“Old Calverley, Old Calverley, I have thee by th’ ears I’ll cut thee in collops unless thou appears…” (Chant to raise the spirit of executed child killer, Walter Calverley) The West Yorkshire village of Calverley became the centre of public attention at Christmas 1904 after reports of a mysterious phantom were widely published. However, theContinue reading “The Calverley Ghost ~ A Yorkshire Tragedy”
Category Archives: Christmas
A Titanic Christmas Coincidence?
It’s Christmas 1892, and controversial newspaper editor W.T. Stead has just published a short story titled ‘From the Old World to the New’. The story involves a massive ocean-going liner called the Majestic and a tragedy at sea. As the Majestic sails through dense fog crossing the Atlantic, a psychic passenger has a dream aboutContinue reading “A Titanic Christmas Coincidence?”
Stoned Spooks and Other Ghosts That Time Forgot…
As Halloween approaches, our thoughts often turn to ghostly matters. I’ve long been fascinated by the forgotten phenomenon of ‘playing the ghost’ – dressing as a ghost and hanging out in spooky locations to scare the wits out of passersby. Sometimes the pranksters wore just a white sheet over their heads, though some would useContinue reading “Stoned Spooks and Other Ghosts That Time Forgot…”
Playing the Ghost
Imagine walking alone late at night along a lonesome dark avenue with a church yard full of teetering gravestones on one side of you and the jagged remains of a crumbling church on the other. Ahead of you in the gloom, you see a white figure glowing eerily, cavorting and striking dramatic poses while emittingContinue reading “Playing the Ghost”
A Yorkshire Ghost: The Poltergeist of Storrs Hall
Christmas 1877 at Storrs Hall was not a merry one at all. The gloomy house, which stood in the hamlet of Storrs on the moors between South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, was tormented by a restless and destructive presence. The Storrs Ghost, as it was dubbed by the press, became a sensation as hundreds came toContinue reading “A Yorkshire Ghost: The Poltergeist of Storrs Hall”
New Book Announcement! “Phantoms of Christmas Past: Festive Ghost Hoaxes, Ghost Hunts and Ghost Panics”
My new book is available for pre-order wherever you get your books from and will be out at the end of August. More details and reviews below… Some advanced reviews: Folklore, spooky legends, weird experiences, ghost hoaxes, and riotous drunken ghost hunts all collide in a unique darkly comic book of true Christmas ghost stories…Continue reading “New Book Announcement! “Phantoms of Christmas Past: Festive Ghost Hoaxes, Ghost Hunts and Ghost Panics””
Old Mother Damnable: A Christmas Witch Story from 1734
All About our Coal Fire: Christmas Entertainments (1734) is an influential and charming comic portrayal of all the customs of Christmas. The book describes feasts, silly games, drinking and scary stories around the hearth. It was popular for many years and probably influenced Dickens. The stories and legends in the book (such as the oneContinue reading “Old Mother Damnable: A Christmas Witch Story from 1734”
Why is a Ghost Like a Fart?
Christmas Horror from 1734 If you thought the tradition of the Christmas ghost story started with Charles Dickens, think again. In the eighteenth century many people’s Christmas reading list would have included a best-selling little pamphlet called Round About Our Coal Fire: Christmas Entertainments. It was written by an anonymous author who called himself JackContinue reading “Why is a Ghost Like a Fart?”
Todmorden Ghost Busting Wizard Priest Necromancer’s Xmas Advice
Henry Krabtree, also known as Merlinus Rusticus, was a seventeenth century Todmorden curate – but that’s not all. He had a reputation as a ghost buster, necromancer and healer and did battle with weird demons while at the same time writing arch bitchy comments about his congregation in the parish records. In 1685 he wroteContinue reading “Todmorden Ghost Busting Wizard Priest Necromancer’s Xmas Advice”
Some Headless Xmas Ghosts
Hannah Grundy – the Headless Ghost of Staithes If you take a night walk on the beach near the North Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes at Christmas, you might see an eerie transparent figure floating down from the towering coastal cliffs. As the shape comes closer, it crosses a bridge and comes onto the beachContinue reading “Some Headless Xmas Ghosts”
Paul Weatherhead 