Definition
The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.
A demon or spirit.
A returning or haunting memory or image.
I can't say for certain, yet I have seen things myself which I can only describe as 'Ghosts', I have at other times felt a presence in places I have been that I can not explain. And until a logical reason and believable explanation is found, to me these will remain Ghosts!
Residual Energy, Spiritual beings, Paranormal entities, Psychic illusions,
Whatever the name given, we have yet to find proof,
or Find Answers!
Choose one of the options below, or scroll down
Powys Castle is set up on the hill overlooking my home town of Welshpool
Powys Castle dates back to the 13th century when it was a medieval stronghold for the Welsh princes of Powys. It is now the ancestral home for the Earls of Powys and has been continuously lived in for over seven hundred years.
It was once the family home of Sir Clive of India
An elderly woman staying at the castle saw a figure of a man in gold-laced suit enter her room. The ghost motioned her to pick up a candle and follow him. Leading her to a small room the spirit lifted one of the floorboards and there beneath was a locked chest. He then showed her a crevice in the wall where its key was hidden. “Both must be taken out and sent to the Earl in London,” the ghostly figure told her. “Do this and I will trouble the house no more.”
Read the full historical recording of this at the end of the page.
Other sightings at the Castle.
The Ballroom Wing
"The House Manager and a conservator were going into the ballroom as they wanted to see the piano tuner who had been working on the piano in there. As they went up the stairs, the piano was playing but when they got into the room it was empty.
The House Steward was locking up at the end of the day and heard the piano playing in the ballroom from the courtyard where she was. No one else was about and she had locked and alarmed the Ballroom.
Late at night after locking up, the House Manager heard piano music coming from the Ballroom. The Shop Manager who was working late also heard the music. Next morning they found the piano stool some distance from the piano.
One of the building team felt a hand on the back of his neck whilst coming down the stairs in one of the rooms in the ballroom wing.
The building supervisor and his wife used to live in a flat in the ballroom wing of the castle and woke up one night to see a lady in a mop cap sitting at the end of their bed. He was not the first person in that flat to have such an experience. The previous occupants also reported sightings of the same woman.
The Dukes Room
The Dukes Room is located on the cross gallery at the end of the Long Gallery and this area is one of the most haunted in the castle. There have been numerous sightings by staff of fleeting figures in this part of the castle.
Members of the public have also found the area to be strangely crowded – two of them made enquiries (separately, but on the same day) after the lady in black seen sitting in a chair beside the fireplace.
Similarly, the house steward spotted a lady standing by the door to the Dukes Room one day and thought she had imagined it, but later that same day a visitor reported having felt the presence of a woman in the exact same spot.
While cashing up late, the Shop Manager heard loud knocking on the window and door. When they called out to see who it was, there was no reply and the noise continued. They went out into the courtyard to investigate but it was empty and the gate was locked.
Clive Museum
A steward in the Clive Museum was alone and looking towards the area of the fire door and saw a child standing there with long hair wearing green. After a few moments, the child disappeared.
Downstairs in the tearoom, a member of staff felt someone tugging the back of her shirt but there was no one near her..."
