Corrections, additions and new ghost reports for "The Ghosts of King's Lynn and West Norfolk":

This year's heritage open day provided an opportunity to explore some little known locales in the town and of course, to find out something about their ghosts. Most places didn't have any staff to whom questions could be asked, or were just too busy (such as Mayor Margaret Wilkinson, whose office didn't reply to my letter).

One place that did provide information was Alastair Milner in room 7 (Scarlett) of Lath Mansion (p.143) in Nelson Street, right next door to Devil's Alley. He said that there was a friendly "Grey Lady" in the house, but all he had experienced was sensing her some 6 or 7 years ago. All he knew was that an NHS worker had seen her (presumably before they vacated the premises in 1989), and that there had been "evidence of activity" experienced by the lady who used to occupy No.4 ("Corn Chambers") but was now in No.3 ("Devil's Cottage). Alastair didn't know anything more or when this was.

An employee at MCP solicitors (pp. 59-60) in King Street told me that in his more than 30 years there, all he had experienced was the sound of filing cabinets banging open c.1995/6 at 10am when he was the only person in the building. He thinks that the sound could have come from one of the next door properties, however.

Leena Prins tells me of a few experiences. The first was in Kettlewell Lane, a location new to this author; "Over 22 years [c.2001 or earlier] ago my ex partner and his friend Terry ... spotted a white bright figure crouching under the bridge. The 'man' had one knee on the floor with the other up with his arm resting on it. My ex partner and his friend kept looking at it wondering for a while what it was doing and then they continued towards the long pond. They had just got on the corner around 400 feet away from the bridge when this creature in no more than 2-5 seconds had ran after them and was right behind them. They carried on running and then looked behind and it had vanished and when they doubled back was nowhere in sight."

Another encounter, this time experienced personally by Leena and her friend Tina, occurred near the minster in January 2022, one chilly night about 7pm. They had turned left from Church Street and were walking past the Minster graveyard in St Margaret's Place, when Tina said there was a ghost behind them. Leena looked back and saw a lady in a long, dark dress possibly from the Victorian era, and wearing a bonnet. She had beady eyes looking slightly left and was shuffling along. Leena, who said that the figure looked "unfriendly" told me that her friend told her, "the lady stared coldy and blankly at her which freaked her out and she got major goosebumps." The pair then walked a few more steps and stopped on the corner where the Minster meets the Saturday Market Place opposite the Town Hall but the lady had disappeared; Leena looked in the graveyard, the only place that the lady could have secreted herself but there was no-one. Tina was "100 percent sure she wasn't of this era." Knowing that there was a story of a lady in a Victorian dress being seen outside Lath Mansion during World War 2, I asked if this figure, like the earlier woman, was glowing but Leena said no.

There is another location close to this, and it is one that I had contacted speculatively when researching my first edition; the magistrates court. In their reply years ago, they said that there were no ghosts there. Leena had heard from staff that the kitchen seemed cold and they talked of doors banging upstairs, where children had been heard laughing and talking. She had also been told of security seeing a figure at the window upstairs forcing them to go back to check for intruders - fruitlessly, of course.

Jean David, a family friend who provided valuable information for the 2nd edition of my book, has new information on Ivy Farm (pp 468-470) in Tilney All Saints. Jean's late sister lived at the farm and she contacted her niece to inquire about anything untoward there. I was told, "she had a happy home and didn't recall any strange things happening." Jean's sister and her daughter lived at the farm about 30 years ago, therefore just before Judith Maxey and her husband purchased the property.

A friend tells me of a contact who had experienced sightings at St Nicholas Chapel in Lynn. This ghost is descibed as an older male seen among the side pews and near the interior side door of the chapel, closest to the Exorcists's House. The witness says that the ghost has manifested a couple of times and is not malicious. She is said to be a good observer as her desk faces the area of the presence.

I gave a talk yesterday to a group of business men about ghosts of the region, and at the end one of them approached me with a story that he heard about CITB (pp 211-231). Albeit second, or even third hand, he knew of a Nigerian student who was enrolled at the college and at some point, he heard a knock on his dorm room. When he answered it, he were met by a man in old blue RAF uniform! The figure turned and walked off down the corridor.

Some people who have read my book have asked about access to ghost hunting venues being vastly overpriced by ghost hunting groups; I mention this in a recent Fortean Times ( issue 437, November 2023, which is available as a pdf here ) and I've tabulated some prices on my website. Unfortunately, a local team of so-called ghost "investigators" called "Into the Shadows" is not impervious to this disgraceful practise, even though they say that they are "a non profit organisation." Here are some figures, all but one (Wisbech Castle) verified as being correct at the time of the events:

True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum charges 30 investigators a total of £200. The "investigation group" charged 10 guests £35 each on the first visit, and on the second visit allowed 16 guests, again at the same price. This gives a total of £350 and £560. When one divides £200 by 30, you get £6.67 each, a lot less than the ghost group charges. Incidentally, £35 is the amount charged by some commercial ghost hunting groups.
For the first visit to Whitwell and Reepham Railway Station, we are told "We don't feel that we could charge any more", which is not quite true. The organisation charges £70 for the whole venue and two members of staff. The first trip advertised 12 guests, at a price of £20 each; the second was 8 guests at £25 each. Or a total of £240 and £200 respectively. So, they certainly could charge a lot less!
The Norwich Tunnels charges £300 for access; the ghost chasers advertised for 6 guest spots at £30 each. This provides a total of £180 which isn't too bad admittedly - but then, we don't know what the rest of the team (numbering perhaps 7 or 8) paid. 13 or 14 people paying £30 would yield £420 at most.
The Oliver Cromwell House charges £80 per hour; so for a 3 hour excursion, this gives £240. The 8 guests were asked to pay £30 each, which gives a "break-even figure" of £240 - but then what are the other 7 or 8 people ("staff") paying?
Another venues is Wisbech Castle which, when I contacted them in the summer of 2022, charged £250 for a 7 hour session (though they admitted that the fee was under review). So, our gallant ghost group charged £35 for 16 guests in their first visit ... or £560. With 22 people (not including the photographer in the team picture), we have £770. Note that my other webpage contains two sets of figures for hire, the first valid in 2022, the second for mid 2024, which showed that the number of guests including team was 30, the price was now £300 and the visiting times were from 7.30pm-2am. So the difference in the figures again shows that a lot of surplus money is being made, paid for by the attendees.
The Ely Museum and Gaol charges £280 for 7pm till midnight (£120 for 7pm-10pm, £120 for the next two hours and £40 opening fee). Our gallant ghoul hunters had an anticipated 22 people there (only 21 booked in the end), of which 6 were team members. Spread evenly, this would be 280/22 = £12.73. The cost per person was £35 as usual, or a total of £770, a profit of £490.
No.8 The Old Bookshop charges £150 for the whole evening; out ghost group charges £25 per person, and judging the photographs, about 17 people attended (with 10 guests). I would have liked to think that the surplus £275 was donated to this charitable cause.

So as one can see, a substantial sum of money is made for each "investigation". The notion that any surplus money is used to pay for future venues is bunkum, as large kitty has been accumulated which you can see above; and most only require an upfront fee of 10% which is small enough (usually about £20) to be paid straight away. The balance won't be needed until later, when the majority of attendees will have already paid.

