Ghosts and Paranormal in Wigan

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Wait till Tonker sees this

Where is Skitters Wood?

The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain by John Ingram (1897).
Ince Hall, famous as being connected with one of the most curious beliefs in existence, is an ancient Lancashire dwelling. In Roby and Wilkinson's popular Lancashire Legends this old Hall is described as "one of those curious half-timbered mansions which are now becoming rare in this country. Its six sharply-pointed gables, and its long ranges of mullioned pointed windows, give it an imposing appearance from a distance; and on a nearer approach the remains of a moat are visible, which proves that it had once possessed means of defence. The estate connected with the Hall belonged to the Gerards for upwards of seven hundred years; the owners being descended from Walter Fitzothe, Castellan of Windsor., at the time when Domesday Book was compiled * His son William adopted the surname of de Windsor, but another son, Gerard, was contented to bear his ordinary patronymic, and became the ancestor of the Gerards of Bryn, now represented by Sir Robert Gerard, of Garswood Hall.
About the year 1368, John, the third son of Sir Peter Gerard, of Bryn, married Ellen, daughter and sole heiress of Richard de Ince, the representative of a very ancient family, dating very nearly, if not quite, from the Conquest. In consequence of this marriage, the township of Ince passed to the Gerards, who, for many succeeding generations, resided at the old Hall.
The tradition connected with the building now known as Ince Hall, which mansion was not erected till the reign of James the First, is thus related in the Lancashire Legends: "There is a story of wrong attaching to Ince Hall, which has given rise to the legend of ‘the Dead Hand.' One of its early possessors lay on his death-bed, and a lawyer was sent for at the last moment to make his will ; but before he reached him the man was dead. In this dilemma it was determined to try the effect of a dead man's hand on the corpse, and the attorney's clerk was sent for one to Bryn Hall in all haste. The body of the dead man was rubbed with the holy hand, and it was asserted that he revived sufficiently to sign his will. After the funeral a daughter of the deceased produced a will which was not signed, leaving the property to his son and daughter; but the lawyer soon produced another will, signed by the dead hand, which conveyed all the property to himself. The son quarrelled with the attorney, and after wounding him, as he supposed mortally, he left the country, and was never heard of more. The daughter also disappeared, but no one knew how or when. After many years the gardener turned up a skull in the garden with his spade, and the secret was revealed. When this took place the Hall had long been uninhabited; for the murdered daughter's ghost hung suspended in the air before the dishonest lawyer wherever he went. It is said that he spent the remainder of his days in Wigan, the victim of remorse and despair. There is a room in the Hall which is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young lady, and her shadowy form is frequently seen by the passers-by hovering over the spot where her remains were buried."

LINK

Over a  century ago, a house next to the White Lion Inn became known locally as ‘the Ghost House’.  Night after night the house was full of flashes of light, strange noises and many times stones were thrown.  It all began when Mrs Winstanley, the resident there, was about to cook a meal for her family of seven children.  She was having trouble with the fire, whose flames were a rainbow of colours, and she blamed the children, thinking they must have put paraffin or something of the like on the fire.  Much as they pleaded their innocence, she chased them out of the house.
That night, two of the boys went to bed as usual and were repeatedly disturbed by the curtains, which were hung on a simple bamboo rod, falling onto their bed as they tried to sleep.  Then knocks were heard in the room,  a brick fell from the fireplace and lights flashed in the room although the house had no power source beyond candle and lamplight.
This performance became a regular occurrence, so that local people would gather outside, from where they could hear heavy stones being thrown and, of course, the mysterious lights.  Eventually the children were so frightened that they refused to sleep there. 

More Here

These incidences happened about the year 2000 in our old house in a town called Wigan, in the north of England. I must have been about six years old at the time, and each event happened one after the other within the space of six months.
The first: I went upstairs for something, but I don't remember what. There was, or at least I thought so, somebody else with me upstairs because I remember always being too scared to go upstairs at night without someone else with me at that age.

Anyway, on the landing were four rooms in a row, with mine and my brother's room being the second. I walked towards it, and saw the door was open just a little but, enough to see the wall and a small portion of the floor. The light was on and I saw a shadow move across the floor.