It had been for some time reported in the neighbourhood that a poor unmarried woman, who was a member of the Methodist society, and had become serious under their ministry, had seen and conversed with the apparition of a gentleman, who had made a strange discovery to her. Mr Hampson, being desirous to ascertain if there was any truth in the story, sent for the woman, and desired her to give an exact relation of the whole affair from her own mouth, and as near the truth as she possibly could. She said she was a poor woman who got her living by spinning hemp and line; that it was customary for the farmers and gentlemen of that neighbourhood to grow a little hemp or line in the corner of their fields, for their own home consumption, and as she had a good hand at spinning the materials she used to go from house to house to inquire for work; that her method was, where they employed her, during her stay to have meat and lodging (if she had occasion to sleep with them) for her work, and what they pleased to give her besides. That, among other places, she happened to call in one day at the Welsh Earl Powis’s country seat, called Redcastle, to inquire for work, as she usually had done before. The quality were at this time in London, and had left the steward and his wife, with other servants, as usual, to take care of their country residence in their absence. The steward’s wife set her to work, and in the evening told her that she must stay all night with them, as they had more work for her to do next day. When bed-time arrived, two or three of the servants in company, with each a lighted candle in her hand, conducted her to her lodging. They led her to a grand room, with a boarded floor and two sash windows. The room was grandly furnished, and had a genteel bed in one corner of it. They had made her a good fire, and had placed her a chair and a table before it, and a large lighted candle upon the table. They told her that was her bedroom, and she might go to sleep when she pleased, they then wished a good night and withdrew all together, pulling the door quickly after them, so as to hasp the springsneck in the brass lock that was upon it. When they were gone she gazed a while at the fine furniture, under no small astonishment that they should put such a poor person as her in so grand a room and bed, with all the apparatus of fire, chair, table, and candle. She was also surprised at the circumstance of the servants coming so many together, with each of them a candle; however, after gazing about her some little time, she sat down and took out of her pocket a small Welsh Bible which she always carried about with her, and in which she usually read a chapter—chiefly in the New Testament—before she said her prayers and went to bed. While she was reading she heard the room door open, and, turning her head, saw a gentleman enter in a gold-laced hat and waistcoat, and the rest of his dress corresponding there-with. (I think she was very particular in describing the rest of his dress to Mr Hampson, and he to me at the time, but I have now forgot the other particulars.) He walked down by the sash window to the corner of the room, and then returned. When he came at the first window in his return (the bottom of which was nearly breast-high) he rested his elbow on the bottom of the window, and the side of his face upon the palm of his hand, and stood in that leaning posture for some time, with his side partly towards her. She looked at him earnestly to see if she knew him, but though, from her frequent intercourse with them, she had a personal knowledge of all the present family, he appeared a stranger to her. She supposed afterwards that he stood in this manner to encourage her to speak; but as she did not, after some little time he walked off, pulling the door after him as the servants had done before. She began now to be much alarmed, concluding it to be an apparition and that they had put her there on purpose. This was really the case. The room, it seems, had been disturbed for a long time, so that nobody could sleep peaceably in it; and as she passed for a very serious woman, the servants took it in their heads to put the Methodist and spirit together, to see what they would make out of it. Startled at this thought, she rose from her chair, and kneeled down by the bedside to say her prayers. While she was praying he came in again, walked round the room and came close behind her. She had it on her mind to speak, but when she attempted it she was so very much agitated that she could not utter a word. He walked out of the room again, pulling the door shut as before. She begged that God would strengthen her, and not suffer her to be tried beyond what she was able to bear; she recovered her surprise and thought she felt more confidence and resolution, and determined if he came in again she would speak to him if possible. He presently came in again, walked round, and came behind her as before; she turned her head and said, “Pray, sir, who are you, and what do you want?” He put up his finger and said, “Take up the candle and follow me, and I will tell you.” She got up, took up the candle and followed him out of the room. He led her through a long boarded passage, till they came to the door of another room which he opened and went in; it was a small room, or what might be called a large closet. “As the room was small, and I believed him to be a spirit,” said she, “I stopped at the door; he turned and said, ‘Walk in, I will not hurt you’; so I walked in. He said, ‘Observe what I do’; I said, ‘I will.’ He stooped and tore up one of the boards of the floor, and there appeared under it a box with an iron handle in the lid. He said, ‘Do you see that box?’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ He then stepped to one side of the room and showed me a crevice in the wall, where he said a key was hid that would open it. He said, ‘This box and key must be taken out, and sent to the Earl in London’ (naming the Earl and his residence in the city). He said, ‘Will you see it done?’ I said, ‘I will do my best to get it done’; and he said, ‘Do, and I will trouble the house no longer!’ He then walked out of the room and left me. (He seems to have been a very civil spirit, and to have been very careful to affright her as little as possible.) I stepped to the room door, and set up a shout. The steward and his wife, with the other servants, came to me immediately; all clinging together, with a number of lights in their hands. It seems they had all been waiting to see the issue of the interview betwixt me and the apparition. They asked me what was the matter. I told them the foregoing circumstances, and showed them the box. The steward durst not meddle with it, but his wife had more courage, and, with the help of the other servants, tugged it out, and found the key. She said by their lifting it appeared to be pretty heavy, but that she did not see it opened, and therefore did not know what it contained—perhaps money, or writings of consequence to the family, or both.” They took it away with them, and she then went to bed and slept peaceably till morning.
