Five years ago (back in the boy racer days) on New Years eve, me and one of my best friends Will were out in his car. Everybody that we both knew were either out doing their own thing for the night, or just being boring and staying in.
We both didn't really have the money to go out drinking and partying after Christmas, so we both thought why not throw £10 in the tank and go a drive around blasting. The night started off like any normal night out in the car (or cruising as its commonly known lol) But for some strange and unknown reason Will decided to drive through Cannock Chase (about 2 miles from our home town Hednesford). This area is famous for sightings of black panthers, a large snake and even a bigfoot or werewolf like creature.
After driving around for about an hour and half or so, the time was drawing close to midnight. I'd brought a couple of cans of lager out with us to bring in the new year, so we decided to park up in a small pull in to let the new year in. We tuned the cars stereo into radio as we both had a laugh talking about what new years resolutions that we'd not stick to. To cut a long story short the chimes of Big Ben rung through the speakers of the car, and we both cracked open our cans and toasted the new year
We sat there for about another half an hour, when Will suddenly flinched and said "Did you just move your arm behind me then?". Baring in mind that my one hand was holding my can, and the other was one was holding my mobile. Will then suddenly turned the key in the ignition barrel, rammed the car into first and floored the car wheel spinning down the road. We were parked up about 300 metres from the Baptist college. Will hurtled past the building over the junction with out looking and onto the gravel car park opposite, when he suddenly pulled the handbrake up spinning the car around 180 degrees. He then immediately throw open the drivers side door, and started being violently sick.
I said to him confused, shaken up and angrily, "What the bloody hell are you doing you idiot?". But as I looked at him with the interior light shining on him, I could see fear in his eyes and his face was completely white. He just looked at me for a few minutes and said, "I saw like a black shadow move from behind you and across the back of me!". He then said "Lets just get out of here!", and he floored the car out of the car park and off right up towards Pye Green.
But things weren't over then, the car all of a sudden lost most of its power. Even as Will changed down from third into first the car still had no power, even at the redline! I could see Will putting his right foot firmly down on the pedal, it was like something was intentionally holding the car back! We slowly got to the next junction and turned left into it and still moving slowly, when the car suddenly got its power back. Will put his foot down so we quickly got off Cannock Chase, and we parked up on a nearby car park at the bottom end of Pye Green. Will turned off the ignition and said "Al!... I don't know what that was!?... But its scared the crap out of me!".
I know Will wasn't trying to play a prank on me or scare me, because of the way he looked and how he was shaking when we parked up. But whatever or whoever it was it scared us half to death. So that's why I thought I'd post this story on here.
I've only ever seen one spirit and that was of my late Granddad John, who sadly passed away in the mid nineties from cancer. He was sitting in the back seat of my car a couple of weeks after I'd passed my test, when I looked in my rear view mirror and I noticed him smiling at me. Ironically this was as I was driving across the Chase too.
I've driven passed the place where this happened tons of times on my own, with friends and at all times of day and night. But haven't seen anything happen since.