M.J. Wayland's Blog, page 10

The Lantern Man

Marsh gas may have been suspected to be a source of UFO sightings during the 1950’s but in the 1800’s it give rise to the legend of the Wandering Fires of East Anglia. The English know the fire as Will o’ the Wisp and the Welsh recognise it as “Corpse Candle” but this time we’re interested in the embodiment of the Norfolk Wandering Fire, The Lantern Man. When modern drainage methods on the broads ceased sightings of the fire it was expected to stop the rumours of the fire too. But not so with the Marshmen of Norfolk, they believe that The Lantern Man led people to their deaths by enticing unsuspecting victims to his light and drown in thick mud and water. If you thought carrying a torch would stop Lantern Man, it wouldn’t in fact he always ran to the light. Walter Rye wrote in the 1870s: ‘Once I heard of one following a man while he was carrying a lantern one night. The man knew what to do. He set the lantern down and ran away as if the devil kicked him. When he ventured to look round there was the Lantern Man kicking the lantern over […]

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Year One Project

Ten years ago I first discussed 'Year One' - a project that would reinvestigate and evaluate 'classic' hauntings based on its contemporary evidence rather than what was written after 'Year One'. The project started successfully...

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Bronte Ghosts and Legends

In the days of yesteryear it was a very serious matter to undertake a journey in Yorkshire (some might say nothing has changed). The moors offered a dangerous journey from one town to the next. The weather could cause you to be up to your saddle bags in mud and the next, neck up in snow! But it wasn’t just the weather that bothered the Yorkshire folks’ neither was it the bad roads, it was the worry that if you was to wander the moors past the time of dusk that the other-worldly denizens of the moors would strike! Many people would often see Peg’s Lantern, a Yorkshire Will-o’the Wisp flitting around the moors and even the Bronte’s were aware of their local ghost stories. On nearby Blood Lane, wandered the spirit of Captain Batt walking to his home of Oakwell Hall. The Captain had returned unexpectedly to his home on December 9th 1684, it was dusk. The Captain entered his home walked up the stairs and vanished leaving a bloody footprint. The servants were shocked to hear the next day that the Captain had been killed the previous afternoon in a duel in London. If we stay in Haworth […]

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Haunted Lancashire Families

Dramatic and often short lives were lived by some of Lancashire’s most powerful and religious families. In the face of adversity of religious persecution or for just downright Love, these families are known as much for being haunters and less of the haunted. The Walls of Chingle Hall Just off the Goosnargh to Whittingham Lane, is one of the most haunted and wrote about houses in Lancashire, Chingle Hall is a cross-shaped house, it was built by the de Singletons about 1260, surrounded by a moat and approached over a low bridge. The Singletons lived in the Hall until 1585 when an heiress married into the Wall family. Here the family lived and in the room over the porch a son was born, destined to be St John Wall. Life in his childhood was difficult, the Walls being Papist and compelled to send John to Douai for his education by the Jesuits. Years later he returned, as a Franciscan missioner. He moved around the West Midlands and was eventually executed at Worcester in 1679, becoming a martyr. His severed head disappeared allegedly secretly returned to his birthplace. The ghost of a male cloaked figure is often seen in the birth […]

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Haunted Hands of Devon

It is said that many roads in Devon are haunted, by a phantom either visible or audible to some. Often there is a vague atmosphere of tragedy or evil. One road, Carter’s Road, from Moretonhampstead to Princetown certainly has a haunted history incorporating the story of the “Haunted Hands”. Ghost Horse and Rider The tale of a man walking back from Chagford to Princetown sends a slow chill down the back. The lane lies between hedges set high on walls hiding what lies beyond. The man suddenly heard a horse galloping towards him down the lane. He had no light and he could only flatten himself against the hedge and hope the horse would not hit him. There also seemed to be a rider, because he could hear the squeak of the harness. The sounds now came from the back of him, then he realised that he had not seen anything or actually heard it pass him. There is no doubt that the road and the area surrounding it are haunted by something pretty resentful of modern intruders. For many years there have been unexplained events where people, especially travellers have reported seeing or feeling a pair of huge hairy […]

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Too scared to read

With the advent of writing my first major book on ghosts, it’s made me address my early influences and how they’ve shaped my approaches to paranormal investigation.

