Madame May I?

True Ghost Story – from Cheryl Wright


Many years ago my mother decided to take up a cleaning job to earn some extra money.

She asked around and found out a local minister needed a cleaner for his home. What she didn’t realise was his ‘home’ was a rambling mansion that was more than 100 years old.

On her first day, after working for nearly two hours, it was time for a break. She made a cup of tea, and while she drank, read the newspaper. She felt that someone looking over her shoulder reading the newspaper with her, but as no one else was there, she tried to shake the feeling away.

It didn’t work.

Later that morning, the minister arrived back from a meeting, so my mother asked him about her experience. She told him she was certain there was a ghost in the house.

Rather than brush the idea aside, he told her she was correct - there was a ghost in the house. His daughter moved out as soon as she was old enough, because she couldn’t cope with the ghostly being that lived there with them.

“She was a Madame,” he told my mother. “The building was once a brothel, and she was murdered in an attack by a client.” He quickly added, “But she’s friendly, she won’t hurt you.”

My mother agreed and said she wasn’t afraid, just curious. She worked there for many years, and encountered the friendly being every single day while she drank her morning cup of tea.

All these years later I often drive past that beautiful old building, and can often feel the presence of the Madame. I sometimes wonder if the minister’s daughter ever returned to the house, and if so, if she ever came to terms with the situation.

If you'd like to learn more about Cheryl, click here.