I Just Heard A Spooky Yarn

[milk23]

I just heard after something like 38 years of not hearing it that a long time ago in the house I grew up in my sister, who was around 3 at the time walked from the bathroom into my mother's bedroom one morning and said 'there's a man in the bathroom'.

This was met with 'no there isn't, your dad has gone to work', to which my sister replied, 'it isn't dad, it's a man with dirty hands', and with this statement she mimicked a fella flicking bits off his fingers (not unlike a painter and decorator would you see... so the story goes). With this, my mother suddenly felt chills and surmised that it was her recently deceased father (my sister's grandfather).

My sister apparently wanted to take my mother into the other room to show her that what she said was true, but my mother refused to go. My grandfather as a builder and an all round manually skilled fella did indeed have perpetual dirty hands and used to flick the bits off in the not uncommon manner my sister pantomimed. This obviously put quite the dent in our mother's manners because she refused to go anywhere near the bathroom for the rest of that day.

My sister is a trifle skittish these days and we often have to steer her away from talk of spirits and ghosts etc as it effects her for some time after. I think this is the reason I have never before in all my life heard this tale. By the reaction of my mum the other day when the story finally received an airing I figure it was a particularly spooky moment.

My eyes lit up with this tale I can tell you... ding dong

 

[Human_84]

So it happened 38 years ago and you only recently were informed, correct?

Has your sister been able to add any more details to the story when questioned in recent time?

 

[milk23]

literally heard the tale for the first time last week. I had no clue about it until then. i am assuming it took place something like 38 years ago. If my sister was three then I'd be about two although not exactly sure those are the dates... approximately then. The situation meant there was no chance to explore the story indepth and as I say my sister is not to be encouraged in freaking herself out. there was definite gravity to the yarn when they were discussing it

 

[PeniG]

Y'know, if three-year-old me had told my mom that there was a strange man in our bathroom she'd have grabbed a bat and headed straight in there...

 

[milk23]

The bathroom was not really in the west wing of our gaff... it was approximately 4 yards at the most from where my mum was stood (across the creaking floor board passing the door of my mum's room) I imagine she was quite sure there wasn't a bloke in there saving her the bother of going in the attic to wake the bat

 

[Cochise]

saving her the bother of going in the attic to wake the bat

Thank you! That's started the day off for me in a better mood than normal

 

[milk23]

That's started the day off for me in a better mood than normal

strangely, that is almost exactly what the bat said... between mouthfuls of coco pops

 

[Father_Ted]

As long as this man didn't have lots of jewellery and a big cigar your sister should have been alright.

 

[Cherrybomb]

Do you think it was this event that has effected your sister even all these years later?

 

[smokehead]

Thanks to film4 last night, I know now that Cherrybomb is a song by the Runaways,and that Dakota Fanning,who I last saw screaming constantly in Tom Cruises' ear during War of the Worlds has really grown up
Some things just never come up in conversation,I worked with a bloke for 20 years,really good mate,and it only occurred to me when he popped in for a visit that I never knew the name of his wife!