Walking with the Dead (Haunted Pub)

Liverpool Daily Post ^ | 26 Apr 2004 | Mike Chapple

[CurlyBill]

I want to see the closed-circuit TV footage.

Yeah, I do too. I read reports like this all the time. There must be on hell of a lot of footage out there that has never been aired.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Figured I'd just copy my story from the website - here's the link for anyone interested - http://www.ghosts.org/stories/tales/airforce-ghost.html


Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories
Subject: Military Ghosts
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 18:15:00 GMT


Well, first off, let me say that this story does not represent the opinion of the United States Military in anyway, nor does it reflect on any offic- ial military history. It is personal experience, along with some recollec- tions from some folks that served in the same maintenance shop I was in. That disclaimer having been made, let's go...

I'm a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force, serving at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada. I've been here nearly 10 years, having arrived on station in on 1 Nov 84. I was initially assigned to the Jet Engine Intermediate Mainten- ance Facility, Bld 858. I'm a jet engine mechanic.

Building 858 is a mutt of a building, initially being built in the mid 1960s as a single hangar. Later, they added a larger hangar behind the original and yet another hangar later. I don't know the full history of the building, of things that may have happened in it, or of the site that it is built upon. I do know from personal experience that there were some strange things happening in it.

My first experience with "the ghost of 858" was back in 1987. I was wor- king swingshift, acting as the NCOIC of the newly formed -220 maintenance section. The other squadron we shared the building with had gone home, as had the other maintenance sections. I was alone in the building, waiting for the last F-15 and F-16 sorties to come down for the night. I can't re- call the exact times, but it was between 0000 and 0100. I was sitting at a desk in the office, in front of an open doorway that faced out into our maintenance bay. The bay is approximately 40 feet wide, 100 feet deep, and about 2.5 stories tall at the top of the peaked roof. From my desk, I could look out the door and see almost wall to wall along the width of the building, and as the office was against the end wall of the bay, I could see the entire length of the bay.

I was reading a book, and suddenly I could hear footsteps. I was expecting the CRS Expediter to come in, so I immediately thought it was him entering the bay, but I didn't hear the fire doors open. I looked up, and could see no one in the bay. Leaving my office, I stepped out in the bay, called out, and got no response. Shrugging off the incident, I returned to my desk and my book. Then, through the peripheral vision above the book (hard to ex- plain what I mean... you're reading and see stuff above the top of the book) I saw someone walking across the width of the bay. I looked up, and saw no one. Now I start to get the chills. Reading again, I hear the footsteps again, and also see the person walking the bay once more. Looking up, though, there is no one there. I get up, walk a security check around the bay, find no doors unsecure, and no one is there. I get that spooky feel- ing though that I am being watched.

Shortly after this, CRS Expediter comes in, the fire doors banging (as us- ual) when he enters the building. These doors are the only entrance to the bay after hours. I convince him to walk a security check with me through the facility. We find no doors open, no one else in the facility.

I mention this to a friend of mine the next day, and he replies that it isn't unusual to hear footsteps in the bay. He had the same experience, numerous times, as well as seeing the figure in the bay. I'll continue in the next message.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories
Subject: More Military Ghosts
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 18:47:00 GMT


Next to the 220 bay was the J-85 bay. This bay ran the same length and width as the 220 bay, with a ceiling to floor wall dividing them. At the south end of the J-85 bay was a roll up fire door that led into a warren of offices. The hallway that fed these offices was wood paneled, about 30 feet long, and the walls were about 7 feet high, leaving the tops of the offices open to the roof of the building, approximately 7 or 8 feet over head. The J-85 bay and the 220 bay were joined by a double fire door, at the middle of their length. On security check one evening, prior to shut- ting down for the night, I stepped through the double door to make sure the 85 bay was secure.

I moved towards the hallway at the south end of the bay. All bay lighting was off, except for the emergency overheads (always on in case of power failures, or for entering the building) As I prepared to move down the hallway, I could see that "something" appeared to be on the southern wall where the hall "L"d to the east to join the break room. It appeared to be just a gray mass of dim light, floating approximately 5 feet off the ground, at the far end of the hall. Looking at it, it appeared to be slow- ly roiling upon itself. It was dim, and to the best of my memory, was cas- ting no light upon the ground. The hallway and office warren had no lights on in it, no emergency lighting was active in that section.

