The Isle of Wight Pearl building has a colorful past. It was used in the war and privately owned by an extravagant lord. It was also Chilton Chine Holiday Camp before coming into our possession in the 1980s – there has been a wide range of activities, and people, in this building over the past 150 years
And working here is not for the faint-hearted! Today it appears that a lot of the ghosts of yester-year (especially in the upstairs unused area of the building) are still hanging around at Isle of Wight Pearl and we have a plethora of first-hand stories to tell. Only the daring should read on…
Banging and Crashing
“When locking up, we switch the lights off and make our way towards the front door but we often hear banging & crashing upstairs when the building is empty – once I even felt a hand on my shoulder!!”
Music playing on its own
“I often hear footsteps upstairs either before we are open or after we have closed. I hear a lot of old-fashioned music playing at the end of the day on the shop floor when locking up – but it’s not our sound system.”
A young girl crying
“The old office area upstairs has a horrible feeling, especially the locked stock room. When a medium came, she said there was a horrible old man upstairs that hates us being up there and a young girl crying in the old stock room.”
Café poltergeist
“After we closed, and all the customers had left, we heard saucepans being banged and chairs being moved in the café while we were cashing up. No one else was here other than the colleague next to me and the loud banging noise was coming from the kitchen area. I was totally freaked out.”
Shivers down my spine!
“When locking up at night I’ve been in the ladies when a toilet roll from the next cubicle has rolled into mine along the floor!! Plus, many of us have heard a young girl sneezing in the ladies’ toilets when there is no one else here – it sends shivers down my spine!”
Silhouette of a man at the office window
“Sometimes when I’m outside in the early mornings and look up at the building I see a silhouette of a man at the office window, I’ve also heard old-style music and laughing, as if in the holiday camp heyday, plus a little girl sneezing in the toilets.”
Ghostly children
“I often hear my name being called by a child and when we had a medium come in, she told me that I have serval children following me around while I’m at work!!”
Taps running on their own
“I’ve been upstairs in the old coach drivers’ room (that used to be a bathroom when this was a private house) and the taps have started running in the bath! And no one but me is up there!”
Spine-chilling atmosphere
“The corridor upstairs between the coach drivers’ room and staff room is awful!! It has such a horrible feeling, it’s difficult to explain but I always rush down to get to the light switch at the other end!”
The faint sound of children laughing
“When I used to lock up the main building, before moving into the side office to cash up, I used to hear the faint sound of children laughing and music playing coming from the jewellery showroom area. And this was all when me and a colleague were alone!! All the doors were shut and the speakers were off yet I could still hear music playing inside.”
Ghostly old man in the corridor upstairs
“A member of staff told me on numerous occasions she has experienced an old man in the corridor upstairs, and she has heard him trying to scare her.”
Read all about Isle of Wight Pearl and the Chilton Chine Holiday Camp here.
