GHOST STORY BLOG

Longleat House - Just on the border of Somerset & Wiltshire History - Longleat is a stately home about 4 miles west of Warminster. Set in 1,000 acre of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, along with 4,000 acres of let farmland and 4,000 acres of woodland. It was previously an Augustinian priory. The name comes from "leat", an artificial waterway or channel such as that which supplies a watermill. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. Built between 1567 and 1580, to put into perspective how old this magnificent house is, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Queen Elizabeth I was the first monarch to visit Longleat in 1574. The Queen very much enjoyed her visit and later sent Lord Bath a hand-written letter thanking him for the 'fascinating' day spent at his 'beautiful house. The house was built by Sir John Thynne and designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after Longleat Priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It has been lived in by sixteen generations of the Thynne family and it continues to be the seat of the Thynne family, who have held the title of Marquess of Bath since 1789 During World War I, the house was used as a temporary hospital. During World War II, it became the evacuated Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army. An American hospital was also constructed in the grounds; Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (1905–1992) inherited in 1946. Faced with considerable death duties he sold large parts of the wider estates; to allow Longleat itself to survive, he opened the house to public visitors. Hauntings - The Ghost of the Grey Lady & the Body Under the Cellar The most famous of Longleat’s ghosts is that of Lady Louisa Carteret, who married the 2nd Viscount of Weymouth - Thomas Thynne in 1733. He agreed to allow her to bring her own serving staff to Longleat as part of their wedding arrangements. One of her entourage was a young footman who’s adoration to his Lady seemed to go beyond what was expected of his post, at least that is how it appeared to a few of Longleat's household staff. They grew jealous of what seemed to be favouritism by Lady Louisa towards this young man. Rumours and suspicions grew as to the likelihood of there being extramarital liaisons between the two. These rumours were quite untrue as it turned out but word got back to Thomas that his wife was having an affair. Thomas, well known for his quick temper confronted the fellow at his earliest opportunity in a passageway outside the old library on the first floor beside a spiral staircase. An altercation took place whereby Thomas accused the footman of indiscretions toward his wife, which he flatly denied. In a fit of rage, Thomas lost his temper and pushed the footman down the stairs breaking his neck in the fall. Thomas, fearful of being implicated in his murder, quickly had the body buried in the cellar and made up a story for Lady Louisa that the footman had left without word. She did not believe him, fully aware of his distrust for her servant. She suspected her husband had imprisoned him somewhere inside the enormous house. She spent many days and nights frantically searching every room, those that were locked she demanded be opened. Her search however proved fruitless, for she never found him. It was on one of her nightly searches in the bitter cold that she caught a chill which developed into pneumonia. Lady Louisa, much weakened and distressed by her husbands deceit succumbed to her illness during childbirth and died in 1736 at the age of 22. She had been married just three years. Shortly after her death, reports from staff claimed they had seen Lady Louisa prowling the passageway where the incident had taken place, Even today she is heard banging on doors in a desperate and endless search to locate the whereabouts of her footman. She was a beautiful young woman in life and it is said by those who claim to have seen her, that she retains her beauty in death. The Grey Lady is the most frequently seen of Longleat’s ghosts, even the late Marquess of Bath claims to have seen her on occasion. Her portrait hangs in the Lower Dining Room. After his wife’s death, Thomas moved from Longleat, to live in the village of Horningsham nearby. There were those who, at the time, spoke of his reasons for leaving; he lived in mortal dread of encountering Lady Louisa as she walked the passageway after nightfall. Evidence to back up the death of the footman and subsequent ghost story are further endorsed when central heating was being installed in 1903. It had been necessary to lower the floors in the cellar to accommodated the boiler and pipes. Whilst digging up the flagstones, builders discovered the skeletal remains of a male wearing what appeared to be the