Sunday 10th November 2013
It's amazing how these things work out sometimes, but you can come across 'ghost stories' and snippets of folklore in some of the weirdest places and situations at times. We frequently have to wait weeks for a decent reference to come in to us..... and then you can simply seem to 'fall on' prime stories without even trying!?
Most weekends, myself and the W.M.G.C.'s John Conway go out into the countryside to indulge in one of our favourite pursuits..... 'metal detecting'. We have visited one particular, South Staffordshire village many times in the past year or so and were having a rather rare, but nice chat with a farmer this past weekend. During the course of our conversation, John happened to enquire about the age of the beautiful, nearby farmhouse. On being told that parts of it were constructed around the end of the 16th Century, John instantly asked if it might be 'haunted' at all, adding that we 'also' ran a ghost related group. Of course, it's always something of a 'risky business' to impart such information, but the farmer took the news without the slightest hint of sarcasm and said that, while there were no ghosts as far as he knew, a past resident of the house had apparently hanged himself there....!!
On the general subject of ghosts, however, he informed us that he did indeed have first-hand experience of something 'peculiar' in the area; and encounter from a few years earlier, which - as most good ghost stories do - occurred on a foggy, cold night! He had been driving along a particular stretch of country lane, not too far from his home, when he had suddenly seen a figure - reminiscent of the character from
the old 'Sandeman Port Bottles' - walk across the road in front of
his vehicle and vanish into the mist! Interestingly, he had old relatives living in the region concerned
and, on speaking to them about the experience a little later, he was told that the same figure had also been seen 'inside' one of
the properties along that lane too!
Upon moving on to talk of our forthcoming detecting for that day, he had cause to digress and, back-tracking a little, said that there was a ghost also associated with a particular spot actually situated on his land!? Ironically, it was a place that we had visited many, many times in our previous forays into the region.... but, of course, we had known nothing at all of its history until this point in time!! Lol!!
The thicket to the far-left of the picture shown above is the site of an old
dwelling from many years gone by.... now long demolished. The last occupant
of the property is said to have been an old woman, who had lived there alone; which, of course, might well
account for numerous sightings of an elderly, female apparition that has supposedly been
spotted abroad in this rather secluded spot!?
The site of future scrutiny by the W.M.G.C., do you reckon!?! You betcha....!!!
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