Fear Files

Running Water Mystery

My wife and I live in Lincolnshire, UK.

In the following tale please don't expect any ghostly figures, or people walking through walls, etc. Nevertheless, I would like to relate the following, as yet, unexplained mystery.

Back in 1996 my eldest daughter, who at the time was living in a small village called Writtle in Essex, decided to get married. Her flat was rather small so local accommodation had to be found for my wife and I for a couple of nights. It turned out to be a rather ancient farmhouse Bed and Breakfast not far from Writtle.

On arrival the lady owner led the way upstairs to our room on the top floor. I happened to suggest, while climbing the creaking staircase, what an excellent place for ghostly happenings. On reflection, perhaps I should not have joked.

That night we slept quite well until, that is, just before daybreak at which point my wife awoke, asking me why had I switched on the light as she had been disturbed by a "brilliantly bright light shining in her face." Needless to say, I had not switched on any light and had not been aware of any light.

During conversation at the breakfast table a little later she mentioned this incident to the owner who immediately told us, and the other guests at the table, that this was nothing new as sometime previously she had had a traveller staying - in the same room - who had experienced exactly the same thing.

We more or less dismissed the whole thing although it was rather intriguing that someone else had earlier given credence to our story.

It was what happened the second night that really disturbed us. While we were sleeping, my wife apparently had gradually become conscious of a sound, almost like a waterfall, seemingly emanating from one corner of the room, the corner nearest me. So much so that she woke me saying "That water, you must be getting soaked!" Interestingly, I realised then that I also had become subconsciously aware of gushing water. I can remember thinking vaguely, "Where is all that water coming from?" knowing that there was no tap or any source of water in the room.

The following morning at breakfast we somewhat hesitantly mentioned our experience, but immediately a gentleman across the table from us admitted that he also had heard the sound of rushing water, so much so, that he felt obliged to get up and open a window, half expecting to see torrential rain but there was nothing. Everything was dry. His room, incidentally, was immediately below ours. We checked with the owner of the property but she confirmed that there were no water pipes in the roof in that area of the house, nothing that could have caused what the three of us had heard.

Later that morning just before we drove off, I turned to take a photo of the farmhouse as I like to keep a record of any interesting place we stay at. When the photos were returned from the developer - at that time we did not possess a digital camera - we were surprised to see what looked like a mist in front of the upper part of the house, very near the window of the room we had slept in. Now, I am well aware of how easy it is for light reflections to creep into a camera, but it is a fact that this camera had never played up before. I was tempted to accompany this story with the photo but decided not to bother as it probably was just a "trick of the light." But there again - who knows?