The Tunnel Story
There are 2 road tunnels from The Wirral to Liverpool, the old opened in 1934 that at the time was the largest underwater tunnel ever built and the new, opened in 1971, not long after I was born.
For some reason, although, it is a bit dark, the old one used to scare the pants off me as a child, and my brothers too. So anytime we found ourselves being driven thorough it we would beg, no, PLEEEEEEAD dad to tell us the family scary story.
Pleeeeeeeeease dad…. PLEEEEEASEEEE..
He would occasionally give in and it went a bit like this.

My granddad was engaged to be wed, to a lovely girl, his first love. They both used to work in the mills over Salford way and they had finally set a date. The night before the nuptials, he was on his way back from work and saw his sweetheart across the street. She was waving at him, in a long white frock, calling his name.
"Harry! Harry! Over here!"
He knew it was considered bad luck to see your bride the day before a wedding so he pulled his head into his collar and quietly grinning with glee ignored her and ran all the way home to his mam, full of excitement for what was yet to come.
He burst through the door and was met, by my great grandma, stood in stony silence

“Sit down son, I have something to tell you”

His heart almost froze, the look on her face told him she wasn’t messing about. He sat down, cap in hand and asked her what was wrong.

“It’s Elizabeth”

“Oh I just saw her! She was in her dress and waving at me! but I carried on I can't se...."
“No she wasn’t…son, she…she…was killed this morning, in the fac’try, there was nothing anyone could do. Son, I’m so sorry”
She fell to her knees in grief.
He broke down. He begged and cried to make it not true, he couldn’t believe it. He had JUST seen her waving at him! Calling his name! It couldn’t be true! His heart broke into a million pieces.
After the doctor had been, given him something to sleep, he finally passed out in a state of shock.

A young man, heartbroken, barely wanting to even live without his love.
When he finally got up in the next day, he stumbled downstairs, and as he came into the parlour his mum looked at him, and gasped.

“SON!”
Her hand flung to her mouth, as she found herself unable to speak.
He looked at her confused face, and knew he didn’t look right. He turned back to the hallway and looked at himself in the mirror aghast. He had gone from beautiful dark chestnut brown hair to a head of bright snow white fluff, completely overnight. The shock they said.
The shock of losing his love and then seeing her as a ghost.


Tl:dr Dad makes up a ghost story not only to scare his kids, but also to excuse the crap genes that he gave them that made them go grey at 19.
( Herb Alpert's Taxi Driver I have very beautiful lips, Tue 18 Sep 2012, 23:43, 4 replies)

I blame my daughter.
Black as midnight hair before she was born - more salt than pepper these days...
Also - www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1232202/Going-grey-Dont-blame-stress-mothers-fault.html
It must be true cause it's the Daily Mail.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Tue 18 Sep 2012, 23:50, closed)

I am more inclined to believe
It was ghosts rather than what the fail has to say
( Herb Alpert's Taxi Driver I have very beautiful lips, Wed 19 Sep 2012, 0:04, closed)

Genetics is a big factor
but stress can induce grey hair pretty quickly. For evidence I point to the various presidents of the US. In four years they typically age quickly- Obama, for instance, has far more grey now than he did on taking office, and Bill Clinton (and Hillary for that matter) were both looking very old compared to 1992 when they left the White House. Jimmy Carter aged dramatically in just four years.

(Then again, I have to admit, my only grey is in my beard and there's not that much of that.)
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Wed 19 Sep 2012, 6:25, closed)

My once bushy black beard is now a white - I'll be gandalf soon.
Those who don't know me very well have said it looks distinguished.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Wed 19 Sep 2012, 7:00, closed)