The Dancing Children

I have previously submitted a story here about a haunting in the small village where I lived. In this village is a very old retirement home. Most of the small village is new, and it is currently expanding. However there are a few very old houses and buildings including an old church, graveyard and this large retirement home (as well as a few other old homes). This is the second haunting I've experienced, and the second local ghost story I've been unable to trace.

My mother worked at the retirement home as a carer and when I was sixteen I got a part time job there as a kitchen assistant. It was a three storey building, most of the building was in its original state but there had been another part added on as an extension. Now, I am fully aware that elderly people are not always the most reliable source, and that a lot of them were in the early to late stages of dementia. However, Rooms 4 and 5 of this building seemed to be the only two affected by this strange occurrence. I always felt uncomfortable in that home, although full of people there was obviously an underlying atmosphere of death. Many people passed away whilst I was there and it was not a happy place to work.

One day whilst on my rounds (I used to do the tea and coffee rounds) I stopped off in Room 5, let's call her Anne; she was a stubborn old lady who had most of her wits about her. She was always very particular about her drinks and who she would befriend. 'Those children are dancing on the roof again' was the first thing she said as I entered her room, I frowned; she wasn't usually the type to spout strange nonsense. I walked over to her window which did look down over the roof of another section of the building. I couldn't see anything 'Tell them to be quiet' She continued 'They are singing and dancing,' 'There's no one there Anne' I replied nervously. I genuinely could not see a thing. I thought nothing of it until I spoke to my mother about it, she rolled her eyes and explained that it wasn't the first time Anne had complained of children dancing on the roof. To this day almost five years on she still claims to see and hear those children... But that's not the end of that story.

Room 4, which is next door, has had several residents over the last few years. The lady who was there when I was never mentioned the children, but, the lady after her also complained of children dancing on the roof, yet she was wheel chair bound and we wondered if she'd heard of the children from the next door room, but she was adamant she had never even spoken to Anne, sadly, she passed away. But the very next resident said the same thing, and then this very day, on the phone to my mother she said 'The curse of room 4 is back' She said light heartedly 'The new resident was complaining about the children dancing on the roof again' Now she believes it's all nonsense, but I always believed there to be more to it.

The child dancing has only ever been seen by the two rooms looking out over that roof. However, many residents have claimed to see the two young girls walking the halls at night, or visiting them in their rooms, sitting, playing, and singing and talking to them. Sometimes they are elusive shadowy figures, sometimes they appear to the residents. I personally always felt very uneasy in the home, on several occasions I felt I was being followed and even saw small shadows, like those of small children.

One evening I heard a strange moaning in the hallway, and thought it was just one of the residents, but it was very late. I then had the feeling of someone standing behind me and I literally ran down the hallway back to the kitchen area and felt a lot better as If I'd escaped. My rational mind would say that it's the power of suggestion. The residents hear about the ghosts, so they see them. I heard about them too, so maybe that's why I felt their presence. But that's where the plot thickens.

You see, there is an explanation for these ghosts. One that seems to be one of those old stories kept to the confines of the village. You see, as much as I know, there was a fire in the top level of the building many years ago, the building is from the eighteen hundreds and has been restored several times back to how it was. I have been informed it was once a children's home, and that two young girls died in the tragic fire.

Most of the residents are from just outside the area so very few or even any know of this story. The staff are not allowed to talk of it for fear it'll put people off living/residing at the home. I didn't find this out until I'd stopped working there. But now the story of the dancing girls makes sense. These poor unfortunate children are stuck for some reason in the house where they died so tragically. Forever dancing, playing and wondering the halls.