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A15 Lincolnshire Road Ghost (Ruskington / Sleaford)

Welcome, Mr Pell.

And thanks greatly for coming and posting a few words. Really. Interesting to hear, actually. You wouldn't be the only person to have described a Highwayman. Perfectly plausible. at least one of the accounts above actually mentioned a tri-cornered hat. :lol:

Was this a legend you were aware of before having seen the figure itself? Or indeed that This Morning Broadcast.

Interesting that you mentioned the possibility of it having its back to you. The right hand side of the road certainly seems to tally with the other reports. Anything in these other accounts sound familiar?

I haven't heard anything at all about a legend on that stretch of road when I saw the figure and at the time, I thought nothing of it, just that it was rather odd seeing a person on the road at that time of night (about 10pm).

These other accounts do actually sound quite familiar to my suprise, I'm normally quite sceptical about things that cannot be explained and I would only believe them if I witnessed them myself. After discovering that there was other reports and some of them appearing to be more far fetched but I wouldn't slate those reports considering I had an experience with the said highwayman or entity.
 
Pelly said:
Anyways, this shadow I saw was pretty much a human shape on the side of the road on my right (I was heading towards Sleaford from Lincoln) and I saw a figure on the right for a good 10 seconds till I passed it, it didn't seem to notice me at all and the shape of the figure was a fairly tall man and from the barely noticeable features I could see, it looked like a highway man I have read about and seen pictures of in books and movies about them.

I didn't get a sight of its face as I was driving and focusing more on the road at the time and I think it had its back to me, it didn't appear to be moving, just stood there.


Welcome Pelly, and thanks for your contribution.
When you say it looked like a Highwayman, what do you mean? Are you saying it had a tricorn hat and a long cloak?


I have actually had similar experiences to these and expect to be having one again very soon.
A few years ago I was driving home, along the darkened Fosse Way, a road with plenty of history attached to it, I think you'll agree. Nearing a junction I slowed and caught sight of a figure through the trees pointing towards the road. I watched it as I approached, straining to see properly through the bare trees, decided what it was, thought "WTF........?" and then was past it. I wasn't going to go back and have a look because for some reason I had got it into my head it was a man, in a yellow sou'wester, and it reminded me of a Hammer House of Horror story from the 70s that scared me shitless as a child.
The next night I was returning home along the same stretch of road but cars were coming the other way and I couldn't see anything in the trees. It was bugging me and one day I was telling my mate about it, he's a lorry driver and uses the road often. It was actually the Hammer House thing we were reminiscing about and I got round to telling him the tale of the figure. He had had the same experience! Spoooooky.

Not long after, I was on that same stretch of road again and saw it, there, in the trees, the man pointing towards the road. I slowed for a good look and saw it was actually a signpost, "Christmas Trees this way", which reflected headlights from the main road. As I say, I expect to be having that same experience again shortly!
 
hahaha! That sounds brilliant.

As for the highwayman, well, yes a long cloak, but the head, it was more like a hooded figure and in my mind, I just though highwayman. It could have been anything, but in my subconscious mind, I referred the shape as a highway man.
 
LordRsmacker said:
Not long after, I was on that same stretch of road again and saw it, there, in the trees, the man pointing towards the road. I slowed for a good look and saw it was actually a signpost, "Christmas Trees this way", which reflected headlights from the main road. As I say, I expect to be having that same experience again shortly!

Lol. Spooky... :roll: :lol:

pelly said:
hahaha! That sounds brilliant.

As for the highwayman, well, yes a long cloak, but the head, it was more like a hooded figure and in my mind, I just though highwayman. It could have been anything, but in my subconscious mind, I referred the shape as a highway man.

Interesting. And of course at least one other individual has referred to it as looking like a monk - which would fit in more with robes. Possibly even a hood.
 
Now, I alluded earlier to there being other accounts mentioned in that broadcast which did not match Kevin Whelan's description. Obviously we focus towards Kevin's take, and the many similar sightings, because they all seem to match enough to believably be the same experience. But I also wanted to point out another few descriptions given of occurrences on the A15 around Sleaford and Ruskington. If for no other reason than they perhaps support evidence of there being something going on down this stretch, even if it is not quite what the majority of people seem to be describing.

During the second broadcast Nina Myscow mentioned off hand two unnamed separate kind of sightings.

