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Leith Haunting

 

A few years ago I found myself in the unfortunate position of being homeless - I won't go into the details of the why's and how's - and was living on the kindness of friends. Sleeping 6 weeks here, 6 weeks there all around Edinburgh and Fife.

I'd met this girl who offered me a bed at her flat in Leith and I gratefully accepted the offer. We got to her flat and had a glass of wine, a few nibbles, and she then showed me the room I'd be using.

It was at the end of a long corridor which ran from the living room at one end of the flat to the bathroom at the other - the kitchen and two bedrooms led off it too. It was a large room with a single bed, a two door wardrobe and a chest of drawers. As you entered the room there was a door in the far left corner which contained several shallow shelves, next to that a large bay window.

I thanked her, we said our good nights and I went into my new temporary room. There was a peaceful feeling to the room, nothing out of the ordinary or strange sensations, that is until I closed the door. Almost instantly the temperature in room dropped quite noticeably. A feeling of being locked in filled the room, a great sadness, morose-like, encompassed the entire room like a fog.

I was shattered and just wanted to sleep so I lay down on the bed which was directly opposite the door in the corner of the room, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

When I wakened in the morning, the door was wide open. I put it down to the girl having been checking to see if I was still there or even the door not being hung correctly and swinging open through the night and so I never mentioned to her about it.

The next night, however, when I went along the hall to the bedroom, the door was still closed from me having closed it in the morning. At this point I did begin to wonder what had happened to it the previous night. Again, after entering, I closed the door over and instantly the feeling of being constricted, the sadness, fear, set in. Again, I decided to just go to bed and ignore it.

As I lay on my back I became aware of someone watching me. I spun my head round to the right, and there in the darkness was the apparition of someone on the floor next to the cupboard door in the corner. They were sitting with their knees brought up to their chest and their arms wrapped around their legs, hands clasped. They were sat shrugged so I could only see the top half of their head and eyes peering at me in the dark.

As I lay looking at them, they moved, very slowly and gingerly, pulling themselves up onto their feet, all the time watching me. They then began approaching me in a cautious manner, almost frightened, certainly untrusting as though if I had moved, they would've turned tail and ran. I lay there transfixed by what I was seeing. I remember actually pinching myself just to make sure I was awake and not dreaming this.

The room door creaked, momentarily taking my gaze. When I looked back to where the figure had been, it was gone. The uneasy, claustrophobic feeling however intensified. I got up, opened the door and instantly the room cleared, like all pressure cleared.

I went back to bed and slept until morning when I mentioned my experience to the girl who's flat it was. She looked at me, wide eyed. "So I guess you know about this then?" I asked her. "That used to be my room" she said. "When I moved in here I took that room since it was the biggest but I couldn't sleep any longer than 3 nights in there. I think it's haunted" she continued. I never slept in that room again. Instead choosing to sleep on the sofa the rest of my stay there.

A few weeks later I bumped into a couple of friends of mine who told me that they themselves were getting kicked out of their flat as their landlord was selling the property. I asked the girl if they could stay for a couple of nights until they could get something sorted and she immediately agreed, insisting they stay as long as they need to.

A day or two later my two friends moved into the flat and took the bedroom I'd been in. I should say that for the couple of weeks between me vacating it and them moving in, the door was constantly open and so myself and the girl had basically forgotten about the "hauntings". For around 6 weeks they took up residency in that room, they never mentioned anything, neither did I, neither did the girl.

One night, however, myself and the couple were in the flat when he mentioned he was going to the toilet. Nothing odd in that, so he got up and moved to the living room door, opened it and promptly closed it again, pausing before opening the door and standing looking down the hall. He turned to me and asked if I'd "chum" him to the bathroom door. I laughed initially but then the memory of that room returned.

"Is your bedroom door closed?" I asked him "Yeah, why?" he repied, "Do I need to say anymore?" I retorted. He looked at me almost perplexed, "Y...you, feel it too?" he stuttered. At this I just blurted it out. "The ghost in that room you're in? The feeling of fear and dread when you approach the bathroom whenever that bedroom door's closed? Yeah, I feel it." Both of them just looked at me, then at each other, "Yeah, exactly!" they said in unison. We sat for around an hour talking about the room, the feelings within the room when the door is closed and the contrast when the door is open.

