Paranormal History

I live in the south of County Durham, just a stones throw from North Yorkshire in fact. More specifically I live in Newton Aycliffe, a new town developed in the 50's and 60's, making use of the massive Industrial Estate which was used extensively throughout the Second World War as Munitions Works, Aycliffe was chosen mainly because of the number of days in which there is cloud cover and fog. Something which hasn't changed since WW2. Local legends abound however... within Newton Aycliffe itself there are many ghost stories, I had an advert in the local newspaper a while ago for people to tell me their ghost stories and it blew me away how many people contacted me. The A-167 is said to be haunted by the ghost of a lady in a white dress, I have only found one fairly unreliable online source for this story, but two separate people contacted me saying they had seen her standing close to the "Gretna" public house/restaurant.

The railway line from Bishop Auckland to Darlington (and eventually Saltburn) runs close to Greenfield School (close to my house too), this is part of the line which runs from Stephenson’s work yards at Shildon to Darlington, in the very early days of steam travel men on horseback would ride ahead of the trains making sure no cattle had wandered onto the track or indeed any people, these men would often ring a bell as a way of warning. About midway between Greenfield School and Newton Aycliffe train station the ghost of one of these bell-men is said to haunt the tracks where he fell from his horse and hit his head on the tracks (ironically scared by the train). This is local legend and no such event has been recorded, however people have contacted me and said they have heard a horse whinnying and clopping on the stones, all the while a bell is ringing.

Because of the risk of offending or upsetting any local people I can only say the next haunted location is one of Aycliffe’s many Old People’s Homes. My grandmother worked there for around ten years, my mother for around ten and even one of my sisters for around five years. At least once a month I would hear about a new sighting or paranormal occurrence, the building is made up of two floors, the ground floor has recreation and social rooms, cleaning and laundry, and of course the dining room. The first floor is made up of the residents own rooms with a smaller social room at the end of a long corridor, the majority of the phenomena is associated with this small social room. Witnesses told of standing at one end of the corridor and seeing an old man standing in the doorway at the other end which led to the social room, thinking one of the residents was out of bed they go to the room and find it empty, with the only egress routes being a fire escape (still locked up) or the corridor itself. On one occasion two women at the same time saw a white misty form moving in the room, they of course departed quickly and didn’t go back onto that floor for a while. Some other staff members who contacted me told of seeing or knowing of some of the furniture in this room moving around on its own, on one occasion a plant pot slid off a windowsill and broke on the floor, when the staff member went to get some cleaning equipment she came back to find that the soil from the plant pot had been shaped into a crescent moon shape. As well as this room at least one of the residential rooms is also haunted, my own sister was locked inside the room when she was in fact the only person on the first floor during a residents day trip out, whilst she was cleaning the residents bed the door slammed shut behind her and she could not turn the handle, as though someone was holding it from the outside (of course there are plenty of other explanations, panic being one of them). The vast majority of Newton Aycliffe was built on old farming land, some of these old farms remain but some houses built on nothing more than dark soil have acquired a ghostly reputation. A local taxi driver told me of the haunting’s within his house; a man dressed in riding boots, dark cape and red shirt has been seen by him and his wife on more than one occasion. His house in, Mellanby Crescent, however does not stand on any older property, so who or why this spirit is there is as big a mystery as the question of s there a ghost there at all. I have heard of many similar ghost stories, one of which comes from a good friend of mine, not prone to strange tales. One day upon leaving the bathroom and heading for his bedroom he saw someone pass by him, height wise it was the same as his little brother and that is who he thought it was, however as he entered his room he saw his brother sitting on his bed playing on his games console, his parents at the time were out shopping. His own theory is that it was the ghost of the old lady who lived there previously, he has since moved out but his parents still live there in Havelock Close.