NM: Well, there a lot of other stories, and it’s not just the sort of the head or a black shape. People have seen other things. They’ve seen a woman in a pink ball gown; there’s a story of white cart-horses, and they’ve been seen three times - these two white cart horses on the same stretch of the road. And it is a spooky little place, because apparently at night it is totally pitch dark, there’s no lights anywhere. And as well, probably because it's low lying, a lot of mist gathers about. But I believe when Kevin saw what he saw, it was a completely clear night. Completely clear.

Now both of these variations obviously do not match with the figure Kevin Whelan saw. Both were still spotted on the A15, though.

The Pink Ball Gown certainly seems to be an isolated report. I mean it's possible that somebody seeing the same flitting sheet-like shape in the distance, which others saw as a figure closer to, could have though that that shape was a ball gown. Who knows? But I've not found any other references to that one elsewhere. And we also do not know who actually reported seeing this. So it's hard to ascertain anything further.

But these horses, on the other hand, had apparently been seen 3 times? Again I wonder by whom. But while a phantom roadside figure, walking out in front of a car, is a distinctly odd experience (Especially with the number of quite grotesque descriptions) it's a lot easier to write off an appearance from two horses as... well, two ACTUAL horses. Without knowing what exactly 'happened' in this case it's very hard to ascertain as to whether these might not even have been REAL horses. On the loose from a local stables, or similar.

I've found no other references to these either. But if they have been seen 3 times, then perhaps they are the more plausible sighting of the two. Spiritual or not. :lol:

Obviously if you have seen these alleged phantom horses, or know somebody who has, then get them onto this thread! ;)

There was also a 'kind of' account from a local reporter. Although as you'll see it is kind of a non-account, really.

NM: Now, Leigh, you’re a local reporter here and last night you went down to -

L: Horseshoe hollow.

NM: Which is the road near the A15, because you heard there was some haunting and -

L: Well, we’d got phone calls at work yesterday saying that people had being seeing things and ringing up the TV, and we were getting phone calls so I went down to the local pub to see what had been going on, and got a story about people seeing black figures, so I went down to Horseshoe Hollow because I’ve heard that’s haunted. In the summer, you walk along there in the dark and there’s mists covering your feet; you can’t even see your feet. Anyway, me and my boyfriend went down with his dog.

NM: And a torch, I hope?

L: And a torch; yeah, we went down with a torch. And we were walking around and there was one spot that was colder than the rest, and if you moved from that spot you got warmer, and I went to walk towards some trees, and my boyfriend’s dog ran in front of me, and I sort of turned around and said, "What you playing at?" And my boyfriend said, "She was cutting you off, she don’t want you to go in there, she was cutting you off."

NM: So the dog was trying to save you, you think? Thank you very much.

Surely, in order to be 'saved' you need to be certain that there is something actually 'endangering' you... :roll: :D

Again, I'd remind you that these are quick microphone exchanges during a live broadcast. If they sound a little bit flippant, it is at least in part down to the rush for many stories to be told on camera in short space of time.

That one, though, is pretty much a non-account. Their dog got spooked is pretty much the length of this tale. But what I don't understand here is quite why a reporter responding to the news that people have been calling in to a TV phone-in about a 'ghost' spotted on the A15 road, manages to go to the wrong place...

"Horseshoe Hollow" is in Ruskington. It's park land:

http://wikimapia.org/5966255/Horseshoe-Hollow

But it's nowhere near the A15. It's much more central in Ruskington...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sourc...code_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAoQ8gEwAA

Switch to satelite view on that map and find the same fields, next to Horseshoe Close. The B1188 Lincoln Road runs close to it, but that's not the A15. The sightings themselves are actually far closer to Sleaford, given how far out of town that road is.

She's heard that 'Horseshoe Hollow' is haunted, so she goes there. Instead of to the A15. But this has nothing to do with the case in question! Sadly, if you ask me, this is an example of somebody trying to draw connections to a TV publicised story. The This Morning crew aren't going to know she's talking about something unconnected. But she has managed to get herself on TV... :roll:

Local historian Henry Brown was also interviewed:

NM: Henry Brown, you’re a kind of a local historian. You’ve written three books about your childhood here. Do you think this area is kind of filled with stories and history of sightings?

HB: Oh yes, all the way up the A15, and around the area there are all sorts of tales of ghostly figures and most of them quite harmless; I haven’t heard of any that have presented any danger to anyone.

NM: Er, so thank you very much Henry. And back to Richard and Julia.

