Let me dig out my "Ghost Hunter" hat and do this right:
OK, to begin with, I am an extremely skeptical person. I do not believe in ghosts, EVPs, or any of that nonsense.
Nevertheless, I had an experience not to long ago, that I am struggling to come up with a rational explanation for.
Okay, I'll take you at your word, but trying to establish credibility is often a red flag.
I am a consultant by trade, I specialize in building inspections for environmental, Health and Safety issues. Last year, I had a project that involved an inspection and inventory of all the different ceilings in a large, high school building where portions of the buildings were built in various phases from the late 1800's on.
Okay, goes to credibility, but no geographic location is provided, and how long you have done this work (that's important).
Even though it was summer, we had to do the work from 3:00 to 11:00 in the evening. With the exception of a few people in the admin wing, the building essentially emptied out at 5:00.
The first two nights, I had an assistant with me and we got about 90% of the work done. The third night I was by myself and trying to finish up some minor areas that we had trouble accessing the first two nights. My client contact had mentioned that the building could sometimes get creepy late at night, but I didn't really pay any attention to that. I'm used to how old masonry and wood framed buildings shift and creak as they cool down in the evening.
Okay, good description of the hows, whens, and whys, but not where this place is located. Still workable though...
Back in the early 20th century it was common to build schools with an auditorium on the 1st and 2nd floor, and the gym on the third floor above the auditorium. This was a 4 story building so they even had a nice balcony on the gym accessible from the 4th floor. It was getting late, and I was on the fourth floor by the gym balcony when I noticed a set of stairs leading up.
Curious, I went up them to see if there was an accessible attic. there was. there was a large space that had at one time served as the school locker room. there was a long gallery with a tongue and groove wood floor and hard plaster walls about 18 feet wide running about 60 feet long with a shower room at the other end. The lights worked, so I went down across the room and inspected the showers, no issues for me to deal with. there was another set of stairs leading down from that end, and something about that area was making me a bit edgy.
Okay, another red flag. It's a reasonable human response, being in an area that makes you uncomfortable for reasons not immediately clear. Taking you at your word, this is where you're mind set you up.
Maybe it was just the thought that "If there is a rotted floorboard up here, and I get hurt, it's going to be a while before they find me."
If this is what was making you uncomfortable then this is all you needed to say, and the fact you added the other suggests susceptibility at this point in your narrative. Not saying this is bad, just explaining why I see it as a problem.
I was planning to just head down the other set of stairs, but there was a problem, the light switches were at the end I came from
So, I reluctantly turned around and began walking back across the old locker room to the other stairwell so I could turn off the lights behind me.
Okay, this is the part where you went into "Ghost Story"-mode.
See, you just explained you were afraid the floor could give out on you, and yet there you go returning to the other side, putting yourself in danger. Why not go down the other end and return up the other side to kill the lights. Safety first, right?
Man that was one creaky floor. Funny, it didn't seem that noisy when I walked across it the first time. I get to the other end and at the top of the stairs and I stop to turn off the lights.
Full Ghost-Story Mode now.
I stopped. However, the floorboards did not stop creaking. For about 6-7 seconds, the creaking sound came towards me as if someone was walking across the floor, following me.
I didn't run, but I got the hell out of there as fast as I could, thoroughly creeped out. Now logically I could attribute this simply to the old floors and joists settling back into place after I walked over them.
This is where you start to back out of Ghost-Story Mode while keeping the option open. You admit to being creeped out, while stating the obvious - the floor boards were just setting back into place.
But I have never heard that happen that loudly or for that long after you stopped moving.
First time for everything.
Structurally, the joists should have been running across the locker room from side to side, not lengthwise, so I doubt that me standing at one spot would have affected the floor 15 feet further down the room.
Begs the question: How familiar were you with the physical construction of this floor? You state this was the first time you had ventured up there, you suggest the floor could have been dangerous from age. How much advance research had you done before that night and how much after?
The floor plans have to be somewhere, and they would clear this up quickly.
I found out later that the Engineer was very familiar with the "Ghost." According to him, he has heard footsteps in the building when he knows he is alone.
Not helping the case.
This was the only weird event you experienced in this building, at least the only one you've told us about. Has this engineer heard footsteps on the same location, or just in the building?
As for me, it was just plain creepy, and I keep telling myself that it was just a structural issue. . . .
And you should. You already know - deep down - it was just old wood acting like old wood. You should be asking why, as a skeptical person, you want to believe it was something supernatural.
Buildings can be new, old, big, small, but they can't be creepy. Creepy is a subjective word. When I was young I worked as a janitor on an old movie theater built in 1928. It was one of those show place theaters that has a functioning stage, dressing rooms, and held 1,500 people. I loved the place, and while some nights I got creeped out I understood that was all me, and not the building.
What you've described is an event where you were working late in an old building, and went up to an area you were unfamiliar with. You experienced a rare, but not unheard of phenomenon and was freaked out by it.
It is an honest, human reaction that anybody could have in those identical conditions.
I'm not reading anything paranormal at all.
