I should mention that this ship was haunted. Everyone kept telling me that when it was a mortuary ship one of the bodies went missing. It was never found and that now he haunts this ship.

Yeah right! I thought being the new kid on the block they were trying it on for me. I feigned curiosity but in reality dismissed it as clap trap. Not that I didn’t believe in ghosts, for I had had extensive experience with them, but I thought who loses a body on a mortuary ship.

We slept two to a cabin and being on opposite shifts I never saw my cabin mate. There was a long corridor with cabins on each side. At each end there were heavy water tight doors, not easy to open or shut in a hurry.

Laying in my bunk I could hear heavy boots stomping up the corridor and past my door. This went on night after night to the point I was having trouble sleeping. How dumb did they think I was? Trying to pull this stunt.

I made up my mind to catch them at it. Patiently I waited by the door and as the footsteps were at my door I quickly yanked it open. Nothing there. Closed the door and the footsteps continued. For days I did this and no-one was ever there.

It progressed to the point that even with the door open and with me standing in the doorway the footsteps came down the corridor and passed me. As it passed me the hairs on my body raised up. I had to concede there really was a ghost. Apparently no-one ever had as close an encounter with this ghost as I did.

The dayroom is almost empty. There is only Mr Lyreco and myself left. He will be the next to be retired and then they will come for me. I must give them no reason to suspect.

Quietly I chuckle to myself, how funny it would be to be a fly on the wall and see their reaction when they discover me gone.