Your Letters
A VERY STRANGE WOMAN
by Ian of Anfield
Dear Tom,
I am an avid reader of your Haunted Liverpool books and have every one, so I finally decided to tell you my story. It's not much, but with your knowledge you may be able to shed some light on it.
My name is Ian, and I'm forty years old, but this happened a long time ago. I was in my twenties, and we had all been out drinking, about ten of us, in an old dive called the Norseman, situated by the dock road. It was a place where sailors that had just docked at one of Liverpool's ports went for a drink and a prostitute if they so desired. But being young, we only got a bit of a buzz going to these places. Anyway, one night we'd got talking to these sailors from Peru or Mexico, if I can remember right, and they invited us back for a drink on their ship. We thought this was great and took them up on their offer. After several hours aboard the ship I decided to call it a night. My mates however, didn't want the night to end, so I left on my own. As I walked down the gangplank off the ship and began walking down the quayside, I realised that the entrance to the dock we'd passed to get in, was guarded by night-watchmen and that I'd probably be arrested. (By the way, I am not sure what dock it was but it must have been near the Norseman pub because we walked there). Anyway, I decided to find a way to climb over the fence and avoid the gate and guards. As I looked around I found myself in a large area just full of containers, loads of them all stacked neatly in rows. I realised that the fence surrounding the dock was to tall to climb and couldn't decide how to get out. It must have been about three to four in the morning, and a cold winter's night, and I stood there amongst the rows and rows of containers wondering what to do. It was really quiet and after a good look around, it annoyed me to think that the only thing stopping me getting out was this huge fence as I stood there looking at the dock road and freedom on the other side of the fence. I began walking back up one of the alleyways inbetween the rows of containers as I thought what to do next.
I was all alone and the gate entrance was quite some distance away, and as I turned around to look back down the alleyway towards the fence - I must have been about six containers in length away from the fence and the dock road - when I suddenly noticed a woman walking towards me. Now whether it was youthful stupidity, dutch courage, or simple curiosity, I don't know, but I remember just standing there, watching this weird figure as she came towards me. She wore a short skirt and high heels, some short jacket and had a short hair style. But as she came closer it was her face and movement that struck me as weird. She didn't look at me, and didn't change her expression at all. She just walked like a robot with a fixed expression, and a wide-eyed look of fear, and she never once blinked or moved her eyes to look at me or anything else. Let's face it, meeting anyone at four in the morning at such a lonely place, you'd expect some reaction or conversation.
As she walked in this definite direction towards me, but keeping this strange wide-eyed fixed stare, it got weirder, because as she came closer, just to the left of me, I stepped aside to give her enough room to keep walking past me, but she did the strangest thing. Without even a slightest sideways glance, or giving any change of expression, or turning her head, she threw out her left arm to grab my arm whilset walking at her steady pace. My instinctive reaction was to pull my arm quickly from her grasp, which was more of a polite hold rather than an agressive grab, and as I pulled away, I stepped back several paces. i remember being shocked at her sudden grab, and I remember shouting several questions at her about the reasons for her behaviour, and basically what she playing at, but I was questioning someone who was walking away, and so only had the view of her back as she walked on. But as she walked on in her intently purposeful way, I stood there alone in the dark eerie silence amongst the vastness of the containers, and was suddenly overcome with fear. It's hard to explain, and maybe you'll know what i mean, but it's like an unusual sense that something isn't right. Anyway, I just knew that she wasn't normal, and I was so overcome with fear I somehow scaled the metal fence in no time, then jumped straight from the top of the fence onto the road below, and hit the ground running. I didn't look back or stop running until I was some distance away and felt safe.
I have often thought about this incident and tried to convince myself that the woman was not a ghost, but too many things don't add up. Let's face it, if she was some prostitute, I don't think that would be her reaction when bumping into a total stranger all alone in the dead of night. Any woman, even a prostitute, would show some surprise or emotion whether it be fear, surprise, or even relief. There was no way into that area. All I would say to any sceptic is that you would have to have been there. The way she walked, the way she held that strange fixed expression, etc, I feel as If she was a ghost.
