Here’s
where my fascination with the paranormal started, my Mum’s ghost story. Still
the best one I’ve ever heard…
“My
story begins in the little village of Loftus in Yorkshire where my father was
born. Each summer my parents, brother and I spent a week with my grandmother in
her little terraced house on our summer holiday. When I was 16 I was told I
could take a friend as I was finding family holidays boring.
My friend agreed to come with us, her name was Mary and as well as being
friends we worked together. We were not able to stay at my grandmother’s house
as it was too small for us all, so Mary and I had to stay with my aunt, uncle
and cousin Keith in the centre of Loftus. They also lived in a row of terraced
houses which were down a lane just off the village square.
One evening Mary and I decided to go to the cinema (in the village centre) so
had an early tea and went to see a film. When the film was over we called in at
the fish and chip shop on the corner and bought some supper. Walking back to my
aunt and uncle’s house we decided to carry on past their house and walk further
down the lane as we had not finished our food. We felt it would be rude to
return back still eating and without buying them anything.
The lane had stone walls on either side but further down the pavement changed
to a dirt track. We were now walking past the last street lights and as we were
going into the dark we decided to turn round and go back…
The first thing I was aware of as I started to turn round was the feeling I had
walked into a cobweb that brushed my face. I was facing the stone wall on my
right. I then saw what I thought was a woman riding a bike in the field over
the wall. I realised that this woman appeared to be gliding into the centre of
the field. She was dressed in a Victorian dress and had a bonnet with flowers
round the rim and chiffon holding the bonnet on which ended in a floppy bow
under her chin. She was also holding a parasol which was half open. It was like
looking at an old film. You could see all the detail but everything was opaque.
I don't remember seeing her face.
It
was all over in seconds but I realised the importance of what I had seen and
was keen to validate the experience. I turned to Mary and asked her if she had
seen the lady in the field and to my relief she had seen her as well. Just to
make absolutely sure, we each described different details of her clothing and
they matched, so there was no doubt in our minds that we both had seen the same
thing!
When
we returned, my aunt and uncle had gone to bed so we had to wait until the next
morning before we could ask them about the history of the area. My aunt told us
that just a little further down the lane was a large house that was not lived
in any more. It had belonged to a wealthy wool merchant but the house was
abandoned after a tragedy in the family.
The
wool merchant and his wife only had one child, a daughter, who was prone to
sleepwalking.
When
the house was lived in, there was a lake in the grounds near to where we had
seen the woman. The last task of the day for the house staff was to lock the
doors once the family had retired to bed.
One
night this was overlooked and the young woman walked in her sleep down the
staircase through the hall, out of the front door into the grounds and walked
into the lake which was in the field we had seen her in and she had drowned. So
distraught was the family that they left the house and never returned.
There
was no interaction or recognition of our presence from this woman, it was just
like watching a film clip, but I feel privileged to have been at the right
place at the right time to see her”
My Mum and I tried to find where it
happened. We think it was left by the corner of the cinema, further down
Cleveland St on the left. Maybe we'll have to go back there.
If you have a real-life ghost story
you’d like to share email us at: mmuparapsychsoc@hotmail.com
