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...
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...
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...
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.