Posts Tagged ‘hauntings’

Posted on February 6, 2010 - by Andrew

Ghostly body parts at Capesthorne Hall?

Near Macclesfield stands the grand estate of Capesthorne Hall.

The Hall was built between 1719 and 1732 and has been subject to architectual changes over the years – especially after a fire destroyed much of the building.

The history of the grounds go back further than the Capesthrone Hall itself; everything from the passing of Roman Legions (and Roman road may run the building) to myths of Merlin and Arthur. Capesthrone, itself, can trace its history to the Domesday Book.

Hauntings

Capesthrone Hall has a record of ghostly body parts being sighted. A ghostly and disembodied arm, floating outside a window, was sighted by one of the Bromely-Davenport family who own the hall but vanished when the young man reached the window.

On another occassion there are reports of a disembodied head appearing in the grand hall only to vanish when people went to inspect it.

There’s also a common theme of smells being associated with ghosts and spirits in the hall too (some suggesting that the smells are disembodied senses). Some visitors link the distinct smell of a particular hair tonic to the ghost of the late Lord Bromely-Davenport.

The gray lady is another popular haunting story. Tales make mention of a phantom female that makes her way from the grand staircase to the chapel vault.

In Pure Spirit

Have you been to Capesthorne Hall? Where you able to sense anything? Do you have any stories of suicide, death or murder at Capesthorne that might be linked to the many ghostly tales?

Posted on January 9, 2010 - by Andrew

Is the silent town of RAF West Raynham haunted?

The Royal Air Force station west of the West Raynham village closed in 1990 1996. It had been an active RAF base since 1930.

The base saw action during the war and suffered losses. It is reported that a total of 86 aircraft belonging to the RAF West Raynham were lost in the war. Afterwards Raynham updated their craft with Venoms, Vampire and Meteor jet fighters.

However, earlier this month Living TV’s Most Haunted announced that RAF West Raynham would be the venue of a week long live special. The 2010 series, titled “The Silent Town”, was heavily trailed and the result was a number of internet pranks, suggestions that the filming could be gate crashed as well as unusually high speculation on the internet about the possible haunting.

UK Living told press that they are aware of the Internet chat and have put in place tight security in order to prevent disruption. The venue is also quite hard to find.

Possible ghosts and entities at RAF West Raynham?

Due to the internet pranks around Most Haunted Live: Silent Town there are an unusually large number of recent reports of spirits, murder and suicide at West Raynham. In Pure Spirit has attempted to distil them into something meaningful.

Officer’s Mess

There are reports that a ghost a Polish pilot, who was shot down during World War 2, has been seen in the dining room, walking towards the kitchen and through walls. The entity seems to favour Room 7 in the Officer’s Mess.

Armoury

There are reports that a shadowy figure can sometimes be seen hanging from the rafters in the social club section in the area adjacent to the main armoury. Is this a spectre of a mechanic who committed suicide?

The chapel

The chapel is home of a particularly bitter and angry ghost.  Reports associate a high air force rank to him; perhaps Wing Commander of Squadron Leader (or, less often, Fligt Lieutenant) and the name George of Geoff.

Less common is the suggestion this is the ghost of someone murdered in the base although that has been suggested. A more common alternative is that the ghost is someone who died at the base after receiving wounds they could have avoided if someone else had been honest with them.

The Guard’s Building

It has been reported that the bathroom in the guard’s building can suddenly become feelingly cold.

The control tower

The control tower is said to cast a sinister presence out across the silent town-esq collection of buildings that RAF West Raynham has become.

The control building

Both the control room and the nearby fire station have reports of haunting and paranormal activity.
It is said that a particularly active poltergeist is present in the control room of the control building.

Base Headquarters

It is said that the base headquarters at RAF West Raynham are the centre of a dark power. Strangely (or perhaps not!) the finance room in the building is suggested as the possible source for the feeling.

Visitors to the building who are familiar with the creepy deserted buildings and who are not normally sensitive to spirits or the supernatural

The Sergeant’s Mess

There are a number of areas within the sergeant’s mess in which people have reported feeling the presence of the supernatural.

There is one suggested sighting of a green coloured ghost in the bar area inside the mess. The bar area and boiler room have both been reported as sites of possible haunting by paranormal investors via social sites.

Hanger

It is widely believed that the hanger building is haunted in the silent town remains of RAF West Raynham. Hanger 3, in particular, is rumoured to have been the scene of a secret military experiment that may have made use of British psychics during the war.

Hospital

The hospital houses a number of decontamination stages. Visitors to the building have reportedly heard screams or felt intense pain while visiting these areas.

