RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Strange noises and glows blight the darkness on RAF Lakenheath.
A ghostly figure still roams the base. Though his presence has been witnessed by many, his purpose is less definite.
You've just entered the RAF Mildenhall Fright Zone, and the story you're about to hear are actual accounts of local residents and employees.
The ghost of a World War II Airman, dubbed by many as 'Lakenheath Charlie,' is said to roam the airfield with his glowing red lantern, attempting to wave off incoming pilots.
Others have seen the supernatural Airman, believed to have been an RAF pilot, standing on perimeter road and smoking.
In 2005, Stars and Stripes reported two separate accounts of the same Airman.
According to the Darren Mann, from The Paranormal Database, there are two separate ghosts haunting RAF Lakenheath. One is a manifestation of a phantom RAF pilot who's been haunting the base since 1951, and the other is a manifestation of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot who's been haunting since 1945.
Many encounters with 'Lakenheath Charlie,' have occurred near Hangar 46.
A website called Moonfruit logged the following account of Jacki Travis, a former RAF Lakenheath Airman:
"I was assigned to a dormitory that housed all the unaccompanied security police of the base. Since their job requires them to man shifts 24 hours a day, there were always a bunch of people around regardless of the time of day or night.
On one occasion, a group of us were in the dayroom. Around 3 a.m. we had somehow gotten on the subject of ghosts and strange occurrences. One of the guys began to tell the story of Lakenheath Charlie. It goes something like this...
Being as the base was on British soil and the Americans were guests, we had to respect the right to foot paths. These are foot (and now bike) trails that have been used for ages by the British to get around the countryside. Whenever a British citizen wanted to walk on the footpath, the protocol was that they were announced by the gate guard and followed by security past the flightline until they exited the base on the other side.
One night, Charlie entered the base on his bike but the gate guard was distracted and forgot to radio to the patrol that they had someone on the footpath. Charlie was hit and killed by a landing plane.
The guy telling the story then proceeded to tell of a night when he was a new Airman on duty with a riding patrol on the flightline. The tower radioed them that there was a guy riding a bike on the flightline without authorization. They patrolled the area and reported back that they had seen nothing.
The tower had night vision goggles and replied that the individual was indeed still there and nearing their vehicle. There were four men in the Humvee and one got out with his radio to confirm the sighting. Still seeing nothing, he again reported this to the tower.
The tower replied, "He's less than 50 feet in front of you."
Agitated and a little scared, the Airman insisted that there was nobody in front of him.
The tower responded, "He just rode past you and is headed for the back gate."
Scared, the Airman jumped back in the Humvee. The others in the vehicle had heard the transmission on their radio and all swear they saw nothing.
Lakenheath Charlie is rumored to turn hangar lights off and on and unlock doors that were deemed secured by more than one person.
When the story was finished we all had goose bumps and watery eyes. One guy wasn't so moved.
He piped up but, before he could finish his sentence, the curtains blew up and a loud crashing noise came from the kitchen area just a few feet behind us. The windows were all closed so breeze couldn't be the cause, and the crashing noise was a broiler pan that I had used earlier and had placed in the sink to soak. It was now on the floor.
Needless to say, we didn't tell midnight ghost stories anymore and I think we all had a new respect for Charlie.
Does Lakenheath Charlie actually haunt the base?
Perhaps talking to maintainers and security forces members working the graveyard shift may reveal similar stories.
Stay tuned with the 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs office for the next RAF Mildenhall Fright Zone. This special series will run until Halloween 2011.