The Dark Room

Many years ago, I had a very interesting experience at a library in Wiltshire, England. The library was based in an old red brick building that went back some 100 years, and that had once been the home of a wealthy family. I became aware of this place through a very good Pagan friend of mine who worked there. She informed me that several workers were aware of a ghostly presence, and that one room in particular, emitted a very negative energy.

Of course, my curiosity was piqued, so I asked her if it would be okay to visit at night time. She agreed, and we set a date.

Generally, I consider myself an open-minded person, rather than a believer or non-believer in most things. I find it very difficult to believe anything on faith alone, and so I wanted to see, out of curiosity, whether I would feel the negative energy that many claimed permeated the atmosphere of the library.

My friend, Graham, accompanied us. All the lights were switched off, and my Pagan friend left us to explore the large building by ourselves. As would be expected, initially the darkness was unnerving, but we quickly adjusted to it. The only illumination we had, came from the orange street lights outside. As we walked around, even exploring the attic, both of us felt very little to be fearful of. As much as we had wanted to experience a supernatural event, it was not to be found in any of those many rooms.

When we returned to my Pagan friend, who was waiting for us in a stairway, she asked if we had felt anything, to which we replied that we had not. There was just one last room to explore, next to where she was standing.

Both Graham and I stepped into that last dark room. We closed the door behind us, and could make out the shape of an old, unused bath, with lots of building materials on the floor. It was only a small room, but the impact of what was present there was instant. We were immediately affected by a terrible feeling of dread. My back began to tingle, and there was no question that this was the room.

We left quickly, and found confirmation from my Pagan friend, that we had correctly discovered the room she had spoken of. Both Graham and I took turns to stand in that horrible space by ourselves, to test our courage. However, it did not take long before either of us wished to evacuate from it. There really was something dark lingering in there. Dangerous? Perhaps, not. But, the feeling was very real.

I cannot explain why that room emanated such a strange atmosphere, but the experience was fascinating. The fact that we discovered the correct room in that very large house, without a hint from my Pagan friend, is in itself interesting. I would love to revisit and perhaps stay the night there some time.