Slightly further away is Bishopton Castle Hill, lying just outside the village of Bishopton. The Castle Hill is a very well preserved Motte and Bailey Earthwork, originally made of wood the castle and its palisade defences have long since gone, leaving only the earthwork remains. It was built in the early 12th Century when Bishop Ranulf gave the land to Roger Conyers, soon however the Bishop of Durham was usurped by a man called William Comyn, many local barons paid Comyn homage as the new Bishop, Conyers however did not and awaited the rightful bishop to come north and take the Bishopric back. Eventually Comyn was defeated and the Conyers family prospered due to their support of the true Bishop. Bishopton however was not their main seat of power and so the Castle was left to be stripped of its wood. But it is here that the legend of Bishopton was created. It is said that anyone who spends a night on the hill will be chased off by a group of Fairies, certain legends differ with regards why these fairies are here, some claim they moved in when everyone else moved out and didn’t like people taking down their home, some say that they have always been there and they fought alongside Conyer’s during the troubles of the early 12th Century. The only residents of the hill today are the cattle which graze (and sadly slowly destroy) the hill, around 150 years ago the hill stood at 60ft, today it is less than 40ft. But wil the fairies remain after the cows have flattened the features of the field?

Locally there is a much more remarkable fairy story, that of the Middridge Fairies, a story I heard whilst at primary school! The village of Middridge lies between Shildon and Newton Aycliffe, it is a charming village which still has its annual fair, it also has a strange hole in the earth lying to the north of the village, no one knows what it was dug for but it is certainly man made (I think so anyway). Legend has it that if you run around it backwards saying the lords prayer an evil fairy, or even the devil himself, will come out of the hole and chase you until you are home, if it catches you, then your dead. Supposedly in the early 1900’s a group of farm boys dared one another to do this and something did indeed come out of the ground and chase them to their farm, as they ran into a bran they slammed the door shut behind them then heard a mighty crash as though a thunder bolt had hit the barn. Upon opening the door they found a trident impaled in the door, as they pulled it out it vanished but left the scorched trident mark in the door. It is said the door found its way to the local public house (Bay Horse) which put it on show but it too vanished one day, never seen again. 

Shildon of course is the birthplace of the passenger railway, Robert Stephenson learned his engineering skills from his father George, both father and son changed the world and they started it all in a workshop in Shildon. His house and workshop are now a museum, close by too there is a brand new multi-million pound museum named the Locomotion, all are linked by a section of the Bishop Auckland to Darlington rail line. In this large area people have reported hearing the sounds of steam engines, men chatting, the smell of smoke and just as intriguing the sound of horses and a bell (similar to the haunted line near Newton Aycliffe). Even within the confines of the new museum these sounds have been heard by staff and visitor alike.

Darlington is an old town, steeped in its merchant history it also has deep roots with the Quaker community which developed the town before more commercial minds took over. It also has a few haunted hotspots, probably the best being the Darlington Civic Theatre, haunted by one of its previous owners, and his dog! I have been fortunate enough to spend a night in the theatre as part of a Paranormal Companies investigation and I did see and hear some strange phenomena which I cannot explain, the first was whilst sitting in the middle stalls, behind us was a door leading to the bar area which we could see partly through. Whilst sitting in the seats we heard what I can only describe as the door being kicked, we all jumped up and had a very good look around both the area we were in and the bar and found no one, we heard no one run away and we would have heard someone run down the bar stairs, or seen them run into the bar area. Later on the whole group were on the stage, a number of us who were looking the same way saw a flash of light from the opposite side of the middle stalls, as though someone had been up there and had turned on a light then turned it off very quickly, again no one was there, we never saw any doors open for people to leave the area nor heard anyone running away. Other ghosts which supposedly haunt the place are a fly man (they would work the ropes which moved scenery about etc, usually they were old sailors used to rigging) and an old night watchman, though descriptions of this ghost might be influenced by a large photograph of a similar looking gentleman close to the toilets.

