This series of Spooky Truths are accounts of experiences in my life that really happened.
The year is 1972, the place, Hull in Yorkshire. I am working as a trainee manager for a Night Club, Scamps. The club was above a beir keller and of fair size with three bars, dance floor and stage. Interestingly, the ‘cellar’ for the club was on the top floor with an old industrial dumb waiter transporting kegs up and down as required. Now in my third month all was well and really there had been nothing occuring out of the ordinary. One Saturday evening the manager instructed me and another trainee to stay in the club overnight, the stocktaking could begin bright and early. So cashing up and security measures completed we both settled down on the comfortable couches ready for a little shut-eye. At around 2.45 am, the radio playing gently in the background and hot drinks finished, we both drifted off to sleep.
The exact time of our abrubt awakening evades me but I think it was around 3.15 am. Imagine, there we are seemingly asleep when a tremendous crash and a rather unworldly scream filled the air. Simutaneoulsy we both leapt from the couches defensively, unconciously thinking we were in the midst of some kind of burglary and grabbed empty beer bottles and a chair as weapons to defend ourselves against an unseen and indeed unknown foe. Everything appeared to be happening all at once so it is rather difficult to order the events but as soon as we stood, there was more very loud banging and crashing as doors around the club opened and closed rapidly, glasses from the bar flew through the air landing randomly smashing here and there. A Co2 cylinder appeared from somewhere expelling the gas and landing in the middle of the dance floor removing veneer and polish.
We were rooted to the spot in fear unable to move or speak. I remember wanting to shout something to protest still thinking this was some kind of intrusion, however no words would come and no sound could we make. This was real fear and rational when one considers the circumstances. The tornado of chaos was over as quickly as it had begun. Suddenly all was quiet and eerily still but as we surveyed the room through fear stricken eyes, it was a mess. Broken glass littered the floor and furniture, and small beer kegs lay on the stairs where a bannister was snapped in half. We looked at each other with amazement and disbelief but when confronted with reality of such chaos, sat down in shock. Only the two of us were there, no intruders, what was this?
Our first rather selfish concern on reflection, was who will receive blame for this. Obviously as there was only the two of us there, ‘guilty as charged’ seemed the only outcome. Alarms which should have been triggered were not, this was exceptionally weird. You may think we had been drinking and smashed the place up ourselves, which was the managers first consideration when he witnessed the mess. He saw we were perfectly sober but very frightened and quickly dispensed with any blame.
Later we were to discover that incidents of dripping beer taps, flooding from sinks and other strange incidents that could be blamed on human error were indeed common but seen as usual for some strange reason and not discussed or mentioned other than an occasional moan to the inconvenience of cleaning up. News of this catastrophe spread throughout the staff and it was not long before strange occurrences kept secret were shared. This whole experience resulted in me being very uncomfortable continuing to work there as one can imagine and I resigned a few weeks later.
It appears that prior to its life as a nightclub, the building was a supermarket which never did well. Here are some facts:
Scamps was a well-known nightclub and discotheque located on George Street in Hull during the 1970s. It was a popular venue for nightlife, often mentioned with the adjacent Hofbrauhaus Bar.
The venue was at 42 George Street, a site that is now a car park. It had a history as a Savemore supermarket and a Baptist Church. After Scamps, the venue later became known as Oddessy nightclub and Dingwalls.
The building was destroyed by a major fire in January 1984, which required over 60 firefighters to control and ultimately led to the building’s demolition.
I have no evidence but it is believed that the Babtist Church may have been built on unconsecrated burial ground. The facts are that up until this incident nobody had spent the night in the building before, or if they had, nothing was reported. We experienced multiple poltergiest activity on that evening which was destructive and very frightening, and has certainly stayed with me for fifty-three years. Now knowing how the building met its demise, I cannot help wondering how the great fire of 1984 started. Was it due to supernatural causes and blamed on something else? Perhaps, there is still some research to do. I do wonder if there is still anyone left who can remember having a supernatural experience in Scamps or one of its other incarnations before the fire. Now of course as a car-park it may not draw such attention, or has it?
Lazarus Carpenter - Author 