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[whitespace] gym Smells Like Evil Spirit

By Mark Ewert



Was this gym built on an old burial ground or what? Because the moment I entered this popular gay workout space, I felt a deep foreboding. Everyone inside seemed nervous, fearful--almost as if they were covering up unspeakable ancient secrets. When I asked the guys behind the counter if anything supernatural had ever happened at the gym, they looked at me as if I had pulled out a gun. "S ... supernatural?" they stammered. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean, boys."

One of the employees dared an answer. "Well," he said in a hushed voice, "sometimes members report missing towels and gym bags and stuff. Oh, and sometimes we come in in the morning, and it seems like the weights were in different positions than we left them."

"Uh huh," I said, beginning to snap a few shots.

"Oh, no!" they shrieked, truly terrified. "You can't take pictures in here! The managers would freak!"

Clearly, there was a story here. Later that day, I interviewed a gym member who asked that he not be identified by name. "Sometimes, it's spooky in there," he said. "There are strange smells, smells that smell evil."

"Go on."

"Once, there was a guy in there who smelled so bad, I thought he was dead."

Missing weights, zombie muscle-jocks? Who ya gonna call?


Seen something unusual or even supernatural that the kids should know about? SFupernatural welcomes your story. Send leads to: SFupernatural, San Francisco Metropolitan, 1776A 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. Or email us at [email protected].

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From the October 19-November 1, 1998 issue of the Metropolitan.

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