Page 218 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

“spirits” affected Ruth and myself. Upon entering any property I can feel whether it is
“good” or “bad”. These feelings sometimes are so strong that I will not go in.

Ruth is not normally affected at all, she is far more sceptical! However there was one
house that we both visited where even she changed her mind.

THE ROMAN SOLDIER
We went for a week end away to York sometime in the this period, just one night away and
unforgettable that night turned out to be. We booked in at a Bed and Breakfast Farmhouse
just south of York on the road to Selby. I am unsure whether to mention the actual name
although our hostess quite readily admitted that our visitor during the night was not
unusual.

It was sometime in the middle of the night that I felt someone else in the room. I eventually
opened my eyes and there, stood on Ruth's side of the bed was a Roman Soldier in full
uniform.
Not a centurion, just a normal Roman Soldier.
He was not full height and appeared to be stood in a hole. I could not believe what I was
looking at and shook Ruth gently.
I gestured behind her and she actually saw the same thing I was looking at. He stayed just
long enough for Ruth to realise that he was really there. She was fully awake and not
dreaming and even to this day will readily admit what she saw.
Our visitor certainly changed her outlook on ghosts.

The next morning we asked our hostess about our experience and she did say that from
time to time the soldier would appear to visitors but he never did anything else. She also
mentioned that at some time in the past the house had been built on different levels and
that would explain why the soldier was not standing on the same level as we were.

Ruth never felt anything unpleasant at Ivy House but long after we had left and while
talking to our daughter, Helen admitted that she had had some quite dreadful experiences
with things she had seen and things that had really upset her from time to time.

Her visions were ghoulish nasty things, perhaps her younger mind interpreting what it
thought it was seeing. I never actually saw anything, but was deeply disturbed quite
frequently and had very unpleasant nightmares while living there.
So the house was quite beautiful and adorable to live in basically, but it had a past which
could not settle.

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That brings us to the end of Book Three, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed your read, I
certainly enjoyed writing it, the stories have taken several years to write in stages and the
book itself took over four months to finally compile.
Now before you finish there are some excerpts from Book Four to wet your appetite.
Thank you for reading my books, I do hope you can recommend them to your friends.

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