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Derbyshire & Peak District Ghosts

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At the weekend me and a friend went off to Derbyshire. We'd not booked anywhere to stay and with the help of one of the residents in Monyash, got a place at a farm that does B&B, called Rowson House Farm.

After we'd been out for some tea, we went back to the farn and turned in not long after, but shortly after we'd both dropped off, my friend woke me up shouting.

She said that she'd been woken up by something/someone 'scampering across the room'.

My friend is both clairvoyant and clairaudient and said that she believed the place was haunted by small children that were killed in a fire there. She told me a name, but I can't remember what it was. She said it was one of these children that had woken her and told her about the fire.

We didn't ask the landlady about it when we left, I don't know why, I think we just forgot.

I've done a search for information on hauntings of the farm but I can't find anything. Can anyone reading this, maybe if you live in Monyash or Derbyshire in general, let me know if you know anything on this topic please? I'm really interested to find out if there's anything in it.

I'm also interested to hear of other hauntings in Derbyshire as we might go out there again and I'd love to stay somewhere that's reputed to be haunted.
 
Slightly o.t. but there is some sort of geyser in the peaks somewhere which was never taken much notice of by tourists until the local tourism council renamed it The Devils Arsehole. Now it's a very popular attraction...:rolleyes:
 
I've heard of that! It was going to be a location for a Shefgoths outing that hasn't got off the ground yet. It's got its own website and everything now...
 
Jean said:
I've heard of that! It was going to be a location for a Shefgoths outing that hasn't got off the ground yet. It's got its own website and everything now...

Jean - Can you post a link to that please? I have been going to the peaks for years and have never heard of it. Now I really need to know :D
 
bulldog said:
Slightly o.t. but there is some sort of geyser in the peaks somewhere which was never taken much notice of by tourists until the local tourism council renamed it The Devils Arsehole. Now it's a very popular attraction...:rolleyes:

If it has been renamed it's gone full circle.

The cavern's original name was apparently Pechesers or Peak's Arse (The Peak being the name of the area - which in turn was taken from the name of the local tribe). It was also known as the Devil's Arsehole long before it was called the Peak Cavern.

Its not a geyser either - just springs an impressive amount of leaks when it's been raining heavily. Which is more or less all the time around here.
 
And there was I thinking it was called The Peak District because it was a bit hilly .......
 
Jean said:
Certainly can, Elffriend!

Here y'go:

http://www.peakcavern.co.uk/inside.htm

Apparently it's in Peak Cavern (as indeed the link suggests, duuuhhh me!)!

Thanks Jean. Bit slow to read that one I am going to Castleton in Summer holidays with the chidlers so I can take them down the caves and scare 'em :D
 
Jean - I’m just up the road from Monyash and know someone who lives there - I’ll ask if she knows anything about your night-visitors.

Derbyshire and the Peak District are riddled with ghosts. At Monyash you would have been slap-bang in the middle of the limestone plateau of the White Peak where every single bump, hill and ridge has a burial mound perched on top. The place is one vast Neolithic cemetery - no surprise then if there are a few old souls loafing around the place.

There are too many individual stories to list but if you want areas where they seem to cluster try Eyam (Plague village - haunted pub called The Miner’s Arms), the Kinder Scout area (high, bleak moorland - very Jane Eyre), the Longdendale Valley (all sorts of shenanigans going on up there). Winnats Pass (stop giggling at the back) near Castleton is the scene of a famous alleged haunting and Castleton itself has a few resident spirits and a famously haunted pub - imaginatively called The Castle Inn.

I’m not sure about haunted places to stay the night - there must be lots but the only one that immediately springs to mind is Hartington Hall which is now a Youth Hostel and has several ghosts associated with it. Stayed there once many years ago - quite spooky.

Virtually all the caves and mines have associated ghost stories - reminiscent of those from the tin-mining areas of Cornwall (although in this part of Derbyshire it was lead-mining). The Magpie Mine at Sheldon, close to Monyash, is reputedly haunted and has a very peculiar atmosphere. One grey and blustery day a few years ago I took shelter there while out walking (this is before it was restored) - I think I lasted about five minutes before deciding that getting soaked to the bone was preferable to the overpowering feeling of being watched.