STRANGE NOISES
by Patricia
In January 2006,at about 8.30pm I had come out of the ladies gymn in Gateacre and after waiting a while for the bus decided to walk home along Barnham Drive. Half way down near to the park, I was on the opposite side of the road, I heard noises coming from the park, like a series of clicks and whistles. I was afraid it could have been a crank in the park bushes and started to look at the houses ahead of me, to see which one would be the best to knock on if I needed help. At this time there was a wind that was just strong enough to blow your hair about. It dropped completely and as I looked back I thought I saw two horses. Although it was only a split second, I only saw the back halves if them and they were bigger than normal horses and light in colour. Immediately the wind continued to blow. What baffled me was that the whole time not a car went past, a person or any activity from the houses. I also recalled that when the wind dropped I didnt remember hearing a single noise. I wasnt afraid but more than the horses the business with the wind and the silence and the total lack of fear was not normal. I carried on home and over the next few days relayed the story to a number of others, only to be giggled at.
STRANGE GOINGS-ON IN A CAB
by Chris
Hi Tom,
I was wondering if you knew of any hauntings or other goings on in the vicinity of Vauxhall road near the old Rat pub, and also by the Royal Hospital on Prescot street, the reason I ask, I am a taxi driver and once I was driving along Vauxhall road, near the Rat pub, when both of my electric front windows opened on their own, I saw the buttons physically being pressed, the time outside the royal I was waiting for a job facing the studios building at the top of prescot street when I didn't get a job for a while I looked down and my radio had been switched off, of course It's possible that my imagination is running wild but I would be pleased to hear that others have had similar encounters, also I am 31 now but when I was 17 I crashed my car on higher lane in Fazakerly and it's possible I may have seen the ghost that is alleged to haunt that area, I took photos at the time because I intended suing the council for the pot hole which made me crash, but unfortunately I didn't get a snap of the guy in question.
Finally something very strange happened to me and an ex friend when we were teenagers in Halewood, on the old railway which is now a cycle path, if you would like to hear about that story feel free to mail me back and I'll tell you more,
Thanks for your time,
Hi Tom,
I have read all of your Haunted Liverpool books as I love reading anything about
the supernatural and paranormal. I have noticed that there are no stories
about levitation.
I am 26 now but when I was about 4 years old I on a number of occasions
could stand at the top of the stairs in our house and levitate down to the
bottom quite safely and I just thought that everyone could do it. The first
time I did it I just knew that if I stood at the top that I could just jump
away from the stair and I would land at the bottom. As I got a bit older I
found I knew I couldn't do it anymore or I had fear of doing it and never
tried again. My mum recently asked you to autograph my haunted liverpool
book and told you about this and you told her a friend of yours could do it.
I know I wasn't dreaming as I did it a number of times and I remember almost
everything from the age of 1. Has anyone written to you who could do this
and do you believe in it?
Bye 4 now
Denise
Liverpool
The Sandstone Lodge
by W.
Hello Tom. I have been reading some of your stories of Liverpool ghosts, and I thought you may be interested in hearing another. It concerns the sandstone lodge in Stanley Park, near the old greenhouse. (1, Anfield Road). I lived there with my family for seven years, and a lot of strange things occured there.
There was one bedroom that my son refused to sleep in after a while. He said this was after the 'bad people' had stopped the old lady and man from coming to tell him stories!! This man and woman would tell him all kinds of children's stories before walking through the wall. He was too young to describe clothes, but said that the lady wore a long dress.
My daughter moved into the room and woke us up at night giggling at the antics of the pictures on her wall.
On the one night that my husband slept downstairs, I heard the most awful noise. It can only be described as a cross between a scream and a howl, and it was in MY room. It was so loud that the noise reverberated off the walls. It stopped suddenly mid-howl. I was terrified. My husband's mum came from the other bedroom and asked if I had been making a noise! It woke his dad too. My husband, downstairs didn't hear a thing.
After we moved from the house, my children told me (without prompting) that they had both seen a scene re-enacted. There was a little boy and girl, playing and laughing in the bedroom near the fireplace. The boy had a soft toy rabbit. An adult, (mother?) came into the room shouting at them, and threw the rabbit in the fire. The little boy burned his hands trying to retrieve it, and he and his sister started screaming.
I asked why they hadn't told me before, and apparently, the 'bad people' had said that they would die and stay in the house forever if they told anyone. Scary stuff.
When we moved, the children were 7 and 5, and didn't tell me about it until about 6 years later.
