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RAF Station Ghosts

KOFY_Fitz

KOFY_Fitz

Junior Acolyte
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Messages
54
Location
Northamptonshire
Hi all,

I'm looking for ghost and paranormal stories at RAF stations (including a few no longer in service), in particular those that I have personally visited. If anyone has had any experiences at the locations below, or are aware of any activity at the locations, I'd be really appreciative if you could let me know, even if it is just a link to a book or website with further information. I've got a few already but want to make sure I don't miss anything!

Linton On Ouse
Laarbruch
Akrotiri
Sealand
Cranwell
Cosford
Duxford
Manston
Brize Norton
Henlow
Farnborough
Upper Heyford
Lakenheath
Mildenhall

Thanks!!
 
KOFY_Fitz said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for ghost and paranormal stories at RAF stations (including a few no longer in service), in particular those that I have personally visited. If anyone has had any experiences at the locations below, or are aware of any activity at the locations, I'd be really appreciative if you could let me know, even if it is just a link to a book or website with further information. I've got a few already but want to make sure I don't miss anything!

Linton On Ouse
Laarbruch
Akrotiri
Sealand
Cranwell
Cosford
Duxford
Manston
Brize Norton
Henlow
Farnborough
Upper Heyford
Lakenheath
Mildenhall

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Fitz,
we shoot on what was the old RAF Rivenhall airbase, or what’s left of it, and there are various rumours of ghosts.

Try this google link to see if there is anything of interest to you.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=g...ield&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

I must admit that I have walked through the few remaining and derelict Nissan huts, and to date nothing has jumped out at me and screamed Boo, but then I’m usually toting a loaded 12 Bore.
 
Also, although I haven't read it, I did see this:

41DUQUJcwcL.jpg
71WcLLuMLIL.jpg


Details:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993336...&asin=0993336043&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
 
Probably linked to in one of the other threads mentioned, but this somewhat old school 40 Minutes documentary from the BBC covers the haunting of RAF Linton on Ouse (from around 29:37):


As I've said about this documentary elsewhere on the board:

...features the late Eddie Burks, who, of all the better know mediums, is the only one I could ever warm to - probably because he always seemed so utterly untheatrical.

...In fact this is the documentary that has always stuck in my mind as possible ammunition for a counter-argument to the idea that the official line of all officialdom is to discount the paranormal and belittle or cover up expressions of the same on its territory and/or by its employees. I mean, Mr Burks gets access to both RAF Linton and to some of its personnel - and no-one seems to bat an eye. And you can't get much more official than the RAF.
Click to expand...
 
KOFY_Fitz said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for ghost and paranormal stories at RAF stations (including a few no longer in service), in particular those that I have personally visited. If anyone has had any experiences at the locations below, or are aware of any activity at the locations, I'd be really appreciative if you could let me know, even if it is just a link to a book or website with further information. I've got a few already but want to make sure I don't miss anything!

Linton On Ouse
Laarbruch
Akrotiri
Sealand
Cranwell
Cosford
Duxford
Manston
Brize Norton
Henlow
Farnborough
Upper Heyford
Lakenheath
Mildenhall

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

My late father was in the RAF, based at St Mawgan (which has now become Spaceport Cornwall), but I don't ever recall him bringing any ghost stories home.

After he left the RAF, the family relocated to Farnborough, famed for the air show and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
Some of the old buildings at Farnborough, which date back to the birth of aviation and Samuel Cody's fateful flight, are allegedly haunted.
I posted something about this years ago here, but from what I recall, Farnborough staff had reported seeing a shadowy figure, with a wide-brimmed hat, looking vaguely like the Sandeman port logo (which I once used as my avatar):

port.png
 
I believe that RAF Pitreavie Castle was supposed to have its own resident ghost in the castle (More of a Manor House than a castle to be honest) but I never witnessed anything of a spooky nature in there despite having to carry out numerous night time security checks whilst based there.
 
On 21st February, 1966, a fire killed three civilian firemen in the underground operations block of the radar station at Royal Air Force, Neatishead. My father was shown the hand marks in the soot on the back of a door where they tried to get out, as part of his safety training, made quite an impression on him.
 
It's a bit late and I've had a bottle of a particularly fine Chilean red and two pints of Holsten Pils, so excuse any slurring, but one story sticks in my mind- (from Norfolk I think);
A journalist from an aviation magazine went to a base to interview an Raf officer. When he arrived he was sent to the canteen to wait for said officer. When the canteen guy came over with his coffee, the journalist asked him who the chap was sat in the corner dressed in WW2 flying gear. The guy looked over and said that there was no one there. The journalist said "that's odd, he was there a second ago".
The guy then said " oh, you must have seen old 'Joe' - he was here during the war, but on returning from a mission one night, he crashed landed and was killed.
Don't worry, he won't bother you".
 