Other haunted places in Darlington are the old Darlington and Simpson Rolling Mills, in the 1920’s a man was killed in a terrible accident and his ghost has returned on a couple of occasions. On one such occasion the workforce downed tools until the management did something about it, what they did however is unknown. The Kings Head Hotel is a very popular place for visitors, sadly damaged in a recent fire it has always had its strange tales associated with it. Mainly on the fourth floor the tales centre around shadows being seen flitting from room to room, one Paranormal Company claimed to have seen the ghost of a young girl dressed in Victorian clothing, replete with bonnet and bow tied under her chin. Another haunted Railway Museum is at Darlington, sadly the place is now rather defunct since most of its treasures have been taken to the Locomotion at Shildon. Its ghosts however remain. One ghost is that of a Victorian lady who stands waiting on the old platform, whilst a security guard and his guard dog were scared one night by a spectral security guard and guard dog, there are also the smells and sounds associated with a busy steam engine yard which have been experienced by people in the past. Trains still stop at one of the platforms, but very few people get on board, those that do often smell a rather sweeter more perfume like smell as they get onto the train, as they turn to se where the smell comes from they see the ghost of the Victorian lady still standing, waiting on her own.

Originally built by the “Handsome Hansard” family in the mid 12th century Walworth Castle just outside Darlington has a very good haunted pedigree. Probably the most prolific room is the Jenison suite, where many guests and maids have had someone, or something, tug at their clothes or hair. There have also been the sound of footsteps falling on a stone staircase, which has been removed; the only sightings however take the form of a spectral “Grey Lady” who has been seen in various places. Her identity is open to speculation, but until she provides her biometric identity card her name will be unknown.

As well as Darlington close by there is also Bishop Auckland. Its history is abundant, and if you included the close by remains of Binchester Roman Fort (named Vinovia) the history stretches back to the first century. Its ghosts however remain elusive (though I will be putting an advert in the local paper over there) and only a couple have been found. None other than King Charles I is said to haunt the Bishops Palace, a location he spent a short time in during the Bishops Wars of 1639-40. Why he haunts this place is unknown, however the woodland park belonging to the Bishop’s Palace is a very nice place to spend a day so perhaps he found some peace and quiet here, something he would not have got in many other places. The second ghost story is a fairly modern one, in fact it only came to light in 2009. The Four Clocks Community centre sounds like a very modern place, it is in fact inside an old church. Built in 1914 the Wesley Church saw many good days come and go, it has its own clock tower with of course four separate clocks, hence the name. In a local newspaper article Centre co-ordinator Pamela Hope said: “Our CCTV camera captured what looked like a very hazy figure in the back passageway and also what looked like a circle of light moving across the floor and through the wall.

“One member of staff said she saw a woman in a hat which fits with it being an old church.

“During winter I had all the lights on and was sat at my desk when a shadow crept across my computer screen. At first I though it was somebody coming up behind me but when I turned around there was nobody there. There was also one night where a few of us had stayed late and we heard footsteps coming from the room upstairs. I was scared that there might be someone locked in who would be a bit angry but again there was nothing.”

Employee Helen White said there had been several cases of doors shutting themselves and being locked on the inside.

She said: “This church went through some dramatic changes when the centre was created and you can’t help but wonder whether the building work disrupted the spirits. Several people have said they have sensed spirits although they all say they are benign so at least we don’t have to worry about having a violent ghost.”

And so there are just some of the amazing local legends close to me in South Durham, I could have gone further afield and included Durham, Ferryhill, Spennymoor, or even Northallerton and Richmond… often its not finding a point to start, but a point to stop.

Thank you for your time.

CJ Linton.

Ghosts of Prague

Eastgate Street may not have the same amount of haunting’s as some of Chester’s other streets, yet its stories are both well known and well recorded. Along Eastgate is a clock, in fact many believe it to be the second most photographed clock in Britain, with the first being “Big Ben” in London, although Big Ben is the name of the bell within, not the clock itself. Chester’s own famous clock was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee of 60 years on the throne; many plans were put forward such as upgrading local schools or the usual statue. Then came forward E. Evans-Lloyd who proposed the building of a clock, this was readily accepted by the officials and so the clock was built to architect John Douglas’s specifications. The Clock itself is beautiful, yet it is said to be haunted by a group of mysterious old women, dressed in dishevelled old clothes and looking for the entire world like some mythical witches with the only things missing being the black cat and broomstick. They are said to foretell of disasters and to see them is a bad omen, to hear them might even bring death.

