Supernatural East

Ghosts

18th C. Woburn Abbey is one of England's finest Palladian houses. Built on the site of a Cistercian monastery, it is reputedly the haunt of several different ghosts. Look out for an abbot dressed in a brown habit, and doors that mysteriously open and shut on their own accord. The University city of Cambridge is full of ghosts. At Corpus Christi College, look out for Dr Henry Butts staring mournfully from a window. He was a former master who hanged himself in 1632. In the same street, the stone lions outside the Fitzwilliam Museum are said to come alive at midnight. The Abbey House at Barnwell is reputedly haunted by six spectres - including a grey lady and Jacob Butler, a former 18th C. squire. Finally great statesman Oliver Cromwell haunts his old college at Sidney Sussex - where his skull was buried in 1960. On Boxmoor Common (nr. Hemel Hempstead) is a stone marking the grave of Robert Snooks - the last highwayman to be hanged in England in 1802. Reputedly if you dance around his grave twelve times at midnight, he is said to join you for the final waltz.

Enjoy a pint with Juliet in the Ferry Boat Inn at Holywell (nr. St. Ives). This 11th C. girl fell in love with a woodcutter called Tom Zoul. But he neglected her - and in despair, Juliet hanged herself from a riverside tree. She was buried at this spot - later becoming the site for the inn. Today you can see the slab under which Juliet's remains lie. On the 17 March (the date of her suicide) her ghost is said to appear. Visit the magnificent Blickling Hall - where a former house on the site was the early childhood home of Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn. Each year (19 May) on the anniversary of her execution in 1536, Anne's ghost returns to Blicking in a coach driven by four headless horses and a headless coachman.

Suffolk is noted for its haunted inns - stay overnight if you dare. The Scole Inn dates from 1655. Here a first floor room and staircase is haunted by a White Lady, who was killed by her jealous husband. Heading south, the village of Bildeston is home to the famous Crown Inn, noted for its numerous poltergeist phenomena. Whilst at Long Melford, another poltergeist resides at the Bull Hotel - probably originating from a murder in 1648.

The history

The ancient city of St. Albans has been shaped by over 2,000 years of history. On May 22 - listen out for the phantom warriors as they recreate the Battle of St. Albans (1455); whilst the magnificent Cathedral and Abbey Church is the haunt of ghostly monks. Watch out on Holywell Hill for a coach with headless horses. Don't be fooled by the peaceful charm and beauty of The Broads - these man-made waterways hide some chilling tales. Watch out for a coach driven by skeletons on the bridge at Potter Heigham on May 31 - they are taking Lady Evelyn Carew to meet the devil. She made a contract with him in 1742, and he demanded his prize on her wedding day. Whilst at nearby Hickling Broad, a local girl used to secretly meet her true love - a drummer boy home on leave in 1814. He used to skate across the frozen broad, banging his drum to announce his arrival. But one day the ice gave way, and he plunged to his death in the frozen waters. Today on certain nights you can reputedly still hear the beating of his drum. Norwich is one of Britain's best preserved medieval cities. Visit the 14th C. Adam and Eve in Bishopgate - where the headless phantom of Lord Sheffield may join you for a pint.

Coggeshall is said to be the most unluckiest place in Britain. It sits on ley lines (powerful beams of energy linked to the earth's magnetic pull) that cross here creating friction - and this could be the cause of the unusually high number of disturbing things that have happened. Several ghosts haunt the place, whilst black cats have also been found bricked up in the walls of buildings. Mersea Island is the scene of England's oldest ghost story. Here a phantom army of Roman soldiers has been seen marching across the causeway at dusk.

The former watery wilderness of The Fens are full of mysterious tales to discover. Take a walk along one of the footpaths to loose yourself amongst the reeds and open fields. Watch out for Jack o' Lanterns, a highly dangerous fairy whose hypnotic glowing lights guide unwary travellers to their doom in the treacherous marshes. Knebworth House was re-fashioned in gothic style in the 19th C. with turrets and gargoyles. This was the work of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, an acclaimed Victorian novelist who inherited it in 1843. He also had a keen interest in the occult. If you hear the sounds of a spinning wheel, then it is probably the ghost of Jenny - her haunting reputedly a forewarning of a death in the house.
On the county border with Essex (nr. Sudbury) is the former home of Britain's most haunted house - Borley Rectory. Built on the site of an old monastery in 1863, there were reports of at least twelve different ghosts. The most famous is the phantom nun, who used to gaze through the rectory's windows. Over the years, Borley became renowned in Britain - visited on several occasions by Harry Price, a famous writer on psychic matters. But in 1943, the rectory caught fire and was burnt to a shell - this later demolished in 1943. Today, the phantom nun is occasionally glimpsed at the churchyard.

The former watery wilderness of The Fens are full of mysterious tales to discover. Take a walk along one of the footpaths to loose yourself amongst the reeds and open fields.