GHOST STORIES: PART 2
Here is Part 2 of our GHOST STORIES series. We talked to Fred, a 24 year old illustrator who lives in a haunted flat in East London. You can read Part 1 HERE.
INTERVIEW: ROBERT FOSTER
What ’s your flat like?
My flat’s nothing special, it’s not an old creepy building or anything. The block was probably built around 1980, and I don’t know what was here before – it could have been an ancient Red Indian burial ground I suppose.
When did you first notice something odd was afoot there?
I think there’s always been an odd feeling here. There’s a mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door in the main bedroom, and I’ve always had the feeling that something was emanating from that area. The wardrobe doors seemed to open and close at certain points of conversations, like they were disagreeing with you or didn’t like what you’d said.
Did you feel uncomfortable at that point or did you rationalise it somehow?
Well it would freak me out for a second, but then I’d just forget about it and put it down to a draft. Eventhough it seemed strange a draft could open a wardrobe door from the inside, and that sometimes the wardrobes ’spasms’ seemed quite violent or angry.
How did the haunting start?
I’d heard of automatic writing before, but there’s no way I’d have the bollocks to have a go at it. It would be like saying Satan backwards in the mirror three times at midnight- you just don’t do it. But one day I was sitting on the sofa, and just picked up a pen and wrote a full adult male name down without even thinking. It freaked me out a bit and stuck in my mind, so a couple of days later, I decided to Google Image Search what I’d written. That’s when I realised the name belonged to some dead guy who was the spitting image of my good self.
What started happening after that?
Well after that, I just knew the cunt was here in my flat. I’d heard that automatic writing was kind of like opening up a door to the other side, and inviting all kinds of spirits into your front room. So I put two and two together and decided I’d either invited this dead guy who looked just like me, or that it was me in a past life, and he’d come to hang out at our flat and live within the mirrors. I was pretty sure it was him that made me write his name in the first place, sort of like telling me he was here.
Are you worried about being in your flat alone?
Not really, being here alone doesn’t worry me as such. I’m an illustrator so I spend a lot of time on my own drawing. It’s more the night-time thing that bothers me. My girlfriend and I sleep in separate rooms (don’t make assumptions about our sex life, it kind of keeps things fresh between us. Plus I’m six foot four, so I take up a lot of bed!). Being alone in bed at night in the room with the fucking spirit wardrobe keeps me awake some times.
What kind of thing happens on a day to day basis?
Nothing too bad, the wardrobe twitches, the hangers within it move all the time -it sounds like someone’s creeping through it. He shakes the bed really violently by my head to wake me up, and that actually bothers me quite a lot – it’s really physical and aggressive. Recently, my mate’s little girl was here and asked if the man in the corner wanted a cup of tea. That was pretty unnerving. The worst thing was probably when we were leaving for a night out a few months ago in a taxi, and our friend looked up at our window and said, ”Who’s that in your flat?” She said she saw a pale-faced man looking out at us. Even saying that to you gives me a chill.
How come you still live there? Isn’t it just too much?
Don’t you know there’s a credit crunch on? We purchased the cunting place, so we’re kind of stuck here as mortgage slaves. Once you get a mortgage you actually start worrying about how difficult it is to get good bananas these days, and how they wilt and go brown so quickly after you purchase them. It crushes a man’s spirit.
Who do you think this guy is?
I genuinely think it’s the ghost of me in a former life, or maybe someone who thought they looked like me. I don’t really know. It’s not necessarily a bad spirit, I think he has moods just like me or you. I was scared at first, but now I’ve just kind of grown to accept it. Actually, this one time i was frantically masturbating whilst off my tits on weed and Co-Codomol and I might have invited him to join me. I’m not gay, it was just the idea of getting a blowie off of myself in a former life seemed strangely appealing at the time.
Do you and your girlfriend talk about it ever? Do you ever think he’s listening?
We don’t really talk about it, mainly because she’s a total skeptic. When I bring it up I might as well be denying the holocaust, it’s kind of taboo. Plus talking about ghosts in public makes me cry. I have no idea why – it just sort of makes my eyes water and I don’t want her thinking I’m some kind of pussyclut.
What does he look like?
Me, but bald and pale.
