Strange goings-on at town shop.
‘Mystery lady’ sends books flying off shelves.
Spooked! The ‘shadowy lady’ keeps shop assistant Esther Freeman (left) and floor manager Mandi Denysson on their toes. Photo by Darren Cresswell.
Ghostly goings-on have been sending shivers down the spines of shop assistants in a Loughborough town centre book store. Whole rows of books have tumbled from the shelves in Johnson’s bookshop – and staff are convinced they have glimpsed the outline of a shadowy lady out of the corner of their eyes. Now spooked shop staff have contacted the Echo in a bid to find out more about the uninvited guest who has been turning heads – and pages – in the Market Street store.
Floor manager Mandi Denyssen said: “There is definitely something weird going on. Books fly off the shelf for no apparent reason. They don’t just topple off – they come off with real force, as if they have been pushed. And sometimes, people come into the shop and say they can feel something, like a presence.”
One shop assistant even confesses to running outside the shop and standing in the street after a strange surge of energy passed through the store. She recalled: “The other day, there was a huge bang from the back room of the shop and a ‘rush’ went through the room. I ran outside and stayed there until someone else would go back in with me. It tends to happen more if someone is in a bad mood, as if the ghost is drawing off our vibes.”
Staff at Johnson’s have not managed to find out anything about their flighty phantom – but, strangely, they have all assumed it is a woman. Ms Denyssen added: “We don’t have a name for her – we just call her the ghost.”
Loughborough Echo, 1st March 1996.