I stepped about 2 paces into the hall to investigate when all the hair on the back of my neck stood up, I got goosebumps, and something inside of me said that going down there could be a major mistake. Rather than stay and investigate or have it approach and investigate me, I turned and made a ha- sty retreat (read: ran like hell) back to the full lighting of the 220 bay.

I brought up this experience later on with a coworker from the other squad- ron, and he told me of an experience he had in the breakroom that the "L" in the hallway led too. He had stepped in there a month prior to my exper- ience, to get a soda. The double fire doors between the breakroom and the hallway were closed and latched. The lighting in the breakroom was off, the only illumination being from the soda machine and the candy machine. As he stepped into the room to go to the machines, he noticed a light in the cracks of the fire doors. Unlike mine, his was a bright light, as bright as a jetlight being held to the cracks (note, a jetlight is a work- light, made from an automobile headlight, and powered by wall current run- ning through a transformer, this gives you an idea of how bright this light was). The light was at the crack at the middle of the doors, halfway off the floor. It moved up to the crack at the top, moved slowly right and left, then back down. It moved to the crack at the floor and again moved left and right before returning to the middle crack, halfway off the floor. Brad said that the movement took approximately a minute and a half. He reached for the door, expecting to expose a co-worker in a prank, but as he touched the door, the light dimmed, and stopped moving. Jet lights don't dim, they go out completely, and like me, he got an immediate reaction from the hair on the back of his neck, and the goose bumps. He turned, as I did, and beat a hasty retreat back to his maintenance crew.

Several of us have had various experiences in the building, and were sit- ting around one night relating them to one another. People have seen lights floating in the dark and tried to explain them away as brake lights from a passing car, despite the fact that the only window in the bay was 1 foot by 1 foot, and 15 feet below where the lights were seen. People have seen figures walking the bays, footsteps when they were all alone. Doors slam in the maintenance bays at odd hours, equipment gets moved around, 2 ton cable hoists are seen swinging, when there is no one to be moving them.

Brad and I were teased by our supervisor regarding this. We were working in the 85 bay one evening, and she came down the hallway going "Whoooo... whooo..... hey guys, I'm talking to the ghosts!" We told her not to joke around... no telling who might be listening. We then closed our tool box, and left through the doors in the common wall.

As we were turning in our equipment, she came running up another hallway that joined two of the hangars. She was yelling at us, demanding to know how we did what we did, indignant that we tried to scare her. Seems that after we left, she went to shut off the overhead lights in the bay. As she hit the switches on the east side of the bay, she looked up at a light that hadn't gone out, but was quite dim. She then realized that it wasn't one of the overhead lights, but "something", assuming it was a prank Brad and I were pulling. As she took a few steps towards this light, which was appro- ximately 20 feet off the ground, it suddenly dropped, and began moving to- wards her. She then panicked (as I had done) and ran down the southern hallway, through the breakroom, down another maintenance bay, through the adjoining hallway and up to where Brad and I were inventorying our tools. She was attempting to hide her fear with indignation, but failed miserably. When she asked us to go investigate what it was, we refused. She then (jokingly) ordered us to do it. Again, we refused, explaining that if she was going to order us to do something, she'd have to be willing to do it herself, at which point she refused. When we later explained what happened to the Master Sergeant in charge of the shift, he also refused to go to the 85 bay to take a look, saying he'd rather do it in daylight. It seems (from talking one on one with him later) that he'd had several experiences in the bays as well, but vehemently refused to talk about them.

[CurlyBill]

That was an excellent story. Any idea what's going on there now?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Not a clue - I left in 1994. Haven't been back since.

[Ditter]

Ping me after your trip to Kentucky. I am intrested in this kind of stuff too. Thanks, Ditter.

[Hatteras]

Ghost stories bump...

[defendingright]

My belief is that a fairly high percentage of these "ghost" sightings can be explained away as natural phenomenon (car lights, houses settling, etc.). However, a number of these events must be considered as legitimate.
Personally, I don't believe people can come back from the dead. I base this believe on biblical writings. I do, however, believe there are things such as demons. And I believe they can (if we allow them and God so permits it) manipulate our minds into seeing all kinds of things.

