Actually, I didn’t exactly see the ghost, but I know it was there. I could feel it. And I heard it. I’d take someone who knows about ghosts there to prove it, if I could, but they knocked the place down last week to make way for some housing estate, so instead, I’m writing this down, so there will be a record of ‘the ghost of Sycamore Avenue’ and of how I came to see it.


I suppose it all started when I was nine. My grandma bought me this book called ‘Unexplained Mysteries of the Supernatural’ from a jumble sale, and I read the whole thing in an afternoon. My favourite part is the section on ghosts. I still have it on my book shelf, next to all my R.L. Stine books, but it’s getting kind of tattered now.

So anyway, I’ve always been into ghosts, or at least since before my mum died, and that was ages ago, and after she died I was even more interested in ghosts because I thought that she might come visit me as one, and I used to lie awake wishing she’d come back as a ghost so I could see her again. Once I told that to my Dad and he said I was being “bloody stupid.” He doesn’t think ghosts are real, but he’s never seen one. If mum did come back as a ghost, I probably wouldn’t tell him.

It was the start of June when I suggested to Adam that we should go into the haunted house. Adam isn’t really into ghosts, but he only lives a couple of streets away from me, so we hang out sometimes. It was during PE (we were doing Badminton, I think) that I asked him if he would come with me, and he said it was a good idea, and so he told James and Gavin, and Gavin told Michelle. I don’t really talk to Gavin, or Michelle, or James, but since Adam had told them and they wanted to come, I couldn’t say they couldn’t. And then later on I decided that having more people would be better anyway because then we could do a séance, even though, when we did the séance, they didn’t take it seriously. Actually, they didn’t really take any of it seriously when we were there, which annoyed me, but there was nothing I could do about it.

We arranged to meet up at the house on Saturday at eight o’clock. I told my Dad that I was going to stay over at Adam’s that night, and he said that I hadn’t stayed round anyone’s house for a while, and I said that’s why I was staying round Adam’s on Saturday. So after dinner I went upstairs and packed a torch, a sleeping bag, a notepad (and pen), some candles, a couple of slices of bread in a sandwich bag (for the séance), a disposable flash camera, and some snacks and a bottle of coke into my bag and said bye to my Dad. He was sat in front of the TV drinking beer when I left. He’s so boring most of the time.

I was the first one to reach the house, because I lived closest, and then Adam turned up ten minutes later, and then we stood there for ages, waiting for James and Gavin and Michelle.

“Maybe they’re not coming,” I suggested, hoping that they weren’t.

“They’ll be here soon,” said Adam, and then they appeared at the other end of the road about two minutes later, carrying their school bags. When they reached us we looked around to make sure no one was watching, then we all ducked down into the long grass of the garden so we could sneak in round the back.

“What a shit-hole,” James said as we slipped under the rotten boards across the back door. The house was the same layout as mine, so the back door led into the kitchen, which smelled of mould and decay.

“So now what?” Adam asked when everyone was stood up in the half-dark kitchen.

“We get this party started,” Gavin said. I don’t like Gavin.

First off, we explored the house. It was basically the same as my house, only all dirty and with decaying furniture in some of the rooms. The bathroom was the worst. The floor was all rotten and damp and the taps were all covered in thick white and green flakes. Both the sink and the bath were full of little black pieces of wood or something, and dead woodlice and spiders. The toilet had some dark debris floating in it too, that swirled around and frothed up the water when I went to pee.

After we had explored the whole house and were stood in the bedroom Michelle said that she didn’t want to stay the night here. I wasn’t sure why she had come on a ghost hunt anyway, because girls scare more easily (like Yvette on Most Haunted, she’s always the one that screams) and, like Gavin and James, I don’t think she’s really into ghosts anyway. Then again, I’m sure she saw the ghost that night too, so maybe she could already feel the ‘presence’ in the house then, because I’ve read about some people who are sensitive to the paranormal like that. Whether or not she did want to leave, Gavin convinced her to stay.

We got out our sleeping bags and spread them out on the floor and sat down. I also got out my notepad and pen and made my first notes of the evening. James asked what I was writing and I told him that I was recording the evening in case any ghosts showed up so there would be a record of the events leading up to their apparition. He smiled and looked at Gavin and said “oh right.” I think he thought it was funny, but he doesn’t know anything about ghost-watching. I don’t really like James either, but not because of that.

I put my notepad away and, a while later, got out my camera, in case I had to photo anything quickly, but then Gavin snatched it up and took a photo of Michelle. The flash filled the room for a moment.

“Ah, you dick,” Michelle said, slapping at his hand, “I can’t see now.”

“Hey,” I said, “it’s not for that, give it back.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, letting the camera fall into my hand. I think he was saying sorry more to Michelle though, because he was looking at her when he said it and then put his arm round her and pulled her towards him.

