Ghosts in England - Isle of Wight, Kent, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, Northumberland and Nottinghamshire (4/6)

Geographic location of the counties of the Isle of Wight, Kent, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, Northumberland and Nottinghamshire (Source - modified file)

Isle of Wight

The most haunted island on the planet boasts so many legends that it's difficult to even pick one. Two of the most haunted places seem to be Ventnor Botanic Gardens, in Ventnor, where in times past there was a tuberculosis hospital, and Knighton Gorges, in the small village of Knighton, an already demolished mansion in which people claim to have seen reappear in the same location, just on the New Year's eve (that's the reason the location has become a place of pilgrimage for the curious on the last night of every year).

For those that have never visited the island, you can arrive on "hoverbus" from Portsmouth. The destination is the city of Ryde, which is definitely worth the visit; it's not too close to Ventnor Botanic Gardens but it is half an hour away from Newport from which you can get to another interesting place: the medieval Carisbrooke Castle, and access to the museum is around 9 pounds, the same as the entry to Ventnor Botanic Gardens. A legend has it that the youngest daughter of the mayor of Newport killed herself throwing herself into a well of Carisbrooke Castle; it seems that there are those that claim to have seen the face of the poor Elizabeth Ruffin, bodiless, reflected in the waters of the well.

In our opinion the prices seemed excessively expensive for what they offer so we opted for another alternative: Osborne House, which sounded very Spanish and was the favourite residence of Queen Victoria of England. It seems that the spirit of the queen is still seen walking through the rooms but the house also boasts fantastic legends about a woman dressed in black seen frequently behind one of the windows, the killer of a maiden and ghosts wandering through the gardens. From Ryde bus station you get there in half an hour. The entry was expensive... almost fifteen pounds! but we couldn't resist and I can tell you that it was worth it; the interior is regal and one cannot see the bedroom of a queen, and even her spirit, every day.

The fact is we loved the visit but we didn't find any haunted rooms.

Kent

Did you know that the town of Puckley is considered the most haunted village of England? Just between this village and Smarden there is a forest known as "The Screaming Woods" although it is called Dering Woods, famous for being the most haunted on the island of Great Britain.

It would appear that passing through Dering Woods poses a high risk of being followed by shadows, hearing whispers around you or, the worst of all, bloodcurdling screams. The fact is this forest has been witness to various mysterious incidents, like the disappearance of four young men or the death of twenty people whose bodies appeared in a pile, without any injuries and without the autopsy being able to determine the cause of death.

Uno de los lugares fantasmagóricos en Puckley (Source)

The many legends that envelope the place and the stories that support the existence of paranormal phenomena encourage the continued visits by strangers and tourists in search of a unique experience. From the sighting of the ghost of Lady Dering, in the Church of St. Nicholas, searching for the tomb of her stillborn son to the agonising screams of a man that died years ago buried under a brick wall to the ghost of an old woman that visits "The Dering Arms" pub and is sometimes taken for a real customer, it seems like there's a ghost in Puckley for every occasion.

How do you get there?

From Dover, Rochester or Canterbury it's really easy to get to Puckley. Did I say Canterbury? Well, if you go there I don't recommend eating in The Old Weaver's House restaurant; many customers have clearly seen the spectral figure of a woman dressed in grey going up the stairs... imagine for a moment that, instead of going up... she comes down!

Lincolnshire

Moans and inexplicable echoes, fists banging on doors, beds levitating and steps going up and down the stairs at night frightened the reverend Samuel Wesley and his family during his stance in the Epworth Rectory at the start of the 18th Century. Initially they believed the noises to be intruders and decided to buy a mastiff to guard the property, but with time they discovered that there was a real ghost that they ended up calling "Old Jeffery" once they stopped being scared. They also saw quite often the figure of a man dressed in white that crawled along the floor, that of an animal similar to a badger, that hid underneath the beds; at the same time, employees were certain they had seen the face of a creature that stared at them. The mysterious incidents ended after eight weeks.

How do you get there?