I believe Henry is probably this guy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Astro-Asbes...=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259594941&sr=1-8

But like so many of these quick accounts they don't really provide us with any real information. Nothing of real detail. But as he refers to 'all the way up the A15' it might be worth broadening the search.

One other thing which did come up during that second broadcast was the names given to this stretch of road:

RM: We spoke to somebody at the information library in Sleaford, which is about four miles away from this spot and apparently - there’s a bit of history here - the area where these sightings are constantly seen is known as Hangman’s haunt. It’s also called Dunsby Hollow, and apparently in the past it was very difficult for the stagecoaches that used to come down to get insurance if they went down that road because odd things would happen - passengers would jump off and run away, and apparently highwaymen used to haunt the spot because it’s very lonely and it is in a hollow and you can’t see them as you’re coming over the horizon.

No so much paranormal there. More like 'shady place where robbers liked to hide'. I suspect it would be the past connections with Dunsby Hollow which may have formed the image of a highwayman in some people's minds. Or, of course, this could be the genuine ghost OF a highwayman... :D

It's certainly not marked up as either 'Hangman's Haunt' or 'Dunsby Hollow' on modern maps, but I suppose this might be another avenue to pursue in terms of local history.
 
Hmmm, looking at the topic of two actual horses being seen as phantom, this could be possible as other reports of a woodlands, unsure whereabouts though, has sightings and reports of Boudicca on her chariot being pulled by horses seen to this day.

As for my sighting, if any of you follow the WWE Wrestling, the figure stood and looked a lot like a silhouette of the Undertaker from my point of view but was hooded rather than wearing a hat.
 
This is going off-topic, but with regard to the way time seems to go slowly when we are having an accident, listen to this which was on Radio 4 this morning:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2cbz

Edit:
Oh, and read the last few postings on the Railway Ghosts thread below, very interesting, the mention of white sheet-things and optical illusions.
 
Ruskington

Pelly said:
http://www.roadghosts.com/CasesUKaccounts7.htm

Found this and thought it might make good reading.

Hi all. I haven't been on the MB for a good while; older members may remember me as 'Hermes' from original registration days back in 2001. My website, www.roadghosts.com (which is the source of many of CuriousIdent's quoted interview excerpts from the Richard & Judy coverage (I transcribed them from video tapes made at the time and made them available on the site)) discusses Ruskington in the context of other road ghost cases, including the mentioned Blue Bell Hill, which is my particular speciality, and around which the website was originally constructed (aside: it is long overdue for an update, I acknowledge). I'll have to play catch up with the thread, but I am pleased to see the ongoing interest in this fascinating and often overlooked phenomenon, which has many roots into folklore, mythology and the unconscious, and is consequently more complex and alluring than the simple press-favoured explanations of tragedy-as-cause for these very vivid, convincing and cross-consistent experiences.
In terms of Ruskington, I corresponded with Sarah Martin (as she then was) when events were still fresh in mind, and prior to this with Michael Goss, whose excellent The Evidence for Phantom Hitchhikers kicked-started by own researches in 1986, and which saw some expression in articles for FT in 1994 and 1997. Over the years I have collected numerous cases and interviewed many personal witnesses to these events. If I can contribute in any meaningful way to everyone's detailed contirbutions in this thread, I'll try to do so in the next few days.
 
Welcome to the thread, Hermes.

Any input would be appreciated, I'm sure.

And regardless of whether it has been updated in a while excellent site by the way. I read through a lot of what you've had on there before christmas. A fascinating read. :D
 
I also enjoyed your site and articles since reading Hell's Belles in an old FT and have contributed an account to Road Ghosts and FT on the subject. I appreciate real life catches up and there's less time to devote to websites but it would be great to see a Ghosts and the Traveller site, with road, rail, blackdogs, hags and similar travel related apparitions and folklore.
 
Hi

Hi all.