I live near Skipwith Common and that was once RAF Riccall - still a very obvious runway, an air raid shelter and a few other structures and on adjacent fields, Nissan huts. The Common is now a sort of nature reserve and covered in trees, mainly silver birches. The only supernatural story I've found is one mentioned here on the forum, the Skipwith Bear - a 1960s' sighting of a bear like animal, visible from the road, in the trees. But given the description of the witness, am fairly certain it was on the site of the lost RAF field as that underlies much of the woods. So, not a WW2 ghost, as such, but some kind of... thing.

It's the one area locally where I wouldn't want the car to break down at night, though. And it is also the site of some Iron Age barrows which are metres from the surviving runway. Which adds to the eeriness.
 
KOFY_Fitz said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for ghost and paranormal stories at RAF stations (including a few no longer in service), in particular those that I have personally visited. If anyone has had any experiences at the locations below, or are aware of any activity at the locations, I'd be really appreciative if you could let me know, even if it is just a link to a book or website with further information. I've got a few already but want to make sure I don't miss anything!

Linton On Ouse
Laarbruch
Akrotiri
Sealand
Cranwell
Cosford
Duxford
Manston
Brize Norton
Henlow
Farnborough
Upper Heyford
Lakenheath
Mildenhall

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Fitz,
Re: RAF Rivenhall, there is an interesting account given of the airfield in this Ghost Hunting show which is available on Prime.

D674CC42-A0C1-4A17-A219-B09958A436C0.jpg
 
Sgt Girth said:
And there’s this one

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/o...t-spooks-historians-hotel-staff-old-raf-base/

Rather unfortunate to survive a crash, only to be killed by falling brickwork!
Click to expand...

For the life of me I cannot now find it, but I was positive that I had bookmarked a first hand encounter related to this place which had been provided by a professional pilot. What struck me was that said encounter had, I think, been published in a professional magazine - which, again (in relation to my previous post) goes counter to the argument that people in these sorts of jobs simply do not talk about such things because of fear of ridicule.

(I also quite like the fact that the only two comments attached to that article perfectly represent the two polar opposites of the spectrum of belief in regard to the general subject.)
 
I read this book a few years ago although I no longer own it:

GHOST STATIONS VOL.1 TRUE GHOST MYSTERY by Bruce Halpenny​


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0907595561/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What struck me was just how many haunted old military airfields there are in Britain and many accounts are by named witnesses and even multiple witnesses. Many of these old airfields have been redeveloped over the years but that hasn't always stopped the hauntings.

Why so many ghosts? Young men and women living in a state of heightened fear and not knowing if their airfield was next to be bombed or if there mission would end their short lives...? I feel there has to be a major clue to the nature of ghosts and hauntings tied up in all of this. Have to say one of my favourite all-time ghost manifestations was the group of men who walked up onto the Pennines to visit the wreck of a WW2 bomber and all but one of the men ran off when ghostly WW2 pilot manifested behind the one oblivious man (details from memory and I'm sure it features on this forum).

Also of note are the reported ghosts following Heathrow's one and only fatal crash:

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/b...ow-airport-spooky-briefcase-carrying-21654155

Along with the 'famous' bowler hated man there were also reports of ghostly figures knocking on the doors of caravans close to the crash site.

Is it the suddenness, the sheer terror of the moments before the crash or so something to do with not being on terra firma at the time of death (in some cases)...?
 
Some disused airfields have been built on and are now industrial units or housing estates. Are there any stories of lingering ghostly airmen haunting the new structures?
 
Bigphoot2 said:
The former Montrose Air Station on the east coast of Scotland has a reputation for being haunted by the ghost of a pilot who died in a crash there. The base is now an air museum
https://rafmontrose.org.uk/ghost-2/

http://angusfolklore.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-first-operational-military-air-base.html
Click to expand...
Phantom Pilots, Ghost Planes from another era, and Broken Radios playing speeches from the war. All of these apparitions and more have been an almost constant feature of Montrose Airbase. Mainly attributed to the ghost of the pilot Lieutenant Desmond Arthur ,he and his plane have been seen by many. The hauntings became so prevalent that by 1949 any newcomers to the Montrose airbase were given a printed document as part of their familiarization with the base informing the staff that the camp was haunted by the youngest ghost in the Royal Airforce, an officer named Flight Lieutenant Arthur. The Hauntings continue to this day..... Sources:The Scotsman Newspaper, Ghosts of the Air by Martin Caidin and Wikipedia
Click to expand...
 
Thanks all! I'll be trawling through those for a while!

