Ghosts of Britain

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF A GHOST INBRITAIN’S MOST HAUNTED VILLAGE

Prestbury, considered to be the most haunted region ofGreat Britain, was once a small village, and was included in the nearbyCheltenhamsprawl in 1991 following a boundary change . However, it still has much of its original character, looking like many other typical Cotswolds villages with its cozy pubs, thatched cottages, dry stone walls and Tudor half-timbered houses – all slumbering peacefully in the summer sun. However, all is not what it seems because Prestbury is positioned over a number of intersecting ley lines. Ley lines are unseen meridians that criss-cross the earth and are said to cause spiritual disturbances. As a result there are so many ghosts in this village that they have, on occasion, walked through each other!

It is well documented that Prestbury’s Church – St. Mary’s, which dates back to the 12^th century, is located on several of the ley lines and is  haunted by an apparition known as The Black Abbot. When I was researching material for a book of true-life ghost stories I visited St. Mary’s Church. There I encountered a team of church volunteers who were attending to the flowers and polishing the Church brass. I asked if anyone had ever seen the ghost of the Black Abbot of Prestbury. An elderly lady stepped forward and told her story.

Her name was Jane and she had moved to the Prestbury area from a far distant town about three years before she recounted her story. She volunteered to help at the Church knowing nothing of the frequent sightings of the ghost of Black Abbot. One early, misty morning as she was walking through the graveyard on her way to the Church she noticed a movement by a gravestone. She saw what she thought was a woman in a strange outfit.

This woman was bending over one of the gravestones and was wearing what appeared to be a long dark gown and some kind of hood or hat. Jane thought it odd to see someone visiting the churchyard so early in the morning and moved forward to call out ‘Good Morning’. Jane looked down for a split second to make sure of her footing on the stony ground. When she looked up this figure had disappeared.  Jane was taken aback as she realized nobody could have exited the graveyard that quickly. Jane felt a temperature drop at the time and noticed that her hand trembled and her knees felt weak – almost as if they were suddenly made of water. At a loss to explain what had happened Jane recovered enough to get herself to the Church and immediately shared her experience with her fellow volunteers.

Jane described seeing what she believed was a woman dressed in Victorian clothes suddenly vanishing without trace.  Her fellow volunteers laughed and told her that she had just seen The Black Abbot of Prestbury’s ghost!  What appeared to be a Victorian dress was, in fact, the Abbot’s habit and the hood or hat was his cowl. Jane was amazed and horrified. But the volunteers reassured her that The Black Abbot was a frequent and benign visitor to the Churchyard.  So frequent, in fact, that the volunteers had lost any fear of him.

The Black Abbot’s ghost could, at one time, be seen strolling down the aisles of the church and in between the pews. A startled Vicar also saw this ghost sitting on a gravestone. Eventually, the parishioners asked the Vicar to exorcise the Black Abbot’s ghost from the Church. This was done using the bell, book and candle method and from then on this ghost has been seen only in the graveyard and other parts of Prestbury.

Real British Ghosts reports the presence of a spectral chicken which is interesting in the light of my earlier blog entry concerning animal spirits. It seems that even fowl can return from the other side. It all started in1626 inHighgate,England. During a particularly cold winter Sir Francis Bacon got together with his friend Dr. Witherbone in what was perhaps the first discussion about the merits of freezing food in order to preserve it. As part of an experiment coming out of this discussion a chicken was found and after it was killed and plucked it was packed in snow.  Shortly after this event a partly plucked chicken was observed running in circles around Highgate pond. Whenever anyone approached it, this hapless bird disappeared into thin air. Many sightings of this chicken have been reported over the centuries including an interesting one during the Second World War.  Air raid wardens saw this chicken apparition frequently and one tried to chase and catch it before in passed right through a brick wall!

The Everyman Theatre was immediately successful when it first opened in 1891 under its original name of The New Theatre and Opera House. A triumphant performance by Lily Langtry launched a sold-out season and many other big name stars went on to grace its stage with their performances including Ellen Terry, H.B. Irving, Charlie Chaplin, Fred Karno and Sir John Gielgud.

