The few experiences I’ve had that could possibly have a paranormal origin – Part 2

Part 2: Shadow Person Sighting (and other anomalous phenomena), Ipswich, Suffolk  

A welcome I would always remember

 

Once upon a time........
Many years ago, when I first came to work in Suffolk back in 2001, I initially stayed with a friend for a couple of months, to test the water before relocating fully, as I wasn’t sure that I would remain with the company I was working for at the time, which was moving its Head Office from my native South Wales to Ipswich.

As things transpired, I was very fortunate to have my friend’s house all to myself for the first week - she had previously booked a holiday and had already departed before I arrived, allowing me to settle in and...... clean up any mess I’d made during the week on the seventh evening.

I picked up the keys for the property from a relative whilst driving through Ipswich, on my way to work, then took the decision to continue onto the office, rather than pop into the house quickly beforehand.

My first day in the office passed quickly and the working day soon came to a close. I decided not to stay on at work for too long and left, arriving at the house at around 5:30pm – it was a hot sunny evening, during the height of summer. Too hot and sunny for my liking, the truth be told.


The adventure begins 

The house is here, somewhere.

I had only one thought on my mind, simply to get out of the suit and switch into some comfortable, light clothing.

I parked up and walked down the path to the front door, keys in hand. Little did I know what the next couple of minutes would hold.

Alone?
Unlocking the door, I opened it and entered. I  found the house empty, as expected and didn’t give the matter any further thought.

Walking along the hall and past the staircase on my right, I made my way to the lounge at the rear of the property, on the left hand side of the hallway.

Finding the door slightly ajar, I pushed it open and headed right as I entered the room, to face the French doors overlooking the garden. 

Immediately and totally unexpectedly, I saw what I can only describe as a ‘shadow person’, approximately six foot tall, leaning slightly over the dining table next to the patio doors, as if studying something.

It was not blurry in anyway shape or form, it was clear and sharp, totally black and I, for some reason, perceived it to be male. 

It did not have a hat on as far as I could see.

Having caught my eye, the figure disappeared in an instant, it didn’t fade away, one second it was there, the next it was gone, vanished into thin air.

My immediate thought when I initially spotted the form was that it could have been another family member, who possibly had access to the house, but it quickly registered that what I’d seen was nothing of the sort. 

Although it seems strange, looking back at the event now, I didn’t really think much about what I’d seen at the time - I just simply put it down to the possibility I was seeing things, although for transparency, I must say that I was well aware of the shadow people phenomena at the time of the sighting. 

However, at this moment in my life, due to the pressures of work and the challenges of relocating, the paranormal and all its wonders was as far away in my mind as far as it could have ever been at that precise moment and, it would remain so for some time after. 

But, I haven’t really finished yet – there quickly followed another curious event that could possibly be linked to the shadow person, which occurred early the following morning.


Seconds out, round two.
After a good night’s sleep, I awoke to the alarm and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. 

In no particular rush, I slowly made my way to the kitchen, which was next to the lounge at the rear of the property, with a solid wall (as opposed to a partition) separating the two. When I entered the kitchen, to my complete astonishment, I found that all of the cabinet doors and draws in the kitchen units were swung wide open or, pulled out fully. 

Now, whilst I freely admit I wasn’t the tidiest of people at the time (Laura convinced me to see the errors of my ways when we met several years later), I have absolute confidence I didn’t leave the kitchen that way when I went to bed the previous evening. The odd draw or door slightly ajar, perhaps – but most definitely not all of them and, the draws fully extended.

An interesting disclosure
Despite the apparent flurry of anomalous activity that greeted me during my first twelve hours of being in the house, no other events occurred (to my knowledge) during my stay. However, when the time had come to move to my own house, I was enjoying a glass of wine with my friend on my final evening at the property, when she unexpectedly came out with “so, your last night in the witches’ house then?” 

My ears pricked up, curiosity piqued. 

I immediately pressed her as to what she had meant by what she had said. She replied that she believed the house to be haunted and, she frequently saw shadows scurrying out of the way when she entered rooms, even in the daylight. 

Not wishing to cause any alarm, I never told her of my experience on my first night, but her comment made what I’d witnessed all the more interesting and, possibly provided validation that I was not the only one who was experiencing similar phenomena there.

Not a shadow person......

Epilogue
A few years later, I eventually sat down and decided to research the property in earnest.

I was able to establish that the semi-detached house was constructed in the mid 20th Century, during a period of housing expansion in Ipswich, upon agricultural land which has previously seen service as an orchard. 

Indeed, to this day there still stands an old apple tree, in the centre of the garden, which presumably remains from the former orchard.

However, apart from this sparse information, I was unable to find any further history from my initial searches that could help provide an insight relating to what I saw, or indeed what was being witnessed by the family in general during their day to day life there. 

Neither could I be sure that any deep dive into the history would throw any further light to the narrative. 

Mark.

 

For my next article, although there will be a delay for the final final submission in the series, due to 'technical challenges', I shall discuss a curious event I experienced at a rural Suffolk Church which, some have said, has a dark and ominous, more recent history.