(photo credit: Mark Baker)
I have always been interested in the concept of life after death – I’m not sure whether I am a true believer in ghosts but I have had some interesting experiences in my time working in heritage which has made me question what happens after we die. I also enjoy watching paranormal programmes such as Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures. From watching these programmes and visiting country houses I have some which are my favourites which I thought I would share with you.
Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire
I’ve mentioned Woodchester before in my ‘Country houses I would really like to visit’ post but whilst I spoke about why I would like to visit it in the last post, I didn’t speak about the paranormal activity that has been reported at the mansion. Since the abandonment, the mansion has been used for events and over the years a large number of incidents have been reported – voices crying ‘I want to go home’ in the dead of night, stones being thrown, shadow figures and full body apparitions. The Most Haunted investigation at Woodchester had many of these things happen to them (I’m not going to get into whether they’re real or made up for the programme) and it is still one of my favourite episodes.
Alton Towers, Staffordshire
This is one of the really haunted country houses that I have actually visited and done a ghost hunt at and I think it is an incredible place to visit if you’re looking for ghostly activity. The first time I visited with my cousin and we heard knocking on the floor under our feet, we heard a child’s toy train in one room, there were footsteps on a staircase where no-one was standing and someone in our group took a picture of a black shadow which was interesting.
The legend goes that a former owner offended a beggar woman one night on his return to Alton Towers. She in turn cursed him saying ‘with each branch of the old oak tree that falls, someone in your family will die’. Although he thought it rubbish at the time, a death soon after, corresponding with a branch falling from the tree changed his mind and the branches of the tree were chained from then on to prevent anymore branches from falling.
Smithills Hall, Bolton
This is another manor house which I have visited and I had a few interesting experiences at. I visited in 2009 when I did a tour of country houses in Yorkshire and Lancashire as part of my research for my master’s degree. It is a grade I listed building dating from the 15th century and it was used as a family home and then an old people’s home in the Victorian period. The Tudor part of the house is the only part you can visit and I was the only member of the public present on that day.
Whilst I was there my camera broke in the Chapel meaning I couldn’t take any photographs. It was an old-style film camera with batteries and the batteries totally died. Just before that I had been taking pictures on a small digital camera that I had and I captured a black shadowed figure in the doorway of one of the rooms. Sadly I have since lost the picture but it was very strange.
I know this is a slightly different post to others I have written and I hope you have enjoyed it. The paranormal is something I am interested in and whilst I don’t know what I believe, I find the idea very exciting that country houses, places where people have lived for hundreds of years, could be haunted. If you liked this post and would like more along the same lines, please let me know either in the comments below or on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/charlottefurnesswriter
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