Ghosts at Christmas

by Darren W. Ritson

  Chantelle then went on to tell me about a visitor who came to the shop (about six months prior to our visit, making it around May 2009) who had supposedly seen an apparition of a man who ‘looked like a headteacher’ standing in the corner of the room. This man had a young boy sitting on his shoulders and both were dressed in old-style attire. Then, within a blink of an eye, they were gone. York is, of course, famous for its ghostly inhabitants and it is said that within the walls of this ancient city there are 140 of them. Well, we can say now that there are potentially at least another six.

  Ralph Keeton, the team medium, arrived in York at about 7 p.m. and made his way to the shop. By the time I arrived he had picked up on a number of things of interest. I had a quick chat with him in a quiet room on the second floor prior to the investigation and this is what he said:

  When I first came in and explained what I do, my role on the team, I was met by this spirit woman. When I saw this woman, I had the feeling she was blind in one eye. It was as though I felt a cloudy sensation across the left-hand side of my face and eye, and it was this that led me to believe she was blind. A stroke came to mind too. Perhaps she had had a stroke. Of course, when I mentioned this I was astonished to find out the ghost of a woman has been seen on the property. I then ended up doing an impromptu reading for Simon’s friend, Barry. It’s odd really, as I was trying to tune in to the building but a dog then came through. It was a brown Boxer dog that had a bad paw. It would always hobble around on three legs and was very ill indeed. When I mentioned this, Barry nearly fell over; you see, the brown Boxer dog was Barry’s. It died not so long ago with a number of afflictions. One was that it had problems breathing, and the other was that he had lost the use of one of his legs! I never knew this, and Barry was astounded. Also, when we were down here earlier on, we all heard footsteps and thumps coming from the rooms above … well nobody was up there at the time and the buildings either side of this property are empty, so what could it have been? I also get the feelings of aches and pains, and sores around the mouth.

  At this point, I caught a glimpse of something moving from the corner of my eye. It was on the stairwell landing and it moved very quickly. I said nothing. Just as I was about to turn and look towards the stairs to see what it was Ralph said, ‘there you go again, there is more movement over there.’ He pointed directly to the door where I had just caught the movement. It turns out we both saw something and I was quite surprised to say the least. Ralph tied up his thoughts by saying:

  I am dying to get down to the bottom end, to Number 22. Just walking down The Shambles, the atmosphere, and the sensations you’ve got here are just second to none. We are going to get some activity tonight, I can feel it. We had a little bit so far, so I am looking forward to what the rest of the night may bring.

  My preliminary interviews were complete and I knew all I needed to know insofar as we knew where we should place our motion sensors and trigger objects.

  During the course of these tests, while making our way down the stairs to the lower section of the building, the most unusual thing occurred. Drew’s EMF meter began to show a high reading in an area where it shouldn’t have. It was nowhere near the ceiling, nor was it near any walls, so hidden wires could be ruled out. As we progressed down the stairs (about five steps) the high reading persisted. We went back to the original site of the reading, five steps up, but now it had gone altogether! It appeared that the high EMF reading had come down the stairs with us! Then, when we thought it couldn’t get any stranger, it happened again. Down a few stairs we went and where we had just had the high reading, nothing! And it was now in the spot where Drew was taking the new readings.

  It seems that there was an anomaly within the natural electromagnetic field. An anomaly that seemed to be following us down the stairs. It baffled us all as to what could be causing this. I am not saying that this odd reading was detecting a ghost or spirit. We don’t know that for sure. But there was very strange readings within the electromagnetic field where there shouldn’t have been. It also just happened to be in the very area where the ghost of a woman has been seen; an interesting occurrence to say the least. We finished the baseline readings on the ground floor and, apart from the aforementioned oddity, all went well. We were now ready to begin our overnight surveillance.

  Drew Bartley, Fiona Vipond and Simon Cox staked out the cellars in number 22 first, while the rest of the group focused on number 44. I stayed downstairs with Mark Winter and investigation guest Barry Mason, while Ralph Keeton and Paul Dixon investigated the top floor.

  I began the vigil by taking some new temperature and EMF readings and it was pretty much the same as earlier on. I called out to the atmosphere to see if we could gain any responses from any of the spirits or ghosts that are thought to reside there, but to no avail. Mark Winter set up his video camera at the foot of the stairwell looking up. If anything or anyone should make an appearance on the stairs, hopefully Mark would catch it. One thing during this vigil did occur, however, which is worth noting. At around midnight, when I was walking through the door to return back into the main café area, I felt a succession of short, sharp tugs upon my lower trouser leg. It was a definite ‘pull’, as though someone actually grabbed my clothing.

  Ralph and Paul had a little success in their vigil on the top floor. A few taps and bumps were heard throughout the vigil and one or two strange lights were filmed on video camera. Ralph had a little more to say in regards to his psychic impressions. He came downstairs and told us that he thought there was an old ‘walkway’ or alleyway that once led from the front of the shop in The Shambles to the rear of the building. He suggested that the alley may have been where the store cupboard was in the café area. In regards to the café section (or side) of the building, Ralph claims this may have been built later than the original building. He felt that where the café is now, was an area where people would gather or collaborate, only then it would have been outside.