Maybe you could get in there and have a look?
Yours sincerely W.
Old Hag Syndrome
by Adrian
Hi Tom
ive been reading about the cases of "old hag syndrome" which have been
reported to you
i have been looking into the phenomenon and would like to know you thoughts
on the subject personally i cant believe this is a paranormal problems but a psychological
one as this is something i is something i have suffered with since childhood.
I have always had sleep problems and never really slept all night but wake
up several times during the night and often i would be frozen
and not be able to move which i put down to dreaming but as i grew older it
got worse.
up to the age of about 18 i used to just wake up frozen occasionally
hallucinating about friends, family etc. but during my 20s I have suffered
the worst it has ever been, over the last few years I have worked many nightshifts and
started experiencing "old hag syndrome" in full more recent with
a crushing feeling and seeing evil looking hooded figures walking towards me
and leaning over me and the smell is also noticeable.
This has happened allot not only during the night but also during the day
when I have been on the nightshifts.
it got to the point where I was waking up constantly and not getting any
deep sleep at all and this was taking its toll on me so off to the doctors I
went
I explained to him what was going on and he explained about sleep paralysis
attacks coupled with hallucinations that I was already suffering with
everything fell into place and soon as I got a day job and proper sleep
patterns the attacks stopped.
I have spoken to many people who have suffered with the same problem and
have all been in the same circumstances (bad sleep patterns) and after
research we feel this is responsible for many of the ghost sightings and
"alien abductions" as the signs and symptoms are the same.
Apparently this is a very common problem but supposed to wear off during the
20s, im not 26 and only just stopped !
Well I hope vie not bored you too much !!
thanks for listening
Adrian
Ghostly goings-on at Jacobs
Hi :o)
Never emailed you before, but must say I find your research absolutely
fascinating (and your books have many a night had me sleeping with the light
on! - specially as I live in a haunted house).
I came to your lectures in St Georges Hall, and it got me thinking about
stories I've heard about ghosts, then I remember the stuff that my dad used
to tell me before he died and I thought Id email you to see if you'd ever
heard of anything in this place before.
My dad worked for years at Jacobs biscuit factory as a boiler man. He wasnt the kind of man who was ever interested in ghosts or the paranormal.. but I remember he used to tell me about the things that happened to him when he worked nights in Jacobs.
It was his job to check out the various rooms in the factory to make sure
that everything was running ok, and when he was on nights he used to have to
check them out on his own(there were other people in the factory), and not
being the kind of person to be spooked or riled he used to do it. He heard
bumps and noises and things like that all the time, but one night he went to
walk up one of the stair cases to the rooms on the first floor and he saw
someone ahead of him so shouted him and had a conversation all the way up
the stairs (my dad was the kind of person who would have a conversation with
the weirdo at the bus stop) and along the corridor. It was only when he got
to the end of the corridor and pushed the door open that he said something
and got no answer, he turned round to find that there was no one there. And
there was no where for the man to go because my dad had the keys to all the
rooms on the first floor.
Understandably my dad got a bit spooked, made a speedy exit and stayed in
the boiler room for the rest of the night.
It never stopped him going back up there, but he was always warey after
that.
The point of the story really is just to find out if youve ever heard
anything else about that factory...any other ghosts in there. It always
intrigued me because my dad just wasnt easily scared but was considerably
spooked for years by that particular event.
Would be very grateful for any info if youve got it :o)
Debbie
Who's That Man?
This is a true story. In September of 1990 (I can't remember the date) my son and I were making a puzzle on the floor of our family room which is located in the basement. My son was 3-and-a-half years old and I was 8 months pregnant with my second child. It was the middle of the afternoon. I noticed that my son was staring at something behind me, just over my shoulders. I reminded him that it was his turn to put a piece on the puzzle and he didn't respond, but just kept staring. I clicked my fingers in front of his face and with a smile I asked him if he was on the moon. He blinked his eyes, pointed a finger behind me and said: "Mommy, who is that man?". I turned around but all I saw was a blank wall. I replied: "What man honey? There is no one there". But he insisted and said, "Yes Mom, there he is, just standing there, who is he?". I looked again and I started to feel a little nervous. I stood up, walked to the wall and started tapping on it. As I was doing this I reassured him that there was no one there. I felt no cold air. My son did not seem frighten in the least. He shrugged his shoulders, and started playing with the puzzle. I am convinced that he did see someone or something because he is not a child who invented any imaginary friends. He is a level headed child who is very mature. I've spoken about this episode to him 6 years later, although he doesn't remember what happened he does have a natural and fearless curiousness towards ghosts and UFOs. I believe that children have numerous encounters because they are not "preprogrammed" to disbelieve like adults do. thank you.