A couple of days later one of them was in the kitchen making a cup of tea when they felt as though someone was standing in the doorway watching them. They spun round and saw a shadow move from the doorway up the hall in the direction of the bedroom. Of course when they went to investigate, there was nothing or no one there.

One evening I was in alone watching TV when I became aware of "someone" watching me from the living room door. I turned around but obviously no one was there so I decided I would talk to it. I told it no one in the flat was there to harm them, that the flat was theirs and we were visiting. I invited it into the room and told it not to be shy in roaming the rooms, to come and go as they pleased.

After a few minutes I felt a strong presence in the room with me so I continued talking to it. I got the impression it was a young/teenage girl who was shut in that bedroom, mistreated and for some reason met with her death in the bathroom. My two friends also got that same feeling. After having spoken to "her" for around an hour she seemed more at ease, the presence was still there but it felt less threatened, more at ease. We all continued to feel it and particularly in the bedroom and bathroom area but there was a calmness about it.

Shortly after we all left the flat to go on to other ventures but before leaving we said our farewell to the ghost who's home we'd been living in.

Other hauntings by Aliendewd

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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, Aliendewd, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Aliendewd (6 stories) (22 posts)
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-31)
Rook.
Yeah, she was a "good time" girl. Always out, phoning her estranged Father and insisting he send her Money for a night out with drugs and alcohol the order of the day. She obviously hadn't been paying her rent and bills for some time as it takes 3 months of Rent arrears in Scotland before any eviction notice can issued.
She left quite simply because she knew she was getting evicted and knew the authorities were after her for non payment of rent, council tax and also gas/electric. We knew nothing of this until we got a knock on the door one afternoon and were met by Council officials none too pleased with the fact that she wasn't there and we were. They graciously gave us a couple more days to arrange further accommodation before the eviction took place.
Bibliothecarius (9 stories) (1091 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
P.S.: I did leave a message for Goggzy on the story "Protected?" http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=22235 about extending empathy to the O.P. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to suggest each of us extend the same empathy to each other from time to time?
I'll stop interfering, now.
-Biblio.
Bibliothecarius (9 stories) (1091 posts)
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
Aliendewd:
I sincerely apologize for continuing the direction that the discussion has taken; I get annoyed when the conversation veers off-track for more than 4 or 5 posts, and it is not my intention to make matters worse. Indeed, I hope to help clarify this dispute in order to bring it to a cease-fire, if not to an end.

Goggzy:
1. You are performing research, funded out of your own pocket, using your skills in a manner consistent with your previous experiences.
2. You are doing this to contribute the information to the conversation and to be taken seriously as a newer member of the website.
(Please correct me if I am in error on point one or point two.)
3. To many of the moderators and more senior members of the site, your methodology appears to be inconsistent with the -admittedly nebulous- ground rules for paranormal investigation. I think that this misunderstanding springs from the fact that, in the U.K., local municipalities typically charge a fee to view documents; in the U.S., governing authorities and investigative branches of government authority (police; FBI; CIA; State-Level Investigators, Supervisors, Regulators, and Inspectors) must fill out reports which are maintained in files open to public scrutiny (unless it is an on-going investigation, or a classified action) because the Freedom Of Information Act (F.O.I.A.) based on the legal precedent of the American Bill of Rights requires that the employees of the government (the employees, not the politicians!) be as honest as possible with the general public. Viewing the files -which often contain some redactions to protect innocent 3rd parties from being accused of improprieties- is often free, provided the individual who wishes to view the file fills out a document which records his or her requesting the information in the file. Americans, then, see PAYING for information that the Government legally has obtained and maintained (through spending tax money) as suspicious behavior akin to cyber-stalking.
4. In the U.S., soliciting information from someone whose names or identities you have discovered through paying for information is distasteful behavior; rather like the sort of action which would get British subjects slapped with an ASBO for hiring a shady investigator to follow your ex-girlfriend everywhere.

