While not occuring in Brum. itself, I've just written up a couple of stories sent into the W.M.G.C. a few years ago regarding incidents that occurred, relatively locally, around the festive period.... They don't have a particularly Christmassy feel to them, unfortunately, but the time of year is spot on!!
Come on - everyone loves a ghost story at Christmas!!
The first account was sent in to the group in December 1997, following a newspaper appeal for local ghost stories. Our contact asked for strict anonymity at the time of writing to us, so names and precise locations have been omitted from the story for that purpose. Still, it makes an interesting tale, methinks??
The experience in question is said to have occurred in a lane, in a rural area, situated just outside Wolverhampton near the Staffordshire / Shropshire border.
Our correspondent was returning home (to Shropshire) following a visit to her parents house (in Wolvo.) on Christmas Eve, 1992. At the time of the experience, she was driving along a quiet country road at around 9 p.m., travelling directly behind a Volvo estate car.
As they passed a section of woodland on their right hand side and a high wall on their left, our witness saw a young boy suddenly dash out of nowhere into the path of the car in front of her… which clearly didn’t have time to avoid him! She describes the lad as wearing clothing that was reminiscent of the Victorian period; dull or dark trousers and jacket, which looked like something you might see at the Black Country Museum. Despite such detail, she assures us that she was convinced that she had just witnessed a real road accident, with a real, flesh-and-blood boy…..
After both vehicles had screeched to a halt, she got out of her car and ran to the Volvo, the occupants of which – a Scottish couple – had also exited their vehicle. We are told that the female passenger was crying and hysterical, while the man was staring incredulously at the front of the car. A search of the immediate area was conducted, but – you’ve guessed it – there was no sign of the young boy anywhere…..
The Volvo driver readily admitted that he had certainly struck the lad – he had appeared so suddenly, there was no chance of avoiding him - but there was no resulting bump, or sound of impact and, when the vehicle was checked over, no physical signs to indicate a collision of any sort. A search of the vicinity was conducted for some further 30 minutes, but nothing to account for the experience could be discovered.
Puzzled, the drivers got back into their respective cars and our witness went back to her parents house, while the Scottish couple swore that they would visit the nearest police station and report the incident. The man had said that he would be in touch if anything came of the matter, but nothing was ever heard from either him, or the police……
A passing comment made in a local pub some while later resulted in the news that this certainly wasn’t the first time that such an experience had occurred on that particular stretch of road…….
The second story occurred on Boxing Day 1992 and involved a young woman driving past an old, Midlands airfield on her way to work one morning at 7.30 am.
As it was a cold morning, the woman concerned had switched her heater on in the car as soon as she had entered the vehicle some 10 minutes earlier. However, as she made a turning off a major, A road near to the airfield in question, she reports that the vehicle suddenly went icy-cold. Inexplicably, condensation immediately formed on the inside of the windows and she instantly became aware that there was now someone sitting, directly behind her, in the back seat of the car.
Too afraid to actually turn around, she looked in the rear view mirror and was horrified to see what she took to be the face of a man - who had evidently been badly burned - seated behind her! For whatever reason, a sense of evil seemed to assail the witness – a feeling that stayed for a few seconds, before evaporating…. along with the condensation and accompanying, icy chill. Within a brief time, the experience had passed and the man had vanished.
Due to this experience, the woman refused to use this particular road for a long time afterwards and sought an alternative, albeit longer route to work. Some two years later, however, she happened to find herself on the same stretch of road again, and – at the exact spot where the figure had previously appeared – she clearly smelled something akin to the rank, stench of ‘burning flesh’……
This smell later occurred on a further visit to the site, but there were no further experiences at the spot – despite many visits through the area - after the second of her olfactory encounter.
After the W.M.G.C. corresponded with the woman concerned – seeking further information on her encounter – she wrote back to tell us that the man had appeared to be around 40 years of age and had seemingly been staring out of the car window towards a nearby farm. She had seriously thought about contacting the occupants of the site in question, but had hesitated for the simple reason that she had no idea of how to broach such as subject, as she had wanted to enquire about, with complete strangers!!
Queries aimed at a local policeman – a friend of the witness – regarding accidents in the area, came to naught. It was noted however that a public house, situated some 2 miles distant, had burned to the ground many years earlier.
Another friend, who was in the RAF, had suggested that the womans ‘visitor’ may well have been connected to the nearby WWII airbase – the land now utilised for housing and commercial concerns – but a subsequent check of the death records associated with the site revealed no significant accidents for the time-frame in question. Despite this, our witness feels that this latter mentioned avenue is the most likely cause for her unnerving experience….
All the best to everyone over the Festive Season and into the New Year!!!
Regards,
Nick
