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Knocker-upper

 

Before I start this strange story, I will explain what a knocker-upper is. A knocker-upper was a profession in Britain and Ireland that started during and lasted well into the Industrial Revolution and at least as late as the 1920s before alarm clocks were affordable or reliable. A knocker-up's job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time.

Summer had come and my friends are planning to go for a short trip to visit one of their friends in England. I went with them for this trip since one of them said that they will be visiting a haunting spot as well.

We went to a small town in England called Chagford, located up north of Dartmoor, Devon nearby the River Teign.

We went to a famous church where it is said that a young girl of 1600's will haunt the area. The girl was known to had been shot died during her wedding the moment she came out the church.

My friends asked permission from the local police to go in to the church after midnight; of course we did not get an OK for that. We browsed around the church during the afternoon and took lots of photos hoping to capture something spooky or just extraordinary, but everything was just as normal as the peaceful day.

We stayed at a local friend's house during our trip, that night we had a wine party, we ate fried cheddars and grilled some smoke salmon, and of course we drank a lot.

The next morning I woke up and was having a headache due to the jet lag. My friends were in a deep sleep, the owner of the house was in his own room at the living floor; to explain, the house has a basement, 3 rooms with an attic. The owner's room was down at the first floor where the entrance and the living room are located. We stayed at the attic, where there is a room with an old creaky window.

Our neighbors next to us live in the same type of house, when the old window opens we can hear the sharp squeak of the rusty friction.

I tried to sleep some more since it was quite early in the morning; suddenly I heard something tapping the window of our neighbor. I thought it was our neighbor saying hello to us, I peeked out the window through the old glass I saw the street, foggy as seems as we are at a harbor. It was quiet and I think it was not time for anyone to be awake. I thought to myself that it might be some wind, few moments later I hear the tapping again.

"Knock it off! It's Sunday!" I hear the old man next door shouted.

The next moment I hear the same tapping this time outside our window, I looked outside but there is nobody. I went back to my bed then heard the tapping again, this time getting louder. I thought to myself that I could be dreaming.

I tried to go back to my sleep then one of my friend woke up and asked "Who's F**king tapping the window?"

I sat up and very clearly remember that we both looked out the window and opened the window slowly so that the squeaking would not be too loud.

Another friend whom was further away from the window woke up too and asked what was going on. We both told him that someone was tapping on our window. He looked out the window and said that he saw a blur; maybe it was a man holding a long stick. He was the one whom told me that we are visiting a haunted spot and tried to ask for a permission to stay at the church late at night the day before. Talking about him, my friends all said that he and his family are "gifted". They can see ghosts and communicate with them. At this time he did not try to communicate with the "blur" that he described.

During breakfast, we told the house owner what happened earlier that early morning, he told us stories about professional wake-up callers, called knocker-up before the alarm clock was invented. The town used to be busy with lots of industries. People needed to wake up on time and so the town hired a knocker-upper to wake everyone up.

I am not sure if the tapping was the spirit of the knocker-upper. It was too foggy to look out to see who is playing a trick on us, but I knew that our neighbor was also bothered by the tapping.

Sorry that this is a very unclear experience. None of us thought of recording the tapping and capturing it in our recorder since we all thought that it was someone or something playing tricks on us. When I remembered that one of my friends is a "gifted person", I decided to share this, hoping that it would be considered my second encounter during this year.

Thanks for reading.

Love from São Paulo

E.Lynx

P.S Do you think this "experience" worth starting the first page of my haunting journal?

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, roylynx, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

roylynx (guest)
+2
8 years ago (2016-08-28)
Shelbyloree; Wow, you've just told me most of the things that I have researched!
Thank you anyway.
You I knew about the "vibe" thing. I have researched about the "travelers" as well earlier and found that some of them will "act" like they were the ghost related to that specific place.
Yes, as most of people would wonder, why would any spirit do a job that they hated continuously? Well, here is one of the theories that some people would say.
I got to get back there soon! Cheers!

E.Lynx
shelbyloree (5 stories) (285 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-28)
Probably pieces of the town, sure. Maybe when you stop in (or move to) a different town, the 'vibe' you get from it may be you reading a surface energy of its past energy imprints. You know when you're driving through a town and think 'ew, creepy!' or 'oh this place is great!' type thing.

Sort of like when geologists go to the canyon and can read all the different layers of rock and dirt to know the earth's history - energy imprints are similar, layers upon layers of energy within a given area.

