I used to work in one of the big old Victorian works in Manchester (since demolished), one of those huge old places with lots of bays and machinery and the like. I was asked to do a series of night shifts to catch up stuff in the warehouse (one of the big long bays). No-one else there then worked nights other than the security guards out front. Off to the side were the offices which opened into the bay, and just into the bay was the photocopier. I came out of the offices into the big bay, didn’t bother turning the main lights on and walked a way down the dark bay in silence. As I did, I heard the photocopier copy something. Stopped dead in my tracks and looked round, sure enough it’s on but no-one’s there – and it stood on its own so no-one could have hidden in the moment it took me to turn round. I absolutely dropped one and ran out to the security guards’ hut out front.
I weakly came up with a report that someone may be wandering round to at least look a little tough. One looks at me and says “was this in bay X?” I confirmed that it was. “Oh she’s up to her tricks again then”. He then proceeded to tell me that they were regularly haunted by the original works manager’s daughter who had allegedly drowned in a cooling pond that used to be there. I went white.
How I spent the rest of the week at night there I don’t know but the lights were firmly on. I also never worked out how she knew how to use a copier either, but it did really get to me. I am certain that they couldn’t have been winding me up either given where that copier was.