remains of jackboots and fragments of a uniform of a footman of the period. To avoid any scandal, the bones were collected and quietly interred in the local churchyard. Ironically, as it turned out, only a few feet away from where 2nd Viscount Thomas Thynne is buried. Source - Haunted Wiltshire Blogspot The Red library is said to have two ghosts, one is said to be an old man in black that sits and quietly reads (Bishop Ken ?) the other is Lord Bath's elder brother that was killed in action in WW1 The main library is haunted by Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711) who hid in the house during the persecution of the Catholics. He lived on the top floor for about 20 years and died there, he was laid out in his funeral shroud in his favourite room. The original owner of the house Sir John Thynne (1513 -1518) has been seen here also as well as walking around the park and woods. Other sightings include a cavalier, a stone throwing monk (see article) and a green lady in the grounds and on the top floor on Green Ladys Walk, she is called the green lady, as she appears to be wearing a green dress the same as her portrait, according to a former employee several of the older housekeepers had seen her (speaking in 1999) Source - Paranormal Wiltshire - Selena Wright In a Western Daily Press news article in 1999 a former employee speaks of the various stories associated with the house including mentioning that the old elephant house used to be the site of the morgue during WW2 when wounded US soldiers were billeted there. There is also the ghost of a black dog, which has been seen by people for generations and has a copse named after it, Black Dog Wood. In 1975 Uri Geller visited the house and gave a demonstration of his skills in the 'haunted' library, bending the family silver and a sword from the Lansdown collection, it was reported that books fell off the shelves, a miniature fell over and an portrait smashed to the ground. Maybe this was Bishop Ken showing his dissatisfaction at the spectacle? In the early 1960's Ghost hunter and Clairvoyant Tom Corbett, who is featured in a book, The Stately Ghosts of England by Diana Norman visited the house, he was friends with the Marquis at the time and was taken up to the many passages at the top of the house and namely the Green Lady's Walk, As he walked up one of the passageways he appeared to make contact with a spirit, he said 'No' several times, he made his way to another passage and stopped and announced that 'there was something there and something dreadful happened there' 'This is your corridor, not the other one' It turns out that he was correct, they had shown him the wrong corridor to test his psychic powers and he had got it right.. He then went around the house picking out the various ghosts and the history books they had been identified in. Tom Corbett was then ill for a week after he had visited Longleat.. Source - Daily Herald 4th March 1963 Thoughts- I have been visiting Longleat for over 50 years and love visiting regularly, the stories intrigue me and I am interested to know and learn more. It would be interesting to know if any paranormal activity still occurs, have any of the family, staff or visitors have ever witnessed anything? Are the Green Lady and the Grey Lady the same spirit? or two separate Ladies? do they haunt the same area? It would be my dream to investigate or even do a walk through. If you are interested in the Ghosts of Longleat, keep checking back for updates, as and when I get any more information or photos. © Somerset Paranormal Photos- © Somerset Photography British Newspaper Archives Maps - 1888 & 1659

Battlefields House - Lansdown - Bath History- The house was designed by John Wood the Elder in 1738 for Jeremiah Peirce and was originally called Lilliput Castle It is also the previous home of John (Goldfinger) Palmer. This striking castellated building is now split into luxury apartments. Hauntings The building is on the extensive Civil War battle site of July 1643, the sounds of horses galloping have been reported around the vicinity and on the drive way to the house, though they cannot be seen. It is thought they are the residual energy of rider less horses fleeing the battle scene. Old fashioned figures, two women and a man, are also said to haunt the area and have been briefly seen in bedrooms. Does anyone know any other stories for the area? Source - Paranormal Somerset - Selena Wright Photo Source - taken c1972, Bath in Time Allen & Harris Estate Agents Maps 1742 & 1888 © Bath Paranormal