If you go to the cities of Leeds or York at any point, both in Yorkshire, you can get close to Epworth from there, because there are good connections and it's absolutely worth exploring its history and hidden corners. In the graveyard of St Andrew's Church the remains of the reverend Samuel Wesley are buried. Additionally, Epworth is the city that Methodism originated (in fact, two of the sons of reverend Wesley were the founders of said movement), so the Rectory of Epworth continues to be, now restored, a very busy place for people coming from all over the world.

Image of the Epworth Rectory at the start of the 18th Century(Source)

Merseyside

The gruesome tales started in Speke Hall, in Liverpool, when the last descendent of the Norris family married Mr. Beauclerks. Apparently, the enormous debts and the gambling problems of Mary Norris' husband suffocated her; her mental health led her to throw her son out of the windowof the "Tapestry" room. When she realised what she had done, and unable to stand the pain and the sorrow, she also threw herself out of the window. Mary's spirit may or may not be one of those seen in the Tapestry room, but there are a lot of ghosts that don't seem to want to leave the mansion; shadows are seen very often and both workers and some visitors of the place are said to have feelings of nauseous and of oppression when passing by the "Great Hall". There is also a room, the Blue Room, in which many people have seen shadows and, moreover, the cries of an infant have been heard and even faint voice whispering the phase: "get out".

How do you get there?

If you want to visit the fascinating mansion, the entry to see entire site costs approximately 9 pounds and it is accessible by bus from Liverpool city centre.

West Midlands

One of the six villages that make up "The Potteries", named Burslem, was witness to the birth of Molly Lee in the 17th Century; this girl, who wouldn't take her mothers milk and breastfed from the animals of the farm, was ostracised as a witch by the reverend Spencer, who went to impossible ends to turn the village against her. After killing the supposed witch and burying her, her ghost began to be seen everywhere; to free themselves of her spirit, the village trapped a black bird that was always with the girl as bait. So, according to the legend, the spirit of Molly may have been trapped in a pig trough. They dug up her body (her real name was Margaret Leigh) and buried her in another place, with her bird, without giving her a christian burial. It would seem that, the confused spirit of the girl continues wandering around the village and its surrounding areas until today,.

How do you get there?

The city of The Potteries (or Stoke-on-Trent) is not far from some great places like Birmingham or Manchester and is a beautiful place to visit.

Northumberland

The Schooner Hotel, in the small village of Alnmouth, is considered as the most haunted hotel of Great Britain. To give just a few examples, in room number 20 some guests have seen, with some frequency, a dark figure that sometimes gets closer and moves at full speed. In another room, number 28, voices and cries of children are heard as well as the screams of women; if that wasn't enough, the ghosts usually pick up on the sensation of not being alone and feeling afraid.

Schooler hotel to the left on the image (Source)

How do you get there?

There's a good connection by train from Edinburgh or from Durham. Once you get there, in Alnmouth, you can travel by bus to the medieval castle of Alnwick, a must for lovers of Harry Potter and also for those who are looking for the ghost of the "Lady in Grey".

Nottinghamshire

Clifton Hall or the old Manor of Clifton, in the hamlt of CLifton, was a long time ago used as a defence and residential unit; the property was passed on, generation after generation of the same family, from the 13th Century to mid-20th Century.

The family that spent a fortune getting the property in 2007 no longer lives there. Do you know what happened there? All the family members could hear voices that came from the walls and the woman even saw her eldest daughter watching television in the early hours of one morning, even though the girl was asleep in her bed. No one wanted to visit them, so they decided to contact a group of investigators, but even they confessed to feeling a sensation of fear in that place. When one day spots of blood appeared on the bed linen on which their small son slept, the family decided to move.

Clifton Hall from St Mary the Virgin Church's Holy Field(Source)

How do you get there?

The nearest airport is Nottingham (East Midlands) and you can find really cheap flights, direct from Barcelona, through Ryanair. From the city of Robin Hood, Nottingham you can get to Clifton in half an hour. In Nottingham I recommend you visit the pub "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem"; it's not just the oldest pub in England but it also has its own ghostly legends. Either way, if you find yourself in Nottingham, don't forget to visit the university, Sherwood Forest, the castle and Wollaton Hall.

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