Was the old guy wondering where the bar went?I might have mentioned this before, but I used to work at a pretty well known DIY superstore. This particular branch was located on Stoneferry Road in Hull, on the site of the pub which accompanied the bridge over the River Hull. Many of the staff would report seeing the partially transparent figure of an elderly man walking through the store in the late evening....on his way for a pint maybe?
Anyhow, as I say, I used to work there. Our hours were early evening until midnight....shelf filling. As such, now and again a forklift would be used to move pallets from the storage areas above the shopping areas. When this happened, that's when we used to see the black fluttery thing, aka the BFT. This is how it used to be- the forklift driver would move the pallet of stock for us to locate into its selling location- as he did we would see the BFT fly out and then vanish in midair. We used to see plenty of moths, flies birds,etc, but the BFT was something different. We all saw it, several times, but it was only after we saw it that we would realise that we had seen it. It's difficult to put into words...it was as though it was normal, until you realised that it actually wasn't.
I might have mentioned this before, but I used to work at a pretty well known DIY superstore. This particular branch was located on Stoneferry Road in Hull, on the site of the pub which accompanied the bridge over the River Hull. Many of the staff would report seeing the partially transparent figure of an elderly man walking through the store in the late evening....on his way for a pint maybe?
Anyhow, as I say, I used to work there. Our hours were early evening until midnight....shelf filling. As such, now and again a forklift would be used to move pallets from the storage areas above the shopping areas. When this happened, that's when we used to see the black fluttery thing, aka the BFT. This is how it used to be- the forklift driver would move the pallet of stock for us to locate into its selling location- as he did we would see the BFT fly out and then vanish in midair. We used to see plenty of moths, flies birds,etc, but the BFT was something different. We all saw it, several times, but it was only after we saw it that we would realise that we had seen it. It's difficult to put into words...it was as though it was normal, until you realised that it actually wasn't.
You need to keep a weirdness diary (or whatever it's called) to direct your investigation.On my last shift, when I was filling out my time sheet so I could then go home, my chef walked up close behind me except he didn't. I sensed he was there, I heard 'him', and a bit of paper from the office desk fell on the ground. No one there when I turned around.
He's already told me he gets that all the time when I told him what I thought had just happened. "Leave them alone and they'll be fine. They're not going to hurt you.". So he's what my home crew call a 'sensitive' then. He reckons the owner of the hotel would be into my home crew doing an invest and video there ... at the end of the tourist season though obviously. Escargot 'knows of' my team leader and that woman's up for doing an invest there. We'll be the first (on record) since the place opened in 1895.
Already on that a little bit. I'm just collecting anecdotes atm.You need to keep a weirdness diary (or whatever it's called) to direct your investigation.
I knew you would be.Already on that a little bit. I'm just collecting anecdotes atm.
Welcome! Great first post!This is my first post so please be gentle
I'd like to recount a spooky workplace tale that happened to me many years ago when I had a bar job at my local working men's club.
I often worked on the Tuesday night session at the club which just so happened to be Bingo Night. The older members of the club treated this as a real occasion, 'glamming' themselves up in suits and smart dresses. Typically, the ladies would get their drinks from the bar and then proceed to the upper floor of the club for the evening's bingo. The gentlemen would congregate around the bar and discuss the events of the day with a few beers or something a little stronger (once 'her indoors' had disappeared out of sight). There was one couple that I'd grown quite fond of. Don and Sue - both originally from the East End of London they were quite loud but very friendly and always showed an interest in what my younger self was up to at the time. They always dressed to impress but the one thing that always stood out was Don's highly polished black brogues - a lesson learned from his days in the forces. He also had an extremely deep voice and often cleared his throat loudly before speaking.
As time went by, and as is often the case, Don's health declined - to a point where he required a triple heart bypass. I, and his many friends, grew concerned for him, but after a few weeks of absence from the Tuesday Night Club he returned, albeit a lot 'less thirsty' than before his procedure. Sadly, the procedure didn't give him more than an extra year or so of life, and he passed away peacefully - survived by his wife and children. But even in his final days, he continued to dress impecably.