Tales of the Theatre Royal - Bath Ian's Story Dearest Readers Here we have another chilling and blood curling tale from the Theatre Royal, Bath. Again I am not sure exactly what time period this is from and so its unknown whether this just happened the once whether it as happened since or prior to this occasion. I have changed the name of the witness. One afternoon. Ian struggled to lug the heavy crates of beer that afternoon as he was replenishing the Theatre's four bars, he was normally front of house staff but had been asked to do some extra duties. He had already done the Stall and Dress Circle Bars which were easy and was now heading for the Upper Circle Bar. As he climbed up he was thinking about the strange event that one of the female staff had very recently had, where she witnessed the Grey Lady at close quarters. He had never seen anything personally, but occasionally had felt an odd atmosphere, which made him prefer to work with company, rather than alone. On reaching the Upper Circle bar, he heaved the crates across and started to check off his notes to make sure he had the right items. As he was doing so, he heard a faint sound, but didn't think much of it, he then heard it again. It was coming from the auditorium and sounded like a long sigh and low muffled moaning. He heard it again and was getting curious, but wary and was starting to get an odd feeling come over him and a tingling feeling. He decided to investigate and on reaching the door, heard the sounds several more times, he decided it had to be someone playing tricks on him, so deciding to confront whomever it was he quickly pulled the doors open and looked over the empty seats, he was met with a strange sight... He could see three strange looking shapes, stooped with drapes over them, two of them were semi transparent, the third was more solid looking and grey. They were moving slowly and drifting diagonally through the rows of seats, the sighing seemed to be coming from the more solid one, and the other two were moaning. Then as if aware that they were being watched they stopped and slightly turned as if to look at him. The sounds then changed to a noise similar to chirping birds and the three shapes all converged together onto a black block shape, which changed to a triangular shape and suddenly shot up in the air into the chandelier above and just simply vanished! Ian closed the door and turned and slowly walked back down onto the foyer. When he got there, he said, to no one in particular - " Tell the chief there are the orders, the beer is on the bar, I wont be back, after what I have just seen, tell him he can stuff the job, stuff the Theatre, stuff the ghosts, that's it! I have had it! With that he stormed out of the Theatre and went next door to the Garrick's Head, where he had a stiff drink and told a few people of his experience. Ian subsequently left his job, the Theatre and Bath, returning to his home town, never to return.... So dear readers, what do you think of Ian's story? It is a little similar to the story from 'John' of The Thing, which was a similarly terrifying encounter of a shapeshifting mass.. See separate article. Thoughts - It would be interesting to know of there are any links to monks at the site, as the three figures sound like that's what they could have been? Source - Paranormal Bath - Malcolm Cadey Rewritten by P Wallace / Bath Paranormal AI Art & Photo © Bath Paranormal

The Nunney Hitchhiker - Nunney/Frome A witness was driving on the Frome to Nunney Road in August 1977 when he stopped to give a man a lift, the hitchhiker got into the back of the car and the witness locked the car doors. There was very little communication between the two apart from the hitchhiker's comment that it was cold. But when the witness asked his passenger a question, he discovered that the reason he was receiving no response, was because no one was in the car! yet he was certain the car door not been opened during the drive. The witness now being a little shaken up, reported of the incident to Frome police station, where he was breathalysed, but found to be sober. There are very few cases to people who experience more than one phantom hitchhiker event, but this witness was to provide a second report concerning the same stretch of road sometime after the first event. The second encounter was quite unlike the first in that the witness came across the hitchhiker standing in the middle of the road and skidded to avoid an accident hitting either a lamppost/ pole or the hedge. Needless to say when the witness search the area for the cause of the problem, no trace of him could be found. The man was described as in his mid 30's and dressed in a checked jacket/ shirt and flannel trousers. In 1977, a similar case arose involving an accident when a man appeared in the middle of the road and disappeared. The story was to take a turn for the bizarre when a local man who was organising the Silver Jubilee celebrations in the area decided to turn ghostbuster. Concerned the local celebration should not be harmed by a phantom hitchhiker keeping people away or possibly even