“So what is it for?” James asked.

“For photographic evidence,” I explained, “in case any ghosts show up.” James raised his eyebrows and smiled at Gavin again. Adam looked at both of them and half-smiled too.

“So, who’s thirsty?” Gavin said, after a short pause.

“Yeah, right here,” James said as Gavin unzipped his bag and pulled out a couple of cans of beer.

“Adam?” he asked, handing one to James and offering the other to Adam. Adam took it, and Gavin pulled out another two. “How about you, Ben?” he asked, holding one out to me.

“Uh, no thanks,” I said.

“Suit yourself,” Gavin said. He handed the one he had offered me to Michelle and opened the other one himself. “Cheers, lads,” he said, taking a sip from it. For a couple of hours they all talked and laughed and Michelle was leaning against Gavin, who had his arm around her, even though they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. I made notes every so often, and went to explore the house a couple of times while they all sat there, but nothing much happened. I didn’t think anything would happen in the rooms other than the bedroom though because that was where the woman that used to live there was killed by her husband. I knew this because Michael had told me ages ago, which is why I knew the house must be haunted. (Michael is someone I used to go to junior school with, but we don’t really talk any more because he went to a different secondary school.)

A little before midnight, which was the time I was waiting for, I suggested that we start the séance.

“Sure, why not?” Gavin said, “It might be fun.”

“What do we need to do then, Ben?” Michelle asked.

I started setting up the stuff. First I put a candle in the middle of the floor, then I put the slices of bread next to it. (The bread is to attract the spirit because sometimes they still crave physical nourishment.) It was then that I realised that I didn’t have anything to light the candles with, but then Gavin pulled a cigarette lighter from his bag and lit the candle. It was nearly midnight now, so I turned off the camping lights we had been using and told everyone to sit in a circle. I explained that we had to take this seriously, and that, once we all held hands, we shouldn’t break the circle unless something really dangerous happened. At midnight we all joined hands. Adam was on my left and Michelle was on my right. Her hand was warm, maybe because she was scared.

“Okay, no one break the circle now until I say so,” I said, “and no one speak either, just concentrate on summoning a spirit.”

“And how do we do that?” asked James, lit up from below by the candle.

“Well, you just think about ghosts and the other side and stuff,” I said. We all sat in silence for a few moments until James said in a deep voice “is there anybody there?” I glared at him and Gavin shushed him. About a minute later I thought I saw something move in the shadows, but it might only have been the flickering of the candle.

“Hello?” I said, “if there are any spirits present, please make yourself known to us.” My words disappeared into the dark air, but no reply came, then I noticed James, sat across from me, go all tense, like he’d been shot. Then he suddenly started shaking and making sort of choking noises, like he was trying to say something. I felt Michelle’s hand grip mine harder, then she suddenly screamed and let go. James looked at her surprised and sort of dazed as she scrambled away from us.

“You alright, mate?” Gavin asked, looking back at James but moving towards Michelle.

“What was it?” I asked, moving in excitedly towards him, “was it a possession? was it a spirit?” He glared at me and said,

“Yeah, it was your mum.” I sat back, surprised and hurt.

“You dick,” Adam said, “you know his mum’s dead.”

“Oh shit, sorry mate.” James said to me, but he didn’t look sorry as I tried to fight back tears of anger. I felt like hitting him, but he’d only have hit me back. Meanwhile I think Gavin was asking Michelle if she was okay. She said she was, but it had just freaked her out when James had gone weird.

“I reckon we all just need to chill out,” Gavin said, turning one of the camping lights back on and lifting it up so he could see into his bag. After rooting around for a few seconds he pulled out a little plastic bag with some green leaves in it, as well as a packet of ‘Golden Virginia’ and some papers, and started rolling a cigarette with the green leaves and the tobacco. When he had finished he stuck the fat cigarette in his mouth and lit it, then he offered it to Michelle.

“I don’t know if I should,” Michelle said, looking at the cigarette.

“It’ll mellow you out,” Gavin said, “shall I give you blow-back?” Michelle still looked unsure, but then she nodded, so Gavin sort of leaned in close to her and cupped his hands around his and her cheeks then I think he just blew a load of smoke into her face. She coughed a couple of times, but didn’t shout at him for it. A few seconds later she smiled. Gavin held the cigarette out to me next.

“Wanna try?” he asked. The smoke smelled bad, like a bonfire with too many green leaves on it. I refused.

“Give it over here,” James said.

“I dunno, mate, sure you can handle it?” Gavin asked, smiling. James just took the cigarette off him and sucked on it. Then he coughed and laughed.