The Everyman Theatre, which is in the center of Cheltenhamand can be reached through the Regents Arcade Shopping Centre, was originally designed by Frank Matcham, thought to be one of the greatest architects of his time. Here one of Matcham’s finest theatre interiors survives to this day largely intact. The interior features a semi-circular proscenium arch with a safety curtain painted in the trompe l’oeil style depicting lush velvet drapes and cherubic figures. The intimate auditorium is framed by white-painted balconies decorated with molded plasterwork foliage and dominated by a magnificent Adam-style plasterwork ceiling.

The updated exterior of the theatre is primarily of cheery, red brickwork with circular windows in the upper stories and an elegant glassed-in colonnade decorated with wrought iron tracery.

It is thought that the apparition in Edwardian dress who haunted the upper balcony of the theatre could perhaps have been the shade of Lily Langtry, its first performer, or possibly that of Ellen Terry who also appeared in plays at the New Theatre and Opera House as it then was.

Lily Langtry, a famous actress of her day, was possibly more famous for her affairs with prominent men than for her stage acting. This vivacious woman was born in1853 inJersey, the daughter of the Reverend William Corbet Le Breton, and in 1874 married prosperous Irish landowner Edward Langtry primarily, it is said, because he possessed a yacht. Her portrait was painted by Millais, and displayed at theRoyalAcademyinLondon. The painting shows the actress holding a lily in her hand and this image helped create her soubriquet ‘The Jersey Lily’. She was much sought after for her beauty and wit and was the first woman to popularize the wearing of ‘the little black dress’, a wardrobe necessity that has remained such a ubiquitous fashion staple among elegant women to this day.

Albert Edward (Bertie) the philandering Prince of Wales, who was later to become Edward VII, arranged to be seated next to Lily Langtry, during a dinner party in 1877. He had heard tales of Lily’s vivid personality and proceeded to proposition her while her husband looked on from the other end of the table. She became the Prince of Wales’ mistress and the affair lasted until June 1880.

When the affair with Bertie ended Lily lost much of the royal patronage that went with it, and as she was living above her means, her debts quickly piled up. Bankruptcy followed, but Lily seemed undeterred and continued to have affairs with several prominent men. When she conceived a daughter this baby’s paternity was in doubt as Lily was conducting several liaisons at the time. Prince Louie of Battenburg was touted as the baby’s father but he vehemently denied the possibility. However, his son Dickie Mountbatten, Earl of Burma, firmly believed that this baby, named Jeanne Marie, was sired by his father.

Oscar Wilde suggested that Lily Langtry begin a stage career and her first performance was in She Stoops to Conquer in the Haymarket Theatre inLondon. Later this production toured theUnited States to great success.

Lily went on to conquer the theatre-going public and several more prominent men, including a trio of American millionaires. Finally in 1899 she married a much younger man named Hugo Gerald de Bathe and retired toMonte Carlo. She lived there until her death in1929.

The shade of the woman who appeared in the balcony of the Everyman Theatre could have belonged to Lily Langtry although there was nothing in her past to suggest she would return from the other side. It could also have been that of Ellen Terry who performed in this same theatre. This beloved theatrical legend first performed onstage playing Maxmillius in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale at the age of eight. Her parents were strolling players and she toured with them learning her craft from her father who drilled her in clear elocution. She went on to perform many roles, including Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ophelia in Hamlet. She later formed a lasting alliance with Sir Henry Irving playing Guinevere in his production of King Arthur among many other roles. Sir Bernard Shaw was enchanted by her and Oscar Wilde wrote a sonnet in her honor.

She had a magnificent acting career which lasted over fifty years. She died only a year after Lily Langtry and her ashes are interred in the actor’s churchSt. Paul’s inConventGarden.

