A lot of people believe in ghosts. Me included, within certain parameters. I've been lucky enough to have experienced the manifestations that 'genuine' phenomena produce. On several occasions, I've had people with me who saw or felt the same things. Mostly, I'm a debunker. There's usually a simple explanation if one cares to look. However, the majority of people flee at first contact!

I worked alone in a house which seemed to possess an atmosphere of stark dread. I always left around eight, when the oppressive vibes became too much and imagination would start kicking in. One night, I turned off the power to the house from the mains rather than go from room to room turning out lights. I had a short walk to the front door from the under stairs cupboard where mains switch was located. With the light gone, the darkness felt like a living thing.

As I reached the door, the central heating boiler fired up. How could it go that with no electricity to trigger the ignition? My hackles rose. My first instinct was to get the hell out of there. I overcame my trepidation and walked to the kitchen where the boiler was housed. The off switch didn't work, turning the thermostat down was equally unsuccessful. Nothing I tried would kill the power. Skin crawling with goose flesh, I exited the place in a hurry!

The following day, I had the wiring checked out. The electrician found the house was cross-wired at the mains, so even when it was off, it remained on.

Simple explanation, see? My other experiences were not so simple... The fact that mine is based on personal experience and turned out to be something other than supernatural is great, but wait until I tell you what happened a couple of nights later, when I went into the garage...