Further along Eastgate are two more haunted locations, one being the Thornton’s Chocolate shop, no really. In fact this is one of the most haunted locations within Chester, a surprising fact considering its current use. It has many ghost stories attached to it, one is that a jovial man wearing an apron has been seen, he smiles politely at customers before disappearing in plain sight of them. Perhaps Thornton’s most prominent spectre is a lady named Sarah. She was due to be wed to a man she loved dearly, only for her beloved to run out on her on no less than the wedding day. Angry and saddened she hung herself within the upstairs of the shop, this anger and sadness however has never left, and neither has Sarah. She has been blamed for pushing people on the stairs, whilst chocolate displays have been destroyed by unseen hands during the night time hours. Sadly she is most prevalent during the Valentines period where she gets up to all manner of crimes. However she does have her uses, one evening a burglar broke into the shop and raided the safe, so distraught was he at being pelted with chocolates from unseen hands that he left his finger prints all over the place and when the Police found him they also found traces of Chocolate in his clothes and hair.

Another haunted place on Eastgate is the Boot Inn, a public house which has seen Royalist officers billeted here during the Civil War, then during the 1700’s to the early 1900’s it was Chester’s most notorious brothel, from the early 1920’s it became a gentleman’s gaming club, perhaps it is its use as a brothel which gives us its most common ghostly occurrences for ladies laughter, as well as the moans and groans of any lady of the night have been heard many times by people within the pub, though of course this kind of activity could have come from any time period associated with the public house which it is today where the warmest thing on offer is a packet of crisps.

CJ Linton.

The Groves and Grosvenors Park today are a pleasant area of Chester to spend some time walking in

the open air along the riverbank. It is thought that this area was once the busy port to the city, where

trade from around the continent would be brought to sell in the markets. With it being outside the

original city walls it is also thought to be where the leather makers, or tanners, plied their trade. One

street nearby is named Souter’s (Sowters) Lane, Souter being the Middle English name for a

shoemaker. The reason these people were living outside the city walls stems from the process of

making leather, which smells horribly from the use of urine to soak the cows hides making it easier

to scrape off the hair and fat leaving the leather for use in numerous things, one of which would have

been shoemaking. Grosvenors Park itself has some paranormal activity attached to it, for the gates

into the park have often been found closed and locked, when no one is supposed to do so, likewise

when left locked up by the parks attendants they have mysteriously been found on occasion to be

wide open.

The Anchorite's Cell within the groves is haunted too; originally it was carved out of the

sandstone knoll overlooking the River Dee and was lived in by a hermit monk. Many legends surround

this location, one tells of a 12th Century Holy Roman Emperor Henry Godscallus living here whilst

some have even said that King Harold Godwinson survived the Battle of Hastings and fled north to live

his life as the Hermit Monk within its darkness. Its recorded history is less impressive however, it

was used by the local Shoemakers as a meeting place for them to discuss business, and more

recently in the 1970’s an Architect used it as his office. Today it is a charming two bed roomed

private residence, yet it is still haunted all the same. No one knows who is responsible for the

happenings, but it is true that owners of this property like to sell up and move on mere months after

buying the building. One report is that some of its first owners to call it home witnessed a heavy oak

door smashed into pieces and ripped from its hinges by some unseen supernatural force.

CJ Linton.

As you wander down Castle Street please be on the look out for the ghosts which are said to have been seen here. In fact if you do see them you will indeed know them to be ghosts, for the ethereal spirits of long dead Roman Soldiers have been seen many times walking along this street. Roman Soldiers from the Second Legion called Chester their home in 43AD.

