An elderly couple returning from their holidays were only ten or twelve minutes from their home town of Forbes. At this particular point they were surprised to see a young boy (no older than ten) walking along the side of the road by himself. As they had not come across any accidents they presumed that the boy had had an accident with his bike. Pulling up along side of the boy, the lady asked him if he would like a lift to town. His reply was somewhat odd, 'don't know'. He did however get into the back of the car. When asked a few questions his answers were the same 'don't know'.

Just as they came into town the driver looked into his rear-view mirror and saw the boy quite clearly. At the same time a police car was parked outside a shop and the elderly couple pulled up behind it. In the few seconds it took from seeing the boy and stopping, the boy vanished. As both back doors were still on lock this meant that the boy could not have fallen or jumped from the car. Who the boy was, why he was on his own and how he vanished, remains a mystery.

Having just filled up with petrol the two friends seeing a female hitchhiker a short distance away, stopped and asked the woman if she would like a lift to Toowoomba as they would be passing through it. The woman answered yes and got into the back of the car. Although the friends did most of the talking the woman did answer yes or no to their questions, but that was it. On arriving at Toowoomba the lady got out of the car, thanked them both and promptly disappeared, right in front of their eyes. Both ladies were very shaken to say the least.

John left home around 7am to start his well-deserved holiday. The day was uneventful, but the night was something he would not forget. He knew the road well, having travelled on it many times before.

It was a little after 11.00 p.m. when he saw a hitchhiker thumbing a lift. Thumbing a lift during the day was one thing, but thumbing a lift this time of night was something he had not seen or heard of before. His intention was to drive past but on nearing the hitchhiker he was very surprised to see a female. He stopped and offered her a lift, feeling that a woman on the road so late at night was just not right. When she was in the car (4x4) he asked her if she was going far. She replied that she was going wherever she could get a lift and that time and distance was not important.

He told her that there was a lay-by a few miles further on where he intended to stop so as to get some shuteye. She was welcomed to a lift and could sleep in the front of car or go into the back, but that it would not be too comfortable. She nodded her head, got into the front seat and then closed her eyes. On arriving at the lay-by he turned towards the woman only to find her seat empty. 'There was no way that she could have left the vehicle without my knowing it, especially a moving vehicle. It left me feeling spooked I can tell you'.

Sitting in the car waiting for her husband's train to arrive, Lynn saw an old man walk along the platform then turn towards a door near the ticket office then fade from view. Lynn wondered if she had imagined what she thought she had seen or if it had something to do with the dimness of that side of the station compared with where she was sitting. A few weeks later, Lynn was again waiting for her husband at the station when again she definitely saw the old man walk along the platform, turn towards the door and fade from view. She watched, hoping to see him reappear, but he did not. He would have been in his 80s and had a mop of thick white hair. He also walked with a limp. Lynn was to see this man several times more (she could not call him a ghost because he was too real and solid looking), but after the station was renovated she was not to see him again. Each time she did see him it was late evening.

After thought. Could he perhaps have been a railway worker from many years back still doing his work?

Bindi was a terrier cross who died from cancer while still quite young. Her owner, Will, was upset at losing her but said he would not want to see her suffer. Towards the end of last year while in his garden he saw a small shadow standing near him and slightly to the rear. On turning to see who it was (and a pleasant surprise it was), he was to see his little dog Bindi quite content to watch him while he worked, just as she had when she was alive. After five minutes she was gone, Will hopes she will visit again soon.

Mr Greene, like most people [in 1953], did not have a television set but he did have a radio. While sitting in his armchair and listening to the commentary of the Queen's Coronation he had a feeling that there was someone in the room besides him. On looking around and seeing nothing he put it down to indigestion and continued listening to the radio. Within a few minutes the feeling of not being alone came across much stronger. Looking up Mr Greene saw a lady standing by the window looking out. Her dress was clear to see and definitely Edwardian in style. Her features however were not so clear making it hard to judge her age. At a guess Mr Greene thought she might have been in her early to mid thirties. He coughed and was about to get up from his chair when the lady just faded away. 'She seemed deep in thought,' said Mr Greene later on.

Where she came from or who she was remained a mystery. The house was built during the mid Victorian era although in

modern times the house had been turned into flats. However, the house does not exist today.

Sometime during the 1960s a pub named 'The Ship Inn' was visited by the apparition of a boy aged between ten and eleven. A cleaner who was at the time cleaning the bar room not only saw the boy but saw him walk through the furniture as if it did not exist. She later told her boss what she had seen only to have him laugh and tell her to leave the sherry alone. She was convinced that the boy was not walking in 'our' time. She was unable to explain what she had seen and was pleased that it only happened that once.

'The Ship Inn' was closed around four years ago (1990s).

