Readers' Stories New Age Tiscali

From the age of nine until I was about 13 I had a very strange experience at my parents house in the country. The house was set off a long lane that ran around a large field near the woods. My bedroom was at the front of the house facing the road so I could see and hear the odd car that drove past.

On a regular basis I would wake up in the early hours of the morning to hear a horse and carriage bolting at high speed down the lane. I then heard the horses whineing and pulling up as if to stop.

I always remember that as soon as I openend the window the noises stopped. Although I looked I could never see anything. You could hardly see at night in the country as it was so dark so I was never really scared.

Many years later I returned home to stay with my parents. Yet again, just as it was when I was a child, I awoke to the same sounds, the horse, the carriage and then the silence. I remember looking at my watch - the time was 1.15.

I couldn't believe it when the same incident occured again the next night and at exactly the same time. I then decided to stay yet another night to see if it happened again or whether I could see anything this time. I never heard a thing and still haven't until this day.

Some weeks later I asked our cleaner about my experience. She told me that she was happy to do some research into my inquiry. When she came back a few weeks later with some news, I couldn't believe what she had to tell me.

There had been an accident in the late 19th Century involving a coach and horses on the lane that ran past my parents house and a girl had been killed. Apparently the horse and carriage had ploughed off the road.

I often wonder why I never heard it again especially as I had planned to stay another night. I was never really scared when I heard it, just baffled as to what it was and why it was me that heard it so often. For some reason this tragic event which happened years ago is still etched in our time today.

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