Seeing as we are knocking on the door of All Hallow’s Eve soon, the talk in the office has inevitably turned to spooky tales, talks of the Most Haunted and the latest Paranormal Activity film!
The closest I have come to a ghost is seeing the kids dressed up, ready for a little bit of trick and treating and believe me it is scary! I suppose, it is fair to say, that I am not much of a believer when it comes to the world of witches, demons and general paranormal nonsense! Although, I know many including my fiancée and lots of friends are complete believers in the spiritual spookiness.
So, my spooky story that I want to share with you, is based on nothing but complete fact and has stayed with me for the past 25 years (I know, it’s hard to believe, as I don’t look a day over 21!)
Where do I start? Well, it was the summer of 1990 and my family and I were taking our usual summer holiday break in the sunny region of Gwynedd, Wales.
Our cottage, was in a lovely, remote location in rolling hills, set well back from the road. Very private.
The day which will live with me forever, started off as a normal day – we had a lovely morning fishing and an afternoon walking the hills. After dinner, we got the open fire going, bathed and got into pyjamas, to relax with a board game.
I was sent to the kitchen, at the other end of the cottage to fetch more biscuits, snacks, and marshmallows for the fire.
As I turned the light on, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement outside the window, so swift it could have been a shadow.
A little unsure of what I had just witnessed and with my brain, now very much in gear, I froze for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably more like 2 seconds! Trying to be brave, I marched in trepidation across to the window, to my relief there was nothing there. I shrugged it off as nothing, and thought "weird, I must have been seeing things".
The next day, after a lovely day out in Caernarvon, we returned to the cottage and played our usual holiday game of Monopoly, followed by King’s Market and my Nan’s favourite - Uno (which I got out every Christmas!) I had put what happened last night, completely out of my head and thought nothing more of it.
The following day we were ready to leave at the same time as usual. Only today we were off out to see the sights and walk a few 500 miles (Dad, loves a good walk!). Tired and very hungry, we returned to the cottage at around 6ish. As we approached our holiday abode, the same feeling I had had the day before suddenly returned? I heard Dad shout "Judith, did you not shut the front door", "Yes" Mum abruptly replied and on that note Dad apprehensively opened the door to find that we had been burgled. It was then that I realised that what I had seen wasn’t a figment of my imagination, but an actual burglar scouting the cottage. I told Mum, Dad and the police what I seen, and apologised for not telling them the day before. The thought that we were being watched for however long, really did creep me out.
To this day, I am sometimes catapulted back in time to that moment and wonder "What if, I had have told my parents when I returned to them", "what if, I had have checked outside the cottage" would it have been prevented? Unfortunately, I can’t turn back time, so guilt is a void emotion. Nevertheless, since that day, I have never again ignored my gut feelings.
Although this is not a ‘ghost’ story, I thought it would be a good time to share and I just hope that you take something away from this to keep safe:
- Trust your gut feelings
- Mix up your routine
- Never be scared or feel stupid in telling someone what you saw, heard or felt
If I had done this, who knows we may not have been burgled? Thankfully, on this occasion no one was hurt and only material possessions were lost.
Have you got any spooky tales, or factual happenings? Please share them us.
Stay safe over the weekend but most of all Happy Halloween!