Thanks for your comments and sentiments.
You're completely right, Colpepper1. Marriage, young family now, work - they do absorb more time than I used to have, to either tread the boards or update the website. However, I've never lost my interest, and still collect road ghost data - which, together with other areas of forteana and science, inevitably alters one's views over time. I do intend this year to finally release the results of my work on the BBH case in book form, which will be much more detailed (and fascinating, I think) than I elected to release on the web or other publications. A treatment of road (or, yes, transport-related) ghosts is a future plan also. What I find particularly interesting is how the mind and environment appear to be entwined, not simply in terms of the unconcious contribution to the driving experience (for instance, in the 'auto-pilot' mode of driving), but how these experiences, which sometimes have all the trappings of what we expect from folklore (gothic,settings; leering, leaping, disturbing spirits), vividly intrude into 21st century material experience, and in such a realistic manner - as dramatically demonstrated at Ruskington and elsewhere. It's as if there is some ulterior agenda aimed at reminding us not to allow ourselves to ossify into a too materialistic world view. But more on that next time.

As I mentioned, I'll catch up on this thread, and join the fray in due course.
 
Oooh, yes!

I've collected a few road ghost stories myself since we last 'spoke'. :D

Young families do rather take your time up, don't they! :lol:
 
I grew up just south of Bourne, in a village that looped off the A15, and in the course of my teenage years have spent a lot of time travelling that road! We would occasionally venture as far north as Lincoln with both school and youth club, but I am sorry to say that I never encountered this particular spirit. However, between villages, the road is certainly dark at night (great stargazing!) and can be particularly atmospheric on those moonless occasions when the mist lies in wisps between the trees...

The A15 is certainly a 50-mph road these days between Market Deeping and Bourne, but I'm not sure how far the vengeful speed cameras have spread north of town.

Is it worth mentioning that much of the A15 is built along the line of King Street, the old Roman road? We may be talking much earlier than highwaymen here for any potential spirit!
 
CuriousIdent said:
It's certainly not marked up as either 'Hangman's Haunt' or 'Dunsby Hollow' on modern maps, but I suppose this might be another avenue to pursue in terms of local history.

The OS 1:25,000 map does mark the road as going through the "medieval village of Dunsby (site of)" though, at the point where it's roughly level with Ruskington.

bugmum said:
Is it worth mentioning that much of the A15 is built along the line of King Street, the old Roman road? We may be talking much earlier than highwaymen here for any potential spirit!

The same map shows the Roman road Ermine Street a few miles to the west of the A15. Is this the road you're refering to, or were there two roads close to each other?

Incidentally, this thread has completely prevented me from doing anything constructive this evening. I hope you're proud of youself CuriousIdent. :D
 
I remember watching this whole saga on This Morning in the late 90s. I distinctly remember that they decided the 'ghost' on the A15 was a Templar Knight and linked the phenomena to Temple Bruer, one of the last remaining Knights Templar sites left in England which is in a field nearby. I think they suggested that the apparition looking like a white bin bag and appearing to another woman as a head and shoulders with a white sheet for a body could be explained by the white robes worn by the Knights Templar. Does anyone else remember this segment of the 'investigation'?
 
lolaclare said:
I remember watching this whole saga on This Morning in the late 90s. I distinctly remember that they decided the 'ghost' on the A15 was a Templar Knight and linked the phenomena to Temple Bruer, one of the last remaining Knights Templar sites left in England which is in a field nearby. I think they suggested that the apparition looking like a white bin bag and appearing to another woman as a head and shoulders with a white sheet for a body could be explained by the white robes worn by the Knights Templar. Does anyone else remember this segment of the 'investigation'?

That may have been discussed in the final broadcast. Like I said earlier on in thread I did not see the final broadcast they did.

It probably is worth pointing out, though, that in the majority of cases the figure was not stated as being a specifically white image.
 
You know, I've still utterly failed to find the time/courage/nerve to actually go to this point on the A15 and check it out. It was something we did actually plan to do earlier in the years as part of mini Fortean tour which never actually came off. Largely through our moving house. It must go on the list for 2011.

Anyway, spotted this article recently (October) and meant to post it up. The A15 ghost is mentioned in the article:

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk...-highways/article-2817052-detail/article.html
 
I used to drive on this road quite regularly a while back when driving from Hull to PEterborough. I think I did, anyway, I'm not great with road names - just blindy obey the satnav.

Never saw anything though but I wasn't looking either having only just seen this thread.
 
Katia said:
I used to drive on this road quite regularly a while back when driving from Hull to PEterborough. I think I did, anyway, I'm not great with road names - just blindy obey the satnav.

Never saw anything though but I wasn't looking either having only just seen this thread.

Hi Katia.

I wonder, as you've driven this road more recently than 1998 ;) could you tell us if any speed cameras have been put in place on this stretch of the A15. Back in those This Morning accounts a couple of people certainly seemed to be suggesting that they had seen this thing whilst doing higher than the speed limit.
 