In Roger Manvell’s biography of Ellen Terry he writes that when she died the streets of London were lined for sixty miles with people, many of whom left bouquets of flowers forBritain’s queen of the stage. Her great acting legacy was handed down through her family for her nephew became another stage and screen legend, Sir John Gielgud.

As with Lily Langtry there was nothing in Ellen Terry’s life that would suggest a reason for her to return to haunt this lovely theatre. Could this shade belong to one or other of these two great ladies of the theatre, who perhaps like many actors, could not resist the opportunity of hearing the tumultuous applause for their performances just one more time?

In addition to the apparition seen in the balcony other manifestations have taken place at the Everyman Theatre.

This theatre has been successful from its very first performance but it really came into its own during the Second World War as many theatres inLondonwere closed.  After the war, audience numbers dropped off sharply due to the reopening of theLondontheatres and the competition from movie theatres. When an announcement was made in 1959 that The New Theatre and Opera House would close, a public outcry led to the formation of the Cheltenham Theatre Association and to the raising of funds to save this well-loved cultural institution.

By May 1960 the building had been remodeled and was given a new name – The Everyman Theatre. It became a repertory company and proved so popular that by the late 1970s an additional three million pounds was raised to renovate the auditorium and the backstage areas.

In the mid 1990s the Everyman Theatre became a touring venue once again and to this day mounts an impressive variety of performances including drama, musicals, children’s theatre and that evergreen of English theatrical highlights – the Pantomime. The Everyman also produces many theatre programs that help members of the community explore their creative potential and hosts various civic outreach activities. The Everyman Theatre continues, after 117 years, to be one ofCheltenham’s most popular cultural landmarks.

It is also a haunted cultural landmark for it is well documented that, in addition to the shadowy specter in the upper circle, eerie music has been heard coming from the stage of the Everyman. This music has also been heard many times by a technician who worked at the theatre for over twenty years. These manifestations begin on the night of the full moon. The sound starts high up near the roof in the backstage area usually with just a few bars of music floating down to the stage level. Next, the source of the music will switch to another area and appear to be coming from the wings or from beneath the stage. At first this music will move slowly from one location to another but then the tempo of the location changes and builds until everyone who witnesses this weird event will get a headache from the frenetic pace of these changes. In addition, it is very hard to identify the instruments that are creating the music as they are not like any from a conventional orchestra. The music has been described as an unearthly sound that makes such an impression on those who hear it that it is never forgotten.

When this phenomenon was first reported the concept that it might be a ghostly presence was dismissed. This strange sound was thought to be coming from the theatre’s sound system or perhaps from a radio that was being played by an actor or a technician backstage. But, after this music was heard on several occasions, all technical equipment was turned off and every square inch of the theatre was searched for a possible source. None was found and eventually it was acknowledged that the music somehow must come from some other dimension.

Another area of the theatre that appears to be haunted, in addition to the stage, is a section of the auditorium that is close to the main doors by the foyer. Witnesses to this haunting describe suddenly having an attack of ‘pins and needles’ followed by a terrible fatigue – almost as if all the energy has been drained out of their bodies. Next, faint music is heard. At first, of course, it is assumed that pre-show music is playing or perhaps a rehearsal song. But, then there is a realization that this music is actually coming from some other place as it is accompanied by a spine-chilling vibration. No one knows the origin of this unsettling event but it has happened many times and some of the more sensitive witnesses who have experienced it have actually had screaming terror fits and have fled the theatre shaking with an unnamed fear.

There is a supernatural connection between witches and objects known as ‘familiars’

Witches often channel their spells and curses through various animals and objects. This concept was used to great effect in the film Bell, Book and Candle,

starring Kim Novak, Jimmy Stewart and Elsa Lancaster.

It shows Kim Novak’s character using her cat to cast a spell that results in Jimmy Stewart’s character breaking off his engagement and proposing to her instead.

Although lighthearted in tone this film gives an accurate depiction of a witche’s use of a ‘familiar’

HOW TO EXORCISE A GHOST

There are several methods of getting rid of a ghost.

