Thirteen Ghosts

To get us the mood for Halloween I am going to tell you about thirteen ghosts that live within half a mile of me!

My Meowmie and me lives in one of the oldest parts of London, the very centre of our Capital City so unsurprisngly there is a very high density of weird things here!

The Cock Lane Ghost
20 Cock Lane - No longer standing, this building was plagued by an outbreak of internationally famous poltergeist activity that centred itself around a young child in the household, Elizabeth Parsons and a ghost called 'Scratching Fanny'.


Burning Martyrs
Smithfield - The location where a total of 277 Protestants were once burnt alive for their beliefs, some have reported hearing their cries and screams late at night. Less fortunate people have also reported the smell of burning flesh.

Headless Duke
Charterhouse - A couple of ghosts are said to exist here. The Duke of Norfolk, who spent much of his time and money here, lost his head after upsetting Queen Elizabeth and now ascends the staircase of the great hall. Outside the buildings, a monk has been seen flitting between the courtyards of Washhouse and Masters.

Anne Naylor
Farringdon Tube Station - The odd screams that have been heard in this area are attributed to Naylor, thirteen year old girl who was murdered on this site in the mid eighteenth century. She is now referred to as 'the Screaming Spectre'.

Black-Winged Creature
Old Chambers, Lincoln's Inn - Charles Appleby was found dead in his room here, large claw marks on his arms and neck, the door and windows locked from the inside. Witnesses outside the building who could see into his room through a window said they could see the man fighting a shadowy bird like creature, though it was at least the same size as Appleby. Reports of the creature continued for a while afterwards, and one team of investigators who put down chalk dust during their stakeout recording finding large claw marks in the powder the following day


Victorian Lady
House of Detention - The apparition of a lady in a Victorian dress has been reported walking in the area of the building (what is left of it), while phantom footsteps and the soft crying of a lost child have also been reported

Horned Figure
Smithfield Meat Market - This phantom figure was said to have danced over meat stalls while angry butchers and meat merchants tried to stab at it, striking only thin air.


Rahere
St Batholomew's Church - This pious monk, who doubled as a jester in Henry I's court, is thought to be the man who built the church, and has been reported standing by the alter. He quickly disappears if seen.


Figure in Photo
St Botolph's Church - An old Victorian lady, appearing in a photograph taken by Mr Chris Brackley, the image bore up to intense scrutiny. Mr Brackley was later contacted by a builder who recognised the face as one that he had seen in a coffin in the church. Ise found the photo too! The first one is the complete photo, take a look at the balcony to the top right of the image, there is a lady in old fashioned clothes standing there! The second picture is a zoom-in and shows the old lady better!



Red Haired Man
Sutton Arms Pub - This smiling entity materialises only for a couple of seconds at a time, before vanishing as quickly as he appears.

Grimaldi The Clown
Sadler's Wells Theatre - Once seen sitting in one of the boxes (which no longer exist), Jo Grimaldi is still seen wearing his clown makeup, almost 200 years since his death.


Dick O'Shea
Ye Old Red Cow Pub - Shortly after his death, the former landlord O'Shea would be seen sitting in the upper part of the public house, looking down at the drinkers below. His visits lasted only a year before he departed forever.

Hospital Visitor
Private home in Red Lion Square - A female guest at her friend's small flat was woken by another girl who wanted to know why her bed was occupied. The guest apologised and explained that she was invited, after which the girl left the room and the guest fell back asleep. The following morning she mentioned the incident to her friend - he paled and explained his flatmate who normally slept there was in hospital after a suicide attempt. They later discovered the girl had died during the night.

I should have listed the old Newgate Prison and Gallows, the site of that is close to our home too - but that site has SO MANY ghosts I don't fink there is enough room on the Internets to list them all!!!

I hope I have gotten you in the mood for Halloween! My Meowmie says that a lot of pubs have ghosts for some strange reason...she said that these ghosts tend to be wobbly and are only seen very late at night. I don't think I will go to any pubs - I really don't understand why Beans like going to pubs so much. Weird!!!