The Barnet Ghost Girl

Paul_Exeter

Paul_Exeter

Antediluvian
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Distressed Girl​

Location: Outer London: Barnet (Greater London) - Field just south of A1081 junction with Trotters Bottom
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s/1970s
Further Comments: Over a period of around twenty years, calls would arrive at Barnet Police Station from witnesses who claimed to have seen scantily dressed girl in distress standing in a field. The reports would be made early in the morning, and the police were never able to find anyone when they attended the scene, leading them believing the girl to be a ghost.

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/index.php
 
Paul_Exeter said:

Distressed Girl​

Location: Outer London: Barnet (Greater London) - Field just south of A1081 junction with Trotters Bottom
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s/1970s
Further Comments: Over a period of around twenty years, calls would arrive at Barnet Police Station from witnesses who claimed to have seen scantily dressed girl in distress standing in a field. The reports would be made early in the morning, and the police were never able to find anyone when they attended the scene, leading them believing the girl to be a ghost.

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/recent/index.php
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Seems an odd conclusion to come to.... assuming the police didn't arrive within seconds, the girl could just have gone home or been picked up. I'd assume a young woman with mental health issues myself, rather than 'ghost'.
 
Greetings all.

New here. This is my first post. And the Paranormal Database post on the Barnet Ghost Girl is also mine.

The distressed girl was usually reported by long distance lorry drivers and seen in the early hours of the morning. The area was (and probably still is) isolated and rural. The reports were taken seriously and responded to urgently as the area was popular with 'courting couples'. No one was ever found.

I was briefly at Barnet myself and heard stories from colleagues although it never happened in my time (late 70s).

Mercy (not a plea)
 
Mercy Chaney said:
Greetings all.

New here. This is my first post. And the Paranormal Database post on the Barnet Ghost Girl is also mine.

The distressed girl was usually reported by long distance lorry drivers and seen in the early hours of the morning. The area was (and probably still is) isolated and rural. The reports were taken seriously and responded to urgently as the area was popular with 'courting couples'. No one was ever found.

I was briefly at Barnet myself and heard stories from colleagues although it never happened in my time (late 70s).

Mercy (not a plea)
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It does sound intriguing. Even if the explanation for the sightings was something 'mundane' that people were mis-perceiving then it would be intriguing.

I wonder if anyone has any more info of the reported sightings, such as how many reports there were, or details of descriptions of the girl? Were the various witnesses describing the same thing? 'Scantily clad' is a bit.....scanty, descriptively. It could mean various things.
 
CharmerKamelion said:
It does sound intriguing. Even if the explanation for the sightings was something 'mundane' that people were mis-perceiving then it would be intriguing.

I wonder if anyone has any more info of the reported sightings, such as how many reports there were, or details of descriptions of the girl? Were the various witnesses describing the same thing? 'Scantily clad' is a bit.....scanty, descriptively. It could mean various things.
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Yes, you're right, one person's 'scantily clad' is nightdress and slippers, another person might think 'bra and knickers', to another (like my mother) being 'scantily clad' is going out without your cardigan.
 
catseye said:
Again, open to interpretation. I was wearing five layers last week. Blokes were out in shorts and T shirts.
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Only five layers, @catseye ? You're brave I had six on at one point, including my 'grandad string vest'. Yes, I saw a few hard men out dressed inappropriately. I suppose you could call them 'scantily clad' though it sounds odd when applied to blokes.
 
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It was the most horrible weather in history yesterday evening, and still there were belligerent blokes in shorts striding about the place, looking as if they were carrying a loaf of bread under each arm.

I've had a suspicion, for years, that is probably nonsensical - but it's that windy weather makes people act-up. Trouble on the wind...
 
I wonder if these reports occurred at a specific time of year. A figure standing in a field, truckers driving by (don't know if they stopped), "distressed".

Scarecrow standing in farmer's field, late autumn, windy weather, in ragged clothes which might appear as someone waving.:dunno:

Too bad there were not better descriptions.
 
brownmane said:
I wonder if these reports occurred at a specific time of year. A figure standing in a field, truckers driving by (don't know if they stopped), "distressed".

