Ghost
I grew up in a house in the middle of nowhere that was built in 1905. It was dark, creaky, the water pipes would make awful noises and loads of people had died in it. Did I see any ghostly activity? Did I bollocks. So you could say I was an unbeliever in all things paranormal.

A couple of years ago at the tender age of 29 I bought my first house. Having been built in 1968 it was reasonably modern, only 2 families had lived in it and nobody had died there, which is why I jumped a fucking mile when I saw out the corner of my eye a man in the kitchen watching me. He was gone in an instant. At the time I put it down to being in a new house, the previous owners had only just moved and it felt like I was in someone else’s home.

There was a lot of decorating to do, so for 6 weeks I lived with my parents and went over my new place every evening & weekend to decorate. In that time I saw what I thought to be a man in the kitchen a few more times. I had heard that some ghost sighting have been put down to carbon monoxide poisoning, so I had the gas combi-boiler serviced and I bought CO detectors (both electronic and the type that change colour).

A few days after moving in I saw him again. I had always got the impression from my fleeting glimpses that he was confused as to what I was doing there, so I stood in the kitchen and talked in a loud clear voice about who I was, where the previous family had gone, that I was more than happy to share the house with him but I would appreciate it if he would stay out of my bedroom.

About a week later I had a friend over to watch a DVD. I have known this friend for most of my life and knew that despite having a university education and a responsible bank job, he likes to hide when you leave the room so that he can jump out and shout “BOO!” I left the living room to use the toilet but he must have thought I was going to get another beer from the kitchen because from the stairs I heard the big ape “silently” move to the kitchen door followed by “BOO-FUUUUCK!". He calmed down once I explained that it was a benign ghost, not the vengeful type that crawls out the TV.

I very rarely see him now (the ghost, not my friend although he's still a bit wary about my house), when I do I say “Hi” and carry on with what I was doing. I am still sceptical when I hear about other ghost sightings & I refuse to watch “Most Haunted” and “Ghost Hunt”. I don’t consider myself as living in a haunted house.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 12:04, 5 replies)

Genuine Fear
I fell into a sort of Trance reading your story and I had this overwhelming sense of fear and goose bumps on goose bumps - A truly awesome story!
(paulwoody, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 15:54, closed)

Cheers Paul
but he really is a harmless ghost (so far) & I haven't seen him since about February. I think the secret to keeping his appearences to a minimum is for me to let him know that I know he's there by saying "night" in the kitchen before going to bed and I say "hi" and "bye" when entering & leaving the house. I know this all sounds crazy, but I think a lot of hauntings are down to ghosts angry at being ignored for years on end.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 3 Jul 2008, 17:04, closed)

this actually makes a little bit of sense
I'm putting it down to the inordinate amount of teh beery goodness i had last night
say hi to ghostie from me!
(Freddles, Fri 4 Jul 2008, 7:14, closed)

Respectable?
I think the really spooky thing is that you consider that there are jobs in banks that can be called 'respectable'! ;-)

Good story though! Actually sort of makes me wish I had a ghost too!

(not a fan of banks, btw)
(dchurch bah, Mon 7 Jul 2008, 12:54, closed)

Appease your ghost
Maybe you should leave somekind of offering for your ghost - get him on your side and maybe he'll do some housework for you, afterall he is your tenant!
(Ghost Batty Rider, Wed 9 Jul 2008, 13:17, closed)