There are lots of allegedly haunted roads in the area. One of my uncles claimed to have been chased by a man on horseback while riding his motorbike on the road that crosses Butterton Moor between Onecote and Warslow. He was a notorious bullshitter but family tradition asserts that in this case he appeared genuinely terrified and his girlfriend, who had been riding pillion, was virtually apoplectic with fear.

One of my favourite strange places in the whole area is the gritstone chasm of Lud’s Church which is close to the border where Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire meet. Recent academic research suggests that Lud’s Church may have been the poet’s inspiration for the Green Chapel in the Medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. That whole area of the River Dane - Gradbach, Widboarclough, Wincle (yes, really) - is again riddled with strange stories. Just a little further north is Thursbitch (which according to Alan Garner, whose latest book is set there, means valley of the demon - or something like that) where a dead packhorse driver was found in the snow next to a single female footprint. Thursbitch is in the shadow of Shining Tor whose name apparently means hill of the phantom. This area was part of a Celtic enclave which survived when most of the rest had buggered off to Wales - I think they kept the scary names to discourage various invaders from investigating the place any further.

Unfortunately like most books that concern themselves with local ghosts nearly all those that I have read concerning the area just recycle the same old stories. By far the best book on local weirdness is David Clarke’s Supernatural Peak District. See if you can get a copy from your library for next time you visit. The Peak by Gordon Stainforth is also pretty good on local folklore and is full of stunning photographs, however it’s a bit of a coffee table book - not something you’d want to stuff in a rucsac, but definitely worth flicking through before coming.

Elffriend - while you are in the Castleton area you should maybe go and see the broken road at the foot of Mam Tor, the Shivering Mountain - a little reminder that mankind can’t always have things its own way.

I could go on all day - as you can probably tell!
 
Ooh, thanks Spook, that'd be very helpful.

I'll bear the Youth Hostel in mind for if I can persuade her to stay there again with me. Is that the one that's signposted on the way to the little museum place?
 
Jean said:
I'll bear the Youth Hostel in mind for if I can persuade her to stay there again with me. Is that the one that's signposted on the way to the little museum place?

Once you are in Hartington find the school (close by the church). The lane that splits from the main road and goes uphill away from the village towards Heathcote and Biggin will take you to Hartington Hall.
 
I've posted a message about this before, but my wife and i stayed at the castle hotel, an old coaching inn in castleton a couple of years back (thought to be haunted by a few ghosts). I think it was bedroom no6 that was one haunted room and we stayed in no5.

my wife is convinced someone was touching her hand in the night and - it wasn't me!

It's quite a nice place and a bit spooky. The bar area is supposed to be haunted as well.

Dan
 
Possibly a talltale or myth.....

...but I was told years ago that Thor's Cave near Wetton in the Manifold Valley is supposed to be haunted by someone who commited suicide by throwing themselves down into the gorge below. Definitely atmospheric and a beautiful part of the country.

Not sure if that is in Derbyshire or Staffordshire though.. certainly Peak District area.
 
lizard23 said:
And there was I thinking it was called The Peak District because it was a bit hilly .......

Me too :D

Educational this place, innit :)

Jane.
 
Me and my mate Liz are going to Castleton on Saturday and we'll most likely be going in The Castle if the weather's crap.

We were going to go to Whitby but decided that just over £15 on the coach was a bit steep for only about four hours there, so we're going to Castleton on the bus instead.

Lots cheaper, not so far away and the buses back are more frequent too!
 
Re: Possibly a talltale or myth.....

Quixote said:
...but I was told years ago that Thor's Cave near Wetton in the Manifold Valley is supposed to be haunted by someone who commited suicide by throwing themselves down into the gorge below. Definitely atmospheric and a beautiful part of the country.

Thor’s Cave is apparently haunted by a solitary figure who stands at its entrance - I’ve heard it said on at least one occasion that it is supposed to be the ghost of a Roman soldier. I spent the night there with some friends while I was still at school but was so stoned that I don’t think I would have blinked if Elvis Presley had tried to nick my beer - never mind some undead Latin type.