The Haunted Adelphi
Dear Mr Slemen,
Hope you don't mind a contact out of the blue from Down Under!
I came across your name while googling 'Adelphi Hotel' and 'ghosts' (you can see where this is going...). It was in the context of an experience related by a young woman that was remarkably similar to something that happened to me back in 2000 - I was startled to read it and find alike our impressessions/experiences were, even down to thoughts of 'The Shining'. Possibly it's just the atmosphere engendered by those huge, cavernous rooms, but I do wonder...
By way of context, I've travelled all over the world and stayed in many hotels, often by myself on various adventures (the Grand Hotel in Scarborough has been a favourite for years!), but I've never experienced anything like what happened to me in the Adelphi. I'll be going back there in April to attend a convention, and wanted to find out as much as possible before I head over there. Do you cover it in one of your books?
Anyway, here's what happened to me:
It was during my first visit in April 2000, when my then boyfriend, Ilya, a friend Jenni and I were staying there. we had travelled up to Liverpool to do some research on deck officers who worked with the White Star Line, and had a particular interest in William Murdoch (Titanic's First Officer) and his connection with the hotel, which is why we stayed there. We checked in and it seemed almost deserted, so we had a wonderful time prowling around.
Later that night, after having gone out for dinner and returning to our rooms, we decided around midnight to hit the American Bar downstairs. We were staying near the top floor. As the three of us piled into the elevator, laughing and joking, Ilya pressed the ground floor button. The lift didn't move, so I impatiently leaned across Ilya and hit the button again - he was a bit hurt, and as he was saying 'I've already pressed it', we started to plummet.
It felt almost as if we were in free fall - the wind seemed to howl around us in the shaft, and in it were *voices*. All talking at once. Male and female. We'd been exuberantly chatting and laughing until then, but immediately fell silent, and in the few minutes it took us to get to the lobby didn't say a word. It was both shocking and frightening. We tumbled out with quick questions to each other of the 'did you hear **them**??' variety.
A race to the bar followed, and a couple of stiff drinks. We were all shaken - it just seemed so odd. Ilya (a practical minded ship's engineering officer) said that what he found so strange was that the voices seemed to follow us down the shaft - and they only started once we moved, and stopped as soon as we reached the ground floor. He didn't believe it was an accoustical trick.
I figured that if there was anything odd going on in the Hotel, the barman would be the first to know (first port of call for anyone a bit shook up, like us!). As we were the only ones in there, I sidled up to him and asked 'do you ever get any guests come in here with odd stories, in the early hours?'
'What kind of odd stories?' he asked.
'People who seem a bit upset...who've had a bit of an unpleasant experience....'
I wish I could remember his exact response, but he was going to tell me something, and even started to do so...then stopped, changed his mind, and in mid sentance trailed off, with a sober 'oh, you hear all sorts of things in place like this' (sounds like a vintage ghost story, eh?). We could extract nothing else from him.
Fast forward a couple of years to 2003, and I'm staying at the Adelphi again. This time there's a convention on, so all the cavernous rooms are filled with people and it's an utterly different atmosphere. I found myself again in the bar, telling the bloke I was with the story of the previous visit. Decided to try out the bartender again, to see if I'd have better luck. This one proved more chatty.
'Was it me you spoke to?' he asked. I said I honestly couldn't remember. 'Sounds like something I would have said to fob you off' he replied. Then he asked if I'd seen (or read) 'The Shining', and was familiar with the Overlook Hotel. I said I had, and that the Adelphi could be the Overlook's English cousin. He agreed. Said he was surprised I didn't know it was one of the most haunted hotels in the UK, and mentioned it had been written up somewhere or other (can't remember where...possibly one of your books?). Among assorted other 'things', he said staff hated some of the big suites on the First floor, and will avoid them. No specifics on what frightens them. There is also supposed to be the ghost of a man killed in an accident in...(wait for it)...the elevator. I was disappointed when he told me that the elevators had been relocated since the accident, though.