I do have the 'Dark Part of the Sky' book, and it's an interesting read but it's either dramatised or (at least partially)fiction. Certainly not enough in there to corroborate.

Those that mentioned Montrose, it is a really fascinating case and I'm hoping to be able to visit the site one day. We've already done an episode on it though.

@Erinaceus - I've seen quite a few reports of phantom airmen haunting locations that used to be airbases. Some are not much but farmland but others are developed. There was one I came across where the ghost kept appearing in the bedroom of a new build looking just as confused to find a couple in bed as they were to see him!

@Spookdaddy - I know a few ex-military and commercial pilots and they are, as you say, pretty tight lipped about this sort of thing as it can be career ending to admit to anything that might imply you are anything less than 100% on the level. They do have a bunch of spooky stories to tell anonymously though!!!
 

A recent new entry on the ever-excellent UK Paranormal database:​


"Location: Grimsby (Lincolnshire) - Former RAF Waltham (aka RAF Grimsby)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1969 (airman), 2020s (white light)
Further Comments: Several former pilots walk this old RAF base, both along the aging airstrips and the perimeter road. One of the ghosts that has chosen the perimeter to haunt is said to have blown himself up with a grenade after being declared unfit to fly (and may have been seen in a bungalow in 1969). Another spirit has appeared by the memorial laid for the Number 100 squadron. More recently, a dull warm white has been spotted drifting along the old runways, and a man walking his dog was later asked about the person dressed in dark clothing who had earlier walked by his side; the man had not encountered any other person during his walk."

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/index.php
 
Paul_Exeter said:
I read this book a few years ago although I no longer own it:

GHOST STATIONS VOL.1 TRUE GHOST MYSTERY by Bruce Halpenny​


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0907595561/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What struck me was just how many haunted old military airfields there are in Britain and many accounts are by named witnesses and even multiple witnesses. Many of these old airfields have been redeveloped over the years but that hasn't always stopped the hauntings.

Why so many ghosts? Young men and women living in a state of heightened fear and not knowing if their airfield was next to be bombed or if there mission would end their short lives...? I feel there has to be a major clue to the nature of ghosts and hauntings tied up in all of this. Have to say one of my favourite all-time ghost manifestations was the group of men who walked up onto the Pennines to visit the wreck of a WW2 bomber and all but one of the men ran off when ghostly WW2 pilot manifested behind the one oblivious man (details from memory and I'm sure it features on this forum).

Also of note are the reported ghosts following Heathrow's one and only fatal crash:

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/b...ow-airport-spooky-briefcase-carrying-21654155

Along with the 'famous' bowler hated man there were also reports of ghostly figures knocking on the doors of caravans close to the crash site.

Is it the suddenness, the sheer terror of the moments before the crash or so something to do with not being on terra firma at the time of death (in some cases)...?
Click to expand...
I think I've got volume 5 in the Ghost Station series so there must be a lit of haunted RAF bases out there.
My Dad was in the RAF and I lived, not on the base, but on the married quarters nearby - no ghosts I heard of on the base, but the landscape round it was pretty weird - a haunted abbey, a haunted manor in the local MOD owned woods. As kids we populated the woods with various ghosts - a werewolf we called King Hairy, and a mysterious vanishing purple car. After Kinloss my Dad was posted to RAF Northwood - and we lived in married quarters in Ickenham. That house seemed very haunted by something - footsteps, a sometimes nasty atmosphere. I once watched a box of paints jump up in the air by itself.
 
Just a couple of hundred yards away from the perimeter of Farnborough airport - the home of British aviation, renowned for the world-famous air show and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, is the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) museum.
We visited yesterday with our 4 year old grandson.
He loved sitting in a cockpit, powering up a mock-up jet engine, watching the flight-sims and the sheer size of some of the exhibits.
I was impressed by it all, including the full-sized replica of Samuel Cody's 1908 aircraft - the first powered heavier than air flight in the UK.

cody.png


Out of interest I Googled the FAST museum this evening and saw that someone reported going on a ghost watch vigil there a year or so back.
Given that the museum contains several exhibits with a tragic heritage from air crashes (starting with Samuel Cody) it probably isn't that surprising that a ghost or two still lingers around these artefacts.
Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

https://airsciences.org.uk/aircraft-on-display/
 
While doing an appeal for west Norfolk ghost stories on Facebook, I was sent this. It's sadly outside my region of interest but I filed it nonetheless:

Hi Paul, I had a couple experiences when I was stationed at Lakenheath and a few when I lived on Feltwell. About 29 years ago I was out in BLDG 1270 on the flight line. I was on my own and it was about 0300. I was looking for a spare part troubleshooting an aircraft engine. I was going through a set of drawers and someone came up behind me asking for a light. I handed my lighter over my shoulder and heard a cigarette light and could smell it. The person handed me my lighter and I saw the sleeve of their uniform was khaki coloured. At this period we all wore the green BDU uniform. Khaki wasn’t even a uniform option. When this registered a few seconds later and I turned around nobody was there. I looked outside and there was nobody within sight. I didn’t feel threatened or anything just weirded out a bit. Now PAS 47 is a different story. I have no idea what went on there but I have never encountered fear like I have in the place. It is one it’s own in the trees by the 24 end of the runway. It is always cold, even in summer, equipment batteries run dead if left in there. Something nasty and I would say old resides there. I wasn’t the only one to feel it. Nobody would go in there alone.
 
escargot said:
Did they put the lights out at the end and then put them back on so you could admire the huge GIGANTIC freestanding penis stalagmite?
Click to expand...

blessmycottonsocks said:
Just a couple of hundred yards away from the perimeter of Farnborough airport - the home of British aviation, renowned for the world-famous air show and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, is the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) museum.
We visited yesterday with our 4 year old grandson.
He loved sitting in a cockpit, powering up a mock-up jet engine, watching the flight-sims and the sheer size of some of the exhibits.
I was impressed by it all, including the full-sized replica of Samuel Cody's 1908 aircraft - the first powered heavier than air flight in the UK.

View attachment 66601

Out of interest I Googled the FAST museum this evening and saw that someone reported going on a ghost watch vigil there a year or so back.
Given that the museum contains several exhibits with a tragic heritage from air crashes (starting with Samuel Cody) it probably isn't that surprising that a ghost or two still lingers around these artefacts.
Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

https://airsciences.org.uk/aircraft-on-display/
Click to expand...
I was down there a good few years back and the museum was closed, as we sat
in the car a gentleman approached and said it was closed but we could have a
look if we wanted, so in we went, we were allowed everywhere inc the back store
rooms on the promise not to injure ourselves, and office, even given a brew, they
would not take money but I sent some pics I had of a Seafire that they expressed
interest in wile they were showing us
their photo collection, saw lots of interesting stuff but no ghosts.
The Seafire is now flying in the USA
seafire3.jpg

Seafire MK47 RR Griffon 2500hp with contra props.
 
Last edited:
The question must be asked why RAF stations ?

There are plenty of places that young people have met their untimely deaths and they don't seem to be as haunted, one would think that the WW1 battlefields would be full of ghosts considering the carnage that went on?
 
Robbrent said:
The question must be asked why RAF stations ?

There are plenty of places that young people have met their untimely deaths and they don't seem to be as haunted, one would think that the WW1 battlefields would be full of ghosts considering the carnage that went on?
Click to expand...
Thats what I always think as my local Castle Tynemouth Priory had 200 monks burned alive inside by The Vikings but no reports ever of Ghostl's that era.
 
Robbrent said:
The question must be asked why RAF stations ?

There are plenty of places that young people have met their untimely deaths and they don't seem to be as haunted, one would think that the WW1 battlefields would be full of ghosts considering the carnage that went on?
Click to expand...
This question came up over on the time-slips thread.
I posted a couple of examples of ghosts appearing at locations other than where they died.
It was suggested that, instead of the place of death, a ghost may return to a place where they wanted to be or felt they had unfinished business.
This is obviously mere speculation, but all those young airmen about to lose their lives in war-time missions likely longed to return to the comfort, safety and camaraderie of their home base.
 
Robbrent said:
The question must be asked why RAF stations ?

There are plenty of places that young people have met their untimely deaths and they don't seem to be as haunted, one would think that the WW1 battlefields would be full of ghosts considering the carnage that went on?
Click to expand...

RAF pilots operating on bases in the UK underwent some fairly unique stresses.

As I discussed here:

Yithian said:
I recall that one of the common complaints with Bomber Command air-crew in the war was the hideous juxtaposition of the enormous strain and terrible deaths they encountered at close quarters by night with the daylight world of normality they would wake to back on the ground. A man watches his navigator burn to death over Essen, the plane limps back home and he awakes in his bed that afternoon to an angry note asking why he hasn't paid his grocery bill or remembered his auntie's birthday. Many men found this dissonance extremely psychologically taxing, and more than a few 'snapped' in response.
Click to expand...

Soldiers who literally 'went to war' no doubt had their own crosses to bear, but Man was not made to switch between the hellish and the mundane on a daily basis—least of all on his own metaphorical doorstep.

Whether one signs up to such beliefs is entirely one's own affair, but many of those who have written on the subject of ghosts posit a link between intense psychological traumas and the haunting of locations linked with those extreme experiences.
 
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