A true ghost story?

Marke Slade told me this, what I suppose you would call a ghost story, and I believe it to be true.

Marke was a resident of Woy Woy, but spent most of his time wandering and working at odd jobs in the Sydney area.

Now and then he would return to Woy Woy to visit family and friends.

On one occasion, he and a mate arrived at Patonga to visit a mutual friend.

They found their friend had gone away.

As it was late and being no transport at the village of Patonga, they decided to kip for the night in a derelict house, thought to be haunted.

Though it was a warm summer's night, they found the air in the house unbearably cold.

They put on jackets and settled down on an old mattress for the night.

Marke told me that the hair on the back of his neck froze when they awoke to an eerie sobbing and moaning sound.

His mate got up to investigate.

"Probably cats", he said.

He was gone for a while so Marke stated to rise, when suddenly his friend appeared, his face contorted with rage and fear.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard," he screamed and he leapt on Marke, his hands on his throat.

Luckily Marke was a strong and fit man, for he managed to hold the man from choking him to death.

They wrestled into the front room and gathering momentum in their struggle.

They burst through the rickety front door of the house.

Outside his friend fell heavily and lay still.

Marke shook him and said: "Are you all right? You went berserk in there."

All his friend said was "I dunno what happened. It's all blank."

There were no drugs and his friend had no history of mental illness.

Marke was convinced that his mate had been controlled by a malevolent spirit residing in the house.

Well, the house has gone now, so let's hope the evil that lived there has gone with it.

Keith Whitfield, Woy Woy