It appeared that they sent the box to the Earl in London, with an account of the manner of its discovery, and by whom; as the Earl sent down orders immediately to his steward to inform the poor woman who had been the occasion of its discovery that if she would come and reside in his family she would be comfortably provided for during her remaining days; or, if she did not choose to reside constantly with them, if she would let them know when she wanted assistance, she would be liberally supplied at his lordship’s expense as long as she lived. And Mr Hampson said it was a known fact in the neighbourhood that she had been supplied from his lordship’s family, from the time the affair was said to have happened, and continued to be so at the time she gave Mr Hampson this account. She told him that she was so often solicited by curious people to relate the story that she was weary of repeating it; but, to oblige him, she once more related the particulars, wishing now to have done with it. Mr Hampson said she appeared to be a sensible, intelligent person, and that he saw no reason to doubt her veracity. I know many persons in the present day laugh at such stories, and affect very much to doubt their reality, while others totally deny the possibility of their existence. However, Scripture and many well-attested relations seem to favour the idea, and the present story appeared so singular and so well attested, and I had it so near the fountain-head, that I thought it might perhaps be worth preserving, and I have therefore taken pains to record it. Admitting it to be true, it should seem that the consequence to the family of what the hidden box contained was the formal cause of the spirit’s disquiet, and of its disturbing the house so much and so long, in order to bring about the discovery; but why the departed spirit should concern itself in the affairs of this world after it has left it—or why they should disquiet it so as to cause it to reappear and make disturbances, in order to discover and have things righted, as in the preceding case—or why this should be done in some cases of apparently less moment, while in other cases much greater family injuries seem to be suffered, and no spirit appears to interest itself in the case—are circumstances for which we can by no means account. A cloud sits deep on futurity; and we are so little acquainted with the laws of the spiritual world that we are perhaps incapable, in our present state, of comprehending its nature or of giving any satisfactory account of these matters.
Temple Manor is beside the river Medway in the town of Strood
Temple Manor is a historic building found beside the River Medway in Strood, near Rochester.
Once used as a overnight resting place for the Knights Templar, a religious order on their travels to and from Dover.
The Knights Templar's were mentioned in Dan Brown's book 'The Da Vinci Code', who were said to have hidden the Turin shroud and other religious artefacts.
It's land now gone Temple Manor now sits tucked away in a small plot of land right in the middle of an industrial estate, Rochester Castle and Cathedral sit just the other side of the river.
The first time I visited Temple Manor was with our school, the whole area has many connections with this past time and the Knights Templar's, the School itself being called 'Sherwin Knights'. Being reasonably close and within walking distance we were taken to do charcoal rubbings and to draw the building, but we often used to go there to pass time in the school holidays and to play alongside the river.
It was on one of these holiday visits that I believe I saw a Ghost, if not a ghost then I have no idea what it was, but something was most definitely there.
The Manor was closely watched by an ageing guide, nobody was allowed to roam free within the building and the guide would always escort you around and tell you the story of the building.
The building itself is of three floors, the lower floor accessible by a doorway at ground level, the middle floor accessible by a small set of stairs on the outside of the building.
To get to the high upper floor there is a stone spiral staircase, encased in an external almost chimney like extension. It leads from the ground level entrance straight up to the top, completely bypassing the middle floor.
