Lady in White

Lady in White

Imagine...an empty, desolate and barren room in which there is no human life apart from you. You obviously know that there is no one there but deep inside yourself you fight this urge which is telling you that there is something unknown with you and that you are not alone. Are you sceptical? I know I was! A cold, quiet, dark winter’s night in the small remote town of Smerwick on the west coast of the “Emerald Isle”, an old eighteenth century country house; cradled between frost covered highlands. Ravens cawing; wind rustling through the leaves of a hundred year old oak tree, which soars about seventy...or maybe eighty feet high. A timid, icy stream trickles and meanders close to the country house, sounds almost picturesque, almost too good to be true? That’s what I thought; oh how wrong and sorry I was to be!

It all took place on a bitterly cold November’s day. I was ready and ecstatic to visit this oasis of calm and beauty in one of the most rugged and harsh terrains in the whole of Western Europe. After a short flight from Dublin, I arrived at a dull, miserable town whose name is all but unpronounceable. How long is this going to take? I managed to inch my way through immigration, and I was finally on the last leg of the journey. I hopped onboard a four by four and drove to my “abode for the next few days”. The first few miles went smoothly, until about ten minutes into the journey we hit rush hour, traffic and lots of it. Both carriageways were at a standstill, and if day couldn’t get any worse it started to rain. The sound of rain drops hitting the metal of the roof echoed through the car; however that sound was interrupted when the driver switched on the windshield wipers, the eerie squeaky motion of the wipers created a sharp and incessant sound which created annoyance and a sense of boredom. I peered out of the window and looked down the road and saw nothing but a long, ongoing line of commuter’s cars which extended as far as I could see. The rain created an eerie and disturbing darkness which hindered me to clearly see the road signs which were placed parallel to our car. The darkness was disrupted by the constant on and off of brake lights, a cloud of red light and white light from the headlights from incoming cars clashed together and created a tense and danger filled atmosphere. The agony of waiting two hours in a cramped, confined and airless metal box was really getting to me, but thank goodness we got out! After leaving the densely populated and urbanised town, we drove full speed towards the west. The driver cautiously controlled the car through the meandering, narrow roads which cut through the hills. Barren, lifeless, these are the words which pop into mind. Did I pack my phone charger with me? There wasn’t a person in sight, nothing but sheep, hundreds and hundreds of sheep nibbling away at the green grass on the hillside. After what seemed like more than twenty four hours of constant travelling we finally reached the house. A tall building stood in front of us, towering against the horizon. It looked beautiful, with intricate detailing of patterns bordering the doorway. However late at night when the occupants were asleep, that is when the house would awake.

As I was asleep in my bed, all wrapped up, cosy and warm, I felt a gust of cold air blow over my head. The first reaction: Oh, the window must be open! As I got up, I woke across to the window which was across my bedroom. The old, rotten floorboards creaked with each step I took. The cold from the floor shot up my leg and caused a brief shiver which caused me to stumble slightly. As I approached the window, I gently moved the curtain to reveal what was behind it....oddly a closed window. How can that be? That’s when I fixed my eyes on the most horrific sight, to which even today just thinking about it causes my hair to stand on end. My eyes fixated on the beach which was literally a few hundred yards from the house. A figure in white loomed out of the mystical fog which enveloped the beach; it gracefully yet eerily walked towards one of the rotten groynes which were found along the length of the beach. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. The figure was still there, a few seconds later the figure stopped in its path. I held my breath. The figure turned its head towards (what seemed like) me and stood there. Still. No movement whatsoever. Petrified, I ducked under the window, as I did the cold air rushed up through my pyjamas and again caused me to shiver....however this time uncontrollably. After what seemed like a lifetime, I plucked up enough courage to grab a second view. To my horror, that “thing” was no longer there! A sense of fear and sickness shot through me and caused me to slowly keel over.

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