Queer Paranormal Road Trip: Switch Nightclub

A gay bar can be a frightening place when you've just come out of the closet.

Sometimes, those fears have nothing to do with repressed feelings and everything to do with suppressed spirits of the past.

Switch Nightclub, formerly known as Connexions, on Myrtle Avenue in Boonton, is one of the few gay clubs in northern New Jersey. While they no longer serve food, you can still stop in for a cocktail, dancing, or their Wednesday night drag shows. And if you come for spirits, you may find more than the bottled variety.

The former kitchen within Switch has been plagued by uncomfortable phenomena for quite some time. Doors have opened and closed as invisible trespassers pass through without a care for the living. One of the former chefs always had a feeling she was never alone.

The nightclub resides in the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Station, built around 1903. The Eastbound depot houses the club and passengers still ride the nearby New Jersey Transit on their daily commutes. Apparently, the railway left behind more than its history.

Another entity has made herself known in the underground pedestrian tunnel leading beneath the tracks to the rear parking lot. It is allegedly the ghost of a little girl who was hit and killed by a train decades ago. Footsteps have been heard and light bulbs have mysteriously exploded. Past employees have refused to venture into the tunnel alone after dark and many customers have felt extremely uncomfortable there.

Whether you're in the mood for some live entertainment or just a chance encounter with the dead, this nightclub has something for everyone.

With the loud music and drunken debauchery happening on a nightly basis, it's a wonder the spirits can adjust to the new atmosphere. But perhaps even ghosts like to let loose a little bit.