The stairs were extremely steep and very high steps, as there was no banister rail climbing and especially descending was very unnerving, and there used to be a long length of thick rope to hold on to for balance and to pull yourself up or slowly lower yourself down. Being so narrow and so steep, there was no room to pass and you had to take it in turns to ascend or descend the stairs.
On this particular visit, as we approached the stairs the old guide indicated for us to go up first, maybe as a safety measure and in case we slipped and fell, or maybe just because he was a little slower than we were and needed to take his time.
I grabbed hold of the rope and hand over hand began to ascend, each step raising my leg high as I pulled myself up. As I started to go around the curving steps I realised somebody was already on the way down, now I had always been brought up to respect elders, to show courtesy, and as I believed this descending person was an adult I stopped and I backed down telling those behind me to go back to the bottom, they were only a few steps behind me and only several from the ground level.
The guide asked why I had come back down and I told him there was somebody coming down the stairs and I was letting them come down before we went up. The guide looked very puzzled and told me there was not anybody else on the site never mind upstairs at the time. Not really believing him we waited about a minute for someone to appear, when they did not arrive we once again started the steep climb upwards.
True enough there was nobody on the upper floor, the rooms or even floors are not interconnected, this was the only way in and out of the upper floor. It is a very unusual feeling when you know you saw a figure on the stairs but they had vanished without there being another exit.
I can not really describe what I saw, at the time I was paying more attention to the placement of my feet on the dangerous staircase, I just saw a figure I took to be an adult coming down towards me in my peripheral vision, I have no idea what they were wearing, age or the style of dress although I took it to be an adult.
But would I have stopped my climb and turned back making two other boys and an elderly guide reverse their path on the stairs if I hadn't seen someone? Was it the Ghost of a previous guide, just a figment of my imagination, or maybe the ghost of a Knight Templar ?
You Decide!
Welling, Kent
The 'Fanny on the Hill' is now, or was as it has recently been demolished to build housing, a fairly modern public house in Wickham Lane, Welling, Kent.
But this pub was not the original building, The original Ale House which had laid much further back from the road has long gone, now part of the park and the cemetery behind.
Legend has it that the highwayman Dick Turpin once roamed the area. His cave hideaway on the top of Bostall Common about a mile to the North is still preserved to this day. He also had another hiding place on the top of 'Shooters Hill' about a mile to the South West, part of the old London to Dover road and well known for highwayman, hence it's name.
The old Ale House was located in direct line almost half way between these two places, both of which within easy walking or riding distance, and the home of 'Fanny' the girlfriend of Dick Turpin. Being located at the base of the surrounding hills it became known as the 'Fanny on the Hill'. Originally the 'Fanny' was a drinking house and brothel.
It was said that Fanny would hang a Red coloured lantern out of her bedroom window when it was clear of 'Officers of the Law', enabling Dick Turpin to visit her in safety and without getting caught. This is Supposedly how we got to use the term 'Red-Light District' to refer to areas of prostitution.
The Ghost of Fanny is supposed to roam where the old building stood.
The Night I saw Fanny
The night we think we may have saw 'Fanny' was on a hot summers night, this would have been around 1972. Four of us entered the park from Wickham Lane and sat on the slope in front of the trees looking down to the wall of the old Woolwich Cemetery, it was way after midnight and we saw what we can only describe as shape, no definition and barely opaque which appeared to 'float' along the top of the wall. Being a fair distance away we could not see if it was actually on the wall or just appearing to be, it moved from our right to our left, then back, and once again from right to left before disappearing from sight. Although we waited a while longer the image did not appear again.
Although it appeared to faintly glow, there was no way it could have been a flashlight, it was too far from the roadway or other buildings to be someone walking a dog at that time of night and not on any useable footpath for someone heading home late. Apart from moonlight and a faint trace of light from the street lamps in Wickham Lane in the far distance behind us there was no other light sources.
Four of us definitely saw something, all seeing and describing the same image.
What it was we don't know!
Map Key.
