True Ghost Experiences

Water Tower

This occurencehappened to my friend Collin P. and myself John G. in about 1959.At the time we were about 13 and still attending Hagley RC HighSchool. The time was about 8.00 - 8.30 PM, the month I no longerremember but it was in the Northern Hemisphere Autumn - Winterbecause it was dark quite early.

The local town was Kidderminster in the County of Worcestershire,roughly in the middle of England. The area was Birchen Coppice, ahousing estate owned by the local council, it was then, arespectable area as it was only probably 8 years old, I believethe area is now more of a slum but I haven't been there in 33years as we moved in the middle '60's and then I re-located toAustralia in '67.

A bit of geography is needed here so;

The street we lived in was Kinver Ave, the rear of our housesbacked onto undeveloped bushland which went on into some pretty,unspoiled countryside in most directions. However the area justto the rear and to the south was called "The Burlish Camp".This Camp was built in WW2 as a repatriation hospital for USservicemen. After WW2 it was used to house Polish war refugees.As children we played, mixed and schooled with their children. Inthe middle '50s the people were re located and the whole area wasknocked flat, except for one lonley structure called the "WaterTower".

As the name suggests it was exactly that, a very large bricktower, from childhood memory about 50ft by 50ft by 80 - 100fthigh with a giant water tank in the top. It was used to supplythe Burlish Camp with water.There were 8 windows, 4 at the rearand 4 at the front. The first pair about 30ft from the ground,the next pair another 30ft up. There was a steel door on thesouthern side but it was bricked up in the middle '50s. There wasnever any electricity to it and it was now inaccessible.

Back to the story;
Colin and I were just hanging out, at the end of our street undera street light.This street light was at the junction where ourtarred street met with a wide dirt track that lead over to theBurlish Camp, straight passed the Water Tower and onto a smalltown called Stourport-on-Severn about 4 miles further on. Duringour conversation Colin said " hey look at those lights inthe Water Tower", (the tower was probably 1/4 mile away butcould be made out in the moonlight).

I was quite supprised, because we could see some form of movingor blinking light in the window area of the Tower. The lightcolour did not appear as normal to what we call light ie, candlesand incandescent light seems to have a warm and yellow content,this light light was very sallow white to opaque. A short timelater, about 20 yds from us on the dirt track at angle of about45 degrees we could see a light, the same colour light that wasin the Tower.

From this point on, in the following events, I have norecollection of time; I remember we thought it was someone on abicycle because the light seemed to fall to the ground, westarted giggling saying it must be someone drunk and fell offtheir bike.

In the next instance, I remember myself drawn and staring wideeyed at the figure of a man particularly at the face, it was sideon, very distinguinshable features; vertical flat forehead, longpointed nose, sunken very staring eyes, because my concentrationwas so intense and to the head, I did not seem to observe anybody detail, except the lack of normal motion movements, heappeared to float along. Opaque, we could see right through him.

Also the ground all around seemed to crackle, as if RiceChrispies were being trodden on. Next, I picked up a stone andthrew it in his direction, Colin was pulling at my left armscreaming at me not to throw it. The stone, I estimate, fellshort but in line, as it hit the soft grass with a "thud"the man brought up his arm as if to protect his face, my legswent to jelly, I fell to the ground and the vision disappeared,Colin ran off holding his ears and screaming as he stumbled offrunning through peoples front gardens.

BUT..... I vividly recall floating above the street light, I canremember detail such as the bird droppings on top of the post. Iwatched Colin pulling my left arm, me throwing the stone,collapsing on the ground and Colin running away screaming. Irecall a lady from a nearby house coming out and bending over me.

The next thing I remember was lying on the ground and a lady, MrsSayers, bending over me asking if I was ok, and "what wasall that shouting"?

I ran home very scared. Collin lost his hearing for 2 days. Wemade a pact not to tell for fear of ridicule, anyhow as time wentby we told, and we got laughed at. But I could never see anythingfunny about it, this occurrence left an indelible mark on me.

Some years later at age, maybe, 16, I had been out fox huntingwith a companion Peter G. Peter wasn't a local and wasunfamilliar with our area, we were heading back to my home, on a"Dirt" motorcycle at about 2.30-3.00 am, Peter waspillion, I was riding. When we were directly in front of theTower, a few hundred yards away, Peter shouted to me "wholives over there", I said,"overwhere"? as Iconcentrated on riding with no lights; "over there", toyour left, as I looked to my left I was looking at the Tower. Myeyes nearly popped, my jaw dropped, I was agast. Each of thewindows in the tower had those same lights as years before, buteven more startling, we could distinctly see people like figures,lined up as if waiting to go in where the door used to be, thefigures were not distinguishable seperatley but were the sameopaque colour as the "little white man". That motorbikebecame the fastest bike in the land.

Many years later, talking to my late dad, we were passing thetime talking about our familly,being kids, where we lived,neighbours and the like,dad was telling me how in the post waryears 1956 - 1960 times were hard and 5 or 6 of the local ladieswould work continuous night shifts in an electrical insulatormanufacturing plant, in the above mentioned town called Stourport-on-Severn.He said they would cycle 8 - 10 miles to work each way instead of3 miles short cut through the Burlish Camp. I said "how comedad", oh he replied, "Mrs Hawker next door says thatnone of the woemen feel good going that way, it always seems verystill and eerie when they goe past the Tower, and when they comehome in the morning, the birds are singing but, not up there bythe Tower, its always still and quiet". Dad chuckled. Ididn't, I knew just what they meant.

Well, in the mid to late 60's the tower was to be removed to makeway for a communications repeater station, the local news wasthere to cover the big Bang, it took 3 days of drilling andexplosives to finally fell the Tower, the experts were scratchingtheir heads, they couldn't understand how it stayed up through somany explosive attempts.