Any light you could shed on these matters would be much appreciated. I just wish I'd written it all down closer to the events I'm describing!
Cheers -
Inger
GHOSTLY HORSEMAN OF BIBBY'S LANE
Dear Tom,
I remember a story from my child hood in Bootle, of a ghost that charged up Bibbys lane linking Marsh lane and Peel road in bootle. this ghost was supposedly on horseback and had only space where its head should be. Some said that the apparition appeared on 31st October (Halloween) and others said that it came galloping down the road on 31st December (New years eve). I had forgotten all about it, thinking that the whole story was just concocted by kids to scare those in the group that have never heard it before (as a lot of these tales from your youth often are). However, being a fan of your books I have always wondered if you had any correspondence from anyone who has seen this 'headless' ghost, as I came accross a reference to it on the internet when I typed in 'Bootle ghosts' and this made me realize that the story was not just told amongst my friends. Some say it is the ghost of a member of the bibby family (apparently very influential in Bootle in years gone by), and I wonder if it has any connection to the ghostly horse-drawn carridge that gallops down Irlam road by the Muncaster pub which is just around the corner. Also from my neighbourhood there is an old rarely used footbridge localy reffered to as the Devils bridge on Everton veiw off Derby road. this old iron bridge still has a lot of bullet holes in the side of it from the german air raids in world war two. there was a tale of a girl encountering the Devil on the bridge and also a superstition that it was unlucky to tread on the third (I think) step up on the Everton veiw side of the bridge where the concrete was chipped and cracked. I wonder if you could shed any light if you have any on these two stories from my youth, as I must admit, I have only vivid memories of the both of them from my days growing up in Bootle.
Best regards
Kevin
FIREMAN'S STRANGE EXPERIENCE
Hi Tom.
Just thought I'd tell you of an experience I had at Buckley Hill Fire Station, Netherton, circa May 2004.
Buckley Hill, now known as Bootle/Netherton was opened in 1974 having replaced the old Fire Station at Littlewoods playing fields, Park Lane.
One night whilst listening to my digital radio (tuned to FM 95.8 Radio Merseyside/ AM 909 Radio Five Live) I dropped off into my usual restless sleep waiting for the bells to go down.
I awoke to look up and noticed something very strange. The electricians had been in to refit the electrical wires and left open a square in the suspended ceiling, presumably to maintain access. From this missing square I saw the solid looking shape of a man with his eyes closed, dull brown in colour, twisting his head as if to view the night room, left to right.
He was 'hanging' out from the ceiling from the waist up at 45 degree angle to the ceiling and I could see his arms clearly tucked into his side. I looked away in disbelief, only to look back to reaffirm he was still there. I was definately awake as I rubbed my eyes and scratched my nose as I was sitting up breathless with surprise.
It was after about twenty seconds he began to 'shrink' back into the ceiling into the cabling, all the while I could still make out it was a man's shape becoming smaller. What really struck me is that he pulled in his arms as if to make himself more narrow so as to not bang his elbows, within the square, on the suspended ceiling.
On inpection of my radio, it had retuned itself to the bottom scale of each band as if the battery had failed, Retuning can only be done independantly on each band otherwise.
In the morning over a cup of coffee, I bravely told my colleagues of my experience expecting to be 'ribbed' mercilessly. However, I received some knowing looks and some proceeded to tell me they had similar experiences but feared ridicule if they revealed them.
One colleague has had an invisible person lying on top of him and attempting to pull off his duvet and another has chased what he thought was an intruder in the station only to find the mysterious person had disappeared. Indeed our cleaner often hears footsteps on the deserted first floor to find nobody there. Another has had someone whisper into his ear.
I know of many experiences other colleagues have had at older Fire Stations, but I am surprised as Buckley Hill is relatively new. To my knowledge, nobody has passed away there, only an elderly gentleman on a bus which was driven up to the engine house by the distressed driver seeking our help. Research has revealed the site could be a 'killing field' during the English Civil War and local folklore states Cromwell's army were camped nearby at Maghull.
Anyway Tom, thanks for your time. I am an avid collector of your books and have to admit that I was reading one of your works at the time of the event, though it didn't make me hallucinate.
