I’m 40 years old now, at the time I was 16. So, it was 1995. I
think it was December and from memory it was the 18/19th of December.
I grew up in Bath and live in Bath now; my mother remarried when
I was 16; we moved to Hill Deverill.
I was a city boy at heart, and I grew up on a rough council
estate and moving out to the country was a huge adjustment!!!
My brother was 12, and once he settled into Kingdown School, he
seemed fine and I was under a lot of pressure from my step-father to find work
or join college, so I wasn’t hanging around the house or putting pressure on
his finances it seemed.
Long story short, I started a computer course in Bath which, at
the end of it, would help me into the world of work! I enjoyed computers so
this felt like the right choice!
The downside was, with no driving license, this meant leaving
really early in the morning at about 5:4,5 heading out and walking from Hill Deverill
all the way to Warminster, which took 45 mins and 1 hour: 15 mins on the bus to
bath… something like that.
I hated walking in the dark or the pitch black. I was really
surprised how dark it was in the country compared to the city. That walk into Warminster
would make anybody nervous who isn’t used to country life. It’s was very quiet
and very dark, considering what I was used to.
I was 16, and yes, my thought processes were heightened at the
thought of seeing a UFO on the way to college: I would often look in the sky in
the hope of seeing something strange. But nothing occurred. At the time I had
never heard of anything apart from UFO’s and the headless horseman, which a
friend had joked and told me about.
So, we lived on Manor Farm in one of the cottages at the back,
behind the two mansions. It’s about 250 m back to the main road. On the way out
you go past the two mansions and then the private road goes through the woods,
over the bridge and to a T junction onto the country road. Which lead to the
A350?
I don’t remember how long I was at college for, but it was a
couple of months at least, I had done this walk in the morning plenty of times,
it was light when I started them and as winter drew in I found myself walking
in total darkness. I just got on with things. I had one week left on my course
at college and it was the 19th Dec.
I feel a little stupid writing this, but I can remember this
nearly as clear as all those years ago.
I woke up at silly-o-clock, got ready to leave for that long
walk which I loathed! I set out from the cottage to head to the main road,
towards the mansions. The road goes through the middle of them. I walked past
them which heads towards a bridge which goes over a stream/river (connects to
the river wye? I think?) anyway… the woods are immediately after the mansions,
which are on both sides before the bridge.
I walked towards the bridge which is about 30 secs though the
woods on the road. It’s so quiet, the sound of the stream is the only thing you
can hear except the odd car in the distance. Its pitch black on either side as
you walk through the wooded area.
I was about halfway through the woods and not far from the
bridge when I heard what sounded like a branch make an almighty snap to my
right, which frighten the absolute crap out of me. It was like I had startled
an animal or something. I’m light on my feet, so I do catch wildlife out
sometimes; but then after the snap/tearing noise of what seemed to be a tree,
came the heaviest bass-like footsteps; this bass sound was incredible.
Whatever it was, acted startled, and that bass was like nothing
else that I had ever heard before, it also ran off further to the right. After
the branch snapped its pounding feet, pounded further away.
I was terrified, by the experience.
I continued my walk on into Warminster, and when I was at
college in Bath, I thought about nothing else all day. Because I knew, when I
walk back, that it’s pitch-black again at night.
I knew it had to be done though, so I just got on with it and
took the walk home again that night, worried that it was going to happen again.
I got to Hill Deverill and turned into Manor Farm once more, all I could see
was darkness (nothing new) but now it was different.
I approach the bridge and crossed; my heart was in my
mouth.
I had reasoned with myself throughout the day already, that no
matter how freaky this thing was that it must be a deer or something pounding
its feet, or something else I hadn’t fathomed. If it was wildlife, then the
chances it would happen again were slim to none.
I was still very f**king terrified. I walked past that bridge and
carried on through the woods, and my skin was cold with fear; but I made it
back with no occurrences at all. I got home and didn’t mention it to my mum
brother or stepfather.
I knew it was silly to be worried about the walk in the morning…
as if something was going to happen again; it would have happened again that
night… right?
The next day I believe was the second darkest day of the year, I
could be wrong. I was scared still but I wasn’t terrified, as I had already
comforted myself with the idea it was a freak occurrence (no pun intended).
