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Dr. Dodge distraught over accusations of cowardice in his
survival of the Titanic disaster and impropriety in his business
dealings took a pistol down into the basement of his apartment
building at 840 Powell Street and shot himself in the head. As
unlucky as he was in his life so was his attempt to end it. The
bullet merely fractured his skull. He collapsed to the ground
hitting his head on the floor fracturing it again. He managed to
stagger into an elevator and out into the lobby where he finally
collapsed. Dr. Dodge was rushed to the hospital where he died
three days later.
The Manifestations
In the late 80's apartment manager Jamie Rodriguez and his
family began seeing a dark figure in a bedroom adjacent to his
office. According to Mr. Rodriguez the figure would only appear
when there were no lights on. They couldn't see his eyes nor
make out many details but he seemed to be looking directly at
them. The figure was big, tall, and had broad shoulders. It
reportedly also had a "little red light blinking right here
(waist level)."
The sightings always occur during the summer in June and
July. He never does anything, he just stands there for a few
minutes and then quietly disappears.
In the summer of 1998 Mr. Rodriguez spoke to the specter. He
said, "Thank you for visiting. You are welcome to come and
go as you please. This is your home." Dr. Dodge must have
been satisfied with the acceptance of the Rodriguez family.
After this there were no further sightings of the late Dr.
Dodge.
Read Scott Ostler's original
article at the SFGate site
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