Yes, this seems counter-intuitive to Britons in general, but having lived in the U.S. For a couple of decades, I can state that it took me EIGHT YEARS to become accustomed to the way Americans think and act. The British tend to presume that the British way of doing things is correct, yet can't understand why Americans charge around the planet like over-grown (and heavily-armed) five-year-olds who don't bother to learn local customs and traditions before blowing things up to fix the problem. Americans presume that since the British speak the same language (well, nearly, but you can't always convince them the differences are not just in accent, they're in the socio-psychological attitudes underpinning the diction), Brits in general SHOULD see what Americans mean, then agree with them, because the American way of doing things is right (demonstrated by the U.S. Economy and the massive American military) and Brits are being stubbornly old-fashioned and overly cautious when immediate action is necessary and should be obvious to anyone with a grain of sense.

Everyone else:
1. PLEASE don't be offended by my depictions of Americans and Britons in explaining to Goggzy what I see as the point of contention here; the depictions are cartoonishly over-simplified! (I imagine Tweed's Aussie opinion of both of our cultures is affectionately skewed in a similar manner, unlike her perfectly normal upbringing listening to the latest Top Ten didgeridoo singles, riding kangaroos to herd koalas, and tracing her ancestors back to the specific prison frigate that transported them.)
2. Look at what I identified in the points I explained to him; while his actions seem like those of an ambulance-chasing shyster seeking to drum up business, he was acting out of the best of intentions to be helpful and to provide data relevant to the cases.
3. Goggzy is 22 -if I recall correctly- which in Britain makes him an adult (in America he'd be a frat-boy, but most Brits leave high school at 16, accelerating the process of maturing from both work experience and hard knocks).
4. I sincerely believe that there is a cultural misunderstanding here, exacerbated by the failure of each side of the disagreement to see that the other side has no idea WHY anyone would assert the opposing point of view.

Just so we're all clear, I'm part of the last generation of Brits to grow up learning to be uncomfortable with discussing money and fees publically. I think that the discussion of income or expenditures became a taboo subject after WWII, when America's Marshall Plan paid to rebuild the infrastructure of Germany, Occupied France, and Fascist Italy, but not their British Allies who were still living with rationed food and housing well into the 1950s. Goggzy's generation is far more comfortable discussing money in a public forum, but -I have found- it is usually in a defensive context of self-justification, not in the context of bragging about wealth. That's probably why I find myself more in sympathy with my American compatriots in this particular debate, but have not taken an active role in condemning Goggzy for his enthusiastic efforts to be helpful.

Now that I suspect I've upset everyone, I'll sign off on this post.

Take care, everyone, and please, please, please, think about what the other party is trying to communicate before typing out a response.

-Biblio.
Goggzy (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
Rook

That's what we usually charge (a handling fee) which we get charged this is part of any investigation price basically we charge what we have to pay I haven't charged anyone who I have found out about through this website as we didn't investigate and I still had to pay handling fees (this came out of my own pocket). I don't need to research anything for people on this website but as I have experience doing this I know I can and this may help in some cases of paranormal happenings.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+3
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
Goggzy,

This is nice... (quoting you twice here)

"What I did was email there estate agent (they are looking to sell the place) and said I was doing some research into the surounding area (not only the new owners were asked) and if they wanted to take part to get in contact with me."

AND

"I ask for addresses as then I could research the addresses and mention if there is any reason it should be haunted e.g as in this case it has turned out around this vicinity (not the exact house) has had kids locked up in bedrooms and most cases were left there when the parents left this can explain why the place can be haunted, if I was doing this for personal reasons we charge 75 pounds research fees and have I ever mentioned this."

So you got you address... Researched around the area... Contacted the estate agent and IF they want to take part in the research you will CHARGE them 75 pounds (up to 150 you stated somewhere) to do so...

This is what the MODS are saying is WRONG... And I agree... You may not even relaize it but you are 'seeking clients' that you can 'charge money' to 'HELP THEM'.

Research is a PRIVILEGE, something done to HELP INDIVIDUALS and (hopefully) advance our understanding of the Paranormal and the Spirit World. This PRIVILEGE should not come with a PRICE TAG.