Red Square: Location of the new Fanny on the Hill Pub.
Blue Circle: Approximate location of Old Fanny on the Hill Ale House.
Yellow Square: Ourobservation point.
Out of all the subjects held within my 'Twilight Zone' on this site, this should be the subject I believe in least, The presence of alien entities and visiting spacecraft is a more 'Logical' belief, we can not be the only planet out of billions to have life, so why can they not be more advanced than us and come to see what we are? After all we are starting to traverse the Galaxy ourselves now, landing craft on moons and planets.
But not being religious, a non-believer, how can I believe in 'Spirits of the dead'?
If they are actually ghosts or spirits, not tricks of the mind or flashbacks of memories created earlier in life.
I have seen several things, and felt many more things scattered through my life which I can not explain, all without a better explanation. I can not say what they were, so I shall just have to call them Ghosts!
There are Other childhood / teenager accounts on the previous menu regarding Black Magic.
But along with the Temple Manor Ghost section above, this recalls my experiences of seeing what I can only describe as being 'Ghosts'.
Laying in my bed as a child, propped up on my pillows and with the thick almost hairy blankets we used to call Horse Blankets tucked up under my chin to keep warm, eyes flickering and ready to close for the final time before sleep I felt something near my feet. We did not have any pets, nor did I have any siblings old enough that could walk into my room yet alone climb on my bed, so at first I thought my Mum or Dad had walked in to the bedroom.
As I opened my eyes sitting at the bottom of the bed was my Great Grandmother, her white shiny hair and narrow face, her thin bony hands crossed on her lap, looking at me and smiling. The same smile she always gave me if I was upset or hurt, I could even smell her, that warm smell I had inhaled many times in the past. Gran would spend hours with me laid across her lap on her chair in front of the fire and television while she gently scratched my back, she had such a calming persona, no matter how ill I felt, how much I hurt from falling over or even how upset I felt if I couldn't go somewhere with my parents or my Nan and Granddad, she could calm me in minutes. Gran was the one I would run to for comfort.
She had not long passed away, and so had Trix her dog who was my best friend through my early years. I never saw her while she was in hospital before her death, I never had the chance to say goodbye, and this seemed as if she had made a final visit to put that right and to let me know everything was going to be ok, to show me she would always be around and looking over me.
She was there for only a minute, maybe two, then she stood up and walked out of my bedroom door, I jumped out of bed and followed but she was nowhere to be seen, I ran around the house looking for her, confused, I asked my parents where she was, but they only laughed and said I had been dreaming, but I hadn't, I had only just gone to bed, not enough time had passed to sleep and dream, she was there however unbelievable that was, and on return to my bed I could still smell her presence.
After splitting up with my first wife I moved into a small bedsit in Eastcombe Avenue in Charlton, London SE7. an old bay windowed building which backed on to the Blackwall Tunnel Approach road, split into individual rooms with three rooms and a shared kitchen and bathroom on each floor. When I first moved in I had the lower front room, the room was about 12 foot by 10 and had a rather ancient wardrobe with no door in one corner and a dilapidated bed against the wall on the other side, the mattress looked as if it was alive the stains and patterns appeared to move.
My mum helped me with my move, it didn't take a lot I only had a few odd bits the ex had let me take with me from our shared flat, but mum had sorted out some old net curtains, a lamp and few bed sheets. We washed down everything in sight, cleaned the windows and stood the old mattress up against the wall in the hallway as it was totally beyond use. I used a airbed as a mattress and planned to ask the landlord what I should do with the mattress when he called next.
Over the next few weeks I managed to obtain a few items from family members and friends including a new mattress, the kitchen was still out of order and the oven or fridge did not work, all my cooking was done in my room on a small Rocket stove, a single burner camping stove that screwed onto a small gas canister, it was enough to boil a kettle or tin of soup, if I needed more than one ring or wanted to grill anything then I went outside and did it in the back of my old camper.
