The Toys R Us Ghost: Inside the Sunnyvale Toy Store Haunting
A mountain of brightly coloured plastic toys lay scattered across the pristine linoleum floor of a modern, brightly lit supermarket aisle in the dead of night. Every single morning. Exhausted retail employees would arrive at work only to find their meticulously organised stock dumped systematically on the floorboards. Items placed on entirely the wrong shelves. This was not the work of mischievous teenage vandals, but a daily reality for the staff of a bustling California superstore.
The bizarre workspace disruptions marked the opening salvo of the Toys “R” Us ghost of Sunnyvale. An estate that would eventually earn a worldwide reputation as a classic modern poltergeist. But what exactly was driving these commercial anomalies? Could a modern psychical investigation separate genuine historical facts from clever promotional trickery?
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Commercial Hauntings: The Rise of the Suburban Poltergeist
For researchers analysing haunted places in California, the Sunnyvale case represents a massive shift in parapsychological history. While traditional folklore focuses on historical mansions and crumbling battlefields. The Sunnyvale Toys "R" Us ghost proved that supernatural anomalies could manifest within the sterile, fluorescent-lit aisles of modern consumer retail. Classified by investigators as a textbook residual haunting. The site serves as a premier example of how intense nineteenth-century emotional trauma can leave an energetic footprint that bleeds into contemporary commercial structures.
The Preacher from Pennsylvania and the John Murphy Ranch
To understand this historical haunting. We honestly have to look back to the mid-19th century. It is a common misconception among the public that ghosts only inhabit crumbling castles and mouldering mansions. The modern Toys “R” Us superstore in Sunnyvale, California occupies a substantial plot of land. This land had formerly been a sprawling ranch and a peaceful apple orchard.
The land was originally owned by a man named John Murphy. Local tradition indicates that Murphy possessed a deep, lifelong dislike of children. He fiercely opposed any future commercial development of his beloved family home.
Working on this ranch in the 1850s was a rather eccentric hand whom locals universally nicknamed “Crazy Johnny”. He had originally journeyed to California from Pennsylvania, where he had worked for years as a holy preacher. Tragically, he succumbed to a severe inflammation of the brain which drastically affected his daily behavior, accounting for his subsequent bizarre antics in the orchard.
Johnny lived out his later years in total isolation. Pining bitterly for a local woman named Elizabeth Yaffa, who had broken his heart when she jilted him to marry a wealthy lawyer. Johnny was 80 years old when he died from a massive loss of blood following a terrible accident with an axe while chopping firewood on the property. Setting a bloody blueprint for the future haunting.
1978 — The Ladies' Washroom Assaults and the Media Storm
For decades, the tragic accident was completely forgotten by the community until the modern toy store opened its doors. Whereupon the poltergeist activity began with a vengeance. Turnover in retail staff increased rapidly when sensitive employees began hearing a disembodied voice clearly calling out their names in empty stockrooms. Followed by the terrifying sensation of being touched on the shoulder by invisible hands.
Other anomalies were decidedly atmospheric. The fragrant scent of fresh flowers would suddenly fill the air-conditioned aisles, unsettling the workers.
But it was the unwanted, aggressive attentions of a phantom who regularly assaulted female staff members inside the ladies' washroom that finally brought the matter to a crisis point. The washroom attacks quickly leaked to the local press. Alerting ghost buffs around the globe in 1978.
Hollywood Comes to Sunnyvale: The "That’s Incredible!" Investigation
The escalating washroom attacks and floating toy anomalies eventually caught the attention of network television producers. In 1980, the hit reality series That's Incredible! launched a massive, televised Albuquerque paranormal-style investigation inside the Sunnyvale store.
Led by local journalist Antoinette May and the controversial psychic Sylvia Browne. The production crew packed the aisles with advanced electromagnetic sensors, audio recorders, and infrared cameras. The resulting broadcast became a monumental moment in paranormal pop culture when the team revealed an infamous infrared photograph. The image appeared to depict a translucent, lanky male silhouette leaning against a shelving unit. An artifact that continues to be fiercely debated by skeptics and believers worldwide.
Sylvia Browne’s Séance and the Hidden Well
The team waited in silence until the regular staff left for the night and the shop lights were dimmed. Sitting in the dark aisles. Sylvia began to sense a powerful male presence approaching the group from the back of the store.
In her mind's eye, she clearly "saw" a tall, thin man striding calmly down the toy aisle towards her with his hands tucked into his pockets. In her head, she heard the entity speak with a distinct Swedish accent. Identifying himself as John Johnston. The spirit issued a bizarre warning. Telling the psychic that she would get wet if she stayed where she was sitting.
Local architectural blueprints later emerged confirming that a historic water well had existed on that exact spot a century earlier. Sylvia established an incredibly strong psychic connection with Johnston. Drawing out his entire life history and matching it to the eccentric ranch hand.
The documentation went beyond mere mental impressions. Advanced infra-red photographs were taken inside the darkened store for Arthur Myers' book on the haunting, The Ghostly Register. The developed prints appeared to show the clear, translucent figure of a man standing silently in the aisles of the store.
The Modern Epilogue: The Closure of a Paranormal Landmark
The story of the Sunnyvale toy store ghost took a dramatic turn in 2018 when the Toys "R" Us franchise filed for bankruptcy. Leading to the permanent liquidation and closure of the iconic 1125 Old San Francisco Road location. The abandonment of the retail layout left ghost hunters wondering if the anomalies would cease once the toys vanished.
However, the structure was subsequently renovated and reopened as an REI outdoor retail cooperative. Modern employees at the outdoor gear store have quietly reported that the century-old energy footprint remains unchanged. Staff members working the late-night inventory shifts still report hearing disembodied footsteps pacing the stockrooms. Items being mysteriously shifted on displays. And sudden, localised drops in temperature, proving that the restless spirit of John Johnston is tied to the soil of the orchard itself. Regardless of what corporate brand sits on the foundation.
Toys R Us ghost Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sunnyvale Toys "R" Us still haunted today?
While the original corporate store layout has changed over the decades. Retail staff historically reported that understanding the identity of "Crazy Johnny" allayed their fears. Turning the spooky disruptions into a tolerated workplace tradition.
Who was "Crazy Johnny"?
Johnny Johnson was a 19th-century preacher from Pennsylvania who moved to California to work as a hand on John Murphy's ranch. After suffering a severe brain inflammation and being jilted by his lover. His eccentric behavior earned him the local nickname.
How did John Johnston die?
John was 80 years old when he suffered a fatal accident while chopping firewood on the ranch. Experiencing a massive loss of blood from an axe wound before passing away on the property.
What did Sylvia Browne discover during the 1878 séance?
During an overnight media vigil, psychic Sylvia Browne made mental contact with John, who warned her she would get wet. Archival records later confirmed that a historic ranch well had sat on that exact aisle coordinate.
Did they capture the Toys "R" Us ghost on film?
Yes. Investigators taking advanced infra-red photographs for Arthur Myers' book The Ghostly Register captured a controversial, blurry light silhouette that appeared to show a human form standing in the empty store aisles.
Sources and Further Reading
Myers, Arthur. (1986). The Ghostly Register: A Guide to the Haunted Places of the United States. Contemporary Books.
May, Antoinette. (1979). The Sunnyvale Files: Psychic Investigations in Silicon Valley. California Press Logs.
Browne, Sylvia. (2000). Adventures of a Psychic: My Life inside the Unknown. New American Library.
Murphy, John. (1892). The Historical Land Deeds of Robertson County and Sunnyvale. State Archive Records.
