Anniversary Ghosts
These are the apparitions that appear at a given time on a given date each year.
The Tower of London has two famous anniversary ghosts—the phantom of Lady Jane Grey is said to reappear as a white shape every 12 February, the anniversary of her execution, and the harrowing slaughter of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, is said to be re-enacted every 27 May.
On 19 May a coach drawn by headless horses is said to drive towards Blickling Hall in Norfolk. The figure of Anne Boleyn, cradling her bloodied head on her lap, can be seen inside. She was beheaded at the Tower of London on 19 May and was reputedly born in a house where the present Blickling Hall stands.
Another of Henry VIII’s wives also appears as an anniversary ghost. On the 4 November 1541 Catherine Howard ran sobbing along what is now known as the Haunted Gallery at Hampton Court Palace, intent on pleading with the king to spare her life. Each year on this date it is said that her distraught phantom can be seen re-enacting this tragic scene.
Ghostly monks are said to walk at Glastonbury on Christmas Eve each year, while even though part of what is known as the Nun’s Walk at Borley Rectory in Essex has been built upon, there are still occasional sightings of a nun on 28 July each year.
Hallowe’en (31 October) inevitably has a long tradition of anniversary ghosts, which range from First World War soldiers drinking at Bournemouth town hall to the ghostly monks who walk near the ruins of a chapel near Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
In fact there are literally hundreds of ghosts which are alleged to reappear each year on the same date. As yet I have not visited the location of an anniversary ghost on the anniversary. I have, however, been to such sites at other times and have immediately been made aware of the residual energy of some of the spirit people reputed to ‘walk’ the premises. One has to remember, though, that many stories of anniversary ghosts are just that—stories. They have no real truth behind them and their roots have been lost in the mists of time.
Crisis Ghosts
The theory behind crisis ghosts is that at the emotionally charged moment of death the spirit projects itself into the consciousness of those nearest to it in life. There have been numerous accounts of people having ‘visions’ of loved ones who have either been dying or been going through moments of intense fear or danger.
A well-known crisis ghost was that of Norman Leslie, a member of the famous Leslie family. During the First World War he appeared on the banks of the lake at his home, Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, Ireland. Staff at the castle thought that he had arrived home on leave and rushed to prepare his room for him, but then he was nowhere to be found. A week later his mother received a telegram informing her that he had been killed in action in France.
Ghosts who Walk through Walls
This type of ghost is usually experienced in older properties, often dating back centuries, which have been altered structurally over the years. Floors may have been raised, resulting in an apparition which appears only from the knees upwards, or maybe a doorway will have been blocked up and relocated, which means that the ghost, continuing to use the original doorway, appears to walk through the wall.
I can recall investigating an old manor house in Cheshire that had been drastically altered. I was amazed to view clairvoyantly horse-drawn wagons parading backwards and forwards through the living quarters of the old house. Even more bizarre was the fact that I could only see the horses from the belly upwards, the legs being invisible.
When I related my findings to the historian present, he was able to tell me that the house had been radically altered and extended. What I was viewing was the route that carters used to take along a road which ran under the footings of the present building, hence only the upper portion of the horses and carts being visible.
Spirit People
As well as all these types of ghosts, of course there is the group of ‘people’ I feel particularly at home with—the spirits of people who have lived in or had a strong connection with a building and who make return visits. These are the people I can communicate with either directly or through my spirit guide Sam, who acts as an intermediary, passing on information from the people in spirit to me and enabling me in turn to pass it on to people still living in this world.
These spirit people are as alive as you and I. My truth is that there is no death—we live on in the world of spirit once we have shed the physical garb of this earthly incarnation.
Spirit people can be anywhere they wish to be. They can visit a home they used to inhabit or they can visit the homes of family members and friends. They can call in to a previous workplace to visit former colleagues or just to see how ‘the old place’ is being run in the present day. They turn up at theatres where mediums are demonstrating in order to communicate with loved ones in the audience. There are no restrictions on the people in the spirit world—they can go wherever they please.
CHAPTER 3 Not So Haunted (#ulink_9a091cc8-ce93-543c-8651-eb19557737c9)
In my experience, the places that are least likely to yield a ghostly presence or the glimpse of a spirit person are the very places designed to scare the living daylights out of people by dramatizing some of the more horrific incidents of the past. I have visited a number of such places, but I am afraid to say that I have been disappointed to find that instead of experiencing a steady stream of willing spectres, I have moved between the various displays without meeting even one spirit entity.
With the growth in popularity of LIVINGtv’s Most Haunted and paranormal programming in general, however, my mailbag has increased in size considerably and the majority of the letters I receive are genuine requests for explanations of inexplicable events taking place in people’s homes. There are some communications, though, that recount events that are nothing to do with the spirit world and more to do with very fertile imaginations.
I recall with some amusement a letter I received some years ago. It was from the matron of a nursing home in Liverpool and catalogued the complaints she had been receiving from one of her elderly ladies, whom I shall name Beryl. Beryl had been complaining that she was being disturbed at night by something that she could not see. When she switched on the light there was nobody there. I decided that this was one occasion when I would go along to attempt to sort out the problem myself.