Some months later, on a Tuesday, I was setting up the bar for the evening session and of course, the bingo ladies and gents. This would have been around 5pm in the evening - we didn't open until 6pm. I was joined by the club's handyman / cellar man who was sat on the sofas at the far side of the club enjoying a cheeky pint before opening. I was stood at the bar (customer side) reading the Daily Express (don't judge me - it was the club's paper of choice). Looking down at the paper, which was on the bar in front of me, I suddenly heard a gentleman clear his throat next to me. Without looking up, out of the corner of my eye (to the right) were a pair of highly polished, black brogues. Startled, I turned to look next to me, but there was no one there.
I wouldn't have said any more about it, but almost immediately, our handyman / cellarman stood up and shouted across to me - "Did you see that"? He said he'd seen something - no more than a blur, moving extremely quickly right next to me. I told him what I'd seen, and we both instantly knew that it was Don, coming in early for Tuesday Night Club.
Although I never mentioned it to his widow, or the other members of the club - you're never sure how someone might react to it, it was always nice to know that he still joined us to pass his Tuesday evenings.
Thanks for the welcome SimonBurchell.Welcome! Great first post!
About the size of a sparrow.Fantastic.
I have questions. The BFT, how big was it? How long would you see it for? Where did it fly out from? What shape was it? How did the fluttering work? Was there any sound?
That'll do for a start.
About the size of a sparrow.
It would be seen for a few seconds, but as I say, it was as though it was only seen once it wasn't seen. Nobody said "Look at that", until they hadn't noticed it. It's really hard to put into words.It always flew out from the storage shelves when a
pallet was being moved. Like I say, sparrow size, but no fluttering or sound. Bluntly put, we used to watch something flutter away for a few seconds before it vanished in mid air.
Thanks for the welcome Who me. I've been 'haunting' the forum for several months now so thought it was time to bite the bullet and join in.Great post windsock welcome to the forum
We quite often got birds flying in...even had a robin nesting once, but no bats. It's an answer I'd never thought of, but I think bats are more communal. Has anyone ever found a solo bat?Bat. (Sorry…)
maximus otter
Excellent first post.This is my first post so please be gentle
I'd like to recount a spooky workplace tale that happened to me many years ago when I had a bar job at my local working men's club.
I often worked on the Tuesday night session at the club which just so happened to be Bingo Night. The older members of the club treated this as a real occasion, 'glamming' themselves up in suits and smart dresses. Typically, the ladies would get their drinks from the bar and then proceed to the upper floor of the club for the evening's bingo. The gentlemen would congregate around the bar and discuss the events of the day with a few beers or something a little stronger (once 'her indoors' had disappeared out of sight). There was one couple that I'd grown quite fond of. Don and Sue - both originally from the East End of London they were quite loud but very friendly and always showed an interest in what my younger self was up to at the time. They always dressed to impress but the one thing that always stood out was Don's highly polished black brogues - a lesson learned from his days in the forces. He also had an extremely deep voice and often cleared his throat loudly before speaking.
As time went by, and as is often the case, Don's health declined - to a point where he required a triple heart bypass. I, and his many friends, grew concerned for him, but after a few weeks of absence from the Tuesday Night Club he returned, albeit a lot 'less thirsty' than before his procedure. Sadly, the procedure didn't give him more than an extra year or so of life, and he passed away peacefully - survived by his wife and children. But even in his final days, he continued to dress impecably.
Some months later, on a Tuesday, I was setting up the bar for the evening session and of course, the bingo ladies and gents. This would have been around 5pm in the evening - we didn't open until 6pm. I was joined by the club's handyman / cellar man who was sat on the sofas at the far side of the club enjoying a cheeky pint before opening. I was stood at the bar (customer side) reading the Daily Express (don't judge me - it was the club's paper of choice). Looking down at the paper, which was on the bar in front of me, I suddenly heard a gentleman clear his throat next to me. Without looking up, out of the corner of my eye (to the right) were a pair of highly polished, black brogues. Startled, I turned to look next to me, but there was no one there.
I wouldn't have said any more about it, but almost immediately, our handyman / cellarman stood up and shouted across to me - "Did you see that"? He said he'd seen something - no more than a blur, moving extremely quickly right next to me. I told him what I'd seen, and we both instantly knew that it was Don, coming in early for Tuesday Night Club.
