The Curse of the Laundrette. Strikes Back. With A Vengeance. Part II. (This time it's personal...)

There are dozens of mythically cursed and ancient places around the world. The pyramids in Egypt. The Stone Heads of Easter Island. Native American burial grounds across the US. Druid sites like Stonehenge. But there is a far deadlier type of location that is out to get you, and it is only just at the beginning of being discovered, let alone understood. It is...

The student laundrette.



In this particular case the laundrettes my experiences occured in are centred around a single university campus, that of Lancaster University in the northwest of England, but the phenomena has been seen across the globe.

It is believed by some that perhaps the laundrettes here draw their power from the remnants of witchcraft performed nearby in Pendle, of the famed Pendle witch trials. Some argue that the fact that Pendle College laundrette is relatively event free discounts this theory. Others say it is the witches or fading magic attempting to bluff us into disbelieving the theory by deliberately avoiding their namesake. All I can say for sure is that three laundrettes on this campus carry frequent, harrowing and traumatising events.

First, and the worst offender, is the Bowland laundrette, also known as County South despite County having number two on this list. It is, without doubt, the most galling of experiences to lug a fortnight's washing to the mini laundrette, get everything washed and dried, and then have to dry it again. And again. And again. And then give up and drag soaking washing back to your room where it'll sit and spread damp for a few days.

This site has been demonically attacked time and again by flooding and failure- at one point being mysteriously locked and remaining that way for months as it regenerated into a pristine, if eerily empty, glass lined and hallowed place.

Secondly, there is County, a little larger than Bowland and generally left in greater peace than the first. Occasionally it has been known to have minor failures and even once or twice has been fully shut down, but for the most part the gods of washing have smiled on this place. Perhaps this is because of its location, in a shadowy corner of an out of the way building, and the fact that it is in use at any hour of the day. Certainly it is the most eerie of all the laundrettes, sealed off from the world and possessing vibes of chilling resonance even when you are alone with the machines.

Thirdly, and most prone to complete attack, is Furness laundry, hidden away behind the campus' Pizzaria. It generally works, but when it fails rather than being prone to minor problems frequently, it has moderately timed faults of consistently catastrophic nature. There is little explanation for this, although one theory is that the sheer amount of radio equipment nearby in the so-hidden-it's-almost-secret student radio station could attract the attention of the spirit world and invite hostility from confused ethers mixing up transmissions with ghostbusting equipment, which given the recent and nearby activity in examining the spirit lives of the northwest they would be familiar with.

For one thing, all I know is that the situations will continue for a long while, and the consequences, albeit perhaps a byproduct of the spirits' intentions, it means that again and again a £3 wash will end up reaching towards £10. Something I for one get irritated at.