with an eye to the potential benefits of publicity the ghost might bring. A series of Ghost Patrol's was set up to investigate the events, it does not appear to have been a serious attempt at research and adds little to the overall understanding of this case. Suggestions for whom the hitchhiker is, have included the victims of Judge Jeffreys public hangings nearby, 12 rebels found guilty at the Assizes were hung, drawn and quartered and their remains strung up at Gibbet Hill, Gorehedge, although from his dress this spirit appears more modern than that.. Others include an American servicemen killed in a car crash and a husband wrongly hanged for his wife's murder. He has been spotted at Critchill, going towards Gibbet Hill as well as closer to the village of Nunney as well.. Although it is not known whether there been any more furthermore recent sightings in modern times. Source- The Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Spirits - John & Anne Spencer  #nunneyhitchhiker #nunneyghosts #nunney #ghostlyhitchhiker #hitchhikerspirits #paranormal #somersetparanormal #somersetghosts #hauntedsomerset #somersetghoststories

Ghostly Monks of Bath Abbey History- Bath Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country. The medieval abbey church served as a sometime cathedral of a bishop. After long contention between churchmen in Bath and Wells the seat of the Diocese of Bath and Wells was later consolidated at Wells Cathedral. The Benedictine community was dissolved in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The present abbey is the last great medieval cathedral to have been built in England. Building work began around 1499, but was not completed and used as a parish church until 1616, meaning it took nearly 120 years to finish. The first king of all England, King Edgar was crowned on the site in 973 and his coronation service set the precedent for the coronation ceremonies of all future kings and queens of England and Great Britain. The abbey has 1,508 memorials in total – 617 on the walls and 891 on the floor. There are estimated to be up to around 8,000 bodies buried under the abbey floors, the last one laid to rest in 1845. So far, the earliest burial which has been discovered under the floor is from 1625. Hauntings - Dark robed figures have been said to be spotted around the abbey, which people report as monks. There are also several reports of spirits captured in photographs, one from the 70's where a tourist was photographing the interior of the Abbey and on later developing the film discovered a diaphanous figure of a monk on two of the photos. The photographer said that he was only interested in taking photos of architecture and had he seen a person there, he would have not taken the photo.. In 2005, someone took a photograph of a dark monk like spirit in front of the main door..  There are also reports of paranormal activity linked to nearby Abbey Green and the Roman Baths.. Sources - Haunted Bath - David Brandon, The Bath Magazine, Wikipedia. Photos © Bath Paranormal/ Somerset Photography #bathabbey #monksofbathabbey #bathabbeyhaunted #hauntedabbey #ghostwalks #bathghostwalks #blackmonk #monkghost #ghostsofbath #bathparanormal #paranormalbath #bathhauntings #bathghoststories

Ghosts of Grosvenor Place - Bath History- Grosvenor Place in Bath was built around 1790 by John Eveleigh. It lies alongside the A4 London Road and many of the houses are listed buildings, bordering about 20 acres of luxurious pleasure gardens to be called the Vauxhall gardens. The grand entrance was through a large carriage arch to the centre of the hotel. The scheme failed due to the unfortunate choice of a low-lying site which was prone to mists and floods, and its relative distance from town, Sydney Gardens, nearer to the city was preferred. Hauntings - There are reports of a Roman soldier in one of the houses or flats and in a second floor flat at an undisclosed address, a couple witnessed a monochromatic female figure silently drift through their living room, terrifying the cat! It has also been seen on the stairs.. Thoughts/ Research I cant find much history on any notable happenings there, so any spirits, possibly are just residual.. It would be interesting to know if people are still witnessing anything here... I will add any updates here. Source- Paranormal Database Photo - Bath in Time/ Google Maps Lithograph - R Woodroffe/ Rare Old Prints http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/5853 Map - 1810 - Know Your Place #ghostsofbath #hauntedbath #bathparanormal #bathhauntings #spirits #phantom #grosvenorplace #grosvenorplacehaunted