Just my thoughts.

[JimRed]

The barman has been sampling his own products...

[Badeye]

I'll try to remember everybody that requests a ping when I get down there.

[CurlyBill]

I'm still a skeptic, but less so after my father died. I was actually a diehard skeptic until that time. First off, let me tell you that I have personally not had any real experiences other than hearing things in my old office when I knew that I was the only person in the building. My mother could only be described as anti-paranormal if there is such a thing. She has never talked about ghosts or anything supernatural.
She would laugh when others talked about these type of things and she was a skeptic by just about any standard. My father
died unexpectedly of a heart attack in May 00. It was a huge shock to the family and his loss has weighed heavily on us since
that day. About two years ago, I was talking to my mother on the phone. I could tell something was up and that she wanted
to tell me something. I asked her what was the matter and told her that she sounded like she wanted to tell me something. She
then said "I don't know if I should tell you this or not..." Of course, my curiosity was peaked and I insisted that she tell me.
She then told me that during the previous week, she was sitting up in bed watching TV when she suddenly heard someone
whistle. Not just any whistle, but a unique whistle my father would do when he wanted to get her attention. She said it
souded like it came from about 8 feet away in the direction of the interior wall. There was nobody else in the house (she lives
by herself) and there was nobody outside of the house who would have been able to do this. She insisted that she was wide
awake and not dreaming, and that she was not hearing things. She also told me recently that he is still in the house with her.
She didn't elaborate on the phone, and she lives out of state. I will be seeing her within the next couple of months, so I will
get the full story then. There have been other instances, smelling his cologne, which hasn't been in the house in nearly 4
years. Sounds, things being moved, etc. She told me there's definitely a presence there. My mother never would have even
entertained this type of thing 5 years ago.... that's what makes this more intriguing to me.

[Ditter]

Good story.

My parents were total non believers too. Years ago they were visiting me when I lived out in the country. At dusk we heard children laughing out side. The dogs heard it too & ran around the house. We waited for the doorbell to ring but it did not. A few minutes later we heard childrens laughter again & again the dogs ran around the house (outside) barking.

No one was out there. I laughingly said it must be ghost children. My parents were obviously upset & they left.

A few days later I mention to an older man who had lived in the area for many years. He said that I had heard the children who had burned up in the fire.
He said about 1900 there was a house across the creek from where our house stood & a family burned to death in it. He & a friend were out coon hunting on the creek in the 1950's & had heard the screams of the children who had burned up.
He said he was very glad I had heard their laughter because if I had heard their screams would have wanted to move.
I lived there for 16 years & heard the laughter 2 more times but I never heard the screams.

I hope you will remember to ping me when you are ready to tell about your trip home.

[Robert Teesdale]

Nothing like a good ghost story.

Have a couple here to tell. My father grew up in an enormous old house in Surrey, England. There was apparently a farmer's ghost in the house. You could tell by the hobnailed boots that you'd hear, walking around upstairs when everyone was downstairs at dinner. It wasn't polite to mention it.

He said the unpleasant part was when you'd be lying in bed, the sheets pulled up over your head, and you'd hear the boots.

Walking around the bed you were lying in. The footsteps would circle to the other side, then pause....

One of the best ghost stories was from my step-grandmother. During the Second War, she was an RAF WAC. On leave, she was house-sitting a stately home in southern England.

The great hall had a balcony running around it, and at the far end the huge wide stairs led up to the master bedroom door. That's where she spent the night. Lying in bed reading by candlelight, she was startled by the pages flipping over in front of her.

She shrugged, kept reading. Happened again. Looked over at the candle - burning softly, no flickering. No draft, then.

Eventually she blew the candle out and went to sleep. And across her face, her hair, all night - a gentle, soft brushing. Back, and forth.

The next morning she rang up a friend and had her come down. Something had been going on, of course. So how to find out the history of the house? Straight down to the local vicar they went. He'd been there for a while, and would know what had gone on there.

