Horror Stories

[Québec]

Last year, at Halloween time, The Times ran a competition for the best 50 word ghost/horror story.

 

Here's the winner and runners up:

 

Winner

David Brown, London

 

Each night, along the same country road, he looks for the girl in the thin, white dress. Each night, he stops to give her a lift. Each night, she whispers Here, as they turn into Cemetery Lane. He never mentions any of this to his wife.

 

Runners-up

John Xero, Norwich

Simon wrote on the misted window pane with his finger: "I miss you".

Four weeks since Michelle had died. Four weeks since her last message. A tear slid down his cheek as he watched the words fade. He huffed on the window to bring them back: "I miss you too".

 

Julia Keddie, Richmond

Shivering wet she splashed along the empty road, head down, grimly battering through the night. The bicycle bell made her jump aside. She felt the passing breeze, heard the wheels swish, but saw in the solitary streetlamps glow only a wet tyre mark spreading from the puddle into the shadows.

 

Paul Clark, Kent

Brian and Sue sat in the lounge in the holiday flat, watching television. Im a bit scared, said their son, David. Easter is coming and therell be people staying here soon. Youre a grown up ghost now, said his mother, you shouldnt be afraid of people any more.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Québec

[Barnfather]

Wasn't there a story from a year or two back about someone who went to clear their weed hatch and found a face (of a dead body) staring up at them?

[nb Innisfree]

Back in the early 70s the landlady of one of my local pubs reputed to be haunted, told me she once paid the milkman her weekly bill and he asked her what all the noise had been in her back yard very early one morning, loud chatter, kids shouting, babies crying. When she explained it wasn't uncommon and that there was never anyone there the colour drained from his face, after that he refused to come into the yard and always left the milk on the front doorstep!

 

One morning when she was sweeping the yard she pushed the stable door open with her back to put the sweepings into a bin inside and a voice from inside said "oh hello" to which she replied ''hello", when she turned round there was no one there.

 

The same stable had an unused upstairs function room accessed by an external wooden staircase. One day piano music was heard coming from there and the landlady's son went up the staircase and opened the door, the music immediately stopped and several paintcans shot sideways off the piano. The son slammed the door shut and came back down faster than he went up!

 

All told to me by the landlady and confirmed by her son. I had some funny experiences there during lock-in drinking, early morning trips to the gents in the back yard and their normally calm and amiable dog barking and snarling at a brick wall.

 

Whooo...

[Guest]

Wasn't there a story from a year or two back about someone who went to clear their weed hatch and found a face (of a dead body) staring up at them?

I think that was a reference to the accident at Alrewas already referred to above.

 

Post#6

Edited August 1, 2013 by The Dog House

[Barnfather]

I think that was a reference to the accident at Alrewas already referred to above.

 

Post#6

 

No, there was definately a post made on here a long time back on a thread about finding bodies in the canal. And someone said either they (or someone they knew) went to clear an obstruction via the weed hatch and had the face of a dead body staring back at them. Although I can see how this event was similar - although probably less of a surprise!!

[Starcoaster]

I remember that post, but can't find it or recall who it happened to.

[sumajan]

Remember a canal related story from some years ago which appeared in a magazine or paper- sorry can't remember which, about a group of young girls on a canal boat holiday.

The sun had been shining all day and the temperature was so high that you couldn't put your hand on any metal surface. Although they knew it was wrong they decided to stop and moor up in one of the cuttings which was shaded by the embankments above them and the trees which surrounded them. (I always thought it sounded like somewhere on The Shroppie). The sun was still shining though the trees and had that twinkle that you see on a hot day. It remained like this till it got dark, about 9pm.. Suddenly there was a load crack of thunder and the heavens opened. The thunder was so loud it was difficult to hear each other talking. They were taken by surprise when a loud knocking was heard on the side of the boat. Plucking up courage they opened the door and there stood a young women. Her hair was plastered to her face and the long ankle length dress she was wearing was soaked though.

They got her inside and gave her towels to dry herself off as she explained that she had had a row with her husband who had hit her so she had ran out of the house.

The girls explained that she should report it to the Police as she didn't have to put up with beatings by anyone. The woman then stood up gave a loud laugh and opening the door ran out into the storm shouting as she ran down the towpath that she wouldn't have to, as she had stuck a knife into her husband and killed him.