Not sure about Thor’s Cave but there are Lovers Leaps all over the place - jumping off things appears to have been a very popular local form of getting one’s point made. The cave is also associated with Hob, a name which recurs a great deal all over this part of the world and is I believe connected to a Celtic woodland god and later the Green Man himself.

Thor’s Cave is in the Manifold Valley which is within spitting distance of the beautiful (although touristy) Dovedale. I seem to recall that a while back Fortean Times ran a story (or letter?) about a person visiting Dovedale who had seen strange lights similar to those reported in Longdendale.

Have a good weekend Jean. Let us all know if the spooks come out to play.
 
:D I've been into and around Thor's Cave afterdark with friends. The only things that managed to spook us was the cows in the fields near to it.

Thanks for that though Spook! I didn't know that about the Roman soldier story, the guy who told us that one was from around Butterton too.

You're right though, almost every crag or rock in the area seems to have a suicide tale attached to it.
 
I can vouch for Derbyshire's quality of hauntings - I have lived there all my life, in both Chesterfield and Glossop, and have had my share of weird things happen to me, particularly in places of work. Even better than that, I got married in Eyam (Plague Village) last year and my digital photo's of the wedding are plagued with......guess what?

Orbs. Loads of them. (No it wasn't raining)
 
Ooh, Macky, you've whet my curiosity now! Can we please see some of your wedding pics (plus orbs)?
 
Has anyone been on one of the Derby Ghostwalks?
 
No, I didn't know that they do them. Where do they go from/to?
 
Jean said:
No, I didn't know that they do them. Where do they go from/to?

There's three different ones:

"The City Centre Walk" starts at the Heritage centre (where you can also get a leaflet about the ghostwalks from) and goes to the Lock-Up Yard before going into the subterranean tunnels below the Guild Hall and then onto the Cathedral and the Shire Hall.

"The Hangman's Walk" starts at the Derby Gaol at Friargate, goes to Seymours (where you get to see a photo of the woman who apparently haunts Seymours), then onto St Werburgh's Church, The Friary cellars and then ends at the prison on Vernon St. Supper included.

Finally, there's the "Derby Gaol Sleepover" which included a min-ghostwalk around Friargate. If you pay extra, you can get a medium to do private readings or a seance :eek!!!!:


What, me have the leaflet in front of me? Never! :blah:
 
They sound really good. I may have to investigate further...

Oh, and how much are they, Feyri?
 
I'm actually at work at the mo, so am leaflet-free, but I seem to recall that the first two are about £20 and the sleepover is £40.
 
Cheers, Spook. If I can get someone to go with me I will book on one and post what it was like on here.

I'm only used to paying about £3-4 for a ghost walk, but it looks as though there's a bit more included in these! I've stuck the link on my favourites for future reference.
 
lizard23 said:
And there was I thinking it was called The Peak District because it was a bit hilly.......

Actually strictly speaking I don’t think yourself or mejane are technically wrong.

The Pecsaetan, Peac or Peoc (there are all sorts of spellings) were named for the land they inhabited (“peac” meant hill) - so it’s really a bit of a chicken and egg argument. The area was named after the tribe who were named after the area - does that make sense? One spelling has the area known as “peaceland” - which was nice.

Although some tourist guides and websites claim the Peac were Celtic the name was first recorded in the Saxon period (924). It is actually a Saxon name although, as there is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that Celts remained in the area and retained a fairly strong cultural influence, as I think they did in many highland areas, I would assume the “Peak Dwellers” themselves were a bit of a mix.

Although I’ve tramped all over the area in all weathers and at all times of the day and night I’ve never really been treated to any supernatural surprises along the way. However my Dad has at least three stories worth recounting, one of which is quite dramatic and involved a bus and several other witnesses. I’m going to see him some time this week - I’ll try and prise the details out of
 
this might help in future?

"ghosts and legends of the peak district"
(isbn:- 0-7117-0555-0)
price about 5£
printed by jarrold publishing, norwich.

there are other books in the series

oppols. for the late posting of this info :eek:
 
melf said:
this might help in future?

