In Pure Spirit

Image via Wikipedia Gallows Hill is part of Lancaster, next to the Ashton Memorial and Williamson Park, and was the favoured execution site of the Hanging Judges until 1800. The infamous Pendle witches were executed on Gallows Hill. They died in the traditional manner of executions on the hill; first made to stand on a [...]

Singing bowls are actually a type of bell. They’re used by buddhists as part of their meditation and prayers. Little, however, is known about Himalayan singing bowls and these may have been used in a more ritualistic way. Should a singing bowl be used in a seance? The opening night of Most Haunted Live 2009 [...]

Image by dpicker via Flickr The Golden Ball is a pub on the bank of the Lune and is known as Snatchems by locals. The pub has enjoyed a notorious past. It was frequently visited by press gangs – violent men who would ‘recruit’ or kidnap citizens in Lancaster and forcibly conscript them into the [...]

Image by timojazz via Flickr Lancaster’s Maritime Museum was designed by the famous Richard Gillow and initially opened as a Custom House in 1764. The building is one of the Georgian collection in St George’s Quay and alongside buildings once owned by the Quaker slaver Dodshon Foster. By 1801 there were 76 ships supporting by [...]

Image by Joe Penniston via Flickr The Three Mariners Inn is a popular and historic pub. It’s notable for having a gravity-fed cellar. In the Three Mariners the cellar is above the pub, this means the casks need to be hefted upstairs but it means the beer and ale flows naturally downwards. The pub is [...]

Image by lofaesofa via Flickr The Ashton Memorial was built by the Oilcloth King; James Williamson. The Oilcloth King got his nickname from the vast empire and fortune he amassed from his oilcloth and linoleum empire. Williamson was so successful that, at one point, he employed nearly a quarter of Lancaster’s workforce. When he was [...]

Image by Mike Dent via Flickr The Judges’ Lodgings take their name from the courts of Lancaster Castle. The current castle and priory were founded by Roger de Poitou in 1086 (the same man responsible for the founding of Ashton Hall). The Castle hosted the Assize Courts and was responsible for many trials. These courts [...]

Archaeologists from Historic Scotland are divided over the discovery of a mysterious stone in the village of Temple, the site of the Templar Preceptory for Scotland. John Ritchie, author and historian, admitted the debate, “It is a crude carving, quite primitive, but I have never seen anything like it in my life. It has a [...]

Image by mharrsch via Flickr There are two Ashton Hall’s in Lancaster. The first is part of the council complex of Dalton Square near the Buck Ruxton murder site and the second is currently the headquarters of the Lancaster Golf Club. Ashton Hall, now used by the Golf Club, was originally built by Roger of [...]

Situated on Marine Road West in Morecambe is the old and decaying Alhambra Building. Today the building houses an antique shop and disco with bars.

The theatre was gutted by a serious fire in 1970 and rebuilt as a disco. Built in 1901 the building was known as Alhambra Theatre and served as such. Some of the building was converted into a cinema in 1930. Before the fire, owner Eddie Morrell was known for the pantos the theatre hosted.

There are neither records of anyone having being killed in the 1970s fire that are easily available on the Internet nor mentions of death or murder in the building. However, Twitter speculation from paranormal investigators suggests that there may be a dark entity in the building; a murderer or worse.