Night Time Visitor At Christmas

To all of you on here who I have come to call friends I'm sorry I have been holding back on this one but I'm sure I will be forgiven!

This all started before I joined ygs, it actually was the reason I found the site and joined up in the first place.

I work nights in security for a large ditrubution center for a well known UK chain of stores (that will not be named) and a part of the job is watching the cctv, it's dull but has to be done. One night in the final few days of November 2009 the canteen staff were just finishing there shift and had stopped by the control room where I was working. Now let me try to explain the lay out here, the control room is where the cctv is and the intercom for "call outs" so the security are based in this room. Next to it is the main reception area which we also have control over so a door from the controlroom to the reception area is always kept open. There is a large desk in reception with a built up front for protection to stop anyone leaning over the desk.

This night the canteen staff asked me if I could check the cctv to see who had been going into the canteen kitchen at night, for the past 2 days the morning shift had been complaining that the night shift had been leaving things like pan lids out, flour on work tops and even the taps running but the night shift who leave at 2 am knew they had not.

So I sat through 4 hours of cctv watching a door. Nothing was seen, no one entered and no one left. Catching the night staff the next day one laughed when I told them and said "ohh we must have a ghost cook then" and tried to laugh it off.

This got me thinking! Could it be another work place that's haunted!?!

I had to go and check it out! (the canteen is on the second floor)

So I went up to the canteen after the staff had left just after 2am taking the keys with me I entered the kitchen. Now considering the large dishwasher was running and there had been food cooked in there up to about 30 minutes before, the place was real cold to enter.

I walked around looking for anything strange but saw nothing I would not expect to see, everywhere was spotless. I said "hello anyone here?" but sadly got nothing in reply, so I locked up the kitchen and returned to the control room. The next night when I got to work the supervisor asked me if I knew who had been in the kitchen? I told him I had and asked why. "the place was a right mess this morning" he told me " oil on the floor, flour everywhere and jam jars (jelly to you in USA) broken in the sink" I was shocked! I had sat and watched the canteen all night and saw nothing. I was questioned but the cctv showed when I left there was no sign of flour on me and they said that the amount in the kitchen the person who did it would have been covered so I was asked to "look into it". So again, 4 hours cctv watching!

This time however I did see something. A shadow of a person who stood just out of camera shot (or so I thought). It just stood as though reading the menu for about half an hour then moved away. I wrote my report and left it at that as things were picking up as christmas was fast approching and we were getting very busy.

That year I lucked out and worked Christmas eve night (7pm to 7am) and had to do internal patrols. The place was deserted by 9.30pm that left me and one other security guard on site. I got the control room duty and cctv watching (oh what joy).

Around 1am I was flicking through the cameras like a guy looking for something interesting to watch on tv. Flick~empty wearhouse flick~carpark flick~canteen with shadow flick~gatehouse flick~hallways flick~another carpark camera HANG ON! Re~flick canteen! And there is the same shadow I had seen a few weeks before!

I ran to the canteen not thinking to call the other guy on site as I knew he was asleep in the gatehouse. When I walked in breathless and panting I heard a chair scrape along the floor, the one nearest me had been moved slightly away from the table. "thank you" I said and sat down then my brain kicked in, 1/im alone 2/the chair moved on its own 3/im talking to my self on camera. Turning my back to the camera so I did not look totally crazy on film, I spoke out loud to what ever it was making the shadow.

"you're scaring the staff up here, you know. And causing problems too". I looked around, nothing. "can you stop making the mess please?" I asked and again said my thanks and left the canteen, returned to the control room and got the fright of my life!

As I opened the door leading to reception the shadow was stood on the other side of the desk. It had come down with me from the canteen and the shock of seeing it stood there made me scream like a frightened 5 year old! I turned and looked at the cctv but it was not showing up on the camera, turning back it was gone! I saw that shadow 3 more times that Christmas time, up until New Year's Eve (worked that too). Every time I saw it, it was always on the corner of the desk on the opposite side from me and always just as I walked into the controlroom.

December 2010 and Christmas is again on its way at work and all is busy busy rush rush!

Im working permanant nights in reception and the shadow has not been seen all year.

I'm thinking its moved on to some better place, the tree is put up and I'm writing cards out like a maniac when out of the corner of my eye I see movement, its back! Standing the other side of the desk. I guess it's the same one but this time I'm seeing it every night I'm on shift. Only a quick glance now and then but guaranteed every night until the tree was taken down, that night it did not show itself.

We are now in 2011 and Christmas is here, the tree has been up 2 weeks and I now do only 4 hours in controlroom but its back again! Standing watching me watching the cctv/leaving comments on ygs.

I "feel him" standing there now and I get the feeling of interest and something like friendship like when you bump into an old friend you have not seen for ages.

I can say I look forward to seeing him now its almost pleasing to know he is still around the place (I say he due to the height and build). I have tried to set the timer on my camera phone to get a photo to share with you all but its like he knows he's there for the timer to count down but is gone when the picture takes, then is back when I finaly give up trying.

I have to say I'm going to miss him standing there when the tree goes this year.

The big difference this year is he has taken to moving about, the odd time he has been in the control room when I come in from having a smoke outside I can't help but think he has been reading the posts on here! (it helps to be a loony)

So that's it, my final post for ygs I hope you all have enjoyed my stories and I hope to have more some time soon, I will update this as and when if anything else happens.

Thanks for reading,

Carl

Xxx