The Roman Army at this time is known to historians as the Imperial Roman Army of the First Century, a big title, for a big army. A single Roman Soldier would join the Army for a period of 25 years service, at the end of which they could and usually were given land in any territory they had helped to conquer. When first coming into the Army the new recruit would be placed in a tent with seven other men, this was the basic Squad level of the Roman Army, known as the Contubernium (con-tub-err-neom) from the Latin name of a tent. Ten Contubernium made a single Century, yes that’s right, 80 men formed a Roman Century, not 100 which is the popular myth. Two centuries formed a maniple which was the battlefield formation used by the Romans, this highly flexible formation of 160 men could easily outflank larger more ponderous foes, giving them the edge over their opponents. Six Centuries created a Cohort; this was usually the largest amount of men inside a single city at one time. Whilst ten Cohorts made an entire Legion of over five thousand men. The First Cohort of the Legion was always made up of veterans, and the largest most intimidating men. Plus it was double the size of the other Cohorts making it a formidable fighting machine on its own. Roman armies also had Cavalry, formed into four groups of thirty they were known as Turma’s and commanded by a Decurion, though their main job was scouting or as messengers. Roman Armies also had Artillery, at Chester their would have been Artillery towers with weapons placed inside, mostly they would have been small scale Ballista which fired bolts or stone balls at the enemy, something the barbarian Celts would not have been used to, something new in warfare is always something to be feared and the Ballista was a fearsome weapon. A Skeleton found at Maiden Castle was found with a Ballista Bolt lodged in his spine, not only were they lethal but they were accurate. Smaller Scorpio arrow throwers and larger Onager catapults would also be used in the defence of Chester, though the best form of defence in Roman Chester would have been the very presence of the Roman standards. No one is sure how many Roman Soldiers still walk the country, they have been seen everywhere, from the midlands of Scotland to the Isle of Wight, even at Chester, on Castle Street, the exact number of ghostly soldiers remains a mystery, mainly because no one has stood long enough to count them.

Another Spooky story on Castle Street tells of an electrician installing electrics into an old Georgian House, whilst he was working there he complained that his tools and equipment would often go missing and turn up later in an obvious place. This poltergeist activity did not stop him doing his job or getting paid, however the phenomena stopped as soon as his work was done.

CJ Linton.

Although not having quite as many ghost stories attached to it as Watergate, Bridge Street has its

fair share of spooks and spectres. In a modern shop which used to be a Public house called the Ye

Olde Vaults has been seen the ghost of an ex-landlord who likes to appear and make contact by

moaning and groaning about the poor state of his pub. Likewise in a travel agent a spirit named

George has been seen in the cellar, which was once a Wine Merchants. In fact most of the ghosts

which haunt the shops on bridge Street belong to another age. Bookland for example is home to

another ghost, in this case a boy from the Victorian age that reportedly died when he slipped on

some steps to the rear of the property. He has been seen at the rear, as well as in the upstairs staff

tearoom.

On Lower Bridge Street stands the Falcon public house, this too is a haunted location in

which the spirits of yesterday try to interact with the living of today. Many people in the Falcon

however might prefer this interaction to be of a slightly less violent affair as the ghost is of an old

Barmaid who was abused by the owners, perhaps this abuse was so severe that she died from it, but

what is known for sure is that she makes contact with today’s patrons by throwing glasses and beer-

mats at them. In a café on Bridge Street resides the ghost of a 12 year old girl from the Victorian

period who supposedly hung herself when the café was her home, she now likes nothing more than

to open locked doors, or slamming them and frightening staff members.

CJ Linton.

Many cities around the country bear the title of ‘Britain’s Most Haunted City’, York, Edinburgh,

London, Derby and even Nottingham all share the title. Within each of these great cities there are

certain areas, streets where there seems to be more ghost stories than any other part of the city, old

thoroughfares where millions of people have tread in the same footsteps, usually a place of execution

where criminals would meet their maker. Watergate in Chester bears such a reputation as having

more haunting’s than any other street. Echoing back to its days as a vital port there is the spirit of a

