[Ciaran]

In 2006, I was still living in Northern Ireland. Construction of my new house had been delayed by a few months so, between homes, I had to rent an apartment for a short period.


I decided on an apartment in Belfast's city centre - for purely convenient reasons as it was close to my office. Apartment building, newly completed, was very dark and functional.


I buy memorabilia and one day I made a purchase at auction of a large 1950s / 1960s suitcase that belonged to famous sportsman who had died years previously. The suitcase was packed full of his personal papers (marriage certificate, legal agreements, hundreds of family photos, official documentation and so on).


I received the suitcase one evening and, after a quick scan and realising there were too many items in it to assess, decided to put it away safely until I had more time at the weekend.


The next evening I returned from work to find the suitcase in the middle of the main room, open and many papers scattered across the room. Nothing appeared missing and certainly nothing else in the apartment appeared to have been disturbed in anyway. Also, no signs whatsoever of a break-in.


I didn't have any other direct experiences in the apartment (stayed there maybe three to four months in total), although the apartment was incredibly dark, even in daylight and I sometimes thought I saw shadows. This was probably just lighting issues but added to my general sense of unease.


Tried to do some research and was told by some local historians that the apartment was on the site of a match factory that burnt down in the 1800s, killing numerous children who had been working there. Not categorically certain that was accurate nor, even if it was, that there was a connection between the two but added an interesting layer to it.