Greystone Community Centre, Carlisle

Greystone Community Community Centre on Close Street hit the local Carlisle paper last week with the following story by Phil Coleman entitled ‘CCTV CAMERA FILMS MYSTERY BALL OF LIGHT AT CARLISLE COMMUNITY CENTRE’ (News & Star 23 January 2013).

A community centre is at the centre of a fascinating mystery after one of its security cameras captured a spooky dancing light.

For years, there have been stories of a possible haunting at Carlisle’s Greystone Community Centre.

Some people now believe there is powerful evidence that this popular Close Street centre, built at the site of a former girls’ school, may be attracting a visitor from beyond the grave.

The debate is being fuelled by a CCTV video which gives a tantalising glimpse of something decidedly strange.

Filmed at 5.17pm, and lasting for just seven seconds, the footage shows a gloomy, deserted corridor.

Suddenly, a large glowing ball of light appears, its pulsing slightly as it travels inexplicably along the corridor before turning sharply upwards and towards the centre’s main entrance. Manager Gareth Weber, 39, who has worked there for 15 years, described what happened.

“It was sitting at my desk in the office, working, when I heard a bang, which is not unusual here,” he said. “I could have sworn that I heard somebody walking past my door, but as far as I knew I was the only person who was in the building.

“I left the office, checked the entrance of the building, and then the corridor next to my office, and there was nobody around. So I went back to the office and checked the CCTV. That’s when I saw this light.”

The incident, earlier this month, has got everybody talking and has now been posted on Facebook. Some people have suggested the light may be a spectral “orb,” the earthly manifestation of a spirit.

Gareth said the engineer who installed the CCTV camera had checked it, and insists there is no fault with it – nor any logical explanation.

“He’s assured me there’s nothing wrong with camera. He had no explanation,” said Mr Weber.

“I’m usually sceptical. But there’s no doubt that this is an old building, and the corridor where this light was used to be part of the girls part of the old Brook Street School. There was talk that it was haunted by an old music teacher who worked there. They say he has occasionally rang the school bell, which we still have.

“Other people have commented that it could be the late Colin Paisley, who died a few months ago and was very involved in the centre and was vice president here.

The community centre last year attracted 31,000 visitors.