I made furniture out of cardboard boxes, rolling the cardboard into tubes and binding with tape, it didn't look brilliant but it did the job, but at least I had a table to use and a base to use as a sofa, I used the seat cushions from the camper on top so I had somewhere I could at least sit.
Although seven of his nieces from Mauritius lived upstairs, the landlord was as elusive as the abominable snowman, my neighbours on the lower floor were sick of tripping over the mattress in the hall and my room was getting smaller and smaller as I put more in, I so wanted to get the old oddments of broken furniture out, they smelled musty and I was sure were alive with woodworm. Under the stairs in the hall was another door which we gathered led down to the basement, it had a tiny padlock on it similar to what you would find on a suitcase. Despite it having a padlock, the clasp was just screwed to the frame, the screws on the plate all had their heads showing, as the landlord had not got back to us despite many calls, left messages, and after discussion with his nieces we decided we would put the bits including the old mattress down in the basement. My friend came around on the Saturday morning and we unscrewed the plate, the stairs were very steep and not too healthy, but we managed to slide the old mattress down to the bottom.
We found the switch on the wall but the light didn't work but using torches we could see there was plenty of room for the other old unwanted furniture, one by one we started to move the oddments down, the rotten ottoman with broken lid, the lopsided bedside cabinet whose door would not stay shut and finally the old broken wardrobe. It was while manoeuvring the creaky wardrobe around in the basement so it did not block the bottom of the steep stairs that I heard my friend say 'Hello'. The light was dim, only the reflected light from our torches on the walls to see by, I was pinned behind this monstrous box and did not have the full view that he had. I moved around to the side expecting to see one of my fellow neighbours or maybe even the landlord himself, but to my surprise I saw the outline of a woman, quite portly in appearance who walked across my field of vision from left to right, almost as if she had walked down the steps. Then we suddenly couldn't see her, it was if she had walked through the wall. Worrying that she had fallen in the dark we searched the floor and corners with our torches, but nothing was to be seen, no sound and despite calling out, nobody answered. it felt cold down there, damp and musty and we both sensed an urge to get back upstairs pronto.
We looked to see if anyone else was about in the house, but there were no signs of anyone else on any floor, the young girls upstairs were all very slim so we knew it wasn't one of them, they were all out anyway, ranging from 17 to about 25 they were hardly around on a weekend, often out to parties. Both now very confused as to what we saw we took the light bulb from the kitchen and screwed it into the lamp socket in the basement, now with a proper light we could look around better. Apart from what we had just moved down there wasn't much else down there apart from many years of undisturbed dust and a few odd bits of wood. What came to our attention was that the wall towards the front of the house was of newer bricks, it spanned the entire width and made the basement much smaller than it really should be, we estimated that the wall would cross only halfway across my front room. Looking outside my front window we could not see anything but the paving slabs where the bins sat, the other houses had metal plates that covered the access chute which in the past was used for coal deliveries, but ours was covered over so we were unable to look through.
We screwed the padlock clasp back on the door and returned the bulb to the kitchen, at least the kitchen had something that worked. We talked about this a lot, wondering why this newer wall was splitting the basement, whether it was put in for support to the building, to stop dampness or draughts from the coal chute, or was it to hide a body?. We asked the landlord when he finally appeared, but he said he had never even been down there, I cant say i really believed him. He did ask if it was suitable to make yet another bedsit, it definitely wasn't, but even if it was it would not have been me who moved in to it!
Towards the other end of Charlton by Charlton Park my friend Barbara lived in a council flat, these were long lines of flats 2 stories high, and four flats to a unit, she was on the upper floor, most nights of the week Barbara's was the last place to call in for a coffee.
As you walked through the front door you immediately stepped onto the stairs which curled up and round to the tiny square where the doors for living room, kitchen, bathroom and airing cupboard all met. High above this was the trap door to the loft, its panel missing and a big void of darkness. The front rooms were only small, settee along the wall under window, a coal fireplace taking up almost all the other wall, a doorway into the single bedroom and a TV and another chair filling the only available corner.
