I know many Boomers enjoy the paranormal adventure games set in England by Matt Clark. We do, it seems, have more than our fair share of places where the ghosties come out to play.
Such a place is Dover Castle, which is only ten miles from where I live so I hope you enjoy this little story.


Dover Castle stands high on the white cliffs above the port and town of Dover. The largest castle in Britain; it was originally built a thousand years ago and added to over the centuries to defend the shortest gateway to the realm. If you are looking for Walt Disney palaces and pretty turrets from where Rapunzel dangled down her golden locks, walk on by, Dover castle wasn’t built for fairy tales, it was built for business. Underneath this fortress are maze of tunnels the latest of which where dug just before WW2. Deep down are the remains of a command post, a hospital, canteens, sleeping quarters and a telephone switchboard and all now are open to the public on guided tours and is where our story begins.

Helen.

Miss Price ushered her brood of eleven year olds into the small exchange.
"Hurry children we only have a short time for Mr. Jones’s talk before we have to leave. Listen carefully and don’t forget to take notes for your essay on Thursday. I think we are ready Mr Jones”
The guide cleared his throat.” Well now did you note the sign on the door which said ‘Communications Room’? Good, well actually it’s a small telephone exchange as you can see by the old plug boards on the wall over there. The operators who sat on those fixed chairs in front of the boards where drawn from the Women’s Royal Air Force”

He went on to explain how the plug boards worked and how the information from the Radar stations in the area was passed on to the nations command centres.
He finished to polite applause lead by Miss Price.
"Now hand me your note books children, we are not going to have a repeat of the trip to Hever Castle when three were lost. They will be given back to you tomorrow at school” She glanced at the notes as she waited for Mr Jones to replace the bits and pieces he had used in his lecture.
"Oh how odd”. She exclaimed. "Angela Stevens, come here please”
A small girl approached Miss Price rather nervously.
"Why did you write this? Look, here at the bottom of the page”
"I didn’t Miss”
"Now don’t be silly, it’s in your hand writing isn’t it?”
Tears began to well in the girl’s eyes.
Mr. Jones walked over.
"Can I help?”
"I really don’t know. The girl has written this at the bottom of the page ‘Where is Helen’
Mr Jones looked uncomfortable.
"Ah, that happens from time to time”
"What on earth do you mean?
"It’s not a thing to discuss in front of the children Miss Price”
"Sorry I? --”
She was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the telephone on a nearby table.
"Aren’t you going to answer it Mr Jones?
Jones stared at the ringing phone in disbelief.
"Well”
"You don’t understand it can’t be ringing; nothing here is connected to anything. It hasn’t been for the last seventy years”
Miss Price lost her patience.
"Ridiculous”
She walked over and lifted the phone.
"Hullo?”
In her ear a sound of static like a radio that was turned off station
Then ‘Where Is Helen’ asked a voice.

Apart from the telephone sequence, which was my twist at the end, the rest is absolutely true. ‘Where Is Helen’ actually did appear written on the child’s notes.

From time to time unexplained occurrences happen to groups of visitors to these tunnels.
The most disturbing to date was a Dutch lady in a group of tourists who moved to one side to let a man in uniform walk past her when he walked straight through her. She was taken to hospital in a traumatic fit.
I am a profound sceptic when it comes to the paranormal but I don’t think that I would volunteer to spend a night alone down there. Would you?

Might visit the castle when we're in the area next year (War & Peace revival @ Folkestone).

A story just in time for Halloween. I'm going to look up this castle. Sounds very creepy and fun.

I'm a fan of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International, though I haven't seen GHI for sometime. I am in many respects a skeptic also.

Interesting story and thanks for sharing.

Cari, I am also a profound sceptic. I have had friends, whose judgement and veracity I completely trust, tell me first hand stories of seeing and hearing ghosts. I believe that they believe it but I won't believe it until I see it myself and that hasn't happened yet.

Having said all that, I would volunteer in a heartbeat. I try to keep an open mind about most things and would consider it one my life's highlights to have a completely convincing paranormal experience.

GHI did a segment on the Forteiland in the harbor of IJmuiden, near where I live. My brother has had some strange experiences there, when he worked there as a restoration bricklayer. GHI found a glowing handprint there but it probably isn't otherworldly: the walls in that chamber are soaked in picric acic, an explosive substance that can react with organic substances.

In my hometown there is a "Huldtoneel", a small man made hill dating back to the iron age. I passed by there near midnight one day and i felt that there was something wrong in that direction. Didn't see anything, just a feeling of dread. Is there something there? Dunno, but sometimes I have seen and felt something I can't explain otherwise.

Actually the guy looking for Helen is by no means an isolated occurrence, it happens at irregular intervals often to tourists some of who come from distant countries and so could have no prior knowledge of the phenomenon.

One interesting theory is that the witness is undergoing a time slip and in someway this seems to fit
For example
An electrician working alone in a cellar in the city of York saw an entire roman legion emerge from a wall and out to the opposite wall. The thing that he noticed was that he couldn’t see anything below their knees. Years later an archaeological dig uncovered a roman road that ran two feet under the cellar floor.

Two elderly ladies on their conclusion of their visit to the Palace of Versailles paused at the reception desk to express their thanks for a wonderful day.
“Oh and the show on the lawn by the actors in period clothes was quite wonderful”
“Yes so lifelike” agreed her friend.
You’ve guessed it; there was no show, that day or any other day.

Hope that’s got everyone in the mood for Halloween.

Great stories, Cari.