Although I never mentioned it to his widow, or the other members of the club - you're never sure how someone might react to it, it was always nice to know that he still joined us to pass his Tuesday evenings.
A quick search shows that bats can and do roost alone at times in the UK. A warehouse would not immediately spring to mind as a preferred roost, though.We quite often got birds flying in...even had a robin nesting once, but no bats. It's an answer I'd never thought of, but I think bats are more communal. Has anyone ever found a solo bat?
Same exact thing happened to me - though it wasn't on a job.This is my first post so please be gentle
I'd like to recount a spooky workplace tale that happened to me many years ago when I had a bar job at my local working men's club.
I often worked on the Tuesday night session at the club which just so happened to be Bingo Night. The older members of the club treated this as a real occasion, 'glamming' themselves up in suits and smart dresses. Typically, the ladies would get their drinks from the bar and then proceed to the upper floor of the club for the evening's bingo. The gentlemen would congregate around the bar and discuss the events of the day with a few beers or something a little stronger (once 'her indoors' had disappeared out of sight). There was one couple that I'd grown quite fond of. Don and Sue - both originally from the East End of London they were quite loud but very friendly and always showed an interest in what my younger self was up to at the time. They always dressed to impress but the one thing that always stood out was Don's highly polished black brogues - a lesson learned from his days in the forces. He also had an extremely deep voice and often cleared his throat loudly before speaking.
As time went by, and as is often the case, Don's health declined - to a point where he required a triple heart bypass. I, and his many friends, grew concerned for him, but after a few weeks of absence from the Tuesday Night Club he returned, albeit a lot 'less thirsty' than before his procedure. Sadly, the procedure didn't give him more than an extra year or so of life, and he passed away peacefully - survived by his wife and children. But even in his final days, he continued to dress impecably.
Some months later, on a Tuesday, I was setting up the bar for the evening session and of course, the bingo ladies and gents. This would have been around 5pm in the evening - we didn't open until 6pm. I was joined by the club's handyman / cellar man who was sat on the sofas at the far side of the club enjoying a cheeky pint before opening. I was stood at the bar (customer side) reading the Daily Express (don't judge me - it was the club's paper of choice). Looking down at the paper, which was on the bar in front of me, I suddenly heard a gentleman clear his throat next to me. Without looking up, out of the corner of my eye (to the right) were a pair of highly polished, black brogues. Startled, I turned to look next to me, but there was no one there.
I wouldn't have said any more about it, but almost immediately, our handyman / cellarman stood up and shouted across to me - "Did you see that"? He said he'd seen something - no more than a blur, moving extremely quickly right next to me. I told him what I'd seen, and we both instantly knew that it was Don, coming in early for Tuesday Night Club.
Although I never mentioned it to his widow, or the other members of the club - you're never sure how someone might react to it, it was always nice to know that he still joined us to pass his Tuesday evenings.
Thing is, once it had got in, it really would have had a job getting out. Thanks for that.A quick search shows that bats can and do roost alone at times in the UK. A warehouse would not immediately spring to mind as a preferred roost, though.
If there's a way out, a bat would find it... even a smallish hole would be enough.Thing is, once it had got in, it really would have had a job getting out. Thanks for that.
Perhaps dusty cobwebs caught in the movement of air from the pallet being moved? It is pretty rare for the paranormal to show up repeatedly 'on demand' like this.About the size of a sparrow.
It would be seen for a few seconds, but as I say, it was as though it was only seen once it wasn't seen. Nobody said "Look at that", until they hadn't noticed it. It's really hard to put into words.It always flew out from the storage shelves when a
pallet was being moved. Like I say, sparrow size, but no fluttering or sound. Bluntly put, we used to watch something flutter away for a few seconds before it vanished in mid air.
I don't understand why you would say it appeared 'on demand' as such. It didn't. It was just something that sometimes was there, and sometimes wasn't. Just one of those oddities. Quite a few of us saw it at separate times. The strangest thing was that none of us thought it a strange thing to see until 15/20 seconds later. That doesn't sound very convincing I know, but I can't think of any other way to describe the experience.Perhaps dusty cobwebs caught in the movement of air from the pallet being moved? It is pretty rare for the paranormal to show up repeatedly 'on demand' like this.
(disclaimer: as ever, I wasn't there and so it is only a suggestion)