What lurked behind the sheer curtains?

Moving away from the world of prophetic dreams to unwelcome ghosts, this tale is another true story (as ALL my accounts) which touches on something quite different... other worldy in fact.

It seemed like a typical Saturday evening back in 1989 until a sleepover at a very good friend's house lead to a mystery encounter that still haunts me and "Tina" to this day.  As we exited the recluse of her room in order to fetch some blankets for the night, we opened the bedroom door to a long hallway that spanned the entire length of the house. There, in the dark quiet night, something very unusual instantly caught our attention.

What on Earth is that?

From the corner of our eyes, Tina and I were beckoned by the most vibrant ensemble of red lights beaming into the house from the back bedroom window. 

Tina cautiously whispered, "Kate, do you see what I see?"  

"Yeah, what the hell is that?!"

The transparent, sheer curtains only revealed the outer perimeter of this group of lights: an oblong and oval-shaped object.  We reluctantly crept along the hallway, inching towards these lights.  The mystery object generating these lights was silent, uttering not even the faintest hum or hiss.  It remained suspended, completely motionless, against the dark backdrop of the sky. 

Tina's house backed onto a somewhat secluded, wooded ravine.  The backyard descended onto a downward slope, therefore these crimson lights were far from ground level and haunted us from three storeys off the ground!

As Tina and I reached the window in question, we simultaneously pulled back the sheer curtains to better inspect the mosaic of lights that stared at us.  Before we knew it, the lights were gone. GONE.

They disappeared faster than we could blink an eye.  The lights didn't even have time to turn off, nor move up or down.  Just gone in a nanosecond.  Tina and I stood there perplexed, our hands soaked in cold sweat. 

Disappeared without a trace

After a very restless night's sleep, we arose to inspect the backyard.  Our morning hunt yielded no tracks, debree, damage, or evidence of any kind.  Wouldn't a ground-bound vehicle have left tracks?  Then again, what vehicle spanning three storeys would venture into a surburban backyard just after midnight?  And how many vehicles or planes can hover motionless and silently?

Tina, who was always rational, logical and an adamant non-believer in anything intangible, was at a loss.  All rational explanations just evaded us. 

Our only viable conclusion that night, and well over 20 years later, is that we saw a UFO. 

Does anyone have a different theory about this?  Any other UFO sighters out there?

Phantom Bather

They say that England is full of ghosts.  I didn't believe it until I settled in Brighton, England, during the fall of 2001. 

My then boyfriend (now husband) and I were boarding in an old semi-detached house on the outskirts of the seaside town of Brighton.  It resembled a flagship tudor-style British home and seemed charming enough from the outside, but masked an ugly secret. 

The inside was undoubtedly dull, grey and cold. Quite cold at times. Our bedroom was no exception.  I often felt an odd presence... as if though someone was always watching us. Of course, we had no proof - and no reason to worry - until one eery night in October. 

This house had only one bath in a small, dingy upstairs washroom.  Every night, we took turns soaking in the tub before retiring to bed. 

One night, my husband's bath was abruptly cut short. 

I was surprised to see him rush back into our room with only a towel around his waist.  He wore a very pale and fearful expression on his face as he confessed, "I'm absolutely freaked out!"

He insisted, "I was washing my hair and face when I suddenly felt something scratch my side.  I thought that maybe a hair brush fell into the tub and knicked me... until it happened again.  The second time, I felt another scratch on my lower back". 

When he rinsed the soap off his face, he was perturbed to realize that there was no brush - or anything bristly - in the tub with him. 

I frantically inspected his back and ribs to find very fresh scratch marks.  There were five, clear finger-width red marks in two distinct locations.  It reminded me of the bloody hand scratches often depicted in 1980s horror flicks. Obviously someone or something wanted him out of 'their' bath.

We were reluctant to tell the young couple that we were boarding with about our experience. Nonetheless, it later came out that when they purchased the house from their relative, they were warned that it was indeed haunted. Now, we all had proof. 

Who was this mystery bather? 
Why did they scratch my husband? 
Was it a warning or a greeting? 

If anyone has any insight or experience with this type of event please speak up!  It's a 10 year old mystery that has yet to be solved.