From the markup, one can see that a lot of money is made, which probably goes into the organisers pockets; and the figures above cover the guests only; how must is the "staff" charged - or are their fees subsidised by the guests? I have no problem with a fee being charged as long as it is reasonable, and there is no subterfugue in fleecing the enthusiasts, but neither applies in this case. The leader of this group (who also runs the town's ghost walk) tells us that people expect to pay £30-50 per "investigation" but just because others charge this amount doesn't mean that you have to. The other groups she referrs to are commercial companies with no pretence of being 'non profit making' organisations'.
There are two ways of looking at this:

1. Find out the cost of hiring the venue and divide by the number of attendes; and
2. Take the cost per attendee and multiply by the number of people

The first of these will tell you what people should be charged; the second will tell you, relative to the hire fee how much is being made - and the large excesses can't be explained by petrol costs, insurance, tuck shop items etc. There also seems to be no change in equipment either, which was paid for by people who attended meetings prior to the first 'ghost hunt'. From memory, there were at least three such meetings, each one having about ten people in attendance, and each person paying £10 for equipment purchase, so about £300+ was raised.
I've always encouraged people to inquire of venues how much they charge rather than ticket prices, and now you'll know why!

Sadly, some of the more militant members of the Kings Lynn ghost group took to sending abusive and threatening messages when I mentioned some of the above cases, with one missive saying, "If you don't watch out, you'll end us a ****ing ghost." Consequently, it has had a negative effect on my life as I feel anxious leaving the house in case they carry out their threats. It caused a flare up of my depression and made me feel suicidal. I used to love living in Lynn and now I hate place. I wish I could leave.

Close to the "gift shop" (pp 44-5) in Lynn is another similar store. In that instance, the manager asked that it not be named and she also talked of a lady who worked there but now runs a shop in the vicinity (and because the name of this store and her name might identify the first, I won't mention this one either).

I went into the shop on Heritage Open Day only to be told that the manager was away that week but when I mentioned the subject of "ghosts" the two girls behind the counter gave each other very knowing looks and said, "It would be best to speak to the manager." About a week later, I visited the store again and the manager was there but professed to be too busy attending to her Christmas stock which had just arrived. She asked if I could come back the following week, and said that she was happy to speak about their ghosts but said that the reported phenomena amounted to small incidents. A little over a week later I visited twice on the same day but on both occasions the sales assistant said that the manager was on her lunch break. The assistant seems to have been tipped off that someone was coming in asking about ghosts and I gave my name, email and contact phone number but over a week later there has been no contact.

The girl at the counter said that she had been working at the store for over a year but hadn't experienced anything. But she said that, before taking a break, she worked there on a previous occasion a few years ago and had experienced odd things albeit not very much. These comprise of occurrences in the upstairs store room, like her name being called and "little things" like taps being found on and hearing a crash while they were downstairs but no sign of an explanation in the storeroom. Nothing odd happened on the shop floor.

The girl also told how she had worked in Debenham's and while she didn't experience anything personally, she did talk of the unpleasant feeling on the staircase at the back.

A few weeks ago, after the publication of the book I visited Morrisons in Fairstead (pp 107-9) and was told by Theresa that the ghost in the shop front was still active, peeringly gingerly around aisles. And activity in the store room at the back is now a bit more marked, with items being flung off shelves.

Recently, Tim Callaby sent me this anecdote about Winnold House in Wereham, a new location for me: "in the late 70s & early 80s I spent time up there. the black monks had a hospital there and we’d hear the shouts of those that suffered there. At a Winnold horse fair a little girl from downham got separated from her family and was interfered with and died there. We’d hear her as well. In the end the group of shooting syndicate business men who rented it and stayed weekends in the shooting season couldn’t stand it and left after couple of seasons, to a quieter place in Fincham. My builder friend was repairing the chimneys for English heritage in 80s and when inside got scared shitless he told me, so he & workmates stayed outside to work ... it's been empty ever since [the 80s]." Tim wouldn't say more and seemed to blame his run on bad luck that week due to him thinking or writing about Winnold House (?!)

Karl Henning has provided some information on a location new to this author: "...To give a short account of an encounter my mother had whilst a patient at Stow Hall maternity hospital for the birth of my brother in the early 1950’s. My mother is now 95 years old and unfortunately her memory and mental faculties have deteriorated. But she has always stood by what she encountered there. She has always been a very straightforward person, and always says seeing is believing. In the early evening whilst she was reading in bed, she glanced up from her book as she felt the presence of someone near her bed thinking it would be a nurse or doctor. In front of her bed stood, as she has described in vivid detail may times. Was a gentleman in Edwardian gentleman’s clothing. She asked if he was a Doctor, but the figure gave no reply, again she asked and still no reply and then the figure was gone. Feeling both scared vulnerable she called out for a nurse, when the nurse arrived my mother related the encounter to her. The nurse informed my mother that figure appears at times but would cause no harm."

Unfortunately Stow Hall hospital was demolished a number of years ago.

Keith Turnbull tells of his own experiences at the Bell Inn, Thetford (pp 432-444); "I worked at the Bell doing night security and happened to see her [the ghost] in the corridor outside room 10 [now room 29] when i was doing my rounds, she was looking out of the window into the courtyard and faded away as I approached the area. this was back in the 80s." Unfortunately Keith does not remember the era of the clothing. He did add that, "Guests would sign the visitors book and those that stayed in those rooms [now numbered 29 and 30] would complain of noises during the night and see a maid in the room in the early hours of the morning."

Patricia Mendham emailed me with her remininsces of the ghosts of Bircham Newton: "In 1938 I was 4yrs old and living on Bircham Newton Air Field. My Father was a civilian in charge of catering for the officers. We lived in a flat over the Officer’s Mess.
One night I was running home at dusk, on approaching the mess on my right hand side I saw 2 figures all dressed in white sword fencing and clashing swords. I was very frightened and ran in to tell my mother. She calmed me down saying. “Don’t worry it will just be 2 Officers larking about.”
The matter was never spoken about again until one morning round about 1968/69 [sic - 1971] I read the front page of the Lynn News, an article written by Doug Child’s about ghostly figures in white seen in the new Sports Hall built in the area of the old Officer’s Mess, also the unexplained metallic sounds that could be heard. I knew, I could picture the 2 men in white and the sound of their sword’s clashing.
I ran around to my mother’s house to tell her, but she already had seen the paper and remembered the night when I had run in frightened after the incident.. I will never forget the sight of them...
The sightings were explained away as the ghosts of 2 airmen killed during the last war. But I knew this wasn’t right as I had witnessed this before the war of 1939.."

Those of you who have my book will recognise Pat's name and the account that she gave a Facebook forum tallies very well with the above story except that in the latter she says that her sighting was "c.August 1948" - no doubt a slip of the finger on the keyboard.

