Here’s five haunted police stations, hospitals and first stations that even give our brave first responders the shivers, says RICK HALE
First responders, police, fire and medical personnel are integral to the health, safety and well being of any community.
These brave men and women start their shifts every day knowing that they may have to deal with the strange or unusual.
But never do they expect to deal with forces that transcend the scope of human understanding or behaviour. Specifically in the places they work.
Here is a list of five haunted police stations, fire houses and hospitals where these first responders are all too familiar with just how strange their jobs can be.
Here are our haunted first responders:
Canterbury Road Police Station, Birmingham
When police officers put on that uniform and patrol the streets of their towns, they are expected to be tough, as well as brave.
Because at any moment, things can go from good to bad with little to no warning.
But what if the very building they work in frightens them to the point of not wanting to step foot in their own police station?
The men and women of the Canterbury Road Police Station in Birmingham know the answer to that question all too well.
The police station on Canterbury Road was built in 1904 and served as the headquarters for the West Midlands police for well over a century.
All that changed in 2018 when the building suddenly went on the market for the princely sum of £730,000.
And why, you may ask. Well according to the stalwart defenders of the law who work there, something spooky stalks the building’s halls.
Since the 1970s, there were rumours that an angry ghost was making a nuisance of itself by hanging on walls and pipes and giving officers that uneasy feeling of being watched.
Publicly, the officers chalked the weirdness up to the building and the plumbing being outdated. Privately was another matter altogether. With many officers refusing to even step foot in the building.
The building still has offices in it, however it’s not an active police station anymore. As for the ghost, it appears to have remained.
Bristol Fire Brigade Headquarters, Bristol
For over two centuries the Knights Templar, a militant order of warrior monks, saw to the safety of the Christian faithful as they made pilgrimages to the holy land.
Before being betrayed by the church they swore to protect, they established a modern banking system and an espionage network that is still considered to be the best in history.
Although the order has been dead and gone for centuries, one of these holy knights reportedly haunts the building of the Bristol Fire Brigade Headquarters. Long after his death.
The first recorded sighting of the ghostly knight occurred in 1975.
He has been described by all who see him as wearing a white tunic, emblazoned with a fiery red cross across his chest.
He has been seen in the yard and vanishes whenever someone dares to approach him.
He has also been heard stomping around the building at all hours of the day.
The firemen who work at the Bristol Fire Brigade Headquarters have come to accept their fellow protector and welcome his presence.
Cookridge Hospital, Leeds
Typically hospitals are places too go to be treated for illness and get rest when poorly.
Sadly, not everyone who checks into the hospital checks out. Some don’t survive their visit having succumbed to the illness that brought them there.
And two paramedics in the former Ida wing of Leeds’ Cookridge Hospital learned, that although a patient may die, they don’t always leave.
Late one summer night, two paramedics were pushing a gurney towards a lift when an elderly woman appeared and entered the lift.
Before they could reach it, the door closed but one of the paramedics managed to race forward and smack the call button causing the door to open.
When the lift door opened, the elderly woman had simply vanished.
The two paramedics were mystified as to how this could be. There was no way she could have gone anywhere, as the lift never left the floor.
The apparition of an elderly woman has been seen by others quietly walking the halls of the Ida wing.
No one really knows who she was in life and is believed to be a patient that passed away in her sleep decades ago.
Dalkeith Fire Station, Dalkeith, Scotland
In the early years of the 21st century, the fire fighters of the Dalkeith fire station found themselves in a curious and sometimes frightening situation.
For a number of years the unnerving apparition of a shadowy figure in what appeared to be a monk’s robe was causing a stir in the station.
Not only would it suddenly appear from the shadows and scare whomever was unfortunate to encounter it, but it would make loud bangs on the wall as the fire fighters were trying to rest.
And eerie, unearthly screams were heard to echo throughout the building regardless of the time of day.
It had gotten to a point where the activity became to much to bear, so they did the only thing they could think of.
They enlisted the help of a local psychic medium to banish the very pesky ghost from the building.
When the psychic arrived, the gifted medium determined the ghost was the resident of an ancient Abbey that stood on the site long before the fire house was built.
Thankfully, the psychic managed to send the ghost to be with his brothers and peace and quiet finally descended upon the fire station.
Tulliallan Police College, Dunfermline, Scotland
Tulliallan Police College was established in 1954 and incorporates parts of the 19th century, Tulliallan Castle.
And it’s from the castle where the cop college’s ghosts are said to come.
Throughout it’s history, a number of police trainees have reportedly experienced phenomena they are not trained to deal with.
The unmistakable sound of rambunctious children giggling and playing has been heard in the halls while recruits are sleeping at night.
While other trainees are awakened by the feeling of an unseen person sitting on their beds and the uncomfortable feeling of being stared at.
Several years ago, one trainee watched in horror as her desk chair swiftly rolled across her dorm room.
And then rolled back to the desk in the exact position it was before taking on a life of its own.
Police officers, firefighters and paramedics are trained to expect the unexpected. They know that at any moment all hell can break loose, and they have to deal with it in a calm, measured manner.
A cop may be able to cuff and stuff a living perpetrator. But if that perpetrator is the dead, handcuffs won’t do the job.
Have you seen a phantom first responder? Tell us about it in the comments section below!