No matter where I sat or how hard I tried not to look, my eyes were always drawn to this opening in the ceiling outside the living room doorway, forever a feeling of being watched which would only ever cease when the door was shut, not something that happened often as it made the room very claustrophobic.
Normally I could just about handle this, but on some occasions the strange feeling made it feel that uncomfortable I just had to leave, I couldn't explain why I felt that bad, Barbara used to say she could see by my face and the way I became hot and clammy that I was not comfy and knew I would leave almost immediately, but I know it didn't feel right and although I could reason with myself that whatever it was couldn't hurt me, I just could not stay.
One evening I went around for a usual coffee on my way home from seeing my girlfriend and sat centre of the sofa with my back towards the window as I had done many times before, Barbara felt uneasy although she could not say why, yet there seemed to be a strange atmosphere, she said she did not want to be alone and would I stay for a while.
As we sat there the room seemed to change in temperature and suddenly there was a knocking sound from above, I said to Barbara it must be air in the pipes and it seemed to get worse as if someone was angrily bashing something against the water tank. This got louder and louder till it was making conversation difficult, I could feel the hairs on back of my neck rise and although I felt far worse than I ever had before I was determined to stay put for Barbara's sake.
Whatever it was, ghost or not, it did not like being ignored, this time it seemed hell bent on making me leave, when just presence via the attic entrance proved not enough it upped the ante and tried to scare me out with the banging, but that had not worked either, so now it was time to up it even more.
sitting right back into the sofa which was literally against the wall and the two window ledges at each end, there was not an inch between my head and the wall, the banging stopped suddenly and we both said that the temperature had dropped further. Then out of the blue I felt something brush across the back of my neck and shoulders, as I jumped forward I felt what I can only describe as a hand grip my shoulder. If I hadn't been so close to the wall and I had not let Barbara's cat out myself as I arrived I could have said it was the cat behind me. But the Cat was definitely OUT!
It got it's way, after that I could not stay any longer, I told Barbara to grab her coat and she came back to mine. It was quite a while before I ventured back into that flat, Barbara had started to go out with a friend of mine and he climbed up into the loft to store some bits and found the missing trapdoor. After it was replaced I felt nothing in that flat, I never actually saw anything yet for some reason I knew it to be female, and the only time in my life when seeing something or in this case NOT seeing, had put the wind up me. Whatever it was up there was not friendly, not in the slightest!
1992 / 1993
Working for a Nursing Agency in about 1995 I was asked to cover a nightshift at a Nursing Home in Shrewsbury, it was a new one to me as most of my work was at one of two local nursing homes, although it was difficult to find at first the staff taking over the nightshift seemed pleasant and friendly. As usual on arrival at somewhere new I was shown around, given the quick run down of what was expected and where to find the clean bedding, incontinence sheets and most importantly the kitchen where the coffee was made to keep you awake.
I asked what the score was with regards to breaks as this varies from home to home and even between staff teams. They informed me that rather than take individual breaks they put their breaks together and went to sleep for an hour or so, there was six staff on and we would take breaks two at a time in the staff rest rooms. Normally this would not appeal to me, I would prefer regular boosts of coffee and a cigarette and to keep moving so that I did not start getting tired, but it was their call.
Myself and the lady I was assigned to work with were given the middle break, we worked our way through the remaining patients who were not in bed and got stuck in to the cleaning that was expected at that home, basically washing down endless wheelchairs. The night was going quite quickly and it soon came around to our turn to go for break, making a coffee I took it to the rest room on our floor and my shift partner did the same but to the one above on the upper floor.
The room was rectangular, opposite the door was an old sofa and a standard lamp and a pile of well read magazines, against the narrow far end of the wall was a sixties style blue Formica table with a wooden dining chair to each side. To the wall beside the door were two old armchairs which had seen much better days, not wanting to actually sleep because I knew I would only feel tired after, I sat on the sofa under the standard lamp and started to flick through the old magazines. After reading several I looked at my watch, still 30 minutes to go.