Cain Plumb sent me this message several weeks ago but with Christmas etc. I have only just got round to putting it up. It concerns the ex-Rampant Horse (pp 293-4) in Gayton, now private accommodation:
"I have lived in the rampant horse in Gayton for 3 years now. As you probably know it's split into 4 houses. In your post you mention the room above the kitchen being colder than the rest of the house, I believe from local knowledge that I have that room and can confirm its colder than the rest of the house and takes considerably more heating than the rest of the place, but I do like a cold bedroom luckily. I've heard from neighbours who have seen a dark figure upstairs but haven't seen or felt anything myself. Also locals have seen a figure in the upstairs windows from the roadside when passing, even when it was empty. As for your story of lost things, I've lost a sock and a pair of bottoms, sock I put down to washing machine eating it but can't see it eating a pair of jogging bottoms lol, I live here alone so nobody has put them where they shouldn't go."

Lynda Parker gave me some more information on Lath Mansion; "I worked in 15 Nelson Street in the 1970’s when it was used by the NHS and it was named Devils Alley then. I never saw anything ghostly in the alleyway at that time but did see some rather unmentionable activities! However Lath Mansion is most interesting and several of my colleagues regularly saw and heard things. One of the nursing officers (Mrs F Clamp) often saw a little boy, dressed in Georgian style clothing, in her first floor office and became quite fond of him! ... there was window on Devils alley side that could never be accounted for inside! A lady has been seen on the staircase on a few occasions and I believe in the hallway. I can’t recall all as it was rather a long time ago."

Facebook user Angie Pangie posted that, "Kings street is haunt by a young boy who was murdered back in the 1500. U can still hear him running and screaming." She provided more elaboration; "I used to live at the granaries right next to king street, always believed in paranormals. Anyway every now and again I’d hear just horrifying screams. I spoke to a friend about it laughing she went white and said she heard them to. We investigated it thoroughly. So obviously there were harsher punishments for theft back then. A pack of children used to descend on the port and steal. All got away bar 1 boy who was caught on kings street and beaten to death. It took me ages to find the information. I’m sure it was in the main library in a really old history of Lynn book."

Although they requested anonymity at the time, the shop is Downham Market (pp 251-252 in my book) now allows ghost hunting groups access so it seems fair to name then as No 8 The Old Bookshop (incidentally when I called them in early April they said that nothing had changed, just mainly books falling off shelves). Similarly the care home in Fakenham (page 284) has been identified as Cranmer House; although I knew its identity, someone from the locality inquired on Facebook and it was publically mentioned by name. It seems that its spooky reputation was already known in the town!

The Norfolk Folklore Society had a blog entry which details the experiences of "Clint" at RAF Feltwell in the early 1990s.

The WhatAHoot brewery in King Street, Kings Lynn have apparently had some interesting observations and have had the local ghost group in (the ones who grossly overprice their guest access) but a lady to whom I spoke refused to say anything more as "it would unsettle our customers" and the "paranormal" group's findings (which strangely are on Facebook, with the venue named!) is what she referred me to for more details. I had mentioned that I was interested in the objective observations of staff and customers as they went about their day to day business.

Donna Farrow gave a few interesting stories after reading of local ghosts on my Facebook page: "Our back garden was only about 20ft from the old railway line in Ingoldisthorpe, I used to see a steam train go along there from my bedroom window which faced it, I believe we were not far from where the accident happened [in 1863] on the line, where people were killed . Also about 10 years ago I was walking along there with the dog, he pulled me into the field at the side of the line, I didn’t see anything, but there was what I can only describe as a strong wind pass by us." I replied that the crash would have been many miles to the south of her experience and I asked for more details; "It would have been in the 70s that I used to see it, I took a book out of the library about the Kings Lynn to Hunstanton line, it mentions a crash on the bend as you go into Snettisham, obviously not the one people were killed it then, also mentioned another accident where the train couldn’t stop at Hunstanton station and crashed into the buffers." Donna gave some more info including where the above experiences happened; "I was born and brought up in Grange Row Ingoldisthorpe and still only live just around the corner, there are two rows of cottages Snettisham side of the old post office, Lancaster terrace the first one, then grange row, we lived in the the far end one (nearer Snettisham), my bedroom window was at the back facing the old railway line, we had a very long back garden that went back nearly as far as the line. I spent a lot of time playing down there, I remember the diesel trains going to Hunstanton ( just ). But after the line closed that’s when I started seeing the steam train, I remember seeing it a couple of times while I was playing, but it was mainly at night out of my window, my dad had also seen it. When I had the sensation of something passing me I was walking along the line between The Drift and Coaly lane, around half way along where there’s a slight bend, I tend to stick to the field now as it really did frighten me ! The other experience I had in that field was around 10-12 years ago one sunny afternoon, I was with my daughter and the dog and a knight in armour on a horse came out of the hedge along the edge of Coaly lane, then he went back in the hedge a little further up, we both saw it and the dog froze. So many ghosts in Ingoldisthorpe, all of the houses (including new builds) that I have lived in have them, we have one here I know who he is, he’s just going about his daily business, my son once saw a floating lantern in the drift, that was around 11 one morning, he still won’t go down there nearly 15 years later ! We did find out the story behind that one , Life Wood as you go into Dersingham is also haunted, by what my great uncle described as a donkey with a man’s head, he was not the only person to see it..." [hopefully I can find more information on these and other cases!]

Donna also gave some more information on Ingoldisthorpe Manor, which burnt down many years ago, and generously provided a scan of the image from the Lynn News (the microfilm for this issue at the British Library and Lynn Library had been underexposed resulting in a nearly black photograph and showed next to no detail). The image seems to show, as Donna says, a figure in the middle window above the door but she agrees that this is probably just a trick of the mind. (Click on the image for a larger version).

As Donna says the Manor, of which no trace now exists, was directly opposite the top end of Hill Road on St Thomas's Lane, in what is now Manor Close. When her dad was aged about 13 or 14 (c.1955/6), he heard a story of a phantom carriage leaving the manor and going down the road to Mount Amelia. It was supposed to occur on a certain date, but he can no longer remember what it was now. He and some friends sneaked out and hid in the farmyard opposite the manor gates; Donna says, "they all swore blind they saw it, I used to think it was a bunch of teenagers making things up, but they still in their 80s keep to the same story." It is said that within the carriage was former occupant Mrs Tylden visiting the misses Davey at Mount Amelia hall. Donna also says that there is/was (?) a green door or gate that allowed one to pass from the nearby church to the Manor and that some people have claimed to see Mrs Tylden walk through that as well.

The The Anomalies Website has a section on Feltwell Rectory, and you can see how closely the story conforms to the tale told by Michaela's mother to this author. Michaela's letter appeared in the Fortean Times issue 337 (February 2016) and can be found here

I'm catching up on a backlog of interesting stories, but the following are old tales that were posted on Facebook c.2001. I didn't put them in my books as I could never get more information from the sources. These tales relate to East Rudham, and the first was from "Poppy and Belle Natural Treats"; "My husband used to live in Faize Cottages from a kid till adulthood and he always said he could hear someone or someone's footsteps on the stairs. When he was older one evening on entering his kitchen he stair [saw?] a man shape at the back door he was dressed as a monk ( later to be named mervin the monk). He only saw him that once in 30 years. It was claimed that the houses were where the monks would come if they were ill, a hospice." The second came from Samantha Pollard; "My grandparents use to own newsteads shop which was the other side of the main road to the side of the crown pub. My grandma said the brown lady use to visit in there." Samantha promised to ask her dad, but after a year of waiting, a gentle reminder got the following disappointing message, "Sorry got no info."

