True Ghost Tales

As a young boy of 13 I lived on a farm in southern England next to the river Arun. Being the oldest with two brothers and three sisters I naturally became the baby sitter of them when my parents would go out on a Friday night. It was on one of those Friday nights that I experienced a paranormal experience!

I had just put my brothers and sisters to bed, made myself a cup of tea, put another log on the fire and just sat down to read a book [We had no TV or video games back then] when I heard a faint laughing and whispering sounds coming from upstairs. I got up from the chair and yelled “If you kids don’t knock it off I’m coming up there with the paddle". Then there was silence and a smile came on my face and I sat down to read my book. Half an hour later I could hear it again, this time I grabbed the paddle and as I started to go up the staircase I suddenly froze. At the top of the landing was a transparent figure of a man dressed as an 18th century pirate including sword and dagger in his belt. In his right hand he was holding a goblet and was drinking from it. He then turned and looked straight at me lifting his goblet in a salute and started that laugh again and slowly disappeared thru the wall behind him.

I ran straight upstairs and into my brother’s and sister’s rooms where they were all sound asleep.

I told my mom and dad about this when they got home and they just laughed and then told me the story of how the farm was an Inn back in the late 1700s and that pirates would come up the river Arun from the English channel to hide from the British navy. This one pirate was caught and hanged on an Oak tree just outside the Inn and every now and again would show himself to have a little fun.

Sent in by Mike Smith, Copyright 2012

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Pirate Costumes

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