Unexplained Sighting at RAF Base

A few weeks ago I was asked if I had ever seen a 'ghost'. Surprisingly, despite being a member of this forum for over ten years I've never actually put the experience down on paper (so to speak). I spent quite a few years with the Royal Air Force, my first posting was to RAF Buchan, situated in a small village called Boddam, around thirty miles north of Aberdeen. This would have been in the middle of July 1996.

My billet was a small room (we didn't have to share) and was based at the back of the building (Tiree Block). Being on the top floor I was afforded a fantastic view of the North Sea, bleak in the winter but stunning in summer. To give you a rough idea of the layout of the room, my bed was next to the window. Between the bed and the window was a table with a digital alarm clock and above it a light attached to the wall with a cord to switch it on or off. The door was on the other side along with some cupboards and a wash basin.

Fast forward to December of that same year, the Sunday directly before Christmas Day (22nd). I had been reading before deciding to get my head down, this would have been 23:20 or 23:21. I placed my book on the table, turned over onto my left side, pulled the cord to switch the light off and closed my eyes. Immediately, I had an overwhelming feeling of fear, that someone was in the room with me. I turned my head over my right shoulder and clearly saw a white figure stood facing me between the storage units and the door.

By this point I was scrambling with my right hand to find the cord to switch the light back on. I watched this figure turn away from me and as I managed to finally grasp the cord and pull I saw this 'shape' move towards the door before finally fading away. I knew I hadn't been sleeping as the bedside clock only showed 23:22 or 23:23 so only two minutes had passed. I was pretty shaken by the whole experience, so much so that I eventually moved to another part of the building and for the remainder of the time I spent in that room I'd never try to sleep in darkness again, I'd always leave the television on.

In the days after, I remembered that three or four times in the months preceding that night I had actually woken with a start convinced I had seen someone in the room with me. However, I had put these down to waking suddenly and having images from a dream still in my mind or my eyes were adjusting to the dark. I also debated whether I had imagined the whole thing but the room itself was always bathed in some ambient light, the curtains were RAF standard issue (i.e. very thin) and the lighthouse from the village was also visible. My door was also locked.

To this day, I'm convinced that what I saw was real. I'd never saw anything remotely 'scary' like this before and haven't since. As a closing note, I never told anyone about this at the time. Not a soul. However, the guy who was in the room directly below mine had asked to be moved to a different building. I asked him one night when we had all had a few beers why he had wanted to move. He wouldn't go into any great detail but said that a few times he thought he had seen something in his room. I didn't press him for any further details and certainly kept my mouth shut about my own experience.

Prior to what happened, I would have described myself as an unbeliever. However, after that night I've learned to keep a very open mind.

Interesting story. I have had a number of paranormal experiences, with no other explanation (believe me, I tried to find others, but ultimately things remained "unexplained" )so I don't doubt that you did experience something.

Was there any history to the place you were living in? How old was the building, did it have any other uses etc?

I understand though why you have never told others about what you saw and that a friend was reluctant to talk about their experience, because you don't want to seem like a nutter lol.

Thanks for sharing the story though S&F

a reply to: Sabien

any details of this white figure? human? clothed? no discernable features?

'destination now', I did make a few attempts to find out what was on the site beforehand. The base itself had been there from the early 1950's, however, the site as it was when I was posted there was fairly new (built in the late 80's / early 90's) so it was modern (by the standards at the time). Unfortunately, I could gather no concrete info. The original RAF Buchan site was in a slightly different location, as it started to grow it was relocated to the village itself. As is the usual, rumours abounded as to what the land obtained for the new site had been previously but I have no way of substantiating it.

Bizarrely, the site itself is now a hotel called Buchan Braes.

'WorShip', no facial features that I can recall although it did look like it was wearing a robe with a hood (pretty stereotypical, eh?).

My mate who is Military Police was based at RAF East Moor near York and told me one night him and another MP was walking at night near an empty bunker and heard people speaking in Canadian accents yet there was no one in the bunker and it turns out the Royal Canadian Air Forced used the base from 1942 to 1945.

An interesting story and always wise to keep an open mind. Thanks for sharing after all these years!

I'm presume you haven't seen/experienced anything in the years since? I always find "sightings" interesting. I've had experiences but never "seen" anything/one.

I was at an old RN shore base for nine years, that was reputed to be very haunted and in that time I only saw one possibly paranormal thing. After that I was sent to a new, state of the art establishment, that was built on a site that had only ever been farmland. In the short time I was there I, and many others saw all manner of unexplainable things at least two of which were caught on CCTV.

This new site was extremely wet, was always flooding, was always cold, and actually had a watercourse running throughout it. It is suggested by some who study the paranormal that cold spots with high groundwater levels often have higher instances of unusual phenomena. As the air station you lived on was in Scotland and near the North Sea were the conditions were similarly wet and cold?

Just too add I was once on a course with some blokes that worked at Edinburgh Castle. One of them had a "Ghost Picture" on his phone that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It was one of those classics were he took a night time photo of a an old gateway because it looked good, and then when him and his mates looked at the shot they noticed a figure that wasn't there when it was taken. From what I understand these big, tough Scottish Infantrymen only patrolled in pairs for many subsequent nights thereafter.

a reply to: CulturalResilience

Yes, on the North East coast, very cold and wet. Where I am on the more Southerly West Coast, not always as cold, but very wet.. Both very windy as well...

Also,Scotland has a lot of history. It was Robert Burns annual birthday celebration yesterday, and I live in the heart of Burns country... A lot of spooky tales from here...and we have more than one scary Auld Kirk..

a reply to: [post] Sabien [/post] thanks for the background, it seems like that land has been in use for possibly hundreds of years, so who knows what still may be in the area

So glad that you have an open mind on what you experienced though

Lot's of haunted bases in the UK and I love hearing all the story's, I have seen a ghost myself but that was on the road that I live in although it is a naval base.

like wobbs62 said theres lots of bases here, theres an abandoned RAF base in Lincs close to where i go thats supposed to be really haunted, im yet to go there, perhaps in the summer. i've seen a couple in my time can scare the living daylights out of you but i consider myself lucky to be able to have experienced it as some have never seen one.

i would have pressed your friend further though and found out how if he felt the same fear. its strange how some can make you feel fear and some the exact opposite.

a reply to: slippeddisc

that should have said lots of haunted bases.

a reply to: Sabien

Great recollection of an interesting story.

It reminded me a bit of a story a friend of mine in the Army told me, about an experience he had while staying in quarters at Rammstein, Germany. He said he was raped by a succubus. Strange and shocking story, I know.

I have never had one of these experiences, but I have no reason disbelieve your account. Thanks for sharing.