The Ghost That Followed Us

Now, I am not a big believer in the ghost, goblins, supernatural and such. I think that sometimes, people make up a fair amount to make a good story. But I will say, after this trip, it has made me stop, pause, and wonder if just maybe, there is something else out there.

Dover and World War II

To set the stage, Dover England has its roots steeped in medieval times dating back as far as the late 1100s. It is built on the edge of white chalk cliffs made of chalk (yes, the same chalk used on chalkboards in classrooms) that seem to almost glow in the sunlight.  It is famous for extensive tunnels that are built into the cliff. Some dating back to the Napoleonic and Revolutionary wars. World War II saw the heaviest use of the tunnels.

During World War II the tunnels were used as bunkers, officer quarters, strategic operations and hospital for the wounded. Many soldiers died in the surgical wards.

The Tour and The Ghost

We were on a tour of the tunnels. We had passed through some of the offices, storerooms and communication rooms. When we came to the hospital surgery room. This is where a ghost made its presence known by attempting to inhabit or communicate through our youngest son, Ian.

The Fearless Youngster

Ian is not someone who scares easy or is timid. Quite the contrary! He is a typical rough and tumbles boy who loves to climb to the very tippy-top of trees, explore dark damp caves, meandering tunnels, see what creepy crawly things are under rocks and the such. So when I describe what he was experiencing you can understand my alarm.

Ian started to lean on me and hold my hand. He said he was not feeling very good. I asked him what was wrong. He said his stomach was “yucky” and he felt like he was going to throw up. I bent down to look at him. He looked so pale it scared me!

It was at that moment he fainted! If I had not been looking down at him I would not have been able to catch him before he hit the floor. That was very alarming! We were in the depths of the tunnels and my son (9 years old at the time) was half my height. It was too far to carry him out the way we came. I used the service elevator to take him back to the surface.

Top Side

On the surface, we sat on a bench waiting for dad and brother to rejoin us while he rested and recouped. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were all together again and Ian was feeling much better and practically back to his old crazy active self.

We decided to walk the medieval castle walls, turrets, cannon alcoves. Before we knew it, our casual walking had turned into running as we were going up one staircase and down another as we made our way down to the dungeons, through the halls, stopping now and then to pretend that we were firing the cannons or shooting arrows through the window at an invading army.
As we were passing through one of the passageways I turned around and took a picture behind me. I had no real reason for doing so, it was just an empty stone passageway. I just wanted a picture of where we had been, I guess.

Second Sighting

It was not until we got home and were going through all the pictures that we noticed something particular about one picture. In the center of it, there was a blue sphere that was just hanging there in mid-air! (See what you think about another picture we took in Edinburg.)

At first, we thought that maybe it was dust particles or maybe a reflection or one of the lights. Then we noticed that there were no other dust particles floating around. There was nothing to cause a reflection off the stone walls and you can see a light on the ceiling, it is not blue, but a soft yellow. Very curious indeed! Perhaps one of these days we will be able to go back to Dover and retrace our steps to see if we can capture another mysterious picture.

Would You Stay in a Ghost inhabited Hotel?

October, Halloween in particular, is a popular time for many people to ponder the existence of a ghost. Some people will plan an entire vacation around visiting and exploring haunted destinations. Would you? Would you stay the night in a hotel that is supposed to be haunted by a ghost? We did just that in New Orleans. You can read about our experience here. I would love to hear about yours.