‘The Ghost of Christmas Past….’
We’ve all heard stories about ghosts and spirits. There is always seems to be someone who has experienced the strange and unusual. Since childhood I have been interested in ghosts and the after life. I have spoken to many people who have told me their experiences.
Here are just a few of these accounts, I have decided not to mention their names as this information was not received under interview circumstances, but merely in conversation.
Poltergeist?
Mrs w - young wife/mother 29 - Dorset.
Mrs w has lived in her home with her four children for the past seven years. At first there were just a few occurrences, such as lights flickering and doors closing. Then as the children grew the activity increased, especially around her oldest child.
There were sounds of footsteps, scratching and banging. Objects were thrown, pictures ripped from the walls and possessions disappearing. The most disturbing events happened to Mrs w as she bathed. She became aware a of low whispering voice as she relaxed in the bath, seemly coming from behind her shoulder, After consulting neighbours and friends Mrs w learnt that this spirit had moved along the houses in the area. Eventually the activities ceased, the ghost had obviously moved on.
Victorian Lady.
Mr n - ex-policeman 65 - Hampshire
This incident occurred when Mr n was decorating his new son’s home in Aldershot. The building is an old Victorian house in need of many repairs. Whilst standing at the top of a ladder Mr n noticed a figure, that seemed to glide past him. The figure was a woman dressed in a long black gown with a starched collar. Her hair was tightly bunched at the back of her head. The woman seemed very solid in appearance except that she seemed to fade out towards the ground. The apparition then vanished, Mr n decided not to tell his son, as he did not want to worry his young family. Few months later Mr N’s son-in- law mentioned that whilst working in the house he had seen the very same figure.
Bespectacled Boy
.Mr c - college lecturer 36 - Dorset.
Mr c lives in an early 1950’s house in a small cue de sac; he is married with a young son. Mr c has not experienced any ghostly apparitions himself, but was unnerved by the comments of his five-year-old son. The youngster continually tells his father of a ‘ fat boy with glasses’ that sits in his room. Mr c believes that young children are more susceptible to such experiences.
Ghostly Monk.
Mrs p - barmaid 52 - Dorset.
Mrs p has worked in the same public house for twenty-five years; a ghostly monk haunts this pub. Mrs p has seen this figure on many occasions, one day she saw a dark shadow sitting at a back table. She could see that it was monk in a robe, his face shielded by a hood. On another occasion two patrons sitting at the front of the bar shouted to Mrs p that there was something coming out of the wall. They saw a blurred shape slide down the wall and then disappear back into the wall.
On yet another occasion a workman who was alone working in the kitchen late at night felt that there was someone standing behind him. The workman turned to see a monk standing behind him, he then ran out of the pub leaving the lights on and the doors unlocked. The workman later refused to return to the pub.
That Ole Black Magic
.Miss h - shop assistant 30 - Hampshire.
Miss h had just moved in with her new boyfriend, both had a keen interest in black magic and the occult. But Miss h had no wish to participate in any actual magic or rituals. On returning home one night Miss h discovered that her boyfriend was a little more interested in the occult than she realised. On entering the front room Miss h saw a dark shadow hoovering over an armchair, the shadow was undulating and seemed to be evil. She screamed at her boyfriend to stop it and make it disappear. Her boyfriend then banished the spirit and it vanished, Miss h then left the house and her boyfriend.
Little Drummer Boy.
Miss j - student 23 - Surrey.
Miss j lives with her mother in a small council house, since she was a young girl she has lived with the ghost of a drummer boy .The boy is dressed in a scarlet tunic with gold braid and carries a small white drum. This ghost is not always visible and seems to love playing pranks, when Miss j began smoking her matches or lighter would always vanish and then reappear in the washing-up bowl. This little spirit also slams doors, especially when there are men in the house. The boy doesn’t frighten Miss j, as he has always been there and means no harm.
See the Funny (Other) Side.
Mrs b - waitress 42 - Liverpool.
Mrs b was staying with her boyfriend’s parents in the 1970’s in their terrace house in Liverpool. Her bed was set up in the spare bedroom, and after a long journey she decided to retire for the night. In the middle of the night she was awoken by the bed being violently shaken, Mrs b was panic stricken and too terrified to move. She lay awake the rest of the night and the bed shook a further three times. The next day Mrs b rose from bed very cautiously, only then did she discover the family dog lying by the bed. The dog sat up, lent against the bed and scratched, as the dog scratched the bed shook. Mrs b realised that it was the dog that caused her sleepless night and not some angry spirit.