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M25 Ghost?

the_flycatcher

Fresh Blood
Joined
Sep 28, 2019
Messages
13
I was working in West London (Ruislip) and commuting each day from Milton Keynes (about 50 miles) and car-sharing with a colleague. Most days this journey took around 1 1/2 hours, but sometimes the motorways would be jammed and it could take 2-3 hours as a result.

One night we left work and encountered the M25 at a standstill. To avoid that we diverted onto a back-road which we hoped would get us back onto the A41 closer to home. It soon became obvious that everyone else had the same idea and we were stuck in another traffic jam, this time in a country road rather than a motorway. My colleague (who was driving this time) decided to chance his luck with an even smaller country road - this time through villages I'd never even heard of never mind seen.

We were on a single track road in pitch black. Not another car to be seen in either direction. All we could see were trees lining the road. No lights. Out of the darkness we approached a slight bend in the road and - randomly - a figure appeared out of the mist. A woman in 1600's-1700's smock and shawl, with a rudimentary 'bonnet' on her head, appeared in our headlights. She looked as worried by seeing us, as w were seeing her. I am certain I caught here eye. As we slowly drove past. I remember looking in the mirror and realising that (a) We had not passed any houses at all in quite a while and (b) It was pitch black, and thee were no street lights. At first I told myself that she was 'dressed up' for a party or something, but then it dawned on me that this was something quite strange and out of the ordinary. I am convinced this was a glimpse of something paranormal, and wish that we'd stopped the car to engage with this person rather than drive on.

I'm still not 100% certain if what we saw, but it bothers me that I probably will never know for sure. If it was a 'ghost' I really do wish we'd stopped and engaged with this 'person' in some way
 
I was working in West London (Ruislip) and commuting each day from Milton Keynes (about 50 miles) and car-sharing with a colleague. Most days this journey took around 1 1/2 hours, but sometimes the motorways would be jammed and it could take 2-3 hours as a result.

One night we left work and encountered the M25 at a standstill. To avoid that we diverted onto a back-road which we hoped would get us back onto the A41 closer to home. It soon became obvious that everyone else had the same idea and we were stuck in another traffic jam, this time in a country road rather than a motorway. My colleague (who was driving this time) decided to chance his luck with an even smaller country road - this time through villages I'd never even heard of never mind seen.

We were on a single track road in pitch black. Not another car to be seen in either direction. All we could see were trees lining the road. No lights. Out of the darkness we approached a slight bend in the road and - randomly - a figure appeared out of the mist. A woman in 1600's-1700's smock and shawl, with a rudimentary 'bonnet' on her head, appeared in our headlights. She looked as worried by seeing us, as w were seeing her. I am certain I caught here eye. As we slowly drove past. I remember looking in the mirror and realising that (a) We had not passed any houses at all in quite a while and (b) It was pitch black, and thee were no street lights. At first I told myself that she was 'dressed up' for a party or something, but then it dawned on me that this was something quite strange and out of the ordinary. I am convinced this was a glimpse of something paranormal, and wish that we'd stopped the car to engage with this person rather than drive on.

I'm still not 100% certain if what we saw, but it bothers me that I probably will never know for sure. If it was a 'ghost' I really do wish we'd stopped and engaged with this 'person' in some way
Fascinating - how long did you see her for? You say she seemed surprised to see you (car, modern clothes), makes me think possible timeslip? Was there anything else odd about the environment (radio signal, mobile reception)?

When you see something so out of place it's unnerving (my thread 'a childhood experience' details the time i interacted with some kids in period clothing as a child)

What an interesting experience you had there
 
It always bugs me that it takes a few minutes for your brain to process the situation and by then it's hard to turn back to check it out. The moment has passed.

What did the other person observe?
 
I was working in West London (Ruislip) and commuting each day from Milton Keynes (about 50 miles) and car-sharing with a colleague. Most days this journey took around 1 1/2 hours, but sometimes the motorways would be jammed and it could take 2-3 hours as a result.