I don't necessarily think the whole town is constantly stuck in a specific time period and haunting the living now, instead maybe some of the energy imprints are just stronger than others, so stick out like the knocking window.

Why? I don't know, I imagine that's a question to be answered by folks in the quantum physics field. (Or someone else along those lines.)
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-25)
Shelbyloree; I see, so you think the whole town would be like a video recorder of that period? I got to do lots of research next time I am there.

E.Lynx
shelbyloree (5 stories) (285 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-25)
I honestly don't know, reading it reminds me of this story in my Enchanted World Ghost book.

A woman spent the night at the Pass of Killiecrankie and battles played out before her eyes, it was like a recording or an energy imprint. Scared her, obviously, but she wasn't injured or anything.

Yours could be the same, since the knocker didn't pay attention to 'it's Sunday,' and kept right on knocking, so probably not interactive. I think if it was an ornery kid running around annoying people, I'd suspect the knocking would be accompanied by giggles or talking.

If the houses and buildings are all from the 'knocker' time, the actions may very well be an imprint. If you took the window out and put it elsewhere, who knows? It might still knock.
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-25)
Shelbyloree; So, you think it is a haunt? I think I should keep this story as a "future use". But really, I want to visit again and find out what that was perhaps I have to interview the man next door, since he knew what was going on.

RedWolf; Thank you! Indeed, any encounter is a haunt. Interesting explanation for the haunting bride, I have got so many more to learn!

Love from São Paulo

E.Lynx
RedWolf (31 stories) (1292 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-23)
roylynx

You should put this in your book of hauntings. Even a residual haunt is a haunt. Just as the bride who was killed in 1600 she is probably haunting her favorite place when she was alive. She is also probably a residual haunt and you may not see her unless everything is favorable.

Regards
Red
shelbyloree (5 stories) (285 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-21)
Good start though, to use residual as an opening. The panes of glass remember, even if no one else does!

My brother-in-law works 3rds, so did my father-in-law before they moved him to days. They can work 21 days in a row before Union requires a break - I also have a book called immigrant kids, with stories of factories in the 1800's.They would have a sign that said 'if you don't come in on Sunday, don't come in on Monday' on the elevator. Factory life is not an easy one.

If that was an industrial town, like the one I'm in now, those factories never stop. Never shut down, going 24/7. I assume it was the same then, but then again, it's just an assumption.
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-21)
Sanchez_92; Thank you! Well I have decided to keep it for now and do some more researches before considering as a "haunt". This moment I could think of many more reason for us and our neighbor to hear the tapping as rookdygin commented, "A very repetitive, but needed task, done over and over and over manages to imprint on the environment and then repeat when the conditions are right."

Thanks anyway!

Love from São Paulo

E.Lynx
Sanchez_92 (7 stories) (52 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-21)
This would be a great first page for your haunting journal!


-Sanchez_92
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
Shelbyloree; Wow, you seem to know lots. Talking back about graveyard shifts I know a company which has a shift of 21 to 9 Freakin'12 hours' work, so no surprise for me. Things are better now, I guess but still there will be some "not really" ones. At least the world let us rest at least 1 day a week.

Thanks for the information (?)
shelbyloree (5 stories) (285 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
I imagine the knockers worked graveyard shifts and woke everyone up on the way home. Current graveyard shifts for factory work is 10pm to 6am, and that is for modern shifts. Pre-Union would probably be similar times or worse I imagine. And yes everyone would work Sundays, so sorry neighbor, ha!
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
Wow, so many messages at once that nearly gave me another "shock" LOL
Sorry guys for late respond I was in the hospital again to do a finally check, I was electrocuted while setting up an old microwave for my friend's parents LOL
Oh one apology, I have copied the first paragraph from Dr. Wiki to explain what a Knocker Upper is, I should have stated it but somehow I was rushing to write my story down to share with you guys, really sorry about it.

OK, answering questions. I will start from the oldest.

BeagleMom; Sure! It was a great place! I did not like London that much though but I am going back to the Town someday for another visit!

Madgurlee; Yes, that is what I heard while talking to the house owner, really 3 of us was there but none of us thought that it could be a ghost or a spirit. To say the truth, I am not really sure about if we have been visited by any spirits. One thing sure is the man next room also had the same experience. Thank you for letting me think about it again!

Rookdygin; Really? No one spoke about the Knocker Upper? But indeed that man next door knew about that "haunting" or just someone with nothing to do.
That's true, who woke up the knocker upper? I think I need another visit to that same room that we stayed. Thanks!