Early the next day the girls arrived at the next village and went searching for a policeman to report the incident,only to be told

there hadn't been a policeman in the village for years. They then explained to the pub landlord what had happened.

 

He told them that there had been a murder when a wife stabbed her husband and had ran off in a thunder storm, only, last night

had been fine and clear with no rain, but, 120 years ago on that very day, during a thunder storm the murder had occurred and the woman's body had been found floating in the cut several days later after a search.

[Dar Kuma]

here's the dead body man.

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=56357#entry1068411

Edited August 2, 2013 by Dar Kuma

[Doorman]

To arrive back to your securely locked up home or boat after a day out or holiday to discover that your beds warm as if someones just got out of it.

I used to have that problem too. To solve it I simply got rid of next door's cat!

[Doorman]

I remember one afternoon when my daughter came home to the boat from school and I was at work. She phoned me to say that she could hear moaning noises coming from the rear of the boat where the bedroom was situated, that sounded like a man in agony and the boat was rocking from side to side. Knowing that my wife would have been on board, my initial thoughts were of instant horror at the thought of what might have been happening to my her.

 

Then, my thoughts changed to a jealous rage in determining that the sounds my daughter heard might not be agony but screams of ecstasy instead. So, I instructed her to go back to the boat, knock on the roof and shout "Mum, daddy's back home early!" then phone me back to see what had happened.

 

Waiting impatiently at the phone where I worked, my thoughts were all over the place. Then, as instructed, my daughter dutifully phoned me to say that after she'd knocked on the roof she heard a terrible commotion inside of the boat with screams of panic and the female voice saying "Quickly, go through the side hatch!", next thing, the hatch doors opened and this big sod clambered out half naked through the side of the boat and into the cut, swimming to the off-side in a state of nervousness!

 

Collecting my thoughts for a moment, I said to my daughter, "hang on a minute, we haven't got a side hatch!" "Oh" she replied, "I think I may have knocked on next door's boat by mistake!"

Edited August 2, 2013 by Doorman

[Mick and Maggie]

Do any of you have horror stories that would make us all shudder at the thought....boatie stories....

 

Try this one.

 

http://the-onion-bargee.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/haunted-tinsley-flight.html

[Roadsteam]

Non canal but railway.

Some years ago on a premier preserved railway on a Friday night a footplateman who was rostered for driving or firing the next day went to check his loco a Stanier 8F, it was fairly late and dark in the evening just before a staff member used to lock up the shed side and rear doors. The footplateman mounted the footplate steps, entered the cab and shut the steel folding 'doors' while he had a few minutes peace and quiet looking into the flames of the small fire in the firebox. He heard the rear door of the shed shut and called goodnight to Dave who was locking up, Dave replied 'goodnight mate' and then passed thro the shed side door and locked it. After a few minutes of contemplation footsteps were heard coming thro the shed alongside the 8F, the footsteps stopped and were heard to be using the cab access steps, the folding door was opened and closed with the footsteps coming into the cab. The footplateman looked up expecting to see Dave but he was alone on the footplate!

Railway again.

The same Dave as above.

He had been in the on station bar with his wife and when it came time to lock up the messroom and shed rear/side doors went over the footbridge from platform 1 to 2. While on the footbridge he asked his wife what she could see in the yard particularly near the BR4 tank. She replied that she could see nothing out of the ordinary but the safety valves on the BR4 needed looking at as they were leaking steam which was hanging around the valves and not blowing away. The boiler of the BR4 was stone cold & drained of water as it was out of traffic!

Railway yet again and its Dave again.

Dave woke up one morning having had a dream that he was firing on a particular loco on a particular service. When they had had the right away and set off as the loco passed over the road bridge at the south end of the station the bridge had collapsed on top of a green Morris Minor. Dave said nothing about this.

But some time later he had another dream, the same engine and service and he remembered the 1st dream so he told the driver that he would walk up to the advanced starter signal the other side of the bridge. As the loco passed over the bridge it collapsed on top of a green Morris Minor. Again Dave said nothing.

Some time later again dave is up on Castle Walk in Hightown and looking down, the same loco is waiting to depart on a train. When the loco passed over the same bridge again it collapsed on top of a green Morris Minor.

