Fascinating Ghost Story from old England

 

 The Treasurer's House, York - from Mike Perry's website

 Roman soldier - from Mike Perry's website

It must have been 8 or 10 years ago when my friend Alan told me a story. Several friends, including Alan and his wife, were sitting around my living room drinking wine and listening to a CD of bawdy English drinking songs when Alan started talking. It seems that his father was a master plumber. He was working in the basement of an old building - Alan thinks he said it was a pub. He was digging a trench for a drain pipe when his shovel hit stone. His assistant, Harry, was up on a ladder near by. Alan's father claimed he heard a trumpet and turned around to see a troop of Roman soldiers marching through the basement. He stood in wonder as they marched right through him as well. The strange thing was that he could only see the soldiers from the knees up. It turned out that an old Roman road ran through the basement a couple of feet below the dirt floor. The soldiers were apparently marching on the old Roman road. Alan's father told the story his whole life and Alan told the story to all of us in the living room that night.
 
Skip forward to today for the rest of the story. Alan was doing some research on the internet when he stumbled across the exact same story as told by Harry, the assistant. Here is a link to a website 67 Not Out - coincidence, synchronicity and other mysteries of life ..... by Mike Perry and a picture of the building which is now an historic site. Apparently, Alan's father and his assistant were not the only ones to see the Roman soldiers over the years. Alan has found some other information including a video on You Tube.

Here is what Alan wrote when he sent me the link:

“Harry” is the plumbers apprentice working with my dad at the time.

I remember my dad telling me that “the kid” (the apprentice Harry) “fell off his ladder and took of up the stairs like a bat out of hell” .

Although he doesn’t mention more Roman soldiers carrying one of those Roman flag-pole things  -  he probably didn’t see that part as he was too busy falling off the ladder .

Strangely enough, the date on Mike Perry's post is June 4, 2012. Just yesterday. Check out Mike's posting for today in which he mentions the Transit of Venus which occurred today.