The Old Ambulance Station

Many years ago, when I had just turned 17, I was involved in the St. John Ambulance Brigade. For those of you that don't know it, the STJAB is a volunteer first aid organisation.

Well anyway, we used to meet in the upstairs training area for the local Ambulance Station in Cessnock, NSW. The original station was built in the early 20s and it was a concrete and brick two story structure. The station always had this strange feeling about it all the time, the feeling like you were not alone even if you were.

One night I was late leaving a training session when I was waiting for a lift home when I heard something strange. The old piano upstairs started to play. I can tell you I thought it was one of the SO (Station Officers) playing a joke so I walked in and said to the SO there that whoever it was playing the piano needed to learn to play properly. He looked at me strange because he was the only person on duty and then we both heard the piano start to pound out a loud dance tune.
We both went upstairs and as we opened the door the piano went silent. We looked in and switched on the lights, just as we did the piano gave one last cord and the lid slammed shut. We switched off the lights, locked the door and took off at a dead run down the stairs. When we were both standing outside, panting with both the effort and the fear, we both saw the lights go on upstairs. Just about then my friend turned up and as we were driving back she asked me why I was leaving the training session early as she had seen someone standing on the outside porch and looking down at us with the light shining behind them.

I continued on with STJAB for a long time after that, but I made sure I was never the last one out of there of a night anymore and the SO concerned apparently got a transfer to a brand new station in the city. I don't blame him.