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A Yorkshire Ghost Charm

On the moors just south of Bradford stands High Fernley Hall. Built in 1678, the hall was once far grander, a large mansion that has been greatly reduced over the years. In the eighteenth century the hall was occupied by a family named Bevers, of whom two brothers loved the same lady. After witnessing her marriage to his brother in Kirkheaton Church, the rejected brother rode back home to High Fernley Hall. He called his servants and told them a misfortune was going to happen to him but he would “come again” – without his head! He then deliberately cut his head off and afterwards kept true to his word and appeared on moonlight nights in the guise of a headless horseman. Local folklore says that the family quit the hall soon after, due to the incessant haunting, leaving the hall empty for many years. Some people said it was even dangerous to pass by the hall at night and no tenant could be found. Even today the belief that a headless horseman rides through Judy Woods and other small woodlands in the area continues. No one knows for sure, but at last the portion of the house where the […]

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The Ghosts Of Oundle

The small county town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, just a few miles from Peterborough, is packed with ancient buildings, intriguing alleyways, old inns and one of the finest churches in the Midlands. When you delve into its haunted history, you discover some of the most intriguing and historical hauntings in the whole of England. The Talbot Hotel, Oundle The Talbot Hotel is haunted by the sound of a woman crying at night. The ghost also appears in a long white dress and stands at the top of the stairs or by the window of the conference room opposite. The staircase and windows where the ghost appears were brought here from Fotheringhay when the castle was demolished. It is assumed that the ghost is that of Mary, Queen of Scots who, while standing at the top of these stairs received the news that she would be executed the following day. On one occasion a guest staying in the next room heard the sound of a woman sobbing bitterly from room No.5, yet the room was empty at the time. The date was the anniversary of Mary’s death. Mary has been seen walking down the upper flight of the staircase and has […]

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The Wreck of The Lady Lovibund

The wreck of the Lady Luvibond (sometimes spelt Lovibund) is another persistent Goodwin Sand’s ghost story. During the evening of February 13th, 1748, the schooner Lady Lovibund, loaded with a general cargo for Oporto, and under the command of Captain Simon Reed, sailed down the Thames to safely clear the North Foreland. Captain Reed was particularly happy on this trip, for he had his new wife aboard along with her mother and their wedding guests. On deck, however, while the guests were drinking toasts to the newly married couple in the captain’s cabin below, first mate, John Rivers, who had been a rival for the affections of Simon Reed’s wife, nursed his hatred and jealousy. A fair wind blew that night and the Lady Luvibond sped across the water. But, as he stood in the wind, something must have snapped in John River’s mind. He walked casually aft and drew a heavily wooden belaying-pin from a rack. Deliberately he strolled towards the helmsmen and, pretending to peer over the man’s shoulder at the binnacle, River’s shattered the poor sailor’s skull with the belaying pin. Rolling the lifeless body into the scuppers, Rivers took the helm and swung the Lady Lovibond […]

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Time Slips – Stories in Time

Understanding Time Slips An author witnesses a scene from over 400 hundred years ago and an off-duty policeman relives 1950’s Liverpool. Do people really time slip as easy as entering a room? “Ghosts” are a multi-faceted phenomenon that deserves to be classified as a range of different events. Many ghost sightings are readily explained as individuals who appear out of their normal location or time; often the ghost also seems to change the surroundings of the witness, giving the impression of a “time slip”. What is open to question is whether these are glimpses into another time or does the witness or ghost does actually travel time? What causes Time Slips? Ghost hunter and author, Joan Forman collected many reports time slips from around the UK. One example concerns a Warder who was on duty in the Byward Tower, at the main entrance to the Tower of London. One night, he looked up to see five or six Beefeaters from a much earlier time, seated around a log fire, smoking pipes. Not only that, the whole room had altered in appearance. The room reverted back to its original state when the warder left the room and returned moments later. Forman […]

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