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24 September 2014
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Inside Lives: everyone has a story inside them
modern houseThe Happening

Author: Carolyn Wood
Carolyn from Meir Park couldn't believe it when she finally discovered why her 1980s house was so draughty

Inside LivesHear - and read Carolyn's story
Carolyn is 43 years old, is married to David and has a 12 year old daughter. She is a trained nurse and midwife, but is now working as a teaching assistant.Her hobbies include reading, quizzes and learning new languages.

My story is about the many different spooky experiences we have had in our modern house.

I think that Inside Lives will help me to come to terms with the 'happening.'
(You need Real Player to listen to this. Click here to find out more)


Our family moved into our present house 12 years ago. It was a modern house, built in 1981, on a newish estate.

You don't really expect new houses to be cold and draughty, but sometimes we'd be sitting in the living room reading or watching telly when suddenly there'd be a huge draught come right over us, an icy blast, like 'Whoooosh!'.

It sounded like a plane taking off!

It wasn't coming from the window because the window was in front of us . . . this was coming from behind us. It came straight through the wall and over our heads and then no sooner had it come than everything was calm again. It unnerved us; we just didn't know what it was.

There'd been other strange goings on too: dark shadows and objects flashing by and I'd sometimes feel there was someone standing next to me when there was nobody there. But it can't have been a ghost. It was a new house and ghosts don't create draughts like the ones we'd been getting.

We got our explanation when my daughter was doing a project about the local area. After borrowing some 1950s Ordnance Survey maps, we discovered that our house was built right in the middle of what used to be the runway of the Meir aerodrome. It was used for pilot training during World War II.

Our draught was not just a draught anymore. It was a plane: taking off or landing from that runway. It was an echo of the past.



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