Haunted Isles -in the company of spirits

Anne Boleyn's spectral coach makes an appearance on the roads around the former Runwell Hall, Wickford, Essex on New Year's Eve. A Toby Carvery, The Thomas Kemble, on the site of Runwell Hall it is visited on 31 December by the ghost of a woman travelling by horse and carriage, it's said that she is met at the door by a phantom butler. Visitor information: The Thomas Kemble Toby Carvery restaurant and pub is on the site of Runwell Hall. Address: The Thomas Kemble Runwell Rd Wickford Essex SS11 7QJ Telephone: 01268 769 671 Website

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away  On the last Sabbath day of 1879 Which will be remember'd for a very long time. Sunday 28th December, during a violent storm, the railway bridge over the River Tay collapsed plunging the Wormit to Dundee train into the river.  So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay. Until it was about midway, Then the central girders with a crash gave way. And down went the train and passengers into the Tay! The Storm Fiend did loudly bray, Beacuse ninet lives had been taken away, On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember'd for a very long time.  All lives were lost, it's believed there were up to 75 people on board but only 46 bodies were recovered.  As soon as the catastrophe came to be known The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown, And the cry rang out all o'er the town, Good Heavens! The Tay Bridg...

The ghost of Jane Seymour is said to walk the corridors of Marwell Hall. It was home to one of her brother's, Sir Henry Seymour, and is believed to have been visited by Henry VIII several times. Local folk lore suggests that Henry and Jane married there shortly after the execution of Anne Boleyn but prior to their official 30th May wedding at Whitehall Palace. Anne Boleyn is said to haunt the Yew Tree Walk seeking vengeance on Jane for stealing the King's affections. Other ghostly activity at Marwell includes phantom footsteps, moving objects, voices, shadowy figures, the sound of heavy objects being moved and poltergeist activity. Marwell Hall is one of several old English houses that lays claim to the Mistletoe Bride. The tale, popularised in the early 19th century By Thomas Bayly's Christmas ballad “The Mistletoe Bough”, tells of a game of hide and seek that goes horribly wrong. During a Christmastime game of hide and seek a young bride gets locked in ...

Anne Boleyn's family moved to Hever Castle, Kent in 1505, Anne spent her childhood at Hever and continued to visit throughout her life. In 1528 Henry VIII's love letters to Anne were sent to Hever. Anne Boleyn is said to haunt the area under the old oak tree where Henry courted her. Her ghost also visits Hever at Christmas time. Local legend tells that the ghost of Anne Boleyn can be seen on Christmas Eve walking in the grounds across a wooden bridge over the River Eden. Some say that she stops on the bridge to drop a sprig of holly into the water below. In the late 19th century Ada Coralie Meade Waldo, wife of the famous ornithologist Edmund Gustavus Meade Waldo who owned Hever at that time, complained that the ghost of Anne Boleyn made Hever Castle unpleasant. The Meade Waldo's didn't live at Hever and eventually sold it to William Waldorf Astor. In recent years photographs taken by visitors to Hever castle have feature orbs and other unusual images...

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 ...

Strange things happen in 17th Century Nunnington Hall situated on the banks of the River Rye in North Yorkshire. Now owned and managed by The National Trust a member of staff has assured me that Nunnington Hall is indeed haunted although not in a scary fashion. She found upon entering the building in the morning that lights, which she personally switched off, had been turned on and locked doors open. Lilette de Foucauld, a young French woman staying at Nunnington during the 1930's would probably not have agreed with my source. She found her sleep disturbed in the Panelled Room by something coming out of the wall over her bed. Moving to another bedroom restored her sleep! Visiting members of the public have commented on the feeling of something brushing against their legs at the top of the staircase. This is believed to be the ghost of a pet dog who plunged to it's death through the staircase railings. Visitors have also reported a smell of pipe smoke, glimpses of a hur...

It must be quite un-nerving to find oneself lost, with dusk approaching, amongst the Bronze Age barrows of  Kings Barrows Ridge slightly less than a mile away from the standing stones of Stonehenge. A feeling of relief would surely be felt upon seeing lights in the distance, assuming them to be shining from somewhere one could find assistance. How strange then to realize that the lights are actually coming towards you. Even stranger to discover that the lights are flaming torches being carried by Druids.  It's the 1950's and one would assume that a sort of re-enactment had been stumbled upon. Or maybe these are "modern day" druids processing to some sort of religious ceremony. You desperately want to find your way home but you don't want to be seen by this strange group so you hide behind a tree until they have passed by then follow silently in their wake. At last you're back on familiar territory, no longer lost and still not wishing to be seen you h...