  This may link with the experience of Chantelle and her sister, who, if you recall, saw a man venture into this area and seemed to disappear where Ralph thinks the alley once was. Perhaps it was the shade of a man strolling around in his day, who decided to venture up an alleyway that, of course, isn’t there anymore … it’s an interesting thought.

  Drew and Fiona had an interesting time in their vigil too, with some very odd K2 EMF readings in the cellar and tunnels. I grabbed Fiona during our first break and this is what she told me:

  In the second cellar, the larger of the two, something touched me on the hip, full on. There was no one next to me at the time, so I know it wasn’t any of the group. About ten minutes into the vigil, my camera started to play up, just like they were doing when we were all in here earlier on. So that was quite interesting. At around 11.50 p.m. Drew’s EMF machine went off of it’s own accord, so perhaps something, or some sort of energy, manifested itself there at that time? We swept that area again soon after and we got a reading of zero. Just before the end of the vigil I began to feel really unwell for some reason … perhaps I was disorientated down there, I don’t know. I would have thought if I was, I would have felt sick earlier on, as opposed to near the end of the vigil. Our K2 EMF went berserk too. We got some rather interesting results after calling out down there. It was spiking quite a lot and giving a high reading. Every time it was asked a question it went off, but every time we stayed quiet, it stayed quiet – it was really odd. One final thing … just as we were leaving the cellar at the end of the vigil, Simon heard a horrible guttural breath. Definitely worth re-investigation.

  So, not a bad start. After the break at 1.30 a.m., Ralph, Paul, and guest Barry paid the cellars a visit in number 22, while Mark and I investigated the top floor. Drew, Fiona and Simon staked out the café area. Disappointingly, not a thing was documented or experienced during the course of our vigil, but that’s what happens when you are ghost hunting – more often that not you don’t hear or see a thing. Mark and I did hear one loud tap during our vigil, but
put it down to natural causes. A floorboard contracting or the wooden beams in the ceiling settling down; nothing paranormal. EVP experiments were carried out with no results worth noting.

  When Ralph and Paul returned from the cellars I asked Ralph about what (if anything) had occurred. Ralph told me:

  In shop 22 we had a little bit of activity. The first cellar was rather quiet, so after a while we moved into the second cellar. When we got in there we spent a little bit of time discussing things. After we began the investigation, we took out the K2 EMF and swept the area. Now three lights came on, two green and one orange. Now wherever we swept with the K2 the energy remained. Like with you guys on the stairs earlier on, when we took a reading where we had just took the reading earlier on, it was now gone! It was as though the electromagnetic field anomaly was following us around, it was so strange. I established the fact that there was a young girl in there and for some reason she wasfrightened. Then I became aware of the guy in there, Dan, and his presence was rather dominant. Every time we had contact with these spirits the lights on the K2 were on … but when I said, ‘I think we are going now’ (to Paul and Barry) the lights on the K2 went off and stayed off. It was as though the spirits there faded away as they knew we were off … weird.

  At 2.30 a.m. I ventured outside alone to smoke a cigarette and by now thick, white snowflakes had begun to fall. The Shambles was completely deserted, and, as I gazed down the ancient cobbled lane, I could see the Christmas lights and festive decorations flashing. The two old crooked buildings that almost touch in the centre of The Shambles made the scene and for a moment I was transported back to Dickensian England. I half expected to see a Victorian gentleman with top hat and tails scurry round the corner blowing into his hands to keep them warm, or perhaps hear an old horse and cart making its way up the old cobbled lane. Brief moments like that are for me what it’s all about, it was a moment I will never forget. It is also one of the reasons why I love ghost hunting so much.

  After leaving the underground tunnels in shop 22 earlier on in the night (after taking a pre-investigation peek in there), paranormal investigator Mark decided to leave his EVP machine recording. By the time he left the shop, thirty minutes or so had already been recorded (while we were all in there) and by the time the first of the investigators arrived, another sixty minutes had passed, making the total time of the recording ninety minutes. The last sixty minutes of this recording is the most interesting as we know for a fact the premises was completely empty!

  It starts twenty-seven minutes and thirteen seconds in with the voice of someone saying ‘Help’. Now, we were all in the cellar at that time and no one – as far as any of us can remember – said the word ‘help’. Granted, it could have been one of the investigators so we can’t be 100 per cent sure. What we can be sure of is that the rest of the ‘anomalous’ sounds are totally unexplained – as the last sixty minutes of the recording no one was in shop 22 at all. Thirty-five minutes and fourteen seconds into the recording you can hear footfalls, and lots of them! Some close to the machine, indicating they are inside the cellar area, and some far away, suggesting that perhaps someone was walking overhead along the road above. It’s more than likely the case that some of these footsteps do indeed have a natural cause, but it’s just as likely (after hearing them) that some of them are truly anomalous. They are just too close to the recording device. A minute or so later (at thirty-six minutes and fifty-seven seconds), you can hear another eight footsteps, again very close to the microphone. At fifty-three minutes and nine seconds, three more footfalls are heard. Nine minutes later (at one hour two minutes and twelve seconds in), you can hear a voice saying ‘Hello’. One hour and fourteen minutes and eleven seconds in another gruff voice is heard saying either ‘Mary’ or ‘Nearly’. I personally think the voice sounds like it is saying ‘Mary’, but this is open to interpretation. Two minutes later (at one hour sixteen minutes and eleven seconds), a distinct and harrowing growl is heard – chillingly similar to the howl that is so often reported in shop 44. Finally, at one hour twenty-two minutes and thirty-five seconds, you can hear the last voice of this recording, and it simply says, ‘Dead’.