Lady-glow; I see, so far as I had read spirits won't do the job that they hated after life? I am not sure but perhaps that's right, I wouldn't like doing the same old job that I hate even after death lol
Ah! St.Michael's, my friend said that the girl was shot dead in that church. And his theory is that dead ones will come back to their "death spot" that is why we wanted to spend a night there. Yes, the haunting spot that everyone stated was very different, but my friends had their own theories that's why is kind of off the rail, sorry for that.
Yes, as you have said, I did copy it from Dr. Wiki. Thank you for reminding me about it! And yes, sometimes I found it "messy" to translate my language into English and so I feel "faster" to just copy it from the internet, I shouldn't do that anymore, I feel so ashamed now.

Madgurlee; Thanks for commenting again. Thank you for understanding!

Tweed; I change my mind before sticking this to my journal I will do another visit as a research, but I need a long period for my second visit I still have jetlag trauma LOL
So, you think this really is a spirit? I shall make another visit then! Thank you!

You guy made my day! My conclusion is that I shall visit the same room or the same street once more to make sure what we experience is. I shall discuss it with my friends again to make another visit to the Chagford do to more researches. Unfortunately we might need lots of time for our second visit, I will contact the house owner perhaps to ask more questions about the town perhaps.

Love from São Paulo

E.Lynx
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
haha Roy YES this is worth sticking in your journal. 😆

It seems some ghost knew you guys were hoping for a brush with a ghost and decided to give you just that. 😉 That it kept knocking/tapping after you'd checked makes me think that.
A knocker ghost, maybe, though I'd assume someone like that might knock on the door, wall or window closest to the street, as they would've likely done throughout history. If the window which received the knocking was positioned near a front path or street, perhaps this was one such person.

Very cool experience, thanks for sharing!
Madgurlee (19 posts)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
Lady-Glow my thoughts exactly too but didn't have time to write something similar (sneaking the odd story at my desk in work haha)
lady-glow (16 stories) (3149 posts)
+3
8 years ago (2016-08-19)
Interesting story... It is hard to understand that someone would keep on doing, in spirit, what is considered one of the worst jobs in history! 😐

After reading your story I had to do some research on the web in order to get a better idea about the place you're talking about, -Chagford is such a lovely and picturesque little town, I would love to visit it one day.

I got confused about the part of you guys wanting to spend some time in the church (St. Michael's) in the hopes to see Mary Whiddon's ghost. According to Wikipedia her ghost haunts Whiddon's House Park, where she used to live.
Since I have never been to Chagford I do not know if both of these places are in the same location or if your friend didn't have the right information?

I hope my following statement doesn't come too hard, but I was a little surprised reading Wiki's definition of what a 'knocker-upper' is and finding that the whole first paragraph of your story is the uncredited copy of wiki's words.
For us whose English is not our first language it is tempting to try to write our ideas in the best way possible, but it is better to use our own words, even in a broken and less than perfect grammar. (Blushing while typing this.😐)
The members of YGS will understand!

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your story.
Thanks for sharing.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+4
8 years ago (2016-08-18)
Roy,

Pity no one spoke to the neighbor about this... He seemed to 'take it in stride' and tell the 'knocker', "Knock it off! It's Sunday!" which indicates he was familiar with the sound.

However, this has all 'makings' of a residual haunting. A very repetitive, but needed task, done over and over and over manages to imprint on the environment and then repeat when the conditions are right.

Here's a thought for you... Who woke up the 'knocker upper's' so they could do their jobs?

Thanks for sharing.

Respectfully,

Rook
Madgurlee (19 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-18)
you won't find the ghost of a knocker upper in any old town probably just in industrial towns but not every one of them will come back as a ghost to carry out that job maybe this guy loved it haha. Where Roylynx stayed is where it actually happened back in the day. I'm from england and lived all over england and never heard of anyone experiencing the ghost of a knocker-up still doing his/her job.
BeagleMom (3 stories) (84 posts)
+1
8 years ago (2016-08-18)
Exciting, in a spooky way. I'm making my first trip to London and touring Ireland in 2017. Would be neat to hear a Knocker Upper, but we are booked into a high rise hotel. We are touring the town, perhaps we will have an encounter. Great Story!
roylynx (guest)
 
8 years ago (2016-08-16)
Oh! I nearly forgotten that I have went to England! I was planning for "my firt trip for this year" lol
OK, so that would be my second trip, if I could go any where again. Thank you for posting this story up, zzsgranny!

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