There are also reports of sobbing from the x-ray room. One internet psychic has associated the area with a woman’s name “Alice” or “Alison”.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Are these reported hauntings nothing more than a reaction to Most Haunted Live: Silent Town coming to of RAF West Raynham? Bare in mind that many of these reports pre-date the show’s announcement.

This post was published before the TV program but if you witness anything odd while viewing the program it would be great if you could share your experiences below.

Posted on October 31, 2009 - by Andrew

Gallows Hill – where the Pendle witches died

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 cart, wait while a rope was fastened around their neck and then die as the cart was moved away.

A hanging, done well, kills when the drop instantly breaks the neck of the unfortunate. A bad or deliberately slow hanging leaves the victim twisting on the end of the rope while they are slowly strangled. The death sentence “hanged, drawn and quartered” begins with a slow hanging from which the victim is ‘saved’ before they’re next drawn through the streets and finally quartered.

Ten Pendle witches died on Gallows Hill on the 20th August 1612. Members of both the Demdike and Chattox families where hanged on the hill. Owd Demdike (Elizabeth Southerns), leader of the Demdike family, escaped the executioner by dying in her cell in Lancaster.

Therefore, the names of the Pendle witches who were hanged on Gallows Hill are: Anne Chattox (Anne Whittle), Anne Redfern, Elizabeth Device, James Device, Alizon Device, Jane Bullock, John Bullock, Katherine Hewitt (Mouldheels), Alice Nutter and Isobel Robey.

Jennet Preston, who lived in Yorkshire, was hanged in York.

There’s no record of what happened to the bodies of the Pendle witches after Gallows Hill.

Is Gallows Hill haunted?

On October 29th in 2009 the TV program Most Haunted Live visited Gallows Hill. While the cameras were recording they gave the impression of the presence of some spiritual entities and perhaps the Pendle witches.

Despite some of the Pendle witches actually admitting to witchcraft it is now widely believed that none of them were. Alice Nutter, in particular, was a soft spoken and well off lady and probably guilty of practising the (at the time) unpopular Catholic faith. The Most Haunted crew, however, have allegedly been harassed by entities claiming to be or giving the impression of the Pendle witches before.

It is rumoured that Most Haunted Live may return to Gallows Hill for a live broadcast on Halloween 2009.

 

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is this site more or likely to be haunted by the ghosts of the witches than Pendle Hill itself?

Did you watch Most Haunted Live? What did you think of the team’s encounter with apparent spirits?

Posted on October 29, 2009 - by Andrew

Ghosts at the Maritime Museum in Lancaster?

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 the port, all of which would have made use of the Customs House and which represented some 13,996 tons of trade.

Exports were often manufactured goods from Manchester and Glasgow. Imports included sugar, coffee, cotton, rum and mahogany from the West Indies and other colonies.

The Martine Museum hosts Halloween events. The 2009 schedule promises Spooky Ships and Mysterious Mariners.

Hauntings

The old Custom House is a significant building for Lancaster mariners of old and may be one of those places that sailors who died at sea return too. Could sailors like Thomas Woodhouse, who died at sea in 1805 at the age of 47,

There’s also the story of the Wennington. The Wennington was the first iron ship to be built at Lancaster, it was built by the Lune Shipbuilding Company and launched in March 1865. In January 1878, with Captain Sterwood in command, it sailed from Samarang, Indonesia, was seen at the end of the month passing through the Bali Straits and was never seen again. In this case Bali is an Indonesian island but it is also fun to note that the word “Bali” is synonymous with King Bali, one of the Asura, or demons.

Needless to say there’s also the chance of angry ghosts of slaves who may have been mistreated or killed in the maritime museum back when it was the customs house or in St George’s Quay.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is there any evidence that the martime Museum is haunted or is death by sea a stretch too far even for believers in the paranormal?

Posted on October 13, 2009 - by Andrew

The White Lady of Speke Hall

Speke Hall is an historic Tudor house accompanied by impressive and beautiful gardens. The main part of the house was built in 1540 and construction continued throughout the years including a change to the laundry area in 1950s. Edward Norris made the last significant change in 1598 by adding the northern range.

The famous families of the house include Watts, Beauclerks and the family Norriss. Speke House is currently run and owned by the National Trust*.

Hauntings at Speke Hall

There are reports of murders and ghosts at Speke House. The most common story is of a woman who was so ruined by the philandering ways of her husband killed her baby and then herself. One variation of the story has the poor woman drop her child through the thunderbox toilet and another suggests she was a maid in the house who was made pregnant by one of the lords.

Another variant suggests that the White Lady of Speke House is Mary Norreys (Norris) herself who haunts the Tapestry Room. In this variant, Mary threw her baby son out of the window and into the moat before killing herself after discovering that her rakish husband Sidney Beuaclerk had lost almost all their worldly belongings in a gamble.