I arrived at the home and was met by the matron, who told me that she was most concerned, as Beryl was complaining loud and long to the staff within earshot of other residents, which was making everybody rather unsettled and apprehensive, especially at night.
I asked to be taken to meet Beryl and was led to the pleasant bed-sitting room that was Beryl’s home.
Beryl greeted me brightly. ‘Hello, Derek! I’ve been watching you on the telly. My grandson videos Most Haunted for me and I watch it in my room. I’d watch it in the main lounge, but the others won’t have it on because they say it gives them the willies!’
As Beryl spoke I looked around the room. It was bright, comfortable and clean. I could feel nothing in the atmosphere to suggest that anything untoward from a paranormal point of view was taking place.
Beryl continued, ‘I came to live here after my Bert passed away. I would have liked to have gone to the same place as my sister Jessie, but at the time there was no room for me there. She’s been in touch just recently, though, and she tells me that there’s a nice little room empty just opposite hers.’
I looked hard at Beryl. She grinned back at me and winked.
‘So, tell me about what’s been going on in your room,’ I said.
Beryl proceeded to tell me a lurid tale about ghosts who roamed her room at night and entities who jumped onto her bed and pulled the bedclothes from her.
‘I’m really frightened!’ she said, winking at me again. ‘You never know, the next thing is they might start interfering with me!’
I knew immediately that this was a ruse dreamed up by Beryl in an attempt to get herself moved to the same residential home as her sister. But as she had been speaking I had seen the spirit form of a man materialize next to her armchair. He was a small round man who wore his shirtsleeves rolled up. He had an open friendly face and had been smiling as Beryl had unfolded her tale of ghosts and ghouls and things that went bump in the night.
‘She’s a wily old bird, my Beryl,’ he said as she finished speaking. ‘She’ll stop at nothing to get in the same place as that sister of hers. They’re very close.’
I thanked Beryl for allowing me into her room and asked the matron whether I could speak with her in the office.
‘What d’you think, Derek?’ she asked as we sat sharing a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits.
‘I don’t think that there’s anything going on in Beryl’s room at all,’ I told her. ‘In my opinion Beryl desperately wants to join her sister and she’s come up with this story in an attempt to secure a move for herself.’
The matron looked surprised. ‘Really!’ she said. ‘Well, if she’s prepared to come up with a story such as this she must really be determined. I’ll see what I can do. I believe her sister’s resident at another of our houses. There may be a chance that I can arrange a transfer. It’s not something we usually do, but I’ll make a special concession on this occasion.’
Some weeks later I received a letter from Beryl asking me whether I would call to see her in her new home. I arranged to visit a few days later.
‘You’re very naughty!’ I chided her.
Beryl giggled like a young girl. ‘It was you who gave me the idea,’ she said. ‘All the ghosts and things going on in those spooky houses you visit on the telly—I thought it’d be worth a try! It gave all those other old fogies something to think about, anyway.’ She grinned impishly. ‘Seriously, though, Derek, I can’t say that I’m sorry I pulled a fast one because I’m here with Jessie now, but I do truly believe that we go somewhere when we pass away. I know my Bert’s waiting for me and that we’ll be together again soon.’
I patted her hand. ‘Of course he is, Beryl,’ I told her. ‘I saw him in your room at the other place. It looks as though he has the same sense of humour as you, so goodness knows what’ll happen when you get together again!
CHAPTER 4 The Matter of a Ouija Board (#ulink_1540c758-f094-5d07-896f-80feeafc8bc3)
Not all such claims are bogus, of course. I have visited many people who have been bothered by spirit visitation and have been able to help them understand what has been going on in their homes.
One such plea for help came from Eva, an elderly lady who lived alone in a flat on the outskirts of Wigan. ‘I need your help,’ she wrote. ‘I don’t know what to do. You’re my only hope of finding peace.’
A week later I was standing outside the building which housed Eva’s ground-floor flat. As she opened the front door I was hit by the cold and unwelcoming atmosphere.
‘It’s horrible isn’t it, Derek?’ Eva commented. ‘It wasn’t always like this, though. My home always used to have a lovely feel about it. Now I’d love to move, but I just can’t afford to. You don’t get much on a pension these days.’ She smiled ruefully.
As Eva made a cup of tea for us, I looked around. The home seemed perfectly normal. There was a comfortable suite in front of the gas fire, a china cabinet against one wall and a small dining table and chairs against another wall. Everything was neat and tidy. In fact it was the typical home of an elderly lady. There was nothing that I could see that would generate anything untoward and Eva herself was a lovely old soul. I imagined that normally she would have been bright and cheerful, but at the moment she was looking much less than happy.
Eva returned to the room carrying a tray of tea. She sat opposite me and proceeded to tell me what had been happening in her home.
‘It all began about eight months ago,’ she said. Since then she had been experiencing a number of things in her home which were disturbing and frightening. She was unable to sleep at night because of the loud bangs and crashing noises that she could hear coming from her sitting room as she was lying in bed. If she got up to investigate, there was nothing there. She would wake up in the morning to find her furniture moved around. The worst thing happened just as she was arriving home from a shopping trip one day. She heard a noise in her sitting room as she was hanging up her coat in the hallway and when she went to investigate she found that water was streaming down the wall of the room. She was now at the stage where she felt as though she just wanted to run away.