Bogga Road Jail has its fair share of ghosts mainly from the past. However, two female ghosts are from modern times and have been seen entering the main gates.

Two ladies talking near the gates of the jail were to see two women, one elderly, the other younger, walk through the main gates while at the same time they literally dissolved from the feet up. To say that the two ladies who were watching had a shock would be putting it mildly. Both ladies could only use the word 'dissolving' as no other word fitted. Whether the two ladies were mother and daughter (which is possible) and were visiting or why they should haunt the main gates will never be known.

Jean and Barry lost their eldest daughter to cancer many years ago. Yet towards the end of 1988 they were to see her from time to time sitting in what was regarded as her chair. She was full of life and crammed as much as she could into her short life. 'It was as though she knew her time was short,' her father was to say. The first time it happened both Jean and Barry were watching television when their daughter suddenly came on the screen. What they were watching had disappeared. 'Neither of us were prepared for what happened yet we did not feel scared.' Their daughter was to make regular visits over a period of seven to eight months. Then her visits became fewer. Her parents like to think that their beloved daughter has or is moving on.

Helen was fond of her cat, Timmy, but he was getting old. That was what Helen dreaded most, his age. Eventually Timmy did pass away and was buried under his favourite tree in the back garden. Two months later, Helen heard a mewing outside her back door. On opening the door a black cat with blue eyes (Timmy had blue eyes) stood looking at her before walking into the kitchen and jumping onto a chair that Timmy would have used, then vanished. Helen then knew it was her Timmy because, apart from the eyes, he had sat on the same chair that her Timmy would have used. Helen felt that Timmy had come back to say goodbye.

Sam was a labrador and [typical of] his breed, loved water. Although not old, Sam was getting on. His owner threw a stick into the river for Sam to retrieve. The dog was doing well until he neared the embankment, when he started struggling. His owner could only guess that something under the water had trapped his dog's legs. Going in to help, Sam became still. He still had the stick in his mouth. Sam was taken to the vet where he was diagnosed as having had a heart attack. Six months later another dog came into the family home and though no one could see anything it was obvious that the new dog was greeting another with a great wagging of his tail. Sam had come home.

Ben had had his dog since it was a pup, so losing his dog at the age of five years due to a car accident was a blow. It took Ben two years before he got another dog, a four-month-old fox terrier. It was just as he had finished putting the food on his dog's plate that he saw another dog in his garden. Wondering how it had got in he was about to shoo it away when he noticed the diamond shaped patch on the dog's chest. 'Surely no two dog's could have the exact same marking on their chest”. Ben felt that his old mate had come back to approve of him having another dog.

George* had had his budgie for more years than he could remember so it was not surprising that the budgie was found dead in its cage one morning. Two or three weeks later George was in his kitchen making a drink for himself when he heard 'make one for me' repeated twice. George thought it sounded like his budgie, but as the bird was dead it was impossible. He decided it was his imagination or else it was on the television. Before he had poured the water in the pot he heard 'make one for me' again repeated. Going into his lounge room there was only his television on. It had to be that. A few days later he was doing the same thing when he heard 'make one for me' as before. This time the television was not switched on. George was to hear these same words over a long period of time, when it just stopped. George has no doubts that his budgie had returned for a bit of fun.
*not real name

After a bad night and a visit to the vet, Lady, a chihuahua, was put to sleep. She was in her sixteenth year. During the early hours of the morning and because it was warm for that time of the year I got up and sat on the doorstep where it was a little cooler. My Scottie was just behind me sleeping. It was when Scottie made a movement and an odd sound that I turned my head to look at her. She was looking at something further away from where she was lying and all I could think of was 'spider', something that neither of us liked. Turning my head the opposite way I was expecting to see a spider, instead I saw a Lady. I just stared not believing what I could see. I turned my head away for a split second, when on turning to look at her again she was gone. The one thing I did notice was that she was no longer grey around her face. She was young again. I like to think that she was letting me know that everything was fine now. She died on the first day of the month and I saw her on the third of the month.

Shortly after her mother passed on so to did her little dog, Curley. Eighteen months later both Curley and his mistress were seen walking together along the garden path admiring the flowers they so often did in life.

Having been born and bred on a farm, death and birth were expected as part of life on a farm. Les was used to looking after sick animals, some would die, but many survived. One lamb that had been found had a broken leg and no mother. Les looked after it, the leg healed and the lamb became a family pet. It also had a slight limp. The years past and the sheep died from old age. By now, Les was too old to bother with sheep so was somewhat surprised to see a sheep, with a slight limp, waiting patiently to be allowed through the gate. The first time it happened Les opened the gate and watched the sheep walk through and disappear at the same time. Les could not believe what he had seen, but after the first couple of times he just accepted it as part of the mysteries of life.