Regards, Darin Speed.
Saved from a Fatal Fire
Five years ago [2000] I gave birth to twins, who at
the time were quite ill. My partner and myself had taken the twins home
from the Women's Hospital and had a bad time with them being ill. One
night, both me and my partner John, decided to try to get some sleep as we
had been awake for days. I slept upstairs in the bedroom with one child and
he slept with down stairs with the other twin. I must have dozed off and was
awoken by three raps on my bedroom door. I was pretty annoyed as i had
finally got to sleep and got up. I shouted down the stairs to John "what
are you doing knocking on the bedroom door?"
He shouted up "What? I
have'nt".
I then walked back in the room only to see it was filled with smoke. The
bedside lamp had fallen over on the electric blanket whilst I dozed off
and It had started to smoulder and had almost caught fire! I was shocked
as I was so sleepy I could have slept through the fire, and me, john and the
twins could have died in a fire. I've still have got the blanket now with a
hole in it, where the fire had started. A couple of years later, I went
to Blackpool with my family. I went to see a fortune teller, not hoping
for much. I was shocked to hear her say "You had a small fire in your
house". I said 'No', as i had forgotten the small fire, then realised what had
happened back then. The fortune teller then said " It was a warning as
your time wasnt up, from a female member of your family who has passed
on". I was shocked.
Regards
Claire
THE SIGN OF THE WHITE FEATHER
Dear Mr Slemen
On Monday 20th March [2006] my Mum was in the dining room of her house in Belle
Vale, when something outside in the garden caught her eye. She said it was
a white feather, which seemed to glide from the huge privet hedge which
divides my parents garden from the one next door. But as the feather was
fluttering down to the ground, she noticed something else. Just behind it,
there was a shape hovering halfway up the hedge. It was the same shape and
thickness of a torso, but was a white mist. She said this then moved
straight through the hedge and into next door's garden.
She thought maybe it was smoke from somewhere, but there was no evidence of
any kind of fire, nor was there any fog that day. She thinks that it was
maybe the spirit of Mrs Horrocks, the lady that lived next door years ago.
She was very proud of her garden, and would take great joy in showing off
her rose bushes and wall crawler plants. The hedge was always trimmed very
neatly and was low enough for our neighbours to chatter in the summer.
After Mrs Horrocks died, her husband didn't bother much, although along with
my Dad's help, they would keep things as tidy as possible. Mr Horrocks had
very bad arthritis of the hands so found it a srtuggle. For the past 15
years or so, after new people moved in, the garden is now a disgrace, and
the hedge must stand about 9 feet tall. Was Mrs Horrocks trying to hint to
my Mum that she wants her beloved garden sorted out?
What was the significance of the white feather? Was that to get my Mum's
attention so she would see the misty figure?
She has been terrified ever since, and even sleeps with the light on now!
Thanks for reading
Karen
A SECRET TUNNEL?
HI TOM, IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES I WORKED AT THE SCALA CINEMA IN LIME STREET, AT THE BACK OF THE CINEMA THERE IS A SMALL CAR PARK THAT I WAS ALLOWED TO USE, DURING MY LUNCH HOUR I USED TO WASH MY CAR AND I REMEMBER A SET OF STEPS GOING DOWN TO ANOTHER LEVEL, I WENT DOWN THE STEPS ONE DAY AND AT THE BOTTOM ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THERE WAS A WALL THAT LOOKED AS THOUGH A SECTION OF IT HAD BEEN BRICKED IN AS THE BRICKS LOOKED CLEANER THAN THE REST, I ASKED THE CINEMA MANAGER ABOUT THIS AND HE TOLD ME THIS WAS A PART OF A TUNNEL THAT WENT UNDER BOLTON STREET, THE CAR PARK IS STILL THERE NOW IN BOLTON STREET BETWEEN THE BACK OF THE CINEMA AND THE LOCK UP GARAGE WHICH ALSO WAS OWNED BY THE CINEMA CIRCUIT.