Over the years I had learnt to shut down, to close eyes and relax yet not sleep, almost a meditation state, it came from years of resting but being able to respond to an emergency immediately, instantly becoming wide awake to drive an Ambulance on blue lights safely. This is what I did, sat with eyes closed to block out the bright standard lamp and recharge for the last half hour.
I don't know what made me open my eyes as I was not disturbed by any noise, yet I opened them and looked to my right and there sat at the table was an elderly frail lady. I knew she wasn't staff as I had met them all, at first I thought it may of been a resident but then I knew all were undressed and in bed, this lady was dressed with what seemed a long skirt and cardigan. She was looking straight at me and smiling, I started to say hello and as I did so she just faded away.
She wasn't all white and see through as ghosts are normally portrayed, she was as clear and defined to me as my great grandmother was back in my childhood sighting. There was no fear or uneasiness, she seemed unusually familiar, yet it was not my grandmother, and as I wasn't from that area it would be doubtful if I ever knew her.
I decided that I would go to the kitchen and grab a quick coffee before I started work again and let the other team go on break, as I walked into the kitchen the others were standing round and so casually said to me "Oh you have seen her then". I had not said a word and as far as I was aware I was not flustered or pale, it just seemed so accepted that this 'Ghost' would have appeared for me.
2008/9
At the time of this sighting I was working for a Residential Care Company for Abused Children with severe challenging behaviours, myself along with two other support workers and the teenager we were responsible for looking after stopped off at Llanymynech for a evening walk. I had been to 'The Rock' many times as it was fairly local to where I lived, but it was the first time for the others. We parked the car and took a walk up the path beside the towering rockface watching a climber making their way up the face, then continued to walk up to the remnants of the old winch house, then on to the Viewpoint the narrow piece that juts out giving amazing views across Wales and Shropshire. We then continued up the path through the border gate and on to the limestone caves of the mines. After looking around and following the circular track around we bagan to head back down.
At the time of this sighting I was working for a Residential Care Company for Abused Children with severe challenging behaviours, It was a very warm summer night and trying to lose a few hours and keep the young person occupied myself along with two other support workers and the teenager we were responsible for looking after stopped off at Llanymynech for an evening walk.
I had been to 'The Rock' many times as it was fairly local to where I lived, but it was the first time for the others.
We parked the car and took a walk up the path beside the towering rockface, watching a climber making their way up the face, then continued to walk up to the remnants of the old winch house, then on to the Viewpoint the narrow piece that juts out giving amazing views across Wales and Shropshire. We then continued up the path through the border gate and on to the limestone caves of the mines. After looking around and following the circular track around we began to head back down.
We had returned to the bottom of the rockface, walking along a very narrow stretch of path, suddenly ahead of us we saw a young woman heading towards us, she looked like a typical walker, late teens to mid twenties, longish dark hair covered with a beanie hat, wearing jeans, and a fleece or puffer jacket, she was carrying some kind of backpack and a bottle in her hands. On seeing her the three of us immediately took up protective positions around the young person, ensuring one of us always remained between them and the walker, but the young person moved off track to our left leaving the three of usw on the path. As she approached two of us stepped off the track to one side and the other turned sideways to give her room to pass in-between. She smiled as she slipped between us and we turned back to continue our way, all of us noticed a sudden chill run through us, very unexpected as the night was hot, we all instantly turned to look back at the girl, but she wasn't there. It had been just seconds, there was no way she could of even ran out of sight along the path, nor was there anywhere to the sides of the path where she could of hidden. It stunned us all so much that we stopped walking, examining our surroundings to try and establish where she went. We even sat back down and waited for nearly another hour in case she walked back, eager to answer the questions that were running through our heads. We discussed it between us to make sure we had all seen the same thing, but could nly put it down to one thing, it had been an apparition of some kind, of who we didn't know, perhaps someone who had lost their life over recent years.