Visitors to Speke House have reported cold spots in various areas; especially the bedrooms and the names Anne, Mary and Catherine are used with equal frequency.

The house has a priest hole – a spy hole through the chimney from a bedroom – used to warn priests when people were close by. During the reign of Elizabeth I there was a period where Catholics faced persecution and the priest hole was used to help them hide or flee.

Visiting Speke Hall

The Trust* sell tickets to Speke House for £8 (£4 for children) or about half that for access to the gardens only.

Speke House is just minutes from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport but many visitors take the train and travel from Hunts Cross* or Halewood to the house.

The site BuyAGift sometimes has ghost tour tickets for the area*.

In Pure Spirit

Have you been to Speke House? What did you think of the impressive gardens and the old house?

Do you believe the stories of ghosts and orbs?

Disclaimer: Links marked with a star(*) are revenue links.

Posted on October 2, 2009 - by Andrew

Grenoble Road’s The Priory haunted

The Oxford pub, The Priory, is one of the growing number of pubs to step forward with tales of haunting for the press.

Writing for the Oxford Mail, Emily Allen documents everything from a headless horseman to the slightly more usual scratching and tappings.

The Priory was once home to an order of Benedictine nuns but is now run by Tim Rackley as a local watering hole.

In 2004 and 2005 archaeologists found the skeletal remains of several children. Mr Rackley admits it was a bad year for the pub, not only did his dog Snoop keep on bringing bones into the pub but the number of incidents was higher than usual.

He told local press, “One time, I was down here and we heard lots of running up and down the landing. It was like children running.

“That was a bit eerie because the skeletons had just been dug up. It sounded like elephants. I went upstairs because I thought the kids had gone up there, but there was no-one.

“Snoop was here through all of that. He won’t be left alone downstairs otherwise he will rip the place apart. I think he senses something down here.”

The pub owner places much of the alleged haunting at the feet of the Benedictine order. Records suggest that in 1517 the nuns where accused by the locals of lesbianism and other abusive behaviour. Rackley believes they may have died an unhappy death in the building.

He told Emily, “The attic was where the nuns used to sleep. I don’t really like going up there much.

“When they were building the science park, we had three lads stay the night up there, all on separate occasions, and they came down in the morning with scratches across their backsides. I hadn’t told them about the ghosts.

“A lot of bad things went on here, it was one of the earliest nunneries to be closed because of misrule. I think they had a rough time.”

In Pure Spirit

Is there a risk when a pub talks to the press about hauntings that people will assume it’s a stunt?

Equally, given that so many pubs in the UK are so old are we surprised there aren’t more frequent reports of ghostly sightings?

Posted on August 3, 2009 - by Andrew

Is the Yarborough Hotel in Grimsby haunted?

The Yarborough Hotel in Grimsby was built in 1851 by the Earl of Yarborough. The Earl was the chairman of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company who recognised there would an increase in trade in Grimsby when the new railway linked it into the growing network.

The hotel, now a J.D. Wetherspoons pub, is perhaps best known as the location of the Yarborough Riot. During the political riots it is through that voters were kidnapped and held in the hotel.

P.P. Paranormal, a team of experienced paranormal investigators based in North Lincolnshire, contacted the Yarborough Hotel manager Nathan Gregory with a request to investigate the hotel as they believed it was haunted.

Nathan Gregory agreed to the request as he was well aware of a number of customers having reported unexplained phenomena. He, himself, told local newspaper This is Grimbsy that he feels less comfortable in some parts of the building than in others.

Sean Blyth, who co-ordinated for PP Paranormal also features in the newspaper video was able to reveal that an orb was caught on camera during a séance. A figure dressed in a white shirt and apparently wearing glasses is easily visible during the night time filming but who PP Paranormal cannot account for.

In Pure Spirit

Have you seen the This is Grimsby video? Is there any chance that the unknown man in the frame could be a ghost? A ghost with glasses that reflect light? Or is this just another instance of the spirits of more modern persona having a very different reaction to paranormal investigators and cameras?

Posted on June 8, 2009 - by Andrew

Stiwt Theatre – a haunted theatre?

SoulSearchers NW investigated the Stiwt theatre in Rhosllannerchrugog, Wrexham, and reportedly discovered a large number of haunting spirits.

Soulsearchers NW employ a number of mediums as well as hi-tech equipment such as infra-red cameras and ‘K2’ metres designed to detect traces of electrical energy.

“We arrived at 8pm and even before our cameras began filming, our mediums, Eileen and Lizzy, picked up a man called Edwards.” said spokesman Steven Pryce.

“He is connected to the theatre and has previously been seen there by staff.

“We know a Mr D. Edwards was involved with the construction and first management committee of the institute in 1926.

