Haunted Mansion Part Three

Welcome back to my tour of haunted mansions.

In this post I've selected three wonderful buildings.

The first is Belgrave Hall, a Queen Anne-style Grade II* mansion, constructed as a family home for Edmund and Ann Craddock in 1709 in the city of Leicester. John Ellis, a businessman with connections to the Midland Counties Railways, purchased the mansion in 1847 as a home for him and his family of seven daughters.

The White Lady reputedly haunts the rooms of Belgrave Hall and is said to be one of these daughters, Charlotte.

Other apparitions seem to favour the Victorian garb, with one receiving the nickname 'Victorian Lady', whilst another is called 'the Green Lady' and 'the Grey Lady'.

Often, sightings are accompanied by smells of fresh bread and gingerbread.

After one of these spirits was caught on camera, a Paranormal Society was brought in to investigate and reportedly encountered a hostile male spirit, a child who had died of tuberculosis and a man who had died in a fall.

Another interesting sighting is a ghost from before the Hall was built.

Excerpt

Pol, on the other hand, had completely come to terms with her death. She’d been here before the Romans had found a use for the river; at a time when the Ancient Britons ruled the land.

For over two thousand years she’d been here, trapped inside various structures or none at all but tethered to the place she had lost her life at the age of eleven.

She’d witnessed the building of Partridge Hall, and the comings and goings of the families therein. She’d sat around their firesides of an evening watching the women sewing, or reading.

She’d sat on the landing when the balls were held, watching in wonder at the changing fashions until the last Partridge had departed this earth.

She had been at his bedside, as he took his final breath, she’d greeted his spirit as it left his body, not to linger, as she had done, but to rise up and be greeted by his long-gone relatives.

She had witnessed the transformation from family home to a museum, and she’d ached with longing for the days of laughter, of small children rushing through the room, of the singing around the piano at Christmas. For the first time, in a long, time, she’d felt alone – until that fateful night.

Next up: Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Suffolk.

Christchurch Mansion, originally called 'Withipoll House' by its owner, is a Grade I listed Tudor era mansion which now serves as a museum.

The ghosts of Christchurch Mansion include a young Edwardian lady who witnesses describe as dancing and laughing in the upper picture gallery. Some even say she is accompanied by two young children.

Downstairs, a female spirit is seen. Described as a lady in grey who suddenly appears from nowhere and is recognisable by the swishing of her gown.

A third ghost, that of a young servant girl is said to have been seen in the property having passed away under mysterious circumstances.

Excerpt

“Have I ever told you, how beautiful you are?” he said.

Jean smiled.

Alec stood and held out his hands in an invite to dance. Jean placed her hand on his shoulder, and he cupped her other hand inside his and waltzed around the room. As they gathered momentum, the lights in the office began to flicker, as if someone were turning the switches on and off. Jean threw back her head and laughed as Alec guided her steps in a dance all their own.

Lastly, let's hear about Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, the seat of the Grey and Bennet families from the 15th century until the 1980s.

Originally a monastery, it commanded a strategic position between England and Scotland.

Today, Chillingham Castle enjoys the reputation as one of England’s most haunted castle.

From the White Pantry Ghost to the Voices in the Chapel, Chillingham has a chilling history of hauntings.

The White Pantry Ghost is that of a frail woman who appeared one nigh to the footman whose job it was to sleep in the inner pantry where the silver was kept.

He was about to turn in for the night when a woman in white begged him for some water. At first the man believed it to be a castle guest then realising that he’d locked the door, he quickly realised that it was not possible.

The pale figure is still seen to this day, begging for water leading some to believe that she was poisoned.

A dark creeping sensation has been felt in one of the chambers, leading to an oppressive atmosphere. Something unseen yet moving lurks therein.

In the Chapel beside the Great Hall, visitors often hear two men talking. Those who try and follow the sound of the voices soon find that the men have disappeared.

Excerpt

Pol had spotted the shadow, and her eyes grew wide with fear.

“I can’t,” her voice trembled. “He’s coming.”

Bethan followed Pol’s petrified stare. Some of the audience members closest to the wall looked down and could see the swirling mass.

Instinctively, they leapt back, causing their chairs to tip and in the attempt to not topple, they did topple into the laps of their neighbours who also jumped to get out of the way. The domino effect caused people to fall between chairs and then scramble to their feet. The chairs scraped against the tile flooring, causing gauges as the audience tried to get away from the creature that now had some shape, like a human on all fours, sniffing at the ground, blind to what it was trying to find.

“Pol,” said Bethan, trying to get the girl to focus, “Pol, listen to me, you must focus okay, we have to end this now!”

Pol nodded. “He took a pig skull into the store; its smell helped to mask the gas.”

The shadow began to rise, taking a new form, that of a man, with clothes that hung loosely on his gaunt frame.