Bowling Legend Haunts New Jersey Home

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A New Jersey couple haunted by a noisy ghost this week may have discovered the source of their sleepless nights with the help of a few simple bowling pins.

Mere dozens of miles from the site of Amityville Horror – the first one, not the sequel – renters Jose and Michele’s family spent a sleepless week in their haunted New Jersey home before contacting their church pastor and a fleet of paranormal researchers to investigate the source.

Naturally I was flattered when the family asked me to be one of the first researchers on the scene. I did inform them it wasn’t exactly my main area of expertise, but what could I do? Jose and Michele were insistent so I went.

Now I can’t comment IF this house is really haunted or not – that matter is before the courts right now – but I can tell you now WHO is haunting it: Johnny Petraglia. That’s right, bowling triple crown winner Johnny Petraglia, the public face of Bowl-a-size, who went on to win the triple crown with four consecutive strikes in the tenth frame.

How do I know this?

First, while it’s a well known fact that ghosts in general enjoy bowling, it’s less well known that the whole New Jersey is built on an ancient bowling alley. In fact, New Jersey was once the bowling capital of the world. So whenever I hear of an exceptionally noisy ghost in New Jersey I pack up my bowling shoes and go, knowing I’m liable to be facing a disgruntled PBA great.

Second, it’s a well-known fact that bowling great Johnny Petraglia retired in the area. Johnny was known for his unconventional training regime in life, why would he be any different in the afterlife?

And third, when I finally got to Jose & Michelle’s house, one of the first things I detected was a set of very suspicious duckpins just laying around in the basement.

Later I would advise the couple to dispose of these pins if they didn’t want to host the ghosts of PBA past but not yet. First I needed them to pinpint down the culprit. How else could I be sure this was Johnny Petraglia and not somebody else, say, Bobby Cooper?

Well as you see in the photo above, I set up a classic Bowling Pin Trap to the left of the stairs, knowing that Petraglia, a southpaw, would be unable to resist rolling on those pins, even in the presence of surveillance cameras.

And the results speak for themselves. (See photo above.) It wasn’t long before a ripple appeared on the stairs and the pins began to fall. I immediately advised the family to burn the pins and booked my flight home.

Another paranormal mystery closed.