The SS Great Britain - Great Western Dockyard ~ Bristol History - SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City and was the largest ship afloat when she was launched on 19 July 1843. It was the world's first great ocean liner, carrying thousands of emigrants to Australia. She operated on the England–Australia route for almost 30 years, interrupted only by two relatively brief sojourns as a troopship during the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. On 8 December 1863, she was reported to have been wrecked on Santiago, Cape Verde Islands whilst on a voyage from London to Nelson, New Zealand. All on board were rescued. In 1882 Great Britain was converted into a sailing ship to transport bulk coal. She made her final voyage in 1886, after loading up with coal and leaving Penarth Dock in Wales for San Francisco on 8 February. After a fire on board en route she was found, on arrival at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands where she ran aground, to be damaged beyond economic repair. She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company and used, afloat, as a storage hulk (coal bunker) until 1937, when she was towed to Sparrow Cove, 3.5 miles from Port Stanley, scuttled and abandoned. As a bunker, she coaled the South Atlantic fleet that defeated Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee's fleet in the First World War Battle of the Falkland Islands. In the Second World War, some of her iron was scavenged to repair HMS Exeter, one of the Royal Navy ships that fought Graf Spee and was badly damaged during the Battle of the River Plate. Hauntings - The ship's long history does include some tragic events. Captain Gray is rumoured to have committed suicide leaping from his cabin window, a young bride, Mrs Cohen, died on board within weeks of marriage, a young sailor fell from the rigging to his death; others were swept overboard; babies, young children, and the elderly died on the long two-month voyages to Australia. The ghostly figure of a woman on the Promenade deck was seen by workers just before completion of works for the ship's re-launch in 2005. The woman vanished when workers approached her; the woman's identity is not known. In 1992, Sonny Graffo, a 17 year old student of travel and tourism who was doing a work placement in the souvenir shop had a strange experience when touring the ship. "I was looking across a deep chasm into the bowels of the ship, about 30 or 40 feet below me there were beams of wood going across the gantries. I did a double-take and saw a chap sat on a beam of wood, staring across the gap back at me. He was wearing a white-collared shirt, had broad shoulders, a grey-white beard and looked scruffy. He was just sat there swinging his legs, and looked like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards, a bit like Captain Birdseye. I thought he was a workman and called across to him, but he just sat there staring at me. Then I wondered how he could have got there, as there was no way of getting out to the plank." When he got back to the shop and told the staff what he had seen, Sonny was told it was probably "Johnny", an apparition that had been seen before. When shown a picture of Captain Gray he described the figure he had seen as "strikingly similar. John Gray (8 December 1819 – 25 November 1872) was a Scottish merchant seaman and master mariner who served as Captain of the SS Great Britain for eighteen years. He died in mysterious circumstances, after apparently jumping or falling overboard On his two penultimate voyages to Australia and back, Gray, according to subsequent newspaper reports: He suffered severely from liver and stomach complaint, brought on by pure anxiety to maintain the reputation of his ship in the strong competition with the London steam clippers. On 25 November 1872, thirty days into another return voyage from Melbourne to Liverpool, Gray complained of pain in his bowels and returned to his cabin. Near midnight he was seen walking towards the ship's deck. The next morning, he could not be found, and one of the transom windows at the ship's stern was open, having been locked the night before. The letter he had been seen writing that night could not be found. Since there was no way to send a message ashore, his wife Mary Ann (née Jamieson) only found out that she was a widow when she and one of their daughters met the ship upon its arrival in Liverpool in January 1873. His death was reported on the front pages of newspapers in the United Kingdom and in Australia.  