“That’s some good shit there,” he said, laughing, “you want some, Adam?” Adam looked at it for a few moments then shrugged and put it to his lips. He coughed as well, then asked how they could “smoke that shit.” James, Gavin and Michelle carried on passing the cigarette between them for a while and occasionally saying stupid things and laughing, while Adam sipped at another can of beer and I listened and watched for ghosts.

Nothing happened for ages and then Michelle suddenly jumped and gasped, which made Gavin, who had his arm around her, half-jump as well.

“What?” he asked, smiling.

“I thought I saw something move in the shadows.” At these words I grabbed my camera and swung around to look where she was pointing. The corner was completely dark until Adam pointed a torch at it, but by the time he had lit up the area there was nothing there. I took a couple of photos in case, then turned back to Michelle and picked up my notepad and pen.

“What did you see?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. Just… something moved.”

“You probably just imagined it,” Gavin said.

“Yeah, maybe,” Michelle said, “I’m pretty tired.” I checked my watch. It was two o’clock. I felt tired too.

“You guys wanna go to sleep yet?” Gavin asked Adam and Me, noticing that James had already dropped off where he sat. “‘cos if you’re gonna stay up for a while me and Michelle might go kip in the other room.”

“Don’t mind mate, I’m knackered,” Adam said, stretching out his arms. They looked at me.

“I’m gonna stay up a while later,” I said, “in case anything happens.”

“Okay,” Gavin said, “you wanna go sleep in the other bedroom, babes?” Michelle shrugged and let Gavin lead her out the room. “See you lads in the morning,” he said, giving a little wink as he left, “and don’t let the ghosties bite.” Adam said good night as they left and rolled over into his sleeping bag. Then he turned the camping light out that was next to him and I was left alone in the light from the single candle we had left burning. For the first time that night I felt scared, but I knew that it was very difficult for ghosts to hurt humans and I was here to find out the truth about the house.

After a while in the dark I forgot my fear and began to become bored and sleepy, but every so often I’d think I saw something move in the shadows, and that jerked me awake, but when I looked properly it had gone, or was never there at all. A couple of times I took pictures at random with the flash on, hoping to catch a ghost like in all those picture people take of just everyday things and then there’s a floating face or something in them.

It was about half two when I actually heard the ghost. It was quiet at first, like it was coming through the walls. It started out as a low sort of moaning, accompanied by a few sudden gasps. I properly jumped the first time I noticed the sound and my heart sped up and I was wide awake, but too scared to go investigate. I wish I hadn’t been, but I was. I also wish I’d taken a tape recorder so I could have made a recording of the sound, but I didn’t have one to take, so I just listened hard, and thought about waking up Adam, but then the noises might stop and I would have missed them all.

After a few minutes they became louder and more desperate, like someone in pain. I think they must have been the sounds of the woman that used to live there being killed by her husband, although I wasn’t sure why they seemed to be coming from the walls. One of my first ideas was that maybe the husband had hidden her body in the walls, but when I looked in the morning, the walls were too thin for that, unless he chopped her up, but there was no way of checking that without knocking all the walls down. And if that had been true then they probably would have found the body parts when they knocked down the house, but that would probably have been in the papers, unless there was a conspiracy.

Anyway, that was the ghost I heard. I’m jealous of Michelle though because I’m sure she saw it. I’m sure of this because when she came into the big bedroom in the morning she looked really white and worried and like she’d been crying.

“You saw something last night, didn’t you?” I asked, feeling like I was in a horror movie, “what did you see?”

“Fuck off, Ben,” she said.

“Steady on,” Adam said, but I wasn’t offended by her because I think she must have been in shock from seeing the ghost or something. I’m going to ask her again some time, and maybe she’ll tell me, even though she doesn’t talk to me. Actually, she doesn’t talk to Gavin or James now, which is weird because her and Gavin seemed really close on that night. After Adam said that, she apologised and asked if he would walk her home. I don’t think I even saw Gavin that morning, and James left almost as soon as I woke up because he wanted to go home and get breakfast, so I was left on my own for a while, to look around and check out my body-in-the-wall theory, until I was hungry and decided to go home.

Now I just wish that I could go back to that house. My dad said that he heard at the pub that it got knocked down because someone saw kids in the building and it was an unsafe structure, but I’m sure no one saw us, so maybe the neighbours saw the ghost and thought it must be someone in the building.

One more thing. On one of those photos I took at random there’s like a black shape that I’m sure is a ghost. It’s hovering just above James, and James was lying against the wall that I heard the noises coming from, so I’m sure it must be a ghost. I showed it to Adam when I got it developed, but he said he couldn’t see it. I told him that that was because it was hard for ghosts to take a physical form, so that was why it was kind of hard to make out, but it’s definitely there if you look. He didn’t seem to believe me, but I’ve seen a lot of pictures and read a lot about ghosts.