The Old Woman (1)

The first story I'm relating to the reader occured in a small Australian country town in the late 1980s. I just got my first job as a computer operator for the Department of Public Works (DPW). I was stoked because I also managed to find a house and moved in with a young family. The house was built around the 1920s in the Colonial style with the small verandah, sloping roof and the attractive lace awnings. Little I know that strange things were going to happen.

It was 3rd week in the house when the first supernatural event occurred.

I was home by myself one weekend and I remember reading a book on my favourite rock band, The Doors. I was sitting on the couch when the owner's poodle ran by, followed by a white furry ball. I thought a cat got in and looked about. Couldn't find the cat but the poodle was wagging her tail at something then goes off chasing it. This happened for a few hours then it stopped. I forgot about it when a mate turned up with a video and some beer. He gave me the video to put on and started talking to me about something when, out of the blue, the video machine spat the VC out. The TV started flipping to different channels, lights flickering on and off...I'm fair dinkum about this...and the windows started going up and down on their own accord.

My mate was out the door, screaming into the black night, leaving me alone. He never came back after that.

A few weeks later I was invited to a great party. Okay, I'll admit that I was very drunk when I got home. I remember the time on my watch (I was seeing double by this stage) and it read: 2:30am. As I struggled to get my house keys out of my leather jacket, I looked behind me and saw an old woman wearing a flowing night dress, staring at me, looking very angry. I wondered how she got there then dropped the keys. When I looked up, she was gone. I remember I threw up with fear.

A few months passed and I had actually forgotten about the old lady and was again invited to a dinner party. Now, this time I was sober and came home exactly the same time as the last time. As I took my keys out, there I saw the old girl standing looking at me with those blazing eyes of hers. Man, she looked pretty peeved off about something. I knew I was looking at an angry ghost. I left that house within the year and moved to Sydney. Wasn't that long ago and I went back to that old house and got talking to a young woman. The conversation somehow got to ghosts and she told me about the old woman who is now in the house. I said, "so the old bag is still around?" and told the girl about my experience. Postscript: Not long after I left that house that I had another weird experience, this time in my mother's house. A man this time wearing a tartan coat and leaning on a stick. I should know because the old bugger whacked me really hard on the foot that woke me up. My mum knew about the old man and told me her experience. Even the department store I was working for in Sydney was haunted. I saw the original owner's ghost standing in my office a few times, I heard people walking up and down the stairs that led up to old, disused rooms and an old ballroom. I've heard coughing, smelt cigarettes when the area was non-smoking, and saw a ghostly couple dancing in the ballroom one night.