Sunnyvale Toys'R'Us

"This is a Level 2 haunting."

History
The store was built in 1970 as part of Toys'R'Us expansion to California. Almost immediately, employees reported strange happenings. Toys would fly off shelves, people felt phantom touches, and faucets turned on and off by themselves. It became legendary among paranormal investigators in the late 70s, when it played host to several séances by psychic Sylvia Browne.

Once settled in the Bay Area, the Murphy's bought the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas in present-day Sunnyvale. There, they built the area’s first wood-frame house, Bay View Ranch, and planted the first orchards. Before long, the Murphys were rich and influential, hosting political and social events at their ranch, and helping establish both Notre Dame College in San Jose and the University of Santa Clara.

Johnny Johnson, a traveling preacher from Sweden, sometimes worked on the Murphy farm in exchange for room and board. While working there in the 1880s, he fell in love with the Murphys' daughter, Elizabeth. But his love was unrequited. Elizabeth ran away with a lawyer named William Taaffe from the East Coast, leaving Johnny broken-hearted. One day, while chopping wood, Johnny’s axe slipped, gouging him deep in the leg. He slowly bled to death, and his unsettled ghost has roamed the property ever since.

Those who still believe in the haunting of the Sunnyvale Toys R Us have no shortage of ghostly candidates. Mary and Martin’s eldest son, James, died of consumption in the house in 1851. Elizabeth died young, too, as did her husband, who passed away in 1869.

Then, there’s the strange case of Fred Hoffman, the brother-in-law of Martin Taaffe, Elizabeth and William’s son. Hoffman died on the property in 1894 when he was working on a pump in the farm well. Unfortunately for Hoffman, the well was next to a leaking gas tank. After he failed to show up for dinner, he was found dead at the bottom of the well, asphyxiated from gas fumes. When Martin went down to retrieve the body, he unwisely lit a candle to guide his way. The Call reported he was blown out of the well by the explosion. Martin was badly burned, but he survived.

Notable Hauntings

 * Johnny Johnson is allegedly still roaming the area, looking for Elizabeth.