One night we left work and encountered the M25 at a standstill. To avoid that we diverted onto a back-road which we hoped would get us back onto the A41 closer to home. It soon became obvious that everyone else had the same idea and we were stuck in another traffic jam, this time in a country road rather than a motorway. My colleague (who was driving this time) decided to chance his luck with an even smaller country road - this time through villages I'd never even heard of never mind seen.

We were on a single track road in pitch black. Not another car to be seen in either direction. All we could see were trees lining the road. No lights. Out of the darkness we approached a slight bend in the road and - randomly - a figure appeared out of the mist. A woman in 1600's-1700's smock and shawl, with a rudimentary 'bonnet' on her head, appeared in our headlights. She looked as worried by seeing us, as w were seeing her. I am certain I caught here eye. As we slowly drove past. I remember looking in the mirror and realising that (a) We had not passed any houses at all in quite a while and (b) It was pitch black, and thee were no street lights. At first I told myself that she was 'dressed up' for a party or something, but then it dawned on me that this was something quite strange and out of the ordinary. I am convinced this was a glimpse of something paranormal, and wish that we'd stopped the car to engage with this person rather than drive on.

I'm still not 100% certain if what we saw, but it bothers me that I probably will never know for sure. If it was a 'ghost' I really do wish we'd stopped and engaged with this 'person' in some way

Sounds like a timeslip. Poor woman is now having trouble working out what the demons in their fiery chariot portend.
 
Thanks for comments. I have been unable to pinpoint exactly where this occurred, although I think it was close to the M40, somewhere near Beaconsfield /Wooburn maybe. I am sure she "saw" us and I am certain our eyes met, fleetingly. My colleague also saw her and says the hairs on his neck stood on end! Sadly in the time it took to process what I was seeing, we had slowly driven off and when I looked back all I could see was blackness. I recall she also had a sack-like bag in her hand. It wasn't so much scary as it nags at me that it may have been a missed opportunity, could have stopped and watched (or even offered her a lift!)
 
Great Post! Just on the failing to stop issue. This seems to be a common thing with roadside ghost stories. I've never read one where anybody thinks to stop. This may well be just that cars are fast, the sighting is unexpected, and by the time you've processed that you saw something odd, you're already way down the road. Or it might be part of the phenomena.
 
Great Post! Just on the failing to stop issue. This seems to be a common thing with roadside ghost stories. I've never read one where anybody thinks to stop. This may well be just that cars are fast, the sighting is unexpected, and by the time you've processed that you saw something odd, you're already way down the road. Or it might be part of the phenomena.
I almost always can't stop when I want to
No matter what, by the time you take it in, you're gone.
 
Great Post! Just on the failing to stop issue. This seems to be a common thing with roadside ghost stories. I've never read one where anybody thinks to stop. This may well be just that cars are fast, the sighting is unexpected, and by the time you've processed that you saw something odd, you're already way down the road. Or it might be part of the phenomena.
Which is pretty much what I said.
 
It took a couple of seconds to process what we were seeing. However our first thought wasn't "it's a ghost" it was simply that we didn't want to collide with her and were genuinely surprised to see anyone there. I recall it was near a slight bend and there was a big tree and a patch of earth (not quite a layby) where she was standing. This was no homeless person in my opinion. It was in open countryside and - by the way - she had no lamp, phone, torch or anything. It was pitch black and we only saw her in our headlights
 
I'm old. Next time that something weird happens to me (if it does) I'm going back to have a look. What's the worst that could happen?

Already did this once - documented elsewhere on here - when in the middle of the night it sounded like aliens had landed next to our house on a foggy night - sounded like huge metallic footsteps - turned out on investigation to be a machine on the railway by our place maintaining the track. Tamping the ballast - crash crash crash - pause as moves on - crash crash crash - muffled by fog so the crashes sounded like one slow step. We may also have recently listened to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.
 
With regard to the lady not having a torch or a lamp.

If it were a flesh and blood person, then they may have got their night vision and not needed a light. I used to run in the dark (and still walk the dog in the dark, frequently) in a rural setting, no street lights etc. People indoors or in cars perceive the night to be 'completely dark', but if you're outside there's often light from the moon, and even if not, your eyesight adjusts and you can see reasonably well.