Respectfully,

Rook
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
Aliendewd,

Was the individual who 'put' you and your friends up an individual who was prone to party and not pay her bills or did this behaviour develope AFTER you and your freinds 'made nice' with the 'girl spirit' in the house?

Its 'fine and dandy' that she left two weeks before you did... But WHY is the real question. Thanks for the update, please 'fill in the blanks'.

Respectfully,

Rook
lexi-loo (1 stories) (175 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-29)
aliendewd:
Yeh the little wall that goes along the railway has a break on it and if you cut through the gap there's a graveyard on the other side of the wall but we went in at night and only stayed about 5 minutes so I don't know where the actual entrance is
Goggzy (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Zzsgranny

I ask for addresses as then I could research the addresses and mention if there is any reason it should be haunted e.g as in this case it has turned out around this vicinity (not the exact house) has had kids locked up in bedrooms and most cases were left there when the parents left this can explain why the place can be haunted, if I was doing this for personal reasons we charge 75 pounds research fees and have I ever mentioned this.
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+4
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Goggzy: We do care about the new owners. Can't you understand the contradiction in your question? If we didn't care, we wouldn't ask for nondisclosure.

In nearly every account from the UK you've commented on, you've asked for the location. This leads me, as well as others, to believe you've only come to this site to research for new places to go ghost hunting. And a ghost HUNTER you are. There's no excuse for your unscrupulousness.
Aliendewd (6 stories) (22 posts)
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Champion - I never invited my friends to stay. I asked the girl independently if she would object to them staying for a few days. She without hesitation insisted.
I like how throughout everything which happened, your main concern seems to be with the way you envisioned I asked her if my friends could stay a few days. Incidentally, she wasn't shy in coming forward, if she hadn't wanted them there, she'd have said quite bluntly. She was happy to have as many living there as she could for a couple of reasons, the main one being the Spirit - when she was in there herself she was terrified and with her erratic behaviour quite possibly unsettled the Spirit. Having us there calmed her slightly though she was still unhinged. As i've stated, I haven't heard from her since she left the Property.
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Goggzy - I'm not debating this with you. If the new owners had a paranormal issue they needed help with, I'm certain there are many ways they can contact someone.
Goggzy (guest)
-1
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Miracles

Who said anything about looking to investigate anywhere? Also everyone has been asking about the people he lived with well what about the new owners does anybody care about them and it was there choice to get in contact I didn't need them to contact me to do research just that it's easier with them.
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Goggzy - regardless how you did it, I think you were out of line. This site is for sharing experiences and offering help and/or advice when applicable. Not for scouting out new places to hunt ghosts, unless they are public places that advertise ghost hunting tours.
Goggzy (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Miracles

What I did was email there estate agent (they are looking to sell the place) and said I was doing some research into the surounding area (not only the new owners were asked) and if they wanted to take part to get in contact with me.
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+4
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Goggzy - this is EXACTLY what I was talking about when I posted the comment about not sharing the address. You indicated you knew what I meant, yet you still went ahead and contacted the people currently living there?!

I agree with Tweed that this is unethical. It's one thing to be contacted by an owner, but to contact someone yourself, based on an online story? What, exactly, did you tell them about hearing about their home? I'm seriously pissed off about this and am sending an email to our administrator!

And frankly, I don't care whether or not they were happy you contacted them!
Goggzy (guest)
-2
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Tweed

They have been in contact and they have 1 or 2 strange things happening. They were happy I contacted them.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Goggzy, I don't think that's ethical. You don't know what those people might believe in. They could be non-believers and if so have a right to be. I don't think contacting is them a good idea. Just leave it be.
I was wondering out loud, imagining, not literally willing to find out, that would disturb the peace.
Goggzy (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
It seems the earliest buildings around this area are from early 1800's, and a lot of kids were locked up in rooms around this vicinity. Can't find much info on this exact address as I need the new owners to get back to me first.
Goggzy (guest)
-1
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Aliendewd