In 1999 a consultant Derek Sinclair was working alone at night in the ship's Forward Hold, when he heard very distinctly and clearly the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs inside the former Crew's Quarters in the next compartment. Convinced that a colleague had come on board to find him, he put his head round the door only to find the room dark and empty. He rushed off the ship to see his colleague who had remained in the nearby office building, and confirmed that no one else was even on site, let alone on board the ship. A member of the events team, and SS Great Britain Trust Steward Bob Evans, reported hearing the sound of music playing within the ship when they investigated they could not find the source. Martin Williamson, who acts as 'Mr Brunel' at the visitor attraction, saw the lower part of someone or something's leg disappearing through a door. Whilst preparing for an event, on a late night in the summer of 2008, a member of staff reported seeing the face of a small child. It was just outside of the Steerage compartment, as she was going down the stairs to the ship's Hayward Saloon. Mr Wade, a security officer, claimed he experienced 'unusual goings-on' while doing his nightly check on board. He said: "I saw a door move backwards and forwards and heard noises onboard, including the sound of locked doors slamming near the Captain's Cabin. On one occasion I actually watched a door handle turn clockwise slowly and when I tried to open the door, it was locked. When I used my key to open the door, there was no one in the room. Then I heard a bang and heavy footsteps at the other end of the Promenade Deck, and watched a door slam shut. When I checked it, the door was locked. One night I heard distant voices and the room went really cold. I am certain I felt a presence there with me." Mr Wade told how other colleagues said that they 'felt strange' on board and one or two security officers actually refused to work onboard the SS Great Britain. Sources - Ghost Story. com/ The Haunted West Country Group/ Wikipedia Photos - Google, SS Great Britain © Somerset Paranormal

Cannards Well Hotel, Cannards Grave - Shepton Mallet Built in the late 17th century.. originally Cannards Grave Inn, now the Well Inn. There was once an innkeeper here called Giles Cannard, who was involved in robbing the hotel guests and alleged sheep stealing, robbery and highway theft to subsidise his business He was also known as Tom Kennard or Tom the Taverner. When he was discovered plotting to steal common land, a lynch mob set out in pursuit of him. The account was that Cannard had laid hands on a document that entitled him to this land and much wealth. Merchants from Frome and Shepton Mallet disputed this, and, as in the manner of those lawless days, went after him. The true cause of his demise is not 100% certain, but he was convicted of his crimes, and was publicly hung from a gibbet outside the Inn he owned. He was the last person to be hung in public for his crimes. Other reports say he was so terrified of the advancing mob that he committed suicide by hanging himself.. His legendary status now gives name to the area around the hotel, he rather ghoulish name of Cannards Grave. Later, legend says a gravedigger buried his body at the crossroads with a stake through his heart. His own pub has long since gone. Cannard’s ghost has manifested on many occasions in the pub. One of the first reports of this inn being haunted came from the Rev. H. Allen, Rector of Shepton Mallet. He wrote 'The soul could not rest and frequently visits the scene of its former abode while in the flesh." Source- Haunted Hostelries & Cannards Well website #sheptonmallet #hauntedsomerset #somersetghoststories #hauntedpubs #hauntedtaverns #cannardsgrave #cannardsgraveinn #pubghosts #hauntedsomerset #haunted #paranormal

Upper Borough Walls - Bath History - Upper Borough Walls is a historic street in Bath. Many of the local structures are listed buildings. The street takes its name from the section of the medieval wall of the city which still remains. The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases was founded in 1738. Hauntings - The ghost of a grubby looking unshaven man has been spotted here. He is thought to have a connection to the Seven Star Pub which was at No 2 & 3 and was known to be haunted. This closed c1974 Further along opposite the Mineral Water hospital building is a courtyard, behind the section of medieval wall where there is a plaque that states that 238 peoples remained were interred there who had died at the General Hospital between 1736-1849. The sound of screams and crying is said to be heard from this area, see separate post. Thoughts - Its unsure really from the report as to what it was about the 'man' that made the witness think it was a ghost, what would be more compelling in this story was if there were multiple sightings of this same male form over the years, it would be great to get more details on this. As well as some background into the 'well known' hauntings of the Seven Stars pub. Does anyone know of any other sightings in this area? or any stories about the pub? Any new information will be added here Source - Paranormal Somerset by Selena Wright Photos - Map - Know your Place Burial Ground - Somerset Photography Bath in Time 1983