Gordon, NSW - Hint of a Woman
Dan grew up in a lovely heritage home, built in the 1880s, with his parents and younger sister. After spending 18 months tediously restoring the ex-nursing home from the tacky 80s beige to its former Edwardian glory, household life could have returned to normal.
But it didn’t.
Six months after the completion of the restoration, the family gathered around the table for dinner one evening, discussing the day’s activities at school and work. Sixteen-year-old Dan was talking animatedly to his father when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"His hair stood on end and all colour and expression just washed from his face," Nathan’s father William remembered. "I asked him what was wrong."
"I just saw a lady in a long flowing dress walk up the stairs," he sputtered.
Being an open-minded person and not one to doubt his son, William went upstairs to investigate. He found no trace of the lady but could recalls sensing a "presence".
Dan’s mother Margaret also encountered something strange. She would often carry a tray with teacups and saucers up to bed for a quiet cup of tea while she was reading. When she got to the second landing of the staircase all of the crockery would inexplicably rattle, despite being on a steady tray.
Months passed and there were no further sightings of the lady until Dan brought home a school friend one day. They were walking out of his bedroom to go downstairs for a snack. As they looked along the upstairs hallway, the Lady walked across the hallway from one room to another.
Not frightened by this, Dan said to his stunned school friend "Did you just see that too?" A softly spoken "Yep" was the reply.
Dan told his family what had happened. Soon after, Dan’s father arranged for a priest to visit and ask the Lady to move on, which she did.
"We were always told that if a house was 100 years old or more it could have a ghost," Dan said.
"This time they were right. But the Lady was not a mean person and didn’t try to scare us" Dan said. "We think she was just lost."
Researching the history of the house, Dan’s father discovered the residence was once a nursing home, the site of many births and deaths.
"Who was she? I guess we’ll never know," Dan said.