I first read of extra information about Syderstone on the Norfolk Tales and Myths wordpress site but unfortunately it no longer exists; the gist of what was said can be found on the Facebook group. Debs Candy tells us that "...we also have a headless horseman on the street [and] a lady in Rectory Gardens." She later said that this lady is called "Amy" - Amy Robsart perhaps?

The mention of Feltwell Rectory (above) on my Facebook page "The Ghosts of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk" brought forward a few interesting stories: Trevor Norton lived here in 1974 (flat 3 at the top of the stairs) and he said, "On our first wedding anniversary I got the wife 12 red roses the next morning they were all dead, what ever it was it never did any thing to me, one night when I went to play darts my wife was there on her own, she told me when I got home she was pined against the fire place until I walked in, we had an electric fire the top was about two and half inches wide we both smoked at the time we went out for the day and when we got home both the the finger bowl we used as ashtrays were turned upside down with all the fag ends still inside and all the ash aswell." Paula Tuvey tells me that the building is now one habitation, having been reintegrated, and that the current owner told her that years ago she did hear footsteps and children laughing. Paula also told me of a new location in the village; "I used to work in the old school in feltwell which was home to the playgroup. One Sunday evening one of the girls dropped the shopping off for the week and as she opened the main door into the kitchen she could hear children. Thinking there was a party there, she opened the adjoining door to the kitchen as soon as she opened that door all noise stopped. Another time I cannot remember when but the deputy was in and I was the next to arrive at the hall. Joyce was beside herself. When asked what was wrong she asked if anyone was on the road - was there a child. To which I hadn’t passed a single person. She said she heard a child cry help me. She couldn’t forget it nor shake that off. She rang the police like you would do in our job. But there was no one on that road." Paula also recounted her own experience in the hall; "I sat in the hall one day writing a notice about having a case of chickenpox in the setting. The back of my legs went stone cold for a short period of time then passed"

Another productive meeting with local businessmen. The chap who told me of the Nigerian student at CITB also says that cleaning staff would make beds in the Birches hotel but a short time later, they would be found disturbed. My friend also says that the left hand squash court was normal but the right hand one was freezing cold. Another man says that while he was painting doors at Hawkins in the Tuesday Market Place, they would open and close by themselves. Finally, another gentleman said that he was at Park House near Sandringham and while he was working there as a volunteer, he was walking down an outside covered walkway, when a lady dressed in "Florence Nightingale" type clothing passed him. When he turned back to look, she had disappeared. The building was a Leonard Cheshire care home and hotel but now seems abandoned.

In late 2024, author Ruth Roper Wylde released two more volumes in her "These Haunted Times" series, a gazetter of ghostly sightings and reports from around the UK. Naturally, there are a few accounts of West Norfolk weirdness and these are summarised below.
Volume 3 has the following tales:
A lady sitting on the grass at the ruins of the priory at Castle Acre in 2015 reported seeing a child who was dressed in clothing from medieval times, running on the grass. As the witness watched, the child seemed to fade during his flight and then disappeared.

The Golden Fleece at Wells-next-the-Sea yielded a few more stories, different from the single alarming tale that I was told.
A gentleman named Neil popped in here for a pint after work. His mum worked at the pub and that night there were only the two of them plus another in the bar area. Neil's mum wanted a cup of tea so he went up to 1st floor kitchen to make one. While there, he heard child's footsteps running above him, and then back again.
Another time, Neil was part of a group of ten in a 'lock in' in the 1st floor restaurant. They heard three loud bangs on the hatch between the restaurant and the kitchen. Then three more bangs, like someone striking it with a fist. There was no one in the kitchen when they checked.
The landlady told Neil that she had once seen a young lady heading up the stairs towards the top floor but when she got there the intruder was gone. Ruth reports, "At least one person had reported seeing the ghost of a woman dressed in a maid's uniform, and another person saw the figure of a sailor in one of the upstairs rooms."
On July 21st 2024, I visited The Golden Fleece and had a brief chat with three waitresses, at the foot of the spooky staircase. None of them had any knowledge of any recent phenomena and they acted as if the tale that I told them (from my book) was the first they had heard of anything paranormally untoward there.

Another location familiar to readers of my book, is the Arch House, again in Wells. Ruth tells us an informant named Fiona who worked here in the mid 1990s. There is a nice overlap between Fiona's accounts and the stories given on Facebook groups by Faye Peacock (who sadly didn't respond to my requests for more information) and which I printed in my book. Indeed, one suspects that if Fiona and Faye were not the same person, they must have worked together at some point!
Fiona says that so many odd things happened that they called a priest to bless the property. For instance, when in the kitchen, she saw in her peripheral vision a woman in a long dress walk past the door in the direction of the dining room, but the lady wasn't there when Fiona checked and there was nowhere that she could have gone. Fiona was also in kitchen another time, loading the dishwasher with crockery when she felt a tap on her shoulder but there was no-one there when she turned around.
A member of night staff told Fiona that he had seen a man in a hat and cape standing in the hallway briefly before he just disappeared. Poltergeist like activity was also noted in the house next door where the owners of the property lived; the owner found all the books from the shelves arranged in a circle on the lounge floor even though they had only left the room a few minutes earlier.
Another of Ruth's witnesses said her best friend used to live here in the 1980s when it was a private retirement home, and had once seen a lady in a long white dress.

Volume 4 only has one location of interest, again in Wells-next-the-Sea, namely The Globe, a location new to me. An employee named Karen went down to the cellar to change a barrel due to the anticipated extra customers because of a carnival in the town. Karen had to climb over barrels but slipped and thought that she was going to break her leg but someone grabbed hold of her and lifted her out of her predicament. Turning to thank her saviour, she found that she was was alone. Karen said she thought she was helped by a friendly force and the whole situation had a calmness to it. Others at the establishment have experienced odd phenomena; workmen stopping overnight during renovations heard footsteps in the bar area during the night. Another time, a sherry glass was seen to slowly slide along the bar before falling and smashing on the floor. Finally, a bath plug was once seen launching itself out of the bath; the witness refused to use that bathroom again.

Volume 3 of "These Haunted Times" can be purchased from Amazon via this link; and volume 4 is here .

A posting on the Facebook Norfolk Tales and Myths page on Thetford's Bell Inn prompted the following post from Elaine Sim: "I worked there for 7 years as a Head housekeeper and yes the old wing as we called it was rather spooky, I think this was more to the tales of it being haunted though. I know there were some mediums that stayed at one time and they had left thier note book behind when they left, it did read as nearly every room had some sort of haunting tale. One of the housekeepers was cleaning in room 9 and she said she saw a man walk past the room (we used to keep the doors open when cleaning in the old wing back then) the man was dressed all in black with a big hat, she described him as a under taker, she said she thought it was weird and looked out of the door in the direction he had been going, he had vanished, well when she came running into my office she was almost white with fright, shaking and crying and refused to go back by herself to finish her cleaning. I myself lived in the staff quarters in the attic for a while and never experienced any haunting although I must admit that the rooms in the old wing always did feel different from the other guest rooms in the hotel.So I'm not entirely sure if there are any ghosts or they just didn't visit on the days I worked lol." Room 9 would have been the one next to the "main" haunted room, and where I felt a huge thump on the wall. In 2023 Duty manager Linda Burlingham told me that at some point in the past she observed, from outside the hotel in the car park area, a man in a top hat walking along the corridor where rooms 29 and 30 are to be found. She is absolutely adamant that there was no-one in that area at the time.