The lights of the car would have knocked out her night vision and may have accounted for a 'startled' expression - she was suddenly struck practically blind.
 
LOL. She was no jogger. Maybe there was a jogger's moonlit fancy dress party in the field, which would explain the centuries old clothing?

I didn't mean that she was running, Flycatcher, just that there are reasons that people go out in the dark without a torch? I ran in the dark and didn't carry a torch because that only lights up your immediate surroundings and knocks out your night vision everywhere else. She may not have needed a torch because she knew where she was going.
 
I didn't mean that she was running, Flycatcher, just that there are reasons that people go out in the dark without a torch? I ran in the dark and didn't carry a torch because that only lights up your immediate surroundings and knocks out your night vision everywhere else. She may not have needed a torch because she knew where she was going.
The downside is that dog poop on the pavement may provide a little mischief.
 
The downside is that dog poop on the pavement may provide a little mischief.

If there are pavements, Myth, there are nearly always streetlights...

Round here there is nothing. No houses, no lights, nothing.
 
When young and out camping in the deep dark forest, I preferred to walk after sunset with no flashlight/torch because it caused all the shallow dips in the path to look deeper and bigger than they were. The light caused them to cast long inky shadows cast. For safety, the mysterious pedestrian should have have some reflective tape or a light, but not everyone has access to or money for such things. If she were poor, that could also explain her outré clothing. Or maybe she was just eccentric.

Mind you, I'm not ruling out the possibility she was a phantom. :wink2:
 
I've walked round quite a few places at night in various living history clothing - as an 1800s person, as a viking, as a 17thC person... And once or twice am certain we shat up a passing driver or two. None has ever stopped, either.

The best one was a group of several of us, dressed completely in Regency clothing, walking alongside a Lake in the Lake District - no torches, no modern bags, no coats - even period hair styles and head coverings... just 100% 1810-ish. A whole section of that was along a road and quite a few cars passed. No-one crashed, or noticeably slowed down, let alone stopped! The event had been advertised but there were no posters up in the area, at the time we were there and no clue to the innocent passer by that we weren't apparitions.
 
I've walked round quite a few places at night in various living history clothing - as an 1800s person, as a viking, as a 17thC person... And once or twice am certain we shat up a passing driver or two. None has ever stopped, either.

The best one was a group of several of us, dressed completely in Regency clothing, walking alongside a Lake in the Lake District - no torches, no modern bags, no coats - even period hair styles and head coverings... just 100% 1810-ish. A whole section of that was along a road and quite a few cars passed. No-one crashed, or noticeably slowed down, let alone stopped! The event had been advertised but there were no posters up in the area, at the time we were there and no clue to the innocent passer by that we weren't apparitions.

This anecdote of mine might amuse you.

maximus otter
 
This anecdote of mine might amuse you.

maximus otter

A country pub not far from me has an ancient-looking Meade hall and I can recall seeing Sealed Knot participants in full Cromwellian garb there. Simlarly, a few years ago, I remember walking through the French town of Domfront in thick fog, feeling the road surface change from modern tarmac to cobblestones and the sound of traffic disappearing. As I approached the old town square, a timbered, medieval inn loomed out of the fog. The whole impression of a timeslip was palpable - until I stepped inside and enjoyed a delicious Abbey beer, seved from a modern electric pump.
 
I've walked round quite a few places at night in various living history clothing - as an 1800s person, as a viking, as a 17thC person... And once or twice am certain we shat up a passing driver or two. None has ever stopped, either.

The best one was a group of several of us, dressed completely in Regency clothing, walking alongside a Lake in the Lake District - no torches, no modern bags, no coats - even period hair styles and head coverings... just 100% 1810-ish. A whole section of that was along a road and quite a few cars passed. No-one crashed, or noticeably slowed down, let alone stopped! The event had been advertised but there were no posters up in the area, at the time we were there and no clue to the innocent passer by that we weren't apparitions.


I think people can tell the difference between a weird experience and seeing someone in fancy dress. I’ve had a couple of the former, and you know there’s something not right.
 
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