Apparently, the man told them, there had been a wealthy and rather viciously unpleasant owner with a cruel disposition who married a young woman. Tormented her mercilessly. Went away on business... and she hung herself in the master bedroom. Right over the bed.

It was her toes, you see. Swinging, slowly, back and forth across her face....

[Ditter]

Definately creepy!

[Ditter]

You promised us a ghost story. Come on back & tell it.

[KC_Conspirator]

All right, I did promise you ghost story.

Three of my best friends rented an old house years ago. It was built by an influential judge in the late 1880's early 1890's and is located in the neighborhood known as Hyde Park. The Hyde Park area was ritzy stretch of area which many of the cities elites lived in (now overrun with gays). The house was huge for the time - 3 stories and a basement and was referred to as a mansion. The house had a servants entrance and stairwell, many large rooms, and creepy unfinished basement with mortar walls complete with a shuttered and padlocked exit to the outside. Some of the original furniture was still inside the house because it was assembled there and was too large to get through the doorways. Today the house is recognized as historical landmark by the city.

My friends had rented the place from this lawyer and the lawyer did tell them it was haunted. The lawyer had some experiences there and actually claimed to have seen a ghost of a woman. He did some research on the history of the house. It seems that back in the day the judge (the original owner) had a maid that had a torrid relationship with the gardner of the one of the rich neighbors, but the man got jealous and murdered the maid in a rage. The gardener was hung, in good old Missouri style justice.

The lawyer actually had a medium come in and check out the house, to which she claimed there were actually two ghosts - one of the gardener, an angry spirit which seemed to stay in the basement area and a freindly spirit of wife of the judge that stayed in the upstairs of the house. The lawyer joked that he believed that the ghost wife of the judge had tried to communicate to him that she did not trust his real life wife, of which he divorced years later.

Now my friends lived in the house and heard plenty of noises in their time in the house. Old houses make noises regardless, but there were lots of bumps in the night that awoke them, which was unpleasant because Hyde Park was on the edge of a really bad neighborhood by the 1990's and there were occasional break-ins in the area. My friends got the impression at times that they were not alone and one of them felt as if a woman was breathing on them and tucking them into bed one night. Occasionally items like sunglasses or other small objects would be moved.

The scariest part was the dank basement, which had unevenly cut and brick and mortar walls and the lighting was awful. The only reason anyone wanted to go down there was to do wash to retrieve a tool from the tool bench.

One frightening incident happened one night. There was a large crash which awakened everybody in the house. My friends had seriously believed that someone had broken in the house. After retrieving their guns they walked downstairs to find the basement door wide open. The door was double locked, but both were unlatched. They went into the basement to see if someone had broken through the cellar shutters (there is a specific name for those types of doors, but I can't remember it) from the outside - but the cellar doors were still padlocked and barred.

I actually winesssed something at a summer barbeque party at their place. The lights kept on coming on in the basement and my freinds had to repeatedly go down their and shut them off. Between retrieving beers, someone could have walked down their and turned on the light as a joke, but it was highly unlikely.

[ActionNewsBill]

who ya gonna call?

Ghost busters!

[Ditter]

Thanks for the ghost story! ;9}

[zip]

Ping

[Fester Chugabrew]

Personally, I don't believe people can come back from the dead. I base this belief on biblical writings.

"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (Matthew 27:52-53)

What we call "ghosts" could indeed be manifestations of those whom we consider to be deceased. There is no indication from the bible that death brings a total cessation of spirit/soul existence. The body that decays will, according to scripture, one day be raised up again. Meanwhile, what becomes of the rest?

That is not to say the spiritual realm does not also involve demons, to which the bible also attests.

While I've never witnessed ghostly activity it does not surprise me in the least that others have, or that it might exist. I figure, since modern science has yet to determine exactly what are "light," "energy," "time," etc. we have a long way to go in understanding all that makes up the universe as we know it.

[sweetliberty]

While I've personally been spooked out of messing with the paranormal many years ago, my daughter is fascinated with it. She was just out here for a visit this past week and we visited the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There were places in there where the chill would literally go down your spine and the whole place was seriously creepy. I'm glad we didn't pay good money to actually stay there as many do!

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Click the pic for story