Scarecrow standing in farmer's field, late autumn, windy weather, in ragged clothes which might appear as someone waving.:dunno:

Too bad there were not better descriptions.
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Surely the police who turned up to investigate would have reported back that it was just a scarecrow instead?. I can't imagine them repeatedly investigating the same scarecrow unless there was poor communication in that force.
 
And were people so distracted by her 'scantily clad nature' that they couldn't describe her accurately? If this is a local 'beauty spot' (read, place where those whose houses are quite crowded might go for a bit of nooky) it could be several different women. Is it within driving distance of somewhere people might get dressed up to go? Round here anyone going for a night out qualifies as 'scantily dressed' by my lights - put a vest on, woman!
 
Mercy Chaney said:
Greetings all.

New here. This is my first post. And the Paranormal Database post on the Barnet Ghost Girl is also mine.

The distressed girl was usually reported by long distance lorry drivers and seen in the early hours of the morning. The area was (and probably still is) isolated and rural. The reports were taken seriously and responded to urgently as the area was popular with 'courting couples'. No one was ever found.

I was briefly at Barnet myself and heard stories from colleagues although it never happened in my time (late 70s).

Mercy (not a plea)
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Great to have you onboard.

Some researchers have found a parallel with certain Fortean phenomena and so-called 'lover's lanes' where courting couple (and I suppose just plain old doggers) hang out, with cryptids such as Bigfoot-type creatures with red glowing eyes and I believe UFO and humanoid encounters, too.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Great to have you onboard.

Some researchers have found a parallel with certain Fortean phenomena and so-called 'lover's lanes' where courting couple (and I suppose just plain old doggers) hang out, with cryptids such as Bigfoot-type creatures with red glowing eyes and I believe UFO and humanoid encounters, too.
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In some cases, to distract from what they were doing there. 'But why were you, Malcolm, a long-term married man, down Snuffling Lane that night?'

'Look, never mind that, BIGFOOT!!!'
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Great to have you onboard.

Some researchers have found a parallel with certain Fortean phenomena and so-called 'lover's lanes' where courting couple (and I suppose just plain old doggers) hang out, with cryptids such as Bigfoot-type creatures with red glowing eyes and I believe UFO and humanoid encounters, too.
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An interesting thought. Perhaps it's a heightened sense of awareness ( a fear of being caught). And of course, the locations tend to be 'out of the way'.

I do remember in our 'courting days' we had a strange incident one night whilst parked up by a field gate. We were.. er, a bit steamed up but I noticed a movement outside at the rear of the car. We assumed it was a peeper and big, brave now husband wound down the window to shout at whoever. Then he decided we were out of there and hastily backed the car out and drove off. It took a little while for him to tell me what had happened.

He had seen a figure behind the car which he described as dressed in a light coloured 'anorak' with the hood up and pulled tight. What unnerved him was the figure was 'glowing' and when he yelled at it, it just disappeared.

Husband is a very stolid sort and even insisted on returning to the location in daylight to see if we could come up with a logical explanation. We couldn't.
 
Swifty said:
Surely the police who turned up to investigate would have reported back that it was just a scarecrow instead?. I can't imagine them repeatedly investigating the same scarecrow unless there was poor communication in that force.
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Possibly, but with little detail, we don't know.

You are also assuming that the police knew people were misidentifying a scarecrow.

Here is my idea of why the police might not say "oh, it's a scarecrow". Again it's all based on assumptions people make:

Person in distress in a field is reported. Police go looking for a person in a field. Most people would expect/assume that the person is mobile and may not be found in exact area as originally reported. Even people reported lost when hiking are difficult to find because they don't stay in one place.

Truckers are also seeing the person while they are in motion, so exact location reported may be off. They are probably not familiar with the area ie local.

We don't know if several reports were close in time, only reports covering 20 years. If it were several within the same month, then perhaps the police might say there's a scarecrow over there. Maybe that's what they've seen.

A span of years would be difficult to recognize any changes in a field.

The police are also under the assumption that it is a lovers' lane and frequented by people so they are expecting that the people reporting have seen a person.

I wouldn't say the police were negligent or poor reporters, only that to compare notes spanning a large amount of time, and, probably no further discussion with the truckers, details can be missed.

Biases and expectations always affect what you believe happened.
 
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