History & local legend
The former Hess’s department store stood at Ninth and Hamilton Streets in Allentown. Its busy frontage became the setting for a story about a woman who continued walking there after her death.
People described her appearing at night with a vacant expression, moving along the street outside the store. The legend identified her as a woman killed in a road accident during the 1960s.
Hess’s changed around the story: its enormous sign came down in 1972, and the store itself eventually disappeared from the streetscape. The reported figure remained associated with the old Hamilton Street location.
