The Thing

A spooky experience from one Researcher...

'I was in a band with a crazy acid-head guy, and one year, think it was '93, his girlfriend Susie invited us to a Halloween party at this castle in Cumbernauld, which is in Scotland.

'There were about 30 people there and we had a big meal and then did the party thing. It got pretty late and David, the acid-head shared out his sacramental, or just plain mental, LSD. He was pretty insistent about it too: so I accepted the proffered tab, but quietly pocketed it.

We had a guitar and some handdrums with us. The walls were two feet thick, so we didn't care about noise, and we made crazy mad music. David's acid-warped brain sent him flailing around the room drumming on every available surface.

He and his girlfriend, had a fierce, intent, drugged glow and their behaviour was affecting the party's atmosphere strangely. I suddenly realised that they really were glowing, and sending off sparks, then I realised that it wasn't them - just beyond I could see a thing that was in the hall with us. There was a shape, glowing quietly green, like a Kirlian photograph but without anything to generate the aura... A man-shaped space, that felt very sad and lonely. I stopped playing, and slowly the din in the room ceased.

'Do you see it?' I said.

The shape stepped forward. I hesitated, then spoke to it... I couldn't get any words from it but the sense of it flooded my brain, that it missed life, and it missed the days when there had been travellers here, feasts, children, laughter... I told it with my mind, that it could go free, it didn't have to stay here, if it was in pain... I don't know if it heard, but the shape writhed, like it was wrestling with something. It paled, and then it dissolved from my vision, and whether it left or just decided it didn't want to talk anymore I couldn't say.

The next morning, David and Susie woke up late. We packed up and went back to Glasgow. On the way back, David told me that he woke up just before dawn to find something sitting on his sleeping bag. He knew it was watching him and his girlfriend, so he woke her to see if she felt it too, but as soon as he moved it was gone, leaving a faint imprint on his sleeping bag.'

Mauhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

People claim that the killer can be summoned by looking into the mirror and speaking his name 5 times. who is he....?

I love spookies... tell another one!

The 'haunted' pub is next to a disused graveyard
Here a dandy....


A pub landlord has taken out insurance against ghosts following fears the resident poltergeist could hurt customers.
Terry Meggs, of the Royal Falcon Hotel, in Lowestoft, Suffolk, decided he needed the cover after claiming he saw the ghost shoot glasses along the bar one night.



For a premium of £500 a year the policy will pay out up to £1m if staff or customers are killed or suffer permanent disability caused by ghosts, poltergeists or other abnormal phenomena on the premises.

The 500-year-old building, which is next to a disused graveyard, is one of the oldest in Lowestoft and was formerly Eastholme Girls School.

I saw glasses move across the bar one night, and thought, what happens if it does something to hurt somebody

Terry Meggs, landlord
It is allegedly haunted by a monk who hanged himself after being caught having an affair with one of the pupils or teachers.

Mr Meggs said: "Locals know this place has always been haunted. I never believed in ghosts before I came here.

"I saw glasses move across the bar one night and thought what happens if it does something to hurt somebody."

Mr Meggs said that they are currently in the process of renovating the building.

He is particularly worried guests staying in room 10, which is where the monk is supposed to have killed himself, might be hurt by it.

The policy has been taken out with insurers Ultraviolet, which offers cover for a range of paranormal activity.

But the policy does state that "claims arising from liquid spirits are specifically excluded".

Ultraviolet's chief underwriting officer, Simon Burgess, said: "There has been paranormal activity there, and we will treat any claims very seriously, and carry out our normal psychic investigation."

The group has met claims in the past. Several years ago it paid out £100,000 on its Spooksafe policy after investigators looking into the death of a woman who had been thrown over the bannisters at her home in the US concluded that a ghost was responsible for the crime.

Again ...again

hoden, the way i heard the mirror thing told, it was a lady named bloody mary. is that the one you are talking about?

Helloooooo, happy readers and it's Noden, beccalee
not hoden, k, now for whats on what well I just getting some fun underway, read on and happy halloween.....hiya Raineegirl, glad to see your enjoying the read....

Essex Gazette - 05/08/98

A woman ghost with a passion for men is causing a stir at a North Yorkshire hotel.

The female phantom, dressed in Victorian costume, has been spotted by numerous male guests at the 19th century Parsonage Country House Hotel at Escrick, near York.

Night porter Wilf Bellamy said: 'The times I have been contacted late at night by guests reporting 'the lady' are too many to count.

'Only the top half of her is visible, and even that part has only ever been seen by male staff and guests.

Wilf added: 'On one occasion at a private party in the hotel grounds, she floated across the garden and right through the guests. 'It was funny to see all the men just standing there, with their mouths gaping open, while the women carried on as normal.

'Hotel owner Karen Ridley is trying to find out the identity of their female ghost. She said: 'The hotel had a long and varied history as the residence of the vicar of Escrick.

'As with any country house in those times, anything could have happened which would make someone come back as a disgruntled ghost.

'However, I haven't found anything unusually scandalous or tragic in the records of the house.

'Perhaps it is a case of unrequited love or jealousy on the part of the lady. One thing is for certain - she won't let me get near her to ask!'

The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allen Poe
TRUE! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses — not destroyed — not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily — how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture — a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees — very gradually — I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded — with what caution — with what foresight — with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it — oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly — very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! — would a madman have been so wise as this? And then, when my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously — oh, so cautiously — cautiously (for the hinges creaked) — I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights — every night just at midnight — but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.

Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers — of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back — but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily.

I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out — "Who's there?"

I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; — just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.

Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief — oh, no! — it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself — "It is nothing but the wind in the chimney — it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "it is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel — although he neither saw nor heard — to feel the presence of my head within the room.

When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little — a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it — you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily — until, at length a single dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the-crevice [[the crevice]] and fell full upon the vulture eye.

It was open — wide, wide open — and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness — all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot.

And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over acuteness of the senses? — now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.

But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eye. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! — do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me — the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once — once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.

If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.

I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye — not even his — could have detected any thing wrong. There was nothing to wash out — no stain of any kind — no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all — ha! ha!

When I had made an end of these labors, it was four o'clock — still dark as midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door. I went down to open it with a light heart, — for what had I now to fear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves, with perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a neighbour during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been lodged at the police office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises.

I smiled, — for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search — search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.

The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: — it continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness — until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears.

No doubt I now grew very pale; — but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased — and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound — much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath — and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly — more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men — but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed — I raved — I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder — louder — louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! — no, no! They heard! — they suspected! — they knew! — they were making a mockery of my horror! — this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! — and now — again! — hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! —

"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!"