This added up to sufficient thoughts to get Dave to go and have a look at this bridge. The result the railways engineers were hurridly summoned and the bridge had a speed restriction slapped on it and a replacement bridge deck structure was sourced from a bridge manufacturer in a big hurry as the old bridge was almost at the point of failing.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Roadsteam

[deckhand]

Not a boat related but quite a few years ago, I worked in an estate agents and one of the properties we had was a one bed cottage, mid terrace in Coventry. We had someone wanting an appointment to view. We had a key as there was an old lady lived there, she was very nice too. I went along at the appointed time, few minutes early to make sure all tidy. The lady usually popped to the shop when we were showing anyone around. As I got to the door, I raised the key and I felt really strange. I just could not get myself to put the key in. I felt really weird. The appointment did not turn up whilst I waited outside for quite a while. Still could not get myself to open the door. I went back to the office. The following day, I had a message to say that the lady had passed away the previous day. I could never do any appointments there after that. I do not believe in ghosts or paranormal etc but I still cannot find an explanation for the overwhelming feeling I had that day.

[Barnfather]

Not a boat related but quite a few years ago, I worked in an estate agents and one of the properties we had was a one bed cottage, mid terrace in Coventry. We had someone wanting an appointment to view. We had a key as there was an old lady lived there, she was very nice too. I went along at the appointed time, few minutes early to make sure all tidy. The lady usually popped to the shop when we were showing anyone around. As I got to the door, I raised the key and I felt really strange. I just could not get myself to put the key in. I felt really weird. The appointment did not turn up whilst I waited outside for quite a while. Still could not get myself to open the door. I went back to the office. The following day, I had a message to say that the lady had passed away the previous day. I could never do any appointments there after that. I do not believe in ghosts or paranormal etc but I still cannot find an explanation for the overwhelming feeling I had that day.

 

 

Being in Coventry will give you that feeling

[deckhand]

Being in Coventry will give you that feeling

As a Coventry Kid, I was used to it, especially on the side I lived on but this was far different. Us Coventry lasses made of sterner stuff )

[Bunny]

Used to live in a haunted hotel, loads of stories, some happening to me some not. We have always wonder how many 'old boatman' still walk the towpaths and would never be surprised to see one of an evening . On a more personal note, my sister's husband (Dave) whilst on holiday drowned , only 56yrs and was we thought in good health that was Oct 2011. The same day his best friend saw his 'look alike ' complete with favourite t-shirt on a trip boat off one of the Canary Islands , so strong was the resemblance he had to fetch his wife to confirm he wasn't seeing things, Dave was dead by then. When his friend got the call about the drowning he and his wife returned home. Back in this country his phone rang, and the call sign came up Dave ( with his tel no ) no he couldn't answer it. This happened twice. Dave's phone was on all occasions not only turned off but the sim card and battery were not in the phone. Our late father also stays close to my sister, on odd occasions she has been told this by different people. I know its not a boating story , just a strange one. As far as horror stories go , I was held up by shot gun in my own bed many years ago , thieves looking for the 'takings' of the club I was running, expected to find just me , so were a bit surprised to find a house full of people , they did a runner after cutting the telephone lines . Found out later they had turned over a cash and carry two days before and used the gun . Hence the security is quite good on our boat. Bunny

[Doorman]

Again not boat related but scary none the less.

 

Shortly after my elder brother passed away, I was called out to a ram raid on a very large DIY store at 2am in the morning. After effecting temporary repairs to the store frontage and security shutter I began to pack my tools away in the van. Parked on the main entrance car park and with the owner of the store safely inside some 80 metres away, I heard my brother say "What are you doing here at this time of night?".

 

I looked around to see if anyone else was there and the place was completely empty except for me! When he was alive, my brother was always commenting about the long and unsociable hours that my business life placed upon me. Perhaps this was his final statement. I have always been open minded about paranormal activities and this experience simply reinforced that belief.

 

We have good friends who live in the lock cottage here in Audlem and some of the strange things that happen in their lovely home cannot be explained. I once posted a photo on here of lock 13 outside of their cottage that was taken years before we knew them and some very eerie figures were evident standing by one of the balance beams.

 

Of course in typical forum tradition, some members re-posted the pictures with the addition of:-

 

Where's Walley, Lord Lucan and a Dinosaur overseeing the proceedings!

Edited August 5, 2013 by Doorman