Well, you said that I could email you with my story since I couldnt see how to submit it in the first place. Thank you. Alright, here goes.

I guess I should sort of introduce myself, or give you an idea of who I am before I tell you about my beliefs, and more importantly my own experience with ghosts. I am a 23 year old young woman who holds down a full time job, has finished university and yet has a strong mystical side that most definitly believes in ghosts and other entities. I am not physic, unless you count being very perceptive, psychic. I merely believe, and have always believed in ghosts and the supernatural. My first experience with ghosts however came when I was merely seven years old and although people may scoff and say that a child could never remember something like what the story I am going to relate to you, I assure you, the event is etched in my mind, and the passing of years does nothing to dim the vividness of it.

Let me take you back to it. I was seven years old, enrolled in grade one and going to an elementary school that boasted three levels. The upper level was where grades one through five went, and the main level was occupied by our two kindergarten and one pre-kindergarten classes. The bottom level was used for all the building's heating and water supply/machinery area. In the bright light of day this place was spooky, I can only imagine how terrifying it would be at night.

Unfortunatly however, it was the bottom level that housed the bathrooms for the school. Now to get an image of this place in your mind, imagine opening a door and going out onto a stairs landing. Once there you see a wall straight ahead, on the other side are the heaters and other equipment that keep the school going. Now going down the stairs, there is an open area straight ahead, the stairs curve right down the wall, and on the opposite side of this open area are the bathrooms. One door for girls, and one for boys. This place scared the pants of me the first minute I saw it, no reason of course that I could name, it merely evoked in me feelings of helpless terror so that 99%of the time I wouldn't go to the bathroom there, I would wait all day just so I could go home and feel safe.

Of course there were always stories circulating that the place was haunted. The older kids loved to terrorize the younger ones by whispering tales of ghosts sliding through the walls and flitting across the floor and into the bathrooms. Many believed these stories, I being one of them.

One day however, in the middle of the afternoon, I knew that I was out of luck. I had fought a battle with my bladder and unfortunatly I was going to lose. I simply had to go to the bathroom. I was dismissed by my teacher and I unhappily trod downstairs trying to make myself believe that everything was okay. As soon as I opened the door and heard the sounds of the boiler room however, any sense of safety vanished. I trembled, staring out across the dimly lit room and forced myself to go down those steps. Once down, I ran to the bathroom and threw myself into one of the stalls, locking the door firmly behind me. I was just about finished my business, having rushed through that as well, when I heard footsteps outside. Suddenly terrified, I jerked my legs up and tried to pretend I wasnt in the room. I heard the door open, heard the footsteps continue across the floor to the sinks. The water came on and then a stall door creaked open. I was shaking, I had no idea why, but I knew I needed to get out of there. Slowly I pulled my pants up and stepped out of the stall. I looked over to the sinks, one of which was still running, and then looked at all the stall doors. They were standing wide open. Then I heard a toilet flush. I bent my head down to look underneath the stalls and encountered...nothing. There was no one there. I think I stood there for a few seconds, stunned and in shock. My mind simply refused to process the information and I was left gaping at the running water.

It was the sudden coldness that woke me though. All of a sudden I could move, and I did, running for the door and literally tearing it off its hinges. I fled up the stairs, not daring to look behind me because I was completely convinced that some sort of bogeyman was behind me, waiting to catch me if I fell or stumbled. I yanked that door open and flew through it, and once on the other side I didnt stop running until I came to my classroom door. I was sweating, trembling and my heart felt like it was going to come through my chest. I paused for a minute to collect myself and then went back to class. The teacher noticed how pale I was and asked if I was alright. I told her I was fine, and she let me stay, but for the rest of the afternoon I wondered whether what I had heard and seen had been true. It seemed so completely unbelievable that I tried to dismiss it. Even after my incident, there were tales of kids who "experienced" things down there in the basement. Some were hype meant to scare, others were the truth, I was sure of that. I knew that I had come face to face with a ghost and I can tell you that I never, ever went to the bathroom there again. At the end of grade one I left that school when my family moved, but I will never forget that experience. Just this year, the school was closed and will be bulldozed and turned into more town houses. I wonder what will happen to that spirit once that happens and I shudder to think of it haunting someone's house. I never investigated it, never thought to find out if someone had died there or anything, but now I am tempted to, just for curiousity's sake. Who knows what I will turn up?? Anyhow, if I do uncover anything I will let you know. I don't mind any kind of responses to this story, but please no flamers. Thanks for listening, I will hopefully post my other story sometime soon.

"There are no endings...only beginnings.."