I HOPE THIS HELPS,
KEN
Hi Tom,
Regarding your recent article - Lime Street. Back in the eighties I
had a friend who worked at the Royal Mail in Copperas Hill. He told
me of a tunnel from Copperas Hill to Lime Street Station which
was used for tranfering mail to and from the trains. He claimed
that there were a number of workers who refused to enter the tunnel
due to some stange events. One was that a vision!
was seen of an elderley man wearing a bowler hat? That is all I know
of this occurrance.
Regarding to 'humming sound'. I too experienced this and at the
time claims that it was gas being
pumped through the pipes, water being pressurised to sterilise the
pipe works & tha ti was diesel
engines being run on test at the Allerton locomotive workshops.
However, at the time the government did in fact allocate some
£50,000 to a group who was investigating this problem, I think
they were known as the Low Noise investigaton Society a the problem
was being experienced in particular in Yorkshire and said to come
from the Radar Station at Fylingdales? or from traffic noise from
the M1 penetrating the ground and causing some sort of vibration?
Finally,this one goes back to the late forties. I had a relative
living in Lonsdale Street, L8, which is no longer there. They lived
in a terraced house with a cellar. My aunties farther lived in the
adjacent property and at the time was in his 60's. To enable him to
visit his daughter without the need of going outside they knocked a
hole in the cellar wall which he would come through carrying
a piece of hessian, a bag with tailors offcuts and a 'bone' and he
would proceed to make a mat by pushing the bits of rag through the
hessian with the bone.
After he died the hole was pricked up and made good by my cousin who
was a plasterer,my auntie moved to a smaller property and after a
couple met a neighbour who said the new tennants claimed the
property was haunted and had seen a figure of an old man in the
basement carrying a sack (hessian?), a brown paper carrier bag and
what appeared to be a white object about 6-8" long in his hand (the
bone?). It was claimed he dissappeared through the wall were the
doorway had been.
Regards
Dave P.
Hi Tom,
This message is written on the behalf of my mother
Janice, who is too scared to listen to your show.
About four years ago the Brown family went to Croxteth
Hall, Liverpool.
We were walking around the house, we entered a room,
were there were statues of children playing board
games and cards.
Suddenly my mother ran out of the room, leaving my
dad, me and my two little sisters alone in the room.
My mother claimed she heard a child crying in the
room, but my dad, me and my two little sisters heard
nothing.
One of the tour guides later told us that many people
have heard a child crying in the same room.
And so, she was wondering if you knew the identity of
the crying ghost child or any thing about it?
Since then my mother has refused to walk around
Croxteth Hall, but me and my little sister Katelyn
have returned to Croxteth Hall on three other
occasions and have heard nothing in that room.
Thank you for your time and all the best.
from
Corinne and Janice.
THREE STRANGE INCIDENTS
Hi Tom,
I have had a couple of strange things happen to me in the past. One such incident was whilst I was at work as a private hire taxi driver about 1999, I was driving along Vauxhall road near the Jamaica pub the radio was on low and I heard a clicking sound, at the same time both of my front electric windows opened on their own fully, I looked down at the buttons and saw them being released at the same time I heard the same click again which must of been the sound of the buttons. The strange thing is I didn't see anything press the buttons, just the buttons being held in.Have you heard of anything like this before? Or have you heard of anything strange around the Vauxhall area before?
Another incident took place when I was about 17 or 18 years of age, Myself and an Ex-friend (we no longer speak) used to go out on our bikes every night and just ride about until 2 am. we never had any lights and were always getting told off by the police, so we decided one night to ride all the way along the cycle path to Halewood.(we were from Walton). It got late and we didn't want to go back along the path as it was getting really dark. we ventured out into the vicinity of higher road and got totally lost, so we decided that we would chance the path again. As we re-entered the path there was a man sitting on a fence who to me looked like he was in fancy dress. he was about 6 ft tall and dressed in black with a tall hat. I never really took much notice of him. we rode about 2 minuets down the path and then ahead we heard voices. we slowed down because we were scared, not of anything supernatural but in case we were jumped or something. about 20 seconds later my heart almost stopped as we saw the same guy who was previously sitting on the fence, the odd thing was he now looked about 7 ft tall and he was now accompanied by a girl of about the same age and about 6 ft 8 wearing the same clothes. in total panic trying to turn around my gear chain fell off and I tried to run with the bike. my friend had rode off and left me and I tripped over ,as I looked back I couldn't believe my eyes they weren't in fact as tall as I thought they were hovering about 1 ft off the floor. they were heading towards me, I don't know where I found the energy but I picked up my bike and didn't stop running until I hit the main road. Have you heard anything about this area of the cycle path before?
