the outside, although it was bigger than I thought. There was a very friendly woman tending bar who made us feel comfortable immediately and they had quite a few local craft beer on tap. We ordered some food (wings and burgers in case you wanted to know, both of which were Pretty Good!!) and settled in to watch the hockey game. (Go FLYERS!)

Almost immediately, I encountered a woman Spirit inside the bar and she was not the girl peeking out at me from upstairs. She moved around this place so fast and times, she looked like a blur. She was obviously used to taking care of the bar and felt ownership or, at the very least, in charge. I could “see” her moving things, adjusting them, changing things. I expect the workers likely experience having things they set down moved on them. She didn’t seem to be very interested in me (which I am very ok with) and appeared to be quite happy where she is, continuing what she likely did in life. She may invade personal space on occasion, especially if she doesn’t think you are being friendly enough – but it is all in a day’s work.

As hubby and I enjoyed our beer.. oh, and the food – Yum.. I began smelling smoke – obviously residual – and I saw fire. A large amount of fire, as if the place was burning down. I felt that the building had indeed had a significant fire at some point, likely the early 1900s, and had basically burnt down almost completely. This actually made some sense since the historic pub didn’t appear to be all that old based on its construction. (Later, hubby looked it up and confirmed that the building did indeed have a significant fire)

I also began to get images of gambling, specifically card games, and whiskey or alcohol. I was drawn down to a basement or downstairs. I felt that these games and this whiskey were hidden, or a secret, and this was residual in nature. I would expect this place to be involved in prohibition in some way – but what I was seeing seemed to go beyond that. Add in the woman I was seeing and it had me a little more intrigued!

As I am sharing this with hubby and he is looking at me like I am a little out of it if I am honest, I decided it was a great time to have another locally brewed craft beer. Best decision all day…

As I looked up, I saw this MASSIVE male Spirit fill the doorway of the bar. He was wider than he was tall, but OMG did he present as huge! He was shadowy looking, even to me, and dark. I expect that people would see a large, hovering dark shadow (a dark shadow that -let’s face it- probably scares them half to death especially at night when closing the bar). Although he looked scary and intimidating and caused me to pause in the drinking of this very good craft beer (not much can do this anymore folks), the fact is – he’s harmless and he is acting as a protector of the place. He was likely involved with the gambling and whiskey I was seeing a few minutes earlier – something of a large, wide bouncer maybe. He now just hovers around, looking scary to those that can see him, possibly making loud footsteps at times. Why you ask? Well, to be honest, I think he had a relationship (a secret relationship that is) with the female spirit that loves to still take care of the place.
And he isn’t leaving without her.

So, if you are ever in the area, check out Harper’s Pub. Say hello to the woman Spirit hovering around, enjoy a local craft beer and chat with the friendly bartender. Have a wing or burger and take in some history. You won’t be disappointed…. yes there is paranormal to be experienced.

Oh wait, I am forgetting something aren’t I? I’m sure you are all wondering what that heart wrenching dream I started with has to do with all of this aren’t you?

Well, when hubby left me to use the restroom (he hates leaving me alone in haunted places as I tend to get myself wrapped up in things), the woman Spirit I saw from outside came downstairs to me. I now recognized her immediately from my very vivid, very emotional dream. This woman had indeed resided in what look like apartments of some type upstairs and she participated in illegal activities that are best left unspoken. As a result of an extremely rough encounter one night, one in which she was not a willing participant, she became pregnant. She was actually able to hide it most of the pregnancy but after giving birth, she was scorned and “tossed out” as she put it. The love she feels for this baby is a very real emotion and it’s like a physical presence surrounding me as I sit in this pub trying to be incognito. In addition to her love surrounding me, so was her pain and her desperation!

The desire for forgiveness and the heart wrenching need to see her son again was driving her to come out of hiding and face the “wrath” of the other Spirits – as she puts it.

My dream now made sense. I had this dream even though WE had no idea we would include Harper’s Pub in our travels today. This just shows – we were meant to cross paths with this Spirit so I could help reunite her with the son that has been patiently waiting to be in her arms again.

Spirit is an amazing thing and I never stop being surprised by the guidance that is given and the paths we are placed on without even realizing it. Spirit knew where I would be even before we did. Spirit guided hubby to find this place and us to stop here – even though it is an unlikely jaunt for us.

In the end, Spirit was right. I was able to reunite this wretched Soul with the son that was patiently waiting for her, with love and light. To see the release of this pain and devastation after so long and to feel the love and light, witness the reunion, and have the honor of being a small part of it all, reminds me of my purpose during this journey I call life.

Harper’s Pub – Clementon, NJ – decent selection of local craft beer, some great bourbon available, friendly and inviting service, and Spirits that won’t hesitate to engage if a worker steps out of line. Stop in for a visit sometime!!