  They were harrowing recordings to say the least and I make no judgement or claims regarding them. They are what they are … eerie recordings made in an alleged haunted property. Hearing them sends chills down the spine and, for me, it seems that they add to the evidence that is forever building of the existence of the supernatural.

  Time was getting on now, and it was decided that we should pack up our gear and head off home. The fact that we were all beginning to tire was another reason for calling it a night. Tiredness can have a detrimental effect upon investigators and any anecdotal evidence of any kind, such as feelings of sickness or being touched, and seeing or hearing things, can be seriously flawed.

  To spend a night on York’s Shambles searching for its ghosts at Christmas time is something that no one to this day has ever done, not in a scientific sense anyway. It was an honour and a privilege to be part of a unit that can now lay claim to being the first people in history to investigate not only two properties on York’s oldest street, but the tunnels and cellars underneath it.

  appendix

  THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

  Christmas comes but once a year,

  The Yuletide spirit permeates the air.

  The birth of Christ we celebrate;

  A spiritual time, to contemplate.

  Christmas is a time for living,

  A time for gifts and joyous giving.

  A time for peace, goodwill and love,

  A time for prayer, to the lord above.

  The festive season has more than this:

  Snow and ice – and family bliss.

  Sitting up late, till past midnight,

  Telling ghost tales, by candle light.

  Spectres abound, they roam the land

  As Christmas Day becomes close to hand.

  A fright or a warning, is their unearthly mission,

  There walks through a wall, a gaunt apparition.

  You tremble with fear, can’t believe your eyes,

  This wasn’t expected, it was a surprise!

  Have you just glimpsed the walking dead?

  Or was it all, merely in your head?

  You stop and think, you take a breath,

  Does this alter your perception of death?

  Seasonal greetings, to the guests you host

  And Christmas wishes, to your resident Ghost.

  Darren W. Ritson

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  BOOKS

  Hallowell, Michael. J., Christmas Ghost Stories (Amberley Publishing, 2008)

  Hallowell, Michael J., Invizikids, the Curious Enigma of Imaginary Childhood Friends (Heart of Albion Press, 2007)

  Haining, Peter, Ghosts (BCA, 1974)

  Hallum, Jack, Ghosts of the North (David & Charles, 1976)

  Hapgood, Sarah, 500 British Ghosts and Hauntings (Foulsham, 1993)

  Harries, John, The Ghost Hunter’s Road Book (Letts, 1968)

  Hippisley Coxe, Antony Haunted Britain (Pan, 1973)

  Jones, Richard, Haunted Inns of Britain and Ireland (New Holland, 2004)

  Kirkup, Rob, Ghostly Northumbria (The History Press, 2008)

  Lyndon Dodds, Glen, Historic Sites of Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Albion Press, 2002)

  MacKenzie, Andrew, Hauntings and Apparitions (Heinemann, 1982)

  Maple, Eric, Supernatural England (Hale, 1977)

  O’ Donnell, Elliot, Haunted Britain (Rider, 1948)

  Poole, Keith B, Haunted Heritage (Guild Publishing, 1988)

  Puttick, Betty, Supernatural England (Countryside Books, 2002)

  Price, Harry, Poltergeist Over England (Country Life Ltd, 1945)

  Ritson, Darren W., Haunted Newcastle (The History Press, 2009)

  Ritson, Darren W., Ghost Hunter, True Life Encounters from the North East (GHP, 2006)

  Ritson, Darren W., In Search of Ghosts, Rea
l Hauntings from Around Britain (Amberley, 2008)

  Ritson, Darren W., Supernatural North (Amberley, 2009)

  Stead, W.T., Real Ghost Stories (Grant Richards, 1891)

  Underwood, Peter, This Haunted Isle (Harrap, 1984)

  Underwood, Peter, A Gazetteer of British Ghosts (Souvenir Press, 1971)

  Underwood, Peter, The A-Z of British Ghosts (Chancellor Press, 1992)

  WEBSITES

  http://nli.northampton.ac.uk/ass/psych-staff/sjs/blackdog

  Rickard, J. (10 April 2001), Battle of Edgehill, 23 October 1642,

  http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_edgehill.html

  http://www.quotegarden.com/christmas.html

  ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

  Haunted Berwick

  Haunted Durham

  Haunted Newcastle

  The South Shields Poltergeist: One Family’s Fight Against an Invisible

  Intruder (with Michael J. Hallowell)

  COPYRIGHT

  First published in 2010

  The History Press

  The Mill, Brimscombe Port

  Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

  www.thehistorypress.co.uk

  This ebook edition first published in 2011