Is this conclusive proof of the existence of a ghost stalking Gloucester's Eastgate Street or a trick of the shadows and light [pics added via W*USA - fs]?
Staff at Poundstretcher spotted the ghostly apparition of a Victorian lady standing behind a pallet of goods when they checked CCTV footage. The mysterious figure appears to stand in the shadows for hours before becoming angry and throwing the pallet to the ground.
Deputy manager Sue Cooper, 46, who lives in Brockworth, said: "The assistant manager and department manager left the shop immaculate when they left one night, but the next morning I walked in with a member of staff and it looked a mess.
"I went through the CCTV and you can see an entity standing behind the pallet.
"By 2.30am she had pushed it over and was kneeling or sitting down on some cases."
The apparition is of a woman, dressed in a high neck black dress, with hair tied back and very white hands.
It is not the first time it has been seen, or its presence felt in the store.
Legend states that the unhappy spirit of a tragic actress haunts the store, formerly the Theatre Royal where the famous Victorian partnership of Sir Henry Irving and Ellen Terry once performed.
Strange manifestations have been seen by many staff over the years, including the ghost of the lady and the mouldy inscription of the letter "E" on a cellar wall.
It is thought that the lady in question is Eliza Johnson, who joined the company in 1880.
It is said that after a while things in her life began to go wrong - perhaps a failed love affair - and she committed suicide while still in her mid-20s.
Now her ghost stalks the aisles of the shop where once she performed.
"She has physically walked through me three times," Mrs Cooper said.
"The shop smelled like burning and the taste you can't describe - as soon as she's gone, it goes."
Gloucester is known for its spooky inhabitants. Ghosts allegedly haunt the Cathedral, the prison and The Old Bell Inn, The New Inn and the Dick Whittington pub in the city centre.
Newspaper letter
i am surprised that eliza has been seen on the shopfloor has her sprit has remained in the basement of the store where she sadly committed suicide. In all the time that i worked there the basement was the only place that some staff refused to go.
nigel ellis (anon), gloucester