“We also detected the presence of a cleaner called Mary with one eye who used to work at the Stiwt and is thought to be related to the present technical manager.

“A man in a white cloak was also seen by our mediums, and tragically, they also sensed a young man in his mid-20s who committed suicide from the fire escape.”

He added: “We had a number of staff members with us, including Tony Griffiths, the grandson of former Stiwt manager Bob Parry.

“A member of staff alerted us to what she said was a pair of feet in one of the stage wings.

“Another member of staff was touched on her arm, and grunts and groans were heard coming from the balcony area.”

The paranormal investigators later conducted a séance which produced banging and movement. The group’s mediums reported the presence on the upper balcony.

Mr Pryce said: “We then encountered a six-year-old boy called Bryn who had fallen from the upper balcony in the early 1960s.

“He was a very playful soul and at one point knocked the sweet I had offered him off the table.

“Later we heard a female voice say that she was Gwen Connors, and I am wondering if anyone has heard of her or knows her connection to the Stiwt.”

Stiwt Theatre

The theatre (known as Theatr Stiwt in Welsh) was built during the depression of 194-1926 by the Miners Welfare Organisation.  It opened on the 25th of September in 1926 and has been a heavy influence in the village’s social and cultural life.

The Stiwt closed in 1977 but re-opened 30 years later due to the hard work and efforts of local people who raised enough money to refurbish the building.  It is supported by the National Lottery and still used today.

Soulsearchers

Soulsearchers was founded in 2007 as a non-profit  organisation dedicated to the investigation of alleged haunted locations, the analysis of information with the aims of strengthen evidence in the existence of spirits.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think of Soulsearchers NW’s discovery? They’re a non-profit organisation but do you think they’re under pressure to find spirits when they secure access to buildings like the Stiwt?

Would you be more or less likely to attend a performance at the Stiwt now?

Posted on May 6, 2009 - by Andrew

Flaming faces haunt burning New Zealand building

New Zealand newspaper The Press has been collecting photographs taken in New Zealand of ghostly and unexplained sightings.

The paper dismissed most of the photographs as explainable and orbs, in particular, where described as dust on the camera lens.

Some of the photographs, however, were not so easily categorised by the judges.

Of particular note is the sighting of a ghostly face of flames peering out of the window of a burning building.

The photograph was taken in 2006 by the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Westport while they attended the scene.

A single photograph might have been dismissed as a trick of the light, smoke or perhaps an odd reflection. However, the Westport Fire Brigade has two separate pictures of the same incident that clearly show the face-like image in the flames.

New Zealand Paranormal Investigation Society director Brad Scott was shown the pictures collected by The Press.

He said, I hate orbs with a passion because I know they’re dust. There’s nothing paranormal about a little flick of dust.”

Scott added, “If you see a face in the window, it could just be a reflection of light. There are very few paranormal pictures out there,”

The New Zealand Skeptics Society wrote the pictures off. A spokeswoman said, “Shots involving fire, smoke and fog are notorious for producing ghost images.

“These indistinct environments produce the kind of patterns we try to resolve as meaningful, and the most meaningful pattern we know is the human form.”

The competition also highlighted pictures of a ghostly face peering out of a washing basket.

Another picture that caught the judges’ attention was of two Linwood College students posing together. Squashed between the two students seems to be a disembodied head.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Are these photographs just the effects of smoke and light or do they show something else?

Posted on February 2, 2009 - by Andrew

The Church of Thundridge near Cold Christmas Lane

The old Thundridge church was demolished in 1853. The tower, however, was left in place. At the time Thundridge was one of the oldest churces  in this part of England.

The new church was dedicated to Saint Mary and All Saints. It was paid for by a Mr Hanbury in 1858 and cost £9,000.

The original burial ground remains which contains a number of ld tomb and mausoleums. One unusual epitaph for Roger Gardiner and his wife reads;

Roger lies here before his hour,
Thus doth the Gardiner lose his flower.

Thundridge is just shy of three miles north of Ware. The river Rib can be seen from tower.

Locals report tales of wichcraft, vandalism and desecration at the church.

Hauntings

The Church – sometimes known as Cold Christmas church – is believed to be haunted.

A common report is of a ghostly grumbling growl that echoes out from the tower. Reports of the noise became so frequent that in January 2009 the local East Herts Herald sent a camera crew and journalist to investigate.

Another famous tale dates back to 1978 when a terrified local woman reported an entire ghost army marching out of the church. Reports say the ghost army let out a blood-curdling roar and marched straight through the poor woman.

Other reports speak of a figure in a black robe that is sometimes seen in burial ground.

In Pure Spirit

Have you seen ghosts near Cold Christmas Lane, the church or tower?

If you’re a local we’d love to hear what you think about the site!