Beverley Payne-Bussey informed my Facebook page that she still works at Decorative Sleeves (now part of CCL) in the Hardwick Industrial Estate and knew the three ladies mentioned in my book. She says, "I was there at the time we use to see a figure with blue like boiler suit on I was at the machine one night and it pull on my top and them machine all of a sudden the machine stopped am still working there but haven't felt anything for a while ... I haven't seen or felt anything since but it did feel very airy at night but I work days now so not sure if it still feels like it at night"

Last Thursday I met with Sue Pitkin in Snettisham and she told me of some of the local stories in North West Norfolk:

Just opposite the BP Garage in Heacham the ghost of a young man has been seen in the summer months; he is described as having brown hair and wearing jeans and a T-shirt and is said to the victim of a car crash.
A house in Shire Green in Lynn has had problems with ghosts; the owner's pet dog would follow something with its head, and would only ever enter the house from the front and exit from the rear, never any other way. The owners were alarmed when a 7 foot tall black shape appeared in a room; it is said that they no longer live there!
Sue does cleaning work first thing in the morning at The Maid's Head in Lynn and stories of its spectral dormancy would seem to be exaggerated. Sue refers to a cackling old lady that only she can see, but there have also been stories of the smell of pipe smoke, the "sensation" of a dog including the sound of its paws padding around, and footsteps in the area where the carvery used to be. A regular named Michael drowned a little while ago near the docks and the smell of ditch water has been attributed to his presence. These occurrences were always in the area of the front bar. CCTV has picked up the office door on the ground floor opening by itself, but failed to pick up a more spectacular occurrence; when Sue got in the morning, all the chairs in the pub had been stacked into a pyramid shape. This had happened during the night and the alarm system hadn't triggered either.
It is said that many years ago when the plague came to Brancaster, terrified villagers entrusted the safety of their children from contagion to a stranger. Having paid him, he left with the youngsters but a while later a 12 year emerged from the nearby woods carrying a baby saying that the children had been abandoned and were now all dead. It is said that the ghosts of the children are seen in the vicinity.
A bungalow in the area has also had experiences with things moving around, problems with the electrical equipment, dogs misbehaving and curtains billowing unaccountably. The pinnacle of phenomena was a figure resembling a "Witchfinder" emerging from the flagstones in the kitchen. Despite the atmosphere outside the house being calm, inside there were reports of wind roaring and other cacophanous sounds. These observations seemed to coincide with some foundation work and renovation work being done on the house. Sue tells me that the supernatural problems were purged.
From September onwards Roman soldiers have been seen and heard crossing the road at Brigadoon [sic? - Branodunum?], Brancaster.
Also, as one heads from Burnham Deepdale to Brancaster, misty sightings have been seen on the main road on otherwise clear nights.
In the 1990s the Black Horse in Castle Rising was subjected to glasses flying off shelves and a large box that flew off the bar. Phantom children were said to have grabbed at punter's ankles.
Many years ago, a young boy was beaten to death in The Tap Room at The Feathers, Dersingham. It is thought that he might be reposible for some of the phantom outbreaks.
Previous reports from the Coach and Horses in Dersingham talked of people feeling as if they had been touched and the sensation of a dog walking around the tables. Sue describes the sensations here as "not friendly."
The Old School (also in Dersingham) was for many years a community centre and Sue talked of doors slamming by themself, and unexplained banging noises from the roof and attic. Scouts who had a summer sleepover were said to have suffered very disturbed nights!
A ghost dog (not Black Shuck!) has been seen running around the golf club at Old Hunstanton.
Sue and I took a walk into Snettisham Woods to find the field where Sue had experienced the sounds of "battle"; we got to the small car park at the southern edge near where Beach Road meets Common Road and then headed north along a path into the woods towards Ken Hill. We could not pass all the way as the landowner had erected a wire fence that prevented our passage. Sue added to her story that she had also seen "flashes of silver" in the field as well as the sounds, and best heard in the summer months, although October/November has been noted for activity.
Near Lynnsport is a private home that used to be an children's home. Two of their number, Michael and Albert ("Albie") have returned as ghosts and are said to be grey in appearance wearing clothing (such as knee length shorts) that date back to the 1930s. They indulge in acts of mischief like moving and hiding things until the current homeowners tells them to behave and they oblige...for a while anyway.
Snettisham Hall is described as "very haunted". When it was a care home, staff were told not to stay after 6pm due to the poltergeist activity on the upper floors that were used as offices; however, no residents reported being disturbed. Staff constantly experienced things moving particularly in the kitchen and dining room area.
Dark shadows can often be seen in the Autumn moving through the woods opposite the visitors centre at Sandringham.
Three other ghosts associated with Sandringham are a family of phantoms; a boy soldier and his father and mother. The boy is in World War 1 uniform, said to be one of the Sandringham Boys who suffered heavy losses at Gallipoli. His ghost has been seen en route to Anmer, presumably going home to where his mother is waiting (her ghost has been seen in the window in a cottage here, wringing her hands). The father of the household has been seen waiting at the Norwich Gate "cap in hand waiting for news of his son to be posted at the gate."
The Princess Theatre in Hunstanton has a number of ghosts according to Sue. Often cinema goers have reported seeing someone in the Royal Box and in the upper circle in the aisle behind the last row of seats. They have reported the sound of children running and also a woman appears at different times in different places in the cinema sometimes during a film. The lady is said to be in a white gown with long white hair and may be a victim of the 1953 floods.

Downham Market resident Graham Philpot informed me, "I was in The Crown in Downham about a week ago and spoke with the landlord. He was aware of the 'deformed child' sighting that you have in the book and recently posted on Facebook. But, it's never been seen or reported since (to his knowledge). Instead, he thinks it may be 'Emily', a young lady that was murdered in that bedroom in the 1700s. He told me that he often hears her moving about up there when he's in the place on his own. He's also seen glimpses of her a couple of times- once on the landing and once in the restaurant as he went in to clear up after a busy trading day. He described her as having a 'bonnet' but is 'hazy' and the sighting lasts for less than a second as she instantly disappears. Other members of staff have also heard noises from above or fleeting glances. But yes, no-one has ever said anything to him about a child being there." I asked about the room number and Graham said, "No, he didn't say, but it was one directly above the old bar in the original part of the pub (1400s I think)."

Lois Carrick informs me that they bought the >Orange House (on the corner of Malthouse Crescent and Staithe Road) in Heacham in 2007 from a family who had owned the house for nearly 40 years. As she says, "The wife informed us that it was haunted by Count Bentinck who had lived there previously, she claimed that the odour of his shag tobacco could be smelled in an upstairs room which had been his bedroom and was identified by his daughter who visited the house. They were also aware of his 'presence' in the house. Sometimes the sounds of a party could be heard in the drawing room: the clinking of glasses and the tinkling of a piano. We lived there for 13 years and never heard or saw anything but I do believe that some people are more 'sensitive' than others."