Finally another incident happened to me when I was 17, I hadn't been driving long and I was quite an inexperienced driver. I was travelling down Higher lane Fazakerly, I had to swerve to avoid a transit van who was travelling about 50 mph around a bend, as I swerved I hit a pothole about 12 inches wide and lost control. to cut a long story short I wrote the car off. the odd thing is there was a man just standing there peeping out from behind a wall at the time I didn't think anything of it, I thought he might of came from one of the wards at Fazakerly like stoddart house or something. It was only when I was reading one of your books, I read about the higher lane apparition and wandered if this was the same guy. I did take photos of the car and the area afterwards, because I was going to take the council to court over the condition of the road, but unfortunately I didn't manage to snap the fellow in question.
Feel free to mail me back if you have any questions, I would like to hear any views you have on these matters.
Thanks for your time.
GHOSTLY POLICEMAN FROM EDWARDIAN TIMES
Just a quick tale, to see if any of your listeners have seen anything
like my brother and I saw years ago around Old Swan. Around 1978 my
brother and I went for a sly smoke as we were young kids. It was a dark
drizzly evening, we went down a back entry between Fitzgerald and
Orleans road and were followed by what looked like a policeman from the
early 1900's. We obviously panicked and walked quickly down the entry
and turned into Orleans road, waiting for a hand on our shoulder, it
never came. We quickly walked back to the top of Orleans road and walked
past the entry and he'd just dissapeared. We were certain it was a
policeman but equally it could have been somebody going home down the
entry and we imagined it. Has any other of your listeners seen anything
similar around Old Swan.
Thanks
Martin.
MAN IN THE GREEN JACKET
Im just wondering if you have ever heard a story about the road on the
Wirral where Brimstage Hall is? My friend and I nearly crashed the car
there a few years ago after a man in a green jacket appeared on the 'S'
bend in the road. he was holding a petrol can and we returned to give
him a lift to the petrol station but could not see a car anywhere or the
man. When we retold the story to several friends we did not mention
where we were, but they all knew the location and had heard it had
happened to other people.
Nicky
CIGAR-SHAPED UFO OVER MOSSLEY HILL
Tom,
I thought I would drop you a line about an object I saw in the Sky above Mossley Hill in Liverpool.
In Sepember of 2004 My family and I had been on Holiday in Spain with friends for our two weeks holiday in the Sun. My wife Sue and I were geting some shopping in at the local Spar shop in booker avenue.
Sue was in the shop and I was outside sitting in our car which was a Galaxy at the time.
The time was approximatly 11:30 in the morning, with bright sunshine from over my left shoulder and not a cloud at all in the bright blue sky.
I looked up to admire the day when I noticed an object which was long tubular in shape with both ends a perfect half sphere.
At first I thought it was a childs baloon which had been let loose, but there was no tied end which I could see nor was the object bobbing around in the summer breeze.
Then I thought it must be some sort of Airship which was in some kind of air display. I realised that there was no cabin or engine structures on the object niether were there any windows in the objects side and completely silent. How it could be moving very slowly and deliberatly in a straight line without any visible means of propulsion?
The object was a dark gun metal grey and as it started to turn slightly towards me I could see reflected on its side the Sun whitch looked small.
The object came to a halt at an angle of approximatly 30 degrees to the original line of direction and perfectly horizontal with the ground with no tilting effect.
Whilst it was stopped dead in the sky I could not see any ribbing or riveting on the side of the object it was perfrctly smooth and dull of reflection.
after about half a minute the object started to rotate/turn back to its original flight path? stopped then went back in the direction it came again very slowly and deliberatly.
As I looked along the road I saw on the opposite side a woman pushing a pram she too was looking at the object!
I tried to follow it in the car down to Cooper Avenue where I then lost it.
If the object was an airship of some kind then it must be about 3-400 feet long at least.
Completely baffled as to what I saw I went back to the shop to pick up my wife and related the story to her. I now am telling you so you could correlate the information and see if it tied in to any other sightings reported.
Tom,surley an object this size must have been spotted and reported by some one else!
Graham Roberts
More of your letters soon