"ghosts and legends of the peak district"
(isbn:- 0-7117-0555-0)
price about 5£
printed by jarrold publishing, norwich.

there are other books in the series

oppols. for the late posting of this info :eek:

Nay probbies, melf! No need to apologise. Thanks for the info. I might have a look in Waterstones while I'm in town tomorrow...
 
My father – now no longer with us – had three ghost stories: two from his childhood, one from his early twenties. There’s not really much substance to them, but maybe because of the circumstances of their telling, or the fact that the landscape is one I am very familiar with, they have always seemed very atmospheric to me. I probably won’t be able to do them justice. (I’ve been reminded of these stories by a discussion on the It Happens To Us All thread.)

A little background: Dad was two decades older than my mum – born near Hartington in the White Peak area in 1920, to a farming family of modest means and a mother who was already 40 when he was born (a very considerable age for childbearing at the time). He progressed from farm boy to soldier - serving in WW2 - then immediately after demob, school headmaster. He’d tell the following stories if and when prompted, but was not one who ever deliberately sought an audience- he was very entertaining, but never actively sought a platform to be so.

Story #1: Around the age of eight or nine dad was walking with his mother across the fields above the village of Hartington, in what is now the Derbyshire Peak District. Returning home from an unremembered errand, their path took them through an area my dad knew as Boggart’s Barn, but at the time he had no concept of what might be implied by that name, nor given it any thought.

It was a blustery afternoon, but relatively fine – and late in the day, but still light. As they walked past the isolated structure which gives the place its name - set back a little way from the track, hunched alone in the fields, and at some consierable distance from human habitation - my dad saw what he took to be a woman dressed in very pale or white clothing, sitting on wooden gate set in a dry stone wall. Rather surprised to see someone in such a lonely spot - but unaware at this time that there might be anything remarkable about the situation - he couldn’t help but to keep looking over at her as they made their way through the field. The figure did not appear to be taking any notice of the pair and gave the appearance of being deep in thought - her legs swinging gently against the bars of the gate.

They walk on until, at a point where the woman is now behind them, my dad turns to look again. The lonely figure appears to look towards him and raise an arm in the air (at least this is how he read it at the time – when my dad related the story to me many decades later he said that what he then saw in his mind’s eye was the figure rise up in height a little, and then sort of ‘flap’ an arm - very MR James, I know). His mother had been concentrating on picking their way along the rutted track and had not noticed the figure – so he tugs on her coat and asks about the lady who is waving at them. Does she know who it is? She looks over her shoulder towards the gate, stops dead in her tracks for a moment – my dad described her eyes widening and a distinct look of alarm crossing her features - then she grabs my dad’s hand and pulls him forcibly along the track, away from the barn, their pace doubled. She tells him there is nothing there – but he knows she’s just seen the same thing he has. When he looks back the figure is no longer on the gate – and it’s at this sudden absence that the fright actually kicks in for my father, more so than if the figure had still been in sight. By the time they finally drop off the fields and onto a road they are almost running.

It should be pointed out that my grandmother – who I unfortunately never met – was tough as old boots; most stories concerning her describe a woman who would stand her ground and have it out, rather than run – and her obvious sense fear is what convinced my father that something out of the ordinary had taken place. She never spoke about the incident – and when my dad asked his father he was told something along the lines of, ‘there are things up there that you don’t need to know the name of’. This, in itself, was odd - my dad’s family were great storytellers who would spin out epics of family and local lore at the drop of a hat - he felt that the reticence this experience met with told him far more about it than a half hour yarn at the kitchen table.

Notes: I have not been able to find a place known as Boggarts Barn – not even on older maps and field plans. This, in itself, is not so odd; the OS has always been pretty good on local and folk place-names - but never exhaustive; my relations used a fair few place names that were never on any plan. What is a bit odd is the usage of the word ‘boggart’ – which is not common in the area. The name ‘Hob’ is very common, and maybe not so different in implication – but I cannot find a Hob’s Barn either, and besides, knowing my dad, and his knowledge of the area, I doubt he was mistaken in the first place.

I do have a strong inkling of the place in question – and I’ll maybe try and get up there this spring and take some photographs. Possibly early in the day…when it’s nice and sunny, and there’s no danger of me getting caught out by a darkening afternoon.
 
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