Feltwell resident and newsletter editor Paul Garland has sent me the following story, albeit with redactions denoted by ***;
Some weeks ago, I sat down with Feltwellian *** who wanted to tell me about some of the strange experiences he had had whilst growing up at *** Farm. What follows is a collection of the spooky encounters he experienced.
“When I was six years old, living at *** Farm, we had no electricity, only oil lights to see our way in the dark. I had a night light sitting on my chest of drawers and mother would put it out when she went to bed and I was asleep. One night I saw something standing in my doorway, a grey shape about 5ft tall. It didn’t do anything, thankfully, because I wasn’t very brave but I told mother I didn’t want a night light anymore." This happened only the once to ***.
“One time we had a couple come and stay with us. Back then (1960s) you didn’t sleep together if you weren’t married so I had to leave my bedroom. The girl got my bed and the boy had the spare room. I had to sleep in the front room.”
“One night whilst they were staying there was a rumpus but I didn’t really wake up. I enquired the following morning and the girl, of about 18, who was sleeping in my bedroom said she’d heard a man talking, she didn’t know what he was saying but she had screamed out in fright. My dad said it wasn’t a man she’d heard but it was the ducks in the field nearby. She said, “It weren’t no ducks, I know what I heard.” Anyway, they swapped over bedrooms. In the big bedroom at the farm, you always felt like someone was looking over your shoulder constantly.”
“Almost 20 years ago some other people were staying at the farm. A young girl, less than 10, went to bed one night. She shrieked out not long after. “What’s up,” she was asked and she said, “There’s a man talking in my bedroom.” She had no knowledge of the previous experiences of the other people.” *** was told about this and asked if anything could be done. In response *** contacted the lady who had slept in his room in the 60’s and asked her exactly what had happened and her story was identical to what the girl said, he then contacted a spiritualist called *** from ***. She said she would come over and investigate which she did. The house had had some alterations but despite this they were able to locate the area of the bedroom. After a short while *** said, “There is something here that shouldn’t be,” and she talked to it. After a few minutes she said, “There had been a tragedy here, not necessarily in the house but in the vicinity from before the house was built. The man who had appeared to *** and the two girls is looking for his granddaughter. I told him he was upsetting people and he said he was sorry, he didn’t want to but he wanted his granddaughter. I saw the granddaughter and she looked Victorian with long locks.” Apparently, the old man had a limp arm but had it happened when the tragedy occurred? ***’s father always used to talk about a big fire there had been up there but well before his time. Is there a connection? Is this the tragedy? *** said she’d sent the little girl and her grandad to where they should be and there shouldn’t be any more trouble. However, three months later the same little girl said she’d seen a man sitting up top of the stairs. *** had a look, spoke to *** who said it was unlikely to be the old man and was most probably someone who had an interest there in the past and was just passing through. “Touch wood, he caused no further problems.”
*** recalled that he had also spoken to *** about the bedroom that had always felt uncomfortable. She said, “Go up there, talk to it and tell it he shouldn’t be there, but if it wanted to be, it could. Afterall it wasn’t bothering anyone.” “I must say I felt a bit of a twit sitting up talking like that to an empty room.” When *** went down the stairs, he had a feeling of two hands on his shoulders pushing him down the stairs, this stopped when he walked into the new area where the house had an extension. It was a though something wanted him out of the old part of the house.
A young girl (now a retired Methodist minister) used to visit with her family when *** was a boy and the last time she visited *** asked her, “Did you ever go up to the spare bedroom?” She replied, “I didn’t, I didn’t like it. There was a horrible feeling.” She must have felt the same as what *** felt, like something was watching her. “The old man and the little girl are what was haunting the place. I’m pretty sure they’ve gone,” *** stated.
PART 2
“We were growing a lot of potatoes on the old airfield, 25 years ago. We’d had a wet week and were behind on the harvesting. I was working the chopper and my son was on the harvester. We agreed to keep the chopper going all night with me on until 2am. Around midnight, *** came on the CB radio asking if I was still coming home about 2ish. We had a bit of a chat and I said I was.”
“Sometime between 1.15am and 1.45am I turned the tractor around on the end and saw a man standing about half way down the potato field, I wondered what anyone would be doing there that time of night. As I drew closer, he disappeared. Now, why would anybody be there at that time of night? I turned around at the other end of the field and he was there again, caught in the headlights. This happened about three times. He was there, definitely, standing in the potatoes. I didn’t tell anyone ‘cos they wouldn’t have worked nights if I had! My son arrived and took over at 2am as arranged. At 6am the next morning the tractor was standing in the yard. What’s the matter? I asked. A bearing had exploded about 3am in a big blue flash. Is there a connection between seeing that bloke and the bearing exploding?”
“We used to have chickens back in the early days. We would put them out on the stubble after harvest in the morning but had to go out before dark to put them away from the foxes. One Sunday night, mum and dad decided to walk around on the airfield track after putting the chickens to bed about 9pm. They spotted somebody walking up the track towards them. Who was it? At this time of night. They got to within thirty yards but still mum or dad didn’t recognise them and then the figure just melted into the night.”
“We used to keep our combine and bailer in a big shed, the Marsden, and early Spring we would start doing repairs on it. There was always a feeling of being watched. My son, when he was a young boy, would only stay out for about a quarter hour and then he would say that he wanted to go back up the farm as didn’t like the feeling.”
“Many people said they didn’t like being in the farmyard at night, they always felt uneasy. One driver wouldn’t go round there without any lights on but I never felt anything in the yard, only in the house.” “When you put all this together, it fits to the man I saw in the potato field. That’s very strange.”
PART 3
When mother passed on father, one night, asked me if I’d heard the creaking noises like someone’s walking across the landing. Yes, I had. I told him it was the pipes but I didn’t believe that. It was just like someone was walking from the big bedroom along the landing. The house was built in 1938, and altered about 15 years ago. There is no record of anything on that piece of land before then. The family had 82 acres to start with but the RAF took some which they never returned. After WW1 2 or 3 people were given a parcel of land from which to make a living. On that size plot it was hopeless. In 1938 all the bits of land were amalgamated and the house and sheds and stables werebuilt.
“We don’t know where the farm got its name but father got the idea that the land once belonged to a reverend ***.” As far as *** knows there was never one of that name at Feltwell. The question remains: was the man in the potatoes someone who had died tragically in WW2 or one of those who had struggled to make a living after the war and, maybe, died in a tragic accident. Will we ever know?