Sailor, who searches for something, or someone, along the cobbled street only to disappear when

someone has the courage to ask him if he needs some help. A second spirit has been described as

a ghostly monk; however this may not be exactly right. A monk was a person who lived a life of

prayer and work within a Monastery, taking vows of silence they were only permitted to speak within

special areas of their monastery and they would only appear in public on very rare occasions. Friars

were different, they lived in Friary’s and took the word of god to the public, they preached and gave

sermons to their congregations, living a very different life from their more ardent brothers inside a

monastery. And so it is a ghostly Friar who has been seen on Watergate, he may be the same

ethereal clergyman who has been seen within a House on Watergate, though no one has ever been

able to see any facial features, again he is described as a cowled Monk, but has been seen on

several occasions. As well as the Sailor and Monk seen on the street itself is the spirit of a girl

dressed in 17th Century clothing, who she is or why she haunts this street is a mystery. She is

dressed in fine clothes which mean she was probably from another part of the city and possibly was

taken and met her end on Watergate. Any public house on Watergate would indeed have their own

spirit, if not behind the bar then perhaps an ethereal visitor who shows themselves from time to time.

A Winebar named the Watergate Crypt has within its beautifully vaulted cellar the spirit of another

seaman, distinguished by his rolling stance, though of course this may be down to intoxication rather

than him trying to find his sea legs.

CJ Linton.

For a long period Chester’s population remained in a steady growth, this changed considerably when

the River Dee’s silted port was finally dredged allowing trade once more to flourish within the city.

Many merchants came to call Chester their home and during the Georgian period many fine homes

were built. A Georgian house is usually three stories tall with slim windows set on each floor. The

houses too are of slim design but have high ceilings inside, thus belying their small status. Inside the

merchants wives would sit and learn French and Latin, embroidery, dancing and learn how to use

elegant musical instruments such as the Piano, harpsichord or violin. Their world one of plain

servitude to their husbands, many of the ladies were committed to arranged marriages as soon as

they had come of age. The houses on Nicholas street reflect this time of social change within

Chester, their interiors may have more modern upgrades and renovations, yet from the outside they

still look as they did all those years ago, and it may be this reason that a spirit of a man dressed in a

coachman’s coat, replete with riding boots and tri-corn hat, has been seen descending the steps of

the old Nicholas Street Coaching House, ever more going out to do his work, in the same

surroundings which were there when he still had a pulse.

CJ Linton.

During the English Civil War Chester was the scene of battle and bloodshed, with two sieges

occurring, the second of which went on for six months. The Royalists defending the City knew they

would receive no quarter from their enemy. During the wars there were many cases of barbarity to the

local populace committed by both sides, places like Bolton and Leicester suffered horribly at the

hands of their own countrymen, and if Chester had fallen to the Parliamentarians then the city would

have suffered a similar fate. At a section of the City’s walls stands Morgan’s Mount, an earthwork

defence which would have been built by the citizens of Chester to defend their homes, on top was

stationed a gun commanded by a Captain Morgan, hence the name of the location as Morgan Mount.

It could be his spirit which ahs been seen on regular occasions atop the mount, what is known is that

there is a gentlemen dressed in the clothes of the time, however to call one side Cavalier and the

other Roundhead would be wrong for in peacetime both sides dressed very similar, and in wartime

both dressed the same too. So it is a mystery as to who this gentleman is, he could be a local

merchant who died during the siege, suffering from malnutrition or some disease. Or he could be the

unfortunate Captain Morgan, forever watching over the city which he defended all those years ago.

CJ Linton.

On Abbey Street stands a row of Georgian Houses, each dating to the mid to late 1700’s. Regular

poltergeist activity occurs in one of these private houses in the form of objects being moved around, it

has been reported that bottles and even a heavy Iron Stove have been moved around in this

unfortunate house. The vast majority of Poltergeist cases have one common factor, a young girl who

is just about to enter puberty, this has given many parapsychologist the idea that it is all some kind

of telekinetic ability on the part of the individual girl, which is in fact just as strange an event as any

ghost who may be causing the phenomena. Abbey Green is different for one factor however, these

haunting’s have been going on for many years, where as poltergeists only last around a year to

eighteen months before everything returns to some kind of normality.

CJ Linton.