This is a silly little ghost story that was shared on a public forum a couple of years back. Sadly, I do not recall who, or where it originated, but I was quite happy to stumble across it whist going through my archives.

I present to you, “Jim, the Etheral Admin”:

Right, so a few years ago I get hired for the night shift at a server farm. Sit around so the company can say they have staff on site 24 hours I day. First day (well, night), the guy showing me around blurts out “Oh, and the place is haunted!”. Miles of corridor lit by flickering lights, server rooms with elevated floors, dozens of computers with screen savers so you keep seeing movement out of the corner of your eye, I’ll be alone, and now you tell me that the place is haunted? Thanks. I figure the guy is messing with me.

Then I start noticing the office next to mine, which is only used during the day, is showing signs of occupancy. The chair seems to move, the door opens or shuts… one night I went by and the screen saver had turned off- you know, like when you move the mouse. OMGWTF? Back to my office, connect to the motion-sensor cameras… nobody in the building but me. I search for motion over the previous six hours. Nada. I decide to ask what’s going on with this haunted story when I see the morning shift.

Anyway, back in the day one of the employees had croaked at his desk. Some blood vessel let loose in his brain, he croaked, the door was closed, and everyone assumed he was hard at work on an all-nighter. They found him the next morning.

I’ll call him Jim, because that was his name.

Jim was apparently the SERVER GOD at this place. All the scripts and half the manuals either reference Jim or have his name in the comments somewhere. But Jim can’t let go. He still haunts this place. The morning shift guys say they don’t believe in Jim, but the last two night shift guys that worked there believed in Jim.

“Well”, I say, “were they friends with Jim?”
I get some funny looks. “No, Jim was dead before they were hired.”
“No. Were they friends with his ghost?”
“No. Ghosts aren’t real.”
Yeah, but you don’t work the night shift, asshole.

So that night, I’m going by Jim’s office. “Hey, Jim! Howzit going?” Work the rest of the night, no problems. I started having half-conversations with Jim. Sports, weather, hot chicks he might want to haunt, server problems, the works. I still see a few signs of Jim-haunting, but it’s cool.

So, one night, the servers go apeshit. I am way over my head. So, I’m on the phone with a few of the day techs trying to figure out what’s going on, when the day techs just chill. “Hey- whatever you just did fixed it.” Huh? “Yeah, servers seem fine now.”

I’m a little freaked. I go down to the server room that’s been giving us problems. Humming away. I login to the Unix box. Check the uptime.

It’s just been rebooted.

“Thanks, Jim!” I say, but I’m really freaked. Later, the morning shift all show up and start giving me mad props. I say, “No, it was Jim.” People look at me really funny.

I installed CS and UT on the computer in his office and gave him a login later the next night.

I didn’t give him a e-mail address… frankly, I didn’t have the balls.