I'm catching up on old emails!
Zandra Burcher tells me of the following stories:
"In Sept 2009 I stayed for 2 days & nights at the Hoste in Burnham Market (thankfully I was not having to foot the accommodation bill!) - my room was was one of the newest, behind the Pub & I had no inkling of any ghost tales/reports. During the evening just after dusk I was getting ready to meet up with a friend for dinner when my dog suddenly leapt up onto the middle of the bed just as I felt an icy cold rush of air & was pushed very firmly backwards by a hand on each shoulder, I fell back onto the bed. I could see the the faint image of a stable-hand running across me, toward the garden, he was in clearly in a hurry to get somewhere or possible running away for some reason. There was no malice intended I felt that he was trying to move me out of the way to prevent harm. My dog was not alarmed at all, I realised that he was simply trying to get out of the way of the stable-hand who was in typical working clothes of early 1800's. I later found out that the new rooms were built onto the outer wall of what was once the stables.

In Sept 2011 -autumn again- but on a bright sunny afternoon, I had just moved up to Norfolk & was returning home driving northward through the woodland between Syderstone & Barmer on the B1454. At the northern edge of this wood I saw a pure white horse, over to my right, cantering toward the road about 25yds ahead. I braked hard coming to a halt. The horse did not slow down at all & crossed the road but, as it reached the opposite side, it faded away to nothing in full/clear view. There was no rider, no tack of any sort & the horse was happily running free as if the road car & nearby house did not exist, so it would seem to be from a time before the road was metalled & prior to the building of the modern house on the right. There was no other traffic around at that time."

Faye Willis emailed me with her experiences:
"I've had pictures which were hanging in the wall for a long time come completely off the walls on 3 separate occasions and also have heard which sounded like some one mimicking us at home. Also pictures that were hung up have been swinging this has been going on for the last 5 years I would sat but just lately alot more some times I feel like their is someone in my hallway and our cats will stare into the hall after hearing noises that are unexplained. My previous neighbour said also that she had weird things happening also hearing a man laugh and it wasn't anyone at her home at the time." Enquiring for more details, I was told by Faye, who lives in one of the flats in King's Green, that "...we didn't notice anything when we moved in back in 2018 but after about a year we had things happen we have felt like there's someone in my hallway I havent seen anything only lots of noises and things moving which are inexplainble, it started with pictures comming off my walls different occasions and just lately 2 different times I had the pictures just come straight off onto the floor. Me and my son in law were having a conversation and we have cats he usually calls them and just whist we was talking the cat looked into the hall and kept staring then we heard a noise that mimicked the noise he made to call the cat. We also have a new baby and my daughter saud it was the middle of the night and he was crying when he stopped she heard a noise like someone copying her. To be honest it did scare us we don't know who or what this is but we have a name for the spirit and we've called him Derek lol. More than often it just feels like there is someone else in the flat with us. I did notice that my hallway went very cold so I said I reckon that's where he is. As I said previously my neighbour had similar thing and it was definitely a man - she thinks she saw a male but he just vanished she's moved away now. I do belive there is something haunting the flat block for sure ... we also lived on Low Field where we had a ghost too, we kept hearing loud knocking and I heard a baby crying in my daughters room - neither neighbour had a baby so unless a spirit is followed me along the way it feels like that sometimes."

On the Bluesky social platform, the "Knock Once For Yes" duo provided a brief summary and gave a more detailed response via DM;

In short, I believe I pretty much saw the same thing as Cj did. A black figure in the window. Rather than write it all out again tonight, here's an excerpt from the script I wrote for the Thetford Priory episode we did:
It was a drizzly and cool British day when we visited Thetford Priory. It wasn't an entirely unplanned visit but we had not researched the site in detail and were dropping in as we were going to be nearby. I was expecting to see a few tumble down stones in a field and perhaps some plaques or information boards describing how the building would have looked that with a bit of imagination and following the dips and swells of the earth might give some impression of what once stood on the site.
I was to be pleasantly mistaken. Pulling up into the car park I was surprised to see a considerable amount of the building was still standing. However it was not until we actually made our way onto the site that the scale of the building started to become apparent. Even looking back now over the photographs we took of our visit, they fail to entirely capture the sheer scale of some of the remaining stonework.
It was not just the size of the ruins that were to impress me either. Stepping from the path and approaching the ruins, I had the electrical feeling that I often experience at haunted locations and it intensified as I got closer. Though it was overcast and gently raining, the day was clear but I felt as if I should be experiencing a fog or mist. My mind too seemed fogged and I had the feeling that another vision of this place was trying to superimpose itself on what I was actually seeing.
As Lil was walking through the ruins, seeming to examine each area carefully, I was drawn quickly to the rear of the site where the more intact Priors lodging still stood. The feeling of pressure and electricity was heightened here and as I took it all in, I suddenly saw what appeared to be a hooded figure in black at one of the upstairs windows. It appeared to be walking past the window and as it did so, it glanced in my direction whilst it passed. I didn't see it in any great detail, it was almost entirely dark in colour and I didn't see any sign of a face.
Thinking that maybe someone was working on the building and that a dark hooded jacket or poncho wouldn't be amiss in the drizzly weather, I headed towards the large arched doorway. As I did so, the static electrical feeling that I had been having across the site intensified and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up. That was until I crossed the threshold of the arch and the feeling almost seemed to pop. It was not entirely gone, but was greatly lessened and the foggy distracted feeling I had been having was also much reduced.
Slightly more clear of mind, it didn't take long to realise that the figure I had seen was no workman. The stairs leading up to the first floor had mostly gone but more importantly, there was no longer a floor above me. What presumably would once have been a wooden first floor was completely gone and I could see clearly through to the sky above me.
At this point, excited about my experience and keen to get Lil's impression of the building, I could see that she was making her way over to me and so I went back outside to where I had initially seen the figure. When she arrived, I was careful not to share what had happened immediately and asked her what her impressions were of the building. She described a similar feeling to myself, so I suggested that she walk towards the building and let me know how it felt. Like I had, she reported that the feeling increased in intensity until crossing the threshold, where it lessened considerably.
She returned to where I was standing and I related the figure I had seen in the upstairs window. We stood there for a while taking pictures and hoping that it might return but unfortunately it did not.
I seem to remember that we chatted about it on the episode as well, which wasn't scripted, and as it was just after our visit it will have been most fresh in my mind.
You can find the episode here
Also, we chatted a bit more freeform about it in the latest episode. It's likely to have been not long after the 1hr and 20 minute mark of this episode

Just to clarify I asked if this occurred after CJ et al's encounter, and this was proven to be the case - "Early 2019 I believe", I was told. Of further interest is that the figure was sent through a different window than the previous encounter.
I was generously provided with a few contemporary photographs of the priory. Click on the images for larger versions:

Intrigued by the sudden interest in Downham Market's Town Hall by commercial ghost groups, I contacted the hall and asked about any reports by staff or visitors. Town Clerk Claire Dornan told me, "Some staff have felt a ‘presence’ when locking up the building but I can’t say I have." I asked if she could forward my email to her colleagues to see if any more information can be gleaned; nothing as yet five days on.
Of course, ghost hunting groups will hype up and overexaggerate any "reports" to entice and fleece the gullible.

In my book, I mention the disputed trip by Oliver Cromwell to Grimston where he is said to have seen a ghostly stag. While I have not been able to find the original source of this tale, I have found out, from the 21st May 1915 edition of "The Norfolk Chronicle" that the story appeared in White's "Norfolk" (1883), probably a reference to William White's "History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk" 1883. The extract from the 1915 paper can be found by clicking on the image to the left. The original text can be found here on page 294.

