For years, employees at the Cochise County Superior Courthouse have shared stories of a ghost haunting its hallways.

He's known to hang out in his old courtroom, and has even made an appearance in the old jail, which now serves as a storage area.

One woman got up close and personal with the ghostly figure.

Kelly Jarrell says, "I was coming up the stairs doing my normal everyday, oh I gotta go to the jail thing."

But what Kelly Jarrell saw next was anything but normal. You could call it more of a paranormal experience.

"I was coming out of the cell with the file in my hand. When I came out I was right here and I saw the form sitting. It really frightened me. He was sitting, looking straight ahead like a stern grandfather."

Before Kelly could even think, her feet were moving fast, as she ran down two flights of stairs.

Jarrell says, "I locked the gate and later I'm realizing if it was really a ghost I saw the gate and chain wouldn't keep him in."

So who is the stern grandfather like figure haunting the halls of the Cochise County Courthouse?

Employees believe it is Judge John Ross.

They've seen his shadow scurrying across his old courtroom and they often smell the smoke from his burning cigar.

Judge Ross was the first judge to work at the courthouse.

Some say his spirit shines on because the judge still believes the courthouse is his home.

Jarrell says, "They had just done re-modeling of the courthouse and put new back doors in downstairs and I was thinking he was here because they were messing with his house."

These days Kelly won't go up to the old jail by herself.

She's convinced Judge Ross is waiting for the right time to show himself again.

"There's a reason he's here. I don't want to know what the reason is, but there's a reason he's here."

Perhaps some secrets are better left unspoken.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on KVOA News 4 Tucson, Arizona