Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Festivals / November

Guy Fawkes Night Tar Barrels, Ottery St Mary

There is a tradition dating back to the 17th century in Ottery St Mary, where tar soaked barrels lighted and carried through the Devonshire town. Only those who are born and lived within the town are eligible to carry one of the seventeen barrels which begin their journey from outside the local pubs.

ESP / Other Mysteries / PSI

Rev Joseph Wilkins Experience

The following account of a strange experience by a young Joseph Wilkins in 1754 is taken from ‘The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain’ (1897) by John Ingram though the case has also been mentioned in several books including ‘Phantasms of the Living’ edited by Edmund Gurney, Frederic William Henry Myers and Frank Podmore.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Stratford Tombstone Murder Ghost

I find it very distasteful when ghosts are identified as people who were killed in fairly recent events, especially as this could cause distress for the deceased’s friends and family. I am therefore in two minds whether to mention this reputed haunting and I apologise if it upsets anyone.

Apparitions / Early Christianity / Hauntings

Stoneleigh Abbey

The Grade I listed Stoneleigh Abbey is country mansion dating from the 16th century, built in the grounds of a Cistercian Abbey which had been founded in 1154 and destroyed after the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII. ‘A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 2’ (1908) gives the following historical background of the Abbey.

UFO Sightings / UFOs

Bubbenhall UFO (2008)

The following article by Les Reid was published in the Coventry Evening Telegraph, 15 February 2008.

Haunted Hotels / Hauntings

Salford Hall Hotel

Dating from 1470 and built as a guest residence for the monks of Evesham Abbey, the Grade I listed Salford Hall is now a luxury hotel in the Best Western group.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Mrs Bretton’s Ghost

John Ingram gives the following of an encounter with an apparition in his book entitled ‘The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain'(1897). ‘The Rev. Dr. Bretton, towards the close of his career appointed rector of Ludgate, early in life held a living in Hereford. He had married a daughter of Dr.

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Hauntings / Photographed Ghosts

Wem Rekindled by Andrew Homer

Andrew Homer was involved in the Wem Town Hall “Girl in the flames” photographic anomaly right from when the story broke in 1995. He was one of the few ASSAP investigators to actually meet with the photographer, Tony O’Rahilly.

Apparitions / Haunted Hotels / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Christopher Inn and Captain William Dyke

An apparition is thought to have been experienced in the Christopher Inn, Windsor. The Inn dated from the 16th century and could be found next to the college on Baldwin’s Bridge. This inn was closed on the order of the Head of Eton College in the mid 19th century due to its poor reputation.