CuriousIdent said:
I wonder, as you've driven this road more recently than 1998 ;) could you tell us if any speed cameras have been put in place on this stretch of the A15. Back in those This Morning accounts a couple of people certainly seemed to be suggesting that they had seen this thing whilst doing higher than the speed limit.

There's a deterrent - don't speed or you'll be subjected to the ghost! Although that might encourage some people...
 
gncxx said:
CuriousIdent said:
I wonder, as you've driven this road more recently than 1998 ;) could you tell us if any speed cameras have been put in place on this stretch of the A15. Back in those This Morning accounts a couple of people certainly seemed to be suggesting that they had seen this thing whilst doing higher than the speed limit.

There's a deterrent - don't speed or you'll be subjected to the ghost! Although that might encourage some people...

Well, yes. :lol: But I was wondering more as to whether there were actual Speed Cameras on this stretch.
 
The only speed cameras on the A15 between Bracebridge Heath (just south of Lincoln) and Sleaford are near the junctions for Metheringham and Navenby, which are aprox five to six miles from the road to Ruskington - the speed limit along the entire stretch remains 60mph to this day.

I live locally and was completely unaware of all this; several years back (suffering from insomnia and when petrol was cheaper) I spent many late-night hours travelling the back roads between the A15 and A16 and saddly never saw a thing.

The Richard and Judy stuff is easily found on youtube, btw.
 
Peckinpah1976 said:
The only speed cameras on the A15 between Bracebridge Heath (just south of Lincoln) and Sleaford are near the junctions for Metheringham and Navenby, which are aprox five to six miles from the road to Ruskington - the speed limit along the entire stretch remains 60mph to this day.

I live locally and was completely unaware of all this; several years back (suffering from insomnia and when petrol was cheaper) I spent many late-night hours travelling the back roads between the A15 and A16 and saddly never saw a thing.

The Richard and Judy stuff is easily found on youtube, btw.

It is, yes. I have long since looked over the footage since I first started up this topic.

I still maintain that with this case they were onto something. The sheer number of people reporting similar instances. Once they started doing 'research' and putting witches and hangman's haunts... and dowsing... into the mix it quickly detracted from things.

But be this a 'ghost' or not I think there's definitely enough evidence from enough people to support some kind of independently experienced shared experience, here.
 
Hello all, is there anything you would like to know?
 
SarahM said:
Hello all, is there anything you would like to know?


Well, I guess that would depend on what info you might be willing to volunteer. :)

Welcome to the thread SarahM
 
Thanks very much for the welcome! :) Well, the story happened a few years ago now, but hopefully I'll be able to remember most events if you would like to know anything, as I dont mind helping you if I can. I'm Sarah Martin by the way.....but maybe you had already figured that one out. :)
 
Sarah, why don't you give us an account of what you experienced. All that you can remember, even if it's been quoted on this thread previously. It would be interesting to hear your version of events straight from you, without the Richard Madley filter :D
 
classic thread from start to end and hopefully sarah will apply some further grist to the mill

i have been meaning to post this little aside somewhere on ftmb and i usually hang at ihtm however might be of interest here

while stuck in toronto for far too long a year or so back i used to go for runs in the evenings down the don valley to lake ontario and back ... its all woody and or riverside terrain with paths and degrees of lighting ... can get scary and there were occasionally potentially rum characters afloat out there after dark ... one particular night on my return run i was approaching the underside of a road flyover and saw up ahead of me a female figure sat on the ground with her legs out in front of her leaning back on her arms ... all black all in sillhouette ... i slowed but didnt stop as she started to stand upright ... i watched her the entire time as she got to her feet and i looked about for other figures sensing danger ... 20 or 30 feet to go and she literally evaporated in front of my eyes and i fair **** myself all the way home in record time

about 2 or 3 runs later approaching the same point on my return i again saw the identical vision ... shadow of a girl or small woman leaning back on her hands arms straight legs straight forward ... i slowed and fixed her in my sight as she started to rise ... uncannily she dissolved into the black shape of a barrier of the type you see on the side of the highway / motorway

i saw her on and off for about a year ... depending on ambient light intensity and presumably hundreds of other factors including how spooked i was by the run prior to that point and or my crazy life in general

every time i saw her even after i knew it was simply a mundane misidentification it scared the crap right out of me ...
 
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