Hannath Hall

Hannath Hall, a private dwelling in Tydd Gote near Wisbech has a long history of paranormal activity. It's an Elizabethan manor house, formerly known as Sparrow's Nest until purchased by Josepth Hannath in 1812.

Legend tells that when Joseph's wife died he became deranged and refused to allow the body to leave the house. For two months Joseph Hannath kept his wife's body in her bedroom and insisted that her meals were taken to her. 

One poor maid was driven to suicide by this madness and it's believed to be her ghost that has been seen walking the corridors of the house.

Eventually Joseph allowed his wife to be buried, under a chestnut tree in the garden. But some say that thereafter no-one could sleep in the bedroom where the body had been kept.

Fast forward to 1957 when a Peterborough journalist has car troubles near Hannath Hall. The then owners, Derek and Catherine Page (Derek Page went on to become the MP for Kings Lynn) invite him in and inevitably end up talking about the strange goings on in the house. The journalist duly reports these to The Society for Psychical Research which initiates an investigation by the Cambridge University Society for Psychical Research.

Several members of the CUSPR, including Tony Cornell and Alan Gould, investigated the property over a period of a few years. They experienced groans, rapping noises, the sound of footsteps and items being thrown across rooms. As well as witnessing a chair flying past them the investigators found themselves bolted into a room when a toasting fork embedded itself into the lock on the door.

In 1959 Cornell and Gould held a seance in the haunted bedroom with a non-professional medium. The spirit of Eliza Cullen (or Culler) was contacted, she claimed to have buried her dead baby in the garden but no evidence of this or of the existence of an Eliza could be proven.

Also during 1959 Catherine Page saw the figure of a small fair haired boy on two occasions whilst she was in the living room. Cornell and Gould concluded that they were witnessing poltergeist activity within the house, the case of the Hannath Hall Poltergeist is well documented with the reports, case notes etc being held in the care of the SPR. 

Eventually things calmed down and paranormal activities ceased.

As a footnote in 2009 a young lady called Alice living in Hannath Hall told people on the Fortean Times forum that her step-brother had been sleeping in the so called haunted bedroom for some 10 years and had not been bothered by any hauntings. 

Image: http://www.oocities.org/steve_redshaw2003/CAMBRIDGESHIRE_hannathhall.html