We are then told that Miss Stewart, the Reverend's daughter, that Amy Robsart visited her while in bed, bending over her before being challenged and then floating backwards leaving "blood-curdling laughter" in her wake. The ghost was described as unfinished and not having human substance apart from the face. This is bewildering as I think it would have been mentioned by Stewart either to friends, or in "leaks" to the press. He only ever talked about a succession of bizarre sounds, and never mentioned anything visible.

A minor point is that the book mentions that two of Rev Stewart's friends held a vigil in the daughter's room, but this seems to be a garbling of events as there were more than two witnesses on this occasion. Nowhere is it mentioned that there was controvsery about the resultant phenomena and this resulted in quite an acrimonious debate in the press by two of the witnesses.

The effect of all this on Rev Stewart was one of worry and he was distracted from his duties to his parish or his sermons. These assertions come from "odd entries in the records", and it would be interesting to find these - if they exist. Or indeed, if they ever existed. It is at this point that Stewart called a meeting of four clergymen and a doctor to "lay" the ghost with prayers and spells. He described the sounds his household had witnessed, but now said that items were being thrown about and rang bells, and that the ghosts were floating, bluish-grey misty personages. The reason for the gathering is a misinterpetation as Stewart merely sought witnesses to the events, and not an attempt to expel the phantom(s).

We then return to one of the previous occupants, Reverend Mantle and his family. Thurston Hopkins talks of two rooms being found sealed up when they moved in, and one of his sisters moved in to one of the liberated rooms. One night, she saw an old man his skin shrivelled, and wearing a cloak and beaver hat. His nose was described as aquiline and his face was described as wicked. The figure vanished when the witness briefly turned away. At least this story has some corroboration. As was noted later, "During the six months of the continuation of her service with Mantle, servant Elizabeth Goff later remarked that the whole family was "much alarmed" because Mrs Mantle's sister had either seen or heard something very unusual in a bedroom over the kitchen which had greatly terrified her."

Then we have the comments made by villager Robert Hunter. In March 1832, he ran into the local inn in a state of distress. He was passing the rectory (now unoccupied) at dusk when he heard loud groanings. He heard one of the windows opening and looking up, he saw a girl at the rectory, and it had waved her arms at him! He described the lady as made of vapours and seemed to be "all alight and shining." Hunter fled.

The huge problem with this is that, when events at the Rectory made headlines in 1833, there was an effort to obtain statements from witnesses in the previous decades - and one of them was Robert Hunter. His affidavit confirms that he had heard loud groanings "between the hours of ten and eleven o'clock" - but he makes no mention of seeing the figure. This is a curious - and perhaps crucial - discrepancy.

We are then given a chronological list of occupants, and here lies a very curious detail; it says that the house was demolished in 1850! A new rectory was erected shortly afterwards and some of the people who lived here talked of its ghosts.

Here I quote the current owner, Tom White, who has done some research on the old rectory; "The book is incorrect. The original Rectory was smaller and comprised only the current eastern part (looking towards the church) of what is now a double roofed house. That part was built in various phases during the eighteenth century. At some time in the first half of the 19th century the then rector built on a grander facade, and much enlarged accommodation, facing west. As the style is Regency (with large sash windows) I have always assumed that the extension was built in the 1830's though it is generally accepted that architectural fashion moved more slowly in the countryside. So it is possible that the works were carried out about 1850. In 1999/2000 the previous owner before us undertook a major renovation after the house had slipped into decline during a time when it was an old people's home. During that project the fenestration was reconfigured on the eastern elevation, but the western elevation retains it's original Regency style. We have photographs of the house taken before WW1." There is no mention in newspapers of the day of any demolition, or the building of the new rectory.

Of the "new" [sic] rectory, Thurston Hopkins says that the present vicar (as of c.1946) told him that Amy Robsart is said to haunt a room in the building; he didn't believe that his home was haunted and his maid had slept in the room without incident. The vicar also says that Amy's home was a quarter of a mile north of the rectory, which, as I said in my book, puts Syderstone Hall some little distance away from the village, which contradicts the earlier statement that the [old - sic] rectory was built in the area of the Hall. I suspect that the vicar at the time was Rev Norman Fourdrinier who became fascinated by the notion of ghosts and who left a bundle of nearly illegible notes behind.

The current vicar also said that Amy was said to walk along the path from the church to the rectory. The last vicar but one also believed the rectory was haunted and wrote a pahmphlet on Amy in 1902; he scared the village stuff with tales of the ghosts of Amy and Mantle.

Thurston Hopkins concludes by saying that his chapter originates "from published affidavits, newspaper reports and manuscript notes made by people who lived at the rectory ... some of the stories may be merely the echoes of village gossip but we must accept some of the evidence as both definite and convincing ... as it was a very ancient building the hauntings there probably date back to the 16th century." It would seem that some of these sources, including the controversial and disputed statements, are now missing from view. The most fascinating claim is that "five of the gentlemen who participated in the 1833 vigil, have left behind written statements and they all declare most emphatically that ghosts were seen and heard on several occasions." However, as can be seen from the newspaper correspondence at the time, this would hardly seem to be an accurate depiction of the truth. For one thing, no ghosts were seen; and secondly, one of the witnesses was emphatic that nothing paranormal had happened - and one of his companions had doubts.

From my own knowledge of the case, I can say that Thurston Hopkins book has such gross distortions that it cannot be regarded as an accurate account. Unless the witness statements alluded to can be found...

A podcast on the ghosts of RAF Feltwell is available from Norfolk Folklore Society.

The Norfolk Folklore Society's latest newsletter has an article on Croxton: "Tucked into the Breckland landscape between Thetford and Watton, it sits among quiet lanes, sandy soils and wide skies. Today it is a peaceful place, but like many Norfolk villages, it has accumulated its share of strange stories. One of the most curious dates from the early twentieth century. The account concerns not an ancient manor house or ruined abbey, but two ordinary neighbouring homes.
No phantom figures were reported, no spectral lights floated across the fields. Instead, the mystery announced itself through sound.
According to local reports, one of the houses was troubled by an unseen presence that seemed determined to make itself known.
Doors that had been carefully latched would suddenly fly open. Heavy footsteps were heard stomping up and down the staircase, as though an invisible visitor were pacing the upper floor. The noises were unsettling enough for those inside the house. More curious still was what happened next door.
Occupants of the neighbouring property reported hearing a different disturbance altogether. From the upper floor came the unmistakable sound of chains being dragged across the rooms above. The scraping and rattling were said to occur despite there being no obvious source. It is a wonderfully Norfolk sort of haunting. Not a dramatic apparition clothed in white. Not a headless horseman charging through the night. Simply strange noises echoing through ordinary houses in an ordinary village.
The story survives because it was never explained. Perhaps there was a practical cause now forgotten. Old houses are capable of producing remarkable sounds, especially in an age before modern insulation, heating and construction methods. Yet those who experienced the disturbances evidently felt there was something more at work.
Today the houses themselves are rarely mentioned, their exact identities lost to time. The footsteps have long since faded. The chains have fallen silent.
But somewhere in Croxton, among the village’s quiet roads and scattered cottages, the tale remains."

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