Christmas Ghosts

[The_Phantom_Monk]

Here are a few ghosts that supposedly appear every Christmas Eve around the UK.

At Hever Castle, Kent, Anne Boleyn's ghost is seen. In the graveyard near Rochester Castle, also in Kent, the ghost of Charles Dickens is seen walking between the gravestones, and has also been seen on this night setting his watch outside the Corn Exchange. A phantom monk wanders the ruins of Strata Floorida Abbey in Wales. From Bomere Pool, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire a supposedly sunken bell is said to ring. At Madingley Hall, Cambridgeshire the ghost of Lady Ursula Hynde, wife of the halls builder, walks the hall wringing her hands in despair because of her sons destruction of St Ethelreds Church, Histon, to provide building materials for the hall. Each Christmas Eve she walks from the Hall to the church. And at Sandringham House, Norfolk, the servants quaters are subject to poltergeist activity on this night and around the christmas period, there are reports of a 'pulsating' presence and cards are thrown to the floor.

It seems quite fitting that Dickens is in there! Does anyone know of other Christmas ghosts or have you had a paranormal experience this time of the year?

Merry Christmas, Simon.

[jules]

we have a place near to where i live called Passenham, and that is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in britain

They have a Christmas eve haunting apparently, a headless coachman with four headless horses are meant to ride up to the manor house and a young girl is seen throwing herself in to the river after being jilted by a lover

this is all legend and i don't know if it's true but i was terrified of passenham for years

Julie

[The_Phantom_Monk]

Nice storie Jules, seems strange that the horses are headless too! Although I've read that in days gone by smugglers used to fake ghost coaches, they'd paint a black horses body white leaving the head black and cover the coach in lanterns to give it a ghostly glow and the appearence the horse was headless. This was to keep locals away so they didn't discover what was really going on. Perhaps this is a replay of something like that!

Simon.

[jules]

could well be

but you know how legends get mixed up over the years

they are all very chinese whispery aren't they

Julie

[The_Phantom_Monk]

That is so true, when I was in my teens there was a story going round of a 'dogman' in Farnham. Someone was walking down this dark alley when they noticed a man behind them, they qiuckened their pace, looked back and the man had gone. When they looked forward again the man was up ahead but the only thing that had passed them was a black dog! I didn't really believe it but years later I discovered there was supposed to be a phantom black dog seem in that area and think this is were the dogman myth came from.

Simon.

[jules]

i do love all these legends tho they can be very scary

but there is usually a boring logical answer to them

[Hartswood]

I live right next to Holmwood Common, and for many, many years it was reputed to be haunted! Even the road that passes it is called "Spook Hill"!. There were many tales of headless horsemen, phantom coaches, and spirit dogs with gleaming red eyes!!!

However, it turned out these were just rumours to stop the locals, back in the 18th and 19th centuries, from venturing too far into the common and finding smugglers booty brought up from the coast!!!

However, it IS a pretty spooky place at dusk!

[Hartswood]

Oh, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

[The_Phantom_Monk]

Them pesky smugglers again, I wounder how many old ghost legends they started?

[Hartswood]

Yes I think it was quite commonplace for smugglers to invent "Haunted" locations to store their caches of brandy and tobacco in!!!

I wonder if this is where a lot of supposed hauntings started from?

Crikey! Aren't we sounding like a couple of old sceptics!!!! ;D

[jules]

i think you are right with that theory

a bit like the bogey man if children didn't go to sleep at a reasonable time

and drunk men walking the streets at all hours

Julie