The place was sold in May 2010, currently contacting current owners to see if anything has happened to them since they have been there.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
Thanks for that Aliendewd,
I deduced from her willingness to let many stay there and her absence from key points in your story that she was a bit unhinged.
I wonder if the people there now are having any experiences.
Aliendewd (6 stories) (22 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
lexi-loo. Yes, close by Rosebank Cemetary. I know the railway you mention.
Aliendewd (6 stories) (22 posts)
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-28)
I should clarify to all those asking about the girl who's flat it was and apologies for not doing so previously. She had actually vacated the property two weeks prior to the rest of us leaving. It had nothing to do with the haunting more to do with her being unstable - something which was becoming more aparant as time went on. As it turned out she hadn't been paying her bills and was more interested in partying. As she left she told us she would be back in a couple of weeks (she was going to visit family aparantly). Unknown to us she had actually been issued an eviction notice which was then enforced those two weeks later, she was also in breach of her lease by having us in the flat it emerged. I haven't heard from her since.
champion (3 stories) (172 posts)
-1
9 years ago (2015-08-24)
Sorry you were homeless but I found it rude that you invited more people into her home. I know she said she didn't care but the truth is she probably did care but doesn't know how to say no. Anyway have you checked on her since? I have to say I am concerned for her. I hope you are doing better with a home of your own again and pay it forward someday! Thanks for sharing!
A_A (1 stories) (37 posts)
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-24)
Goggzy,
When Redwolf stated "In all seriousness I would like you to write some of your experiences on here. Don't write them all at once and use made up names for your team mates unless you get the okay to use their names. "
She (or anyone) didn't intend for you to write in the comments section. It totally contradicts the rule of keeping the comments on topic or the author's story. Try submitting your own experience.
Mimi81 (203 posts)
+1
9 years ago (2015-08-23)
Rook,thank you. I've been reading through the archives and I really respect your opinion.
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+2
9 years ago (2015-08-23)
Mimi,

Well done, well done indeed.

Your observation touches upon why I asked the question I did... Thank you for understanding and simply 'getting it'.

Respectfully,

Rook
Mimi81 (203 posts)
+5
9 years ago (2015-08-23)
I have a few thoughts I'd like to mention. We know the girl was uncomfortable with and frightened by the ghost. However, the other three people had established a friendly "relationship" with the ghost. The spirit may have developed certain expectations because of this.

What if the ghost became angry after the other three left? She may have lashed out at the girl in some very frightening ways.

If the spirit had been abused while still a living person, she may have become unstable. The poor girl living in the apartment may have been left to deal with an angry, mentally ill spirit.

People should always remember that the paranormal is complex and not always benevolent. Dealing with a spirit is like dealing with a stranger on the internet. You may think the person's safe and have many pleasant chats online. But you have no way of knowing if how that person presents himself is the real person.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of paranormal encounters. But accepting everything at face value can lead to disaster because it can open Pandora's box.
Goggzy (guest)
-2
9 years ago (2015-08-22)
Redwolf

We are currently setting up for a investigation in 10 hours, this will be recorded and researched before I supply a report to this website this report will most likely be submitted on Tuesday 25th hopefully gets published quickly, in this investigation it seems to be attracted to our female clients this I will explain the clients are a man let's call him Dave and a woman let's call her Debra, there 3 sons the oldest is got his dads name and we will call him jnr, and two twin boys who are 12 we will call them Donald and Dom and there 14 year old sister Dannie, as far as we have been told things only happen in the house when either Dannie or Debra are there at first when we asked questions we thought it was just sounds from a old house (there house dates back to late 1800s) but we were told that Dannie and Debra went to France for 2 weeks and there was no sounds at all when they came back noises started again.
RedWolf (31 stories) (1292 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-22)
Goggzy
In all seriousness I would like you to write some of your experiences on here. Don't write them all at once and use made up names for your team mates unless you get the okay to use their names. I'm sure that I would enjoy reading about them. Some of the television shows seem so fake. Such as Theresa Caputo and Kim Russo, they claim to know nothing about the houses they go into but NO psychic is 100% right. They have to have some prior information about the houses they investigate and the people, mostly celebrities that live in them
Regards
Red
Goggzy (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-08-22)
Redwolf

I believe you as a medium could probalbly be able to help more than me, if I wasn't a investigator I wouldn't have any experiences meaning I couldn't help at all, so yes I bring up the fact I am a investigator so I can answer any questions about how I know this before the question arrives.

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