Joe Poniatowski

A fellow writer on Associated Content by the name of Jennifer Eblin recently published a story entitled Staley Road: A Local Haunting. It has the makings of a great ghost story: a bleeding barn, satanic cults, lights and electrical systems malfunctioning - you know, things that make local legends like this one fun.

Jennifer is careful to point out that the legends surrounding the supposedly haunted area have little basis in history. The farmer and miller who legend says killed his family, did not. She also cautions readers that the property owner is not happy about the tresspassers who park on his property and make nuisances of themselves, particularly in the middle of the night. He has gone so far as to file a lawsuit against a publisher for including his barn in a collection of wierd places in Ohio.

Well, he’s at it again, only this time the subject of the lawsuit is Jennifer herself. Even though she clearly informs readers that the legends are false, and that the property owner has little patience with ghost hunters, the law firm representing him has written her twice, notifying Jennifer that she is being named in a new suit, and demanding that she “take down” the website where her article is published.

The demands are absurd. For one thing, Associated Content owns the site, not Jennifer, who has no authority to remove the article, much less take down the site. For another, I find it very difficult to believe that her article has led to any measurable increase in property damage. Incidentally, the man lost the previous suit.

Judge for yourself. Read the article, and leave your thoughts either there (AC allows anonymous comments), or here if you prefer.