I set out along that small road again. I had to do what I had to
do. I had one week left with a job at the end of this training course
(hopefully).
I approached the woods, and I was scared stiff once more with
the anticipation of something happening again. I got to the point before where
the branch snapped and footsteps had pounded, but nothing occurred… I was just
at the foot of the bridge and was just thinking phew, when the from my left,
which is the dense part of the woods came the sound of pounding steps once,
more, only this time straight towards me. I got the perception I don’t know how
exactly that the first steps were right at the back of the woods. This thing
ran at me with at speed with the loudest pounding bass footsteps that was
totally something an animal could not make, or even cover that kind of distance
in such a little amount steps.
Maybe max 10 steps. It’s a long time ago but that sounds about
right… when this thing ran and ran; the bass got louder and louder and I was
absolutely terrified but still walking. It ran right to the point of a stream
to my left (which runs parallel to my walk and runs into the main stream), and
then there was a pause at it seems to arrive at that stream a few feet away
during its sprint, and I was gripped with fear when this thing apparently
jumped the stream during that phase in steps to land right fucking next me. The
boom in bass as it landed was something I cannot explain. Never before, and
never again. But not dissimilar in type to a bass speaker in a club at full whack.
I could see it; I could see white. But it was in my peripheral vision
but not direct; it landed exactly to my left shoulder, I was still walking, but
I was gripped with fear, too scared to look directly at it. I was 16 and alone
in the dark, I could barely put one leg in front of the other and I was acting
like I hadn’t seen it. My body turned to ice, as I walked it was behind me and
static so my back and backs of my legs etc were ice cold with fear. If that
makes sense, I wasn’t giving it acknowledgment, it felt like the right to do.
I kept walking and as I reached the end of the road (20 secs) someone was
putting their milk bottles out on their doorstep really early, which made me
feel calmer and less terrified. (There is one cottage at the end of the driveway).
I walked to college; I don’t remember the walk. I do remember
telling the college that I was done with the course, which actually, I had
gained my certificate from but I still hadn’t found wok. They couldn’t
understand why I didn’t want a job and I couldn’t tell them why of course.
There was no f***king way I was taking that walk again across the bridge again.
My big fear was that if this thing had got closer and ran at me
the second time, what was next?
I told my parents I wasn’t applying for a job. Madness. I moved
back to bath a few months later.
I did tell my brother and a friend in Hill Deverill. Who promised
not to mention it; of course they did, and I got ridiculed at that tender age; my
stepfather who had worked on manor farm for years as a landscape gardener
ridiculed me also.
So why this crazy thing chose me twice I have no idea.
After telling my brother about what had happened, he understood,
as brothers do, and we decide to walk down to the woods in the daytime a couple
of days afterwards. On the right where I heard the branch had snapped, a think
branch but quite low branch had been torn from the tree but was still attached
partly. There is no way anything could have snapped that unless it had the
power of an ape.
To the left btw is all marshland, so there is no way and animal
could make that bass of steps, not even on solid ground. We checked for prints,
and there was nothing. Just the branch torn from its base on the right.
It was close to Christmas, and for Xmas, I think it was my
brother and not me, received a book, from our mother, called ’The Warminster Triangle’
you must know this book!. I’ve always kept an open mind about UFOs so I picked
up the book over Xmas and was reading through the chapters and with an even
more open mind after my experience, totally blown away by the happenings in
Warminster a place I had come to a few months before, of course from the city.
When I came to a chapter called the invisible walker.
So, it’s pretty obvious what I’m going to say, that I was
totally taken back and at the same time totally reassured, that the thing that
I has experienced was not just it; but also, not just me!
I don’t have the book here now but I’m sure it mentions star
hill and then Manor farm. I had never set eyes on this book or even heard of
that ’thing’ before my experience.
I’ve walked across that bridge many times afterwards when I
moved back at 18 for a short time, drunk on my way back from the George etc, my
brother too, but never had this experience again. But trust me I wouldn’t walk
there in there morning at that time by myself.
Anyway, I’ve never written this story before and barely told it
to anyone, due to the fact, no one really gets it.
To be honest neither would I have it wasn’t me.
I never believed in spirits at the time, but obviously I do now,
and I have an even more open mind of course.
