The Times reports that an apparent paranormal event is being investigated at the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club in Moray. A barman, Ray Shepherd-Smith, poured drinks for two elderly men who appeared out of nowhere on a dark night and then disappeared into thin air.

They told him they were life members who were coming for a last look around. Members at the club, which has a reputation for being haunted, checked on the CCTV that monitors the building, but there was no footage of anyone entering or leaving.

The striking clubhouse was once the home of James Chadwick, who founded the club in Findhorn village in 1929. His ghost is said to still inhabit the building.

The visitors appeared shortly before 7pm one evening last week, when Mr Shepherd-Smith, 52, who lives in the flat above the club with his wife Claire, was getting ready to open up the bar.

He explained: “I was in the kitchen and didn’t hear anyone come in but two elderly gentlemen in coats were standing at the bar when I came through.
I asked if they were members and they said they were life members. The smaller man asked for a rum and the other chap wanted a whisky with ice in it… They went towards the bar door as though they were going for a look round. I rang up their drinks on the till but when I went to check where they were, the rest of the place was in darkness.”

The barman searched the building for the pair — who did not pay for their drinks, nor consume them — but could find no trace of them.

Martin Slack, the club commodore, and Gary Rendall, another official, later checked the CCTV on the premises, which confirmed that no one had entered or left the building that night.

The CCTV tape, however showed Mr Shepherd-Smith serving up the two drinks and speaking to someone off camera. He is then seen searching for his “customers”.

Several yachtsmen have reportedlly claimed to have seen the pipe-smoking ghost of James Chadwick, their first commodore. Others claim to have smelled pipe smoke when no smokers were around. Mr Shepherd-Smith said “I have come across ghostly goings on before while working behind a bar but this one tops the lot. The worst thing this time is that they left without paying.”

Full Story: Times Online