The Toys ‘R’ Us Ghost

This haunted toy store is located in Sunnyvale, California. I investigated it briefly in the early1980s when I visited my aunt, who lived in, Sunnyvale. 

The activity in this store, for the most part, is humorous. But some of the former employees who had never experienced a haunting before, found it to be terrifying. Most of the activity seen in this store, involves toys being manipulated.

Several people who have investigated the history of the land, that this store sits upon, believe the ghost that causes all the uproar is a farmhand, who worked on the Martin Murphy farm in the early 1880s. 

This farmhand, Jon or Johan Johnson, had the misfortune to fall in love with Murphy’s daughter, Elizabeth. But Beth loved another man, an eastern lawyer, who she ran off with. 

It seems Johnson, who was distraught at losing his love, became distracted as he chopped down a tree, on the farm. According to newspaper accounts written about this accident, his ax slipped and either cut into his leg or neck—at which point he bled to death.

The activity in this store occurs --on the main floor, in the stockroom, and in the upstairs offices. 

The activity occurs regularly, and this location has a history of losing many managers—they either quit or request transfers. Other employees stay for short periods and then leave. 

But this ghost has never hurt anyone and is actually considered fun-loving by several of the witnesses. It appears he enjoys playing tricks.

Several employees mentioned that he likes to call out people’s names as they work in the stockroom—when they look around, they discover they are alone. 

Other workers state that their hair was touched, or that they felt an icy breeze go by. 

One long-time employee described the day she saw this ghost.

“He was in his 20s or 30s, he wore boots, a long-sleeved white shirt, and on his head was an old-fashioned grey snap-brim cap. He walked right past me.”

She went on to state that later that same day, she heard what sounded like horses galloping past her. It is known that one of Johnson’s jobs, on the farm, was to exercise the horses.

This is reported as being
an IR photo of Johnson
taken in the store.

Witnesses state he likes to play with them. Late one evening after the store had closed two men were waxing the floors. 

To their consternation, a large teddy bear would appear on the floor each time they started on a new aisle. They stated that this was the same teddy bear that they had moved out of the way several times. 

One aisle on the main floor is known to have the scent of fresh-picked flowers. No one has ever discovered the reason for this. 

Contracted employees have also reported that they saw random toys leap off the shelves, without cause. After this, they refused to work at this location again.

Lights flicker on and off, and female customers and employees, state they refuse to use the women’s restroom. They report hearing someone enter and turn on all the faucets, but when they left the stalls, no one was in the restroom with them. 

Cash registers in the store have also acted strange. Sometimes when only one item is rung up, the total amount on the screen is several hundred dollars.

After I visited this store, it was publicized that several people were bought in to help get rid of the ghost because the store was having trouble retaining employees. But in the late 1990s, activity was still being reported.

The following video highlights this story. When part one ends just click on title of part two and it will start. At the end of this story, the real witnesses are interviewed.

Note: This store closed several years ago.