This happened at work. I work at a library. My job is to shelve books and whatnot. I don't really interact with the patrons.
Well, one day, I was putting books in the basement for a future book sale. I used to live this job because I could play music out of my cellphone while I was down there. The basement of the library always gave me the chills but music helped. I started to volunteer more and more to go down to store books so I could listen to my music.
On this particular day, I had my music on shuffle. A song mocking the devil popped up and I had a bad feeling about letting it play, but I did anyway to have a good laugh (and I did). Another song about the devil played soon after. It's called "Almost Human" by the Gothic music artist Voltaire. It's a song about the devil talking to Saint Michael (the archangel who banished Satan to walk the earth for eternity). Check it out when you can. Again, I felt uneasy playing this because I am slightly superstitious, but I shook away the feeling. I like this song and won't pass up a chance to listen to it. I even sang along. Soon after, another Voltaire song played. This time it was "God Thinks" (a song about how people are self-righteous and put words into the mouth of God). Well, I had already played two songs about the devil so a song like this wouldn't do any harm either.
I got done shelving downstairs for the night and sent the empty book cart upstairs via the electric dumbwaiter. I shut off the basement light and let the door slowly shut on its own. I didn't expect the door to slam so loud, though, and it made me jump up the rest on the stairs. I was about ready to laugh at myself for being startled as I hit the light switch down, there was a blood-curdling scream of agony Colin from the basement. It was so clear and so loud that I jumped back and my hands shot up to my chest to feel my pounding heart.
I froze there for a moment in the short hallway. The only light came from the red EXIT sight over the door right in front of me next to the stairs. From outside, I heard a firetruck nearby and assumed that it was coming to whatever this person had screamed about. I was ready to be relieved, but the firetruck drove away and the siren faded. Right after that, I heard another scream. It was the same voice as the first (a woman's voice). It screamed, "No! Please, no!!" It was so god damn loud and so god damn clear.
I have always scoffed at people who say that they heard a clear voice saying something typical of a ghost to say like "Don't!" Or "Help me!" Or "Get out!" I always thought that they just wanted attention for hearing a ghost.
In not saying that it was a ghost I heard but I know it came from the basement. At first, I thought that it might have been someone in trouble outside the door, but if that had been true than the voice definitely wouldn't have echoed up from the basement.
I haven't been near those stairs since then, but I am nervous because the booksale is coming up and I will soon have to go back down there. I'm not sure if it was the music I had played down there, but something had gotten upset.
Whenever I look down that small hallway now (and these days I rarely do), it's completely dark except for the red light coming from the EXIT sign, and I imagine what could have made that heart-chilling scream.