 1.Bell, Book and Candle

This method requires:

A bell which is to be hand wrung.

A lit candle.

A religious book – A bible or the religious book of another faith.

Those affected by the ghost should gather around the lit candle and the religious book.

A passage must be read from the religious book.

The ghost must be described and asked to leave the mortals affected in peace.

Next, the bell should be wrung, the book slammed shut and the candle quashed.

This is a very good method of laying a ghost.

2. Brimstone

According to J.A. Brooks in his book The Ghosts and Witches of the Cotswolds, in past times ghosts have been sufficiently disturbing for a recipe to be concocted by a Cotswold vicar in the seventeenth century for ridding a house of specters:

Lay a half pound of Brimstone (another word for sulphur in those times) in an iron dish, supported by a pair of tongs over a bucket of water: the fireplace and all openings to be closed for six hours. This is one of the best ways for laying a ghost.

3. Bricking in a room

This method was used prior to and including Victorian times.

Whichever room that is being haunted must be emptied of all furniture. The chimney must be bricked in and so must all doors and windows to the room. The room must be made completely airtight. This stops the ghost from haunting other parts of the house.

Many of these ‘hidden’ rooms have been discovered when old homes are demolished showing that this was quite a common custom at one time.

I was interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire on 3^rd July by Debbie McGee wife of Paul Daniels the magician about ghosts in Berkshire England.  I talked about the DVD Ghost of Great Britain Collection – Haunted Cotswolds which I produced with my husband Randall Montgomery and following that – the research I have done on Berkshire ghosts. I have come across some very interesting ones. Apparently Berkshire is a bit of a ghost hot spot for all kinds of ghouls, ghosts, poltergeists and zombies have taken up residence.

There is a very interesting one connected with a British celebrity. Many film buffs may remember the actress Diana Dors. She lived in Sunningdale in Berkshire and it is well documented that her house was haunted.

For those who don’t remember her Diana Dors was the Marilyn Monroe of England during her heyday in the 1950s and 60s. She had platinum blonde hair and an hour glass figure and was signed up at the age of sixteen by the Rank organization to star in their films. Apparently she was a very good actress but was often cast in dumb blonde roles – however, she did get some interesting roles eventually.

She starred in films like Yield to the Night, There’s a Girl in my Soup, Queenie’s Castle, Oliver Twist and Timon of Athens.  She died at age 52 in 1984.

Diana Dors lived in Sunningdale in a house called The Pavilion which was haunted by a number of ghosts. On one occasion Diana had some house guests staying with her for the weekend. One guest couple were about to leave their bedroom to go downstairs for breakfast when they saw a ghost float into the room. It was the figure of a man and was quite transparent. This ghost then hid behind the open bedroom door. When this happened the temperature suddenly dropped to freezing even though it was a warm summer day.  The husband of this couple shouted at the ghost to get out of the room. At this point the ghost reappeared from behind the door and slowly dematerialized until it was nothing but a wisp of ectoplasm. This ghost returned on a number of occasions and particularly to this bedroom. Often the bed clothes were found to be thrown on the floor even though the room had not been used.

This ghost was thought to have been that of a former owner of Diana Dors’ house. He was a musician who had committed suicide.

There were apparently many other ghostly goings on at Diana Dors house. She thought the home must have been built on the site of an old priory or other similar building because she constantly heard ghostly religious chanting accompanied by the sounds of shuffling feet.  This theory was upheld when one of her guests saw an apparition that looked remarkably like a monk with a cowl in long robes.

After her death Diana Dors became a ghost herself.  Diana’s widower, Alan Lake moved away from The Pavilion to a house called Orchard Manor.  Shortly after he settled in his secretary, who was very attuned to the spirit world, saw Diana Dors’ ghost.  In addition, a number of visitors to the house were horrified to see Diana’s apparition sadly floating about and several of them ran screaming from the building after a particularly vivid appearance in which she spoke to them exactly as if she were alive.  Perhaps her untimely death caused Diana Dors to return again and again in ghostly form.