More of the story here

I've been advised to put this comment on this thread so here goes.
When the Court Cinema was at its peak,the doorman was a little chap..always had his hands behind his back,would nod to people going in.He always wore a dark suit white shirt and black bow tie.....one day I was walking with my Mam up king Street ..going past the court cinema looked in,by now of course it hadn't been used for I don't know how long,and there he was stood hands behind his back straight backed like he'd always been..I said to my Mam "Look in there". We couldn't believe it,we both saw him...ooo-er

Good tale Maureen

I was told may years ago that there was a monk who walked in Crank Caverns. I think Sir Edmund Arrowsmith whose hand is said to be kept in a church somewhere in Wigan Also haunts the Caverns

That sounds interesting Champion,I had no idea where that was but just had a toot on Google,I wouldn't mind a visit there.

Not sure about him haunting the caverns

Edmund Arrowmith's beatification occurred in 1929. He was canonized as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by Pope Paul VI in 1970. His feast days are 28 August alone and 25 October with 39 others. His hand was preserved and kept by the Arrowsmith family as a relic until he was beatified and it now rests in the Catholic Church of St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith, Ashton-in-Makerfield.

Link

Want another one,my Dad had passed away (heart attack) a couple of months later me and the youngest Son had gone round on our normal visit..little 'un who was six at the time said Nan can I mow my Grandads lawn".."of course love" was her reply..it was the old type so no electrics involved...On the way home little 'un said "Mum didn't my Grandads glasses have black rims round them"..yes was my reply,he said "well he was watching me through the shed window and he waved"....Children don't make things like that up do they..and I must add that My Dad absolutely loved that shed,it was pristine.

‘Red Clogs’ a Coalminer’s Ghost

The Grey Lady of Astley Hospital

Did anyone go

https://www.hauntedevenings.co.uk/product/abandoned-mill-ghost-hunt-wigan/

"In between Appley Lane North and Miles Lane is a road called Skull House Lane. The lane takes its name from a cottage known as Skull House, which is located about halfway down Appley Lane North.
The story goes that in the time of the war between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, Oliver Cromwell ordered that the monks of England should be driven out of their monasteries and killed, with their monasteries then razed to the ground. One canny monk fled from his monastery and took refuge in a large cottage in Appley Bridge. To try to avoid discovery by Cromwell's Roundheads, the monk hid in a small cubby-hole halfway up the house's chimney. He hid there for some time, until the Roundheads eventually discovered him, and tried to drive him out. They lit a blaze in the fireplace, and the searing heat and thick smoke eventually forced the monk out, whence he was killed. Ever since then, the monk's discoloured skull has remained on the mantelpiece of the house, in the living room.
The inhabitants of Appley Bridge tell that, throughout the history of the house, there have been many residents who have tried to get rid of the skull, and all have experienced disastrous results from doing so. According to legend, one threw it into the River Douglas at the bottom of Appley Lane North. Shortly after, the skull returned to the house and the offending resident drowned in the river. Another tried to get it as far away from the house as possible, and shortly after, the skull returned once again and this time, the house's inhabitant fell down the stairs and severely injured himself. Others have tried many ways to banish the skull, and all have met with misfortune or fatality—sickness, the death of a loved one, bad luck ... the list goes on and on. The house's current residents have, unsurprisingly, never tried to remove the skull."

http://stonechaser.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/appley-bridge.html

Was this Dangerous Corner near Appley Bridge I wonder

A long time ago a countryman took a young wife. Suddenly, after a few happy years of marriage the wife fell ill and died.

On the way to the graveyard, as the hearse rounded the corner, the horse started, the driver jerked the hearse, an the coffin slid to the ground and burst open at the feet of the mourning husband who was following behind.

His wife stirred, then woke, the countryman was overjoyed – his wife wasn’t dead but had fallen into a deep trance, from which the shock of the fall had woken her

They returned home and spent many more happy years together. Eventually in her old age the wife died.

Once more the husband followed the hearse to graveyard.

As they rounded the corner the husband and other mourners heard a spectral voice:

‘Take care, coachman, for this is a DANGEROUS CORNER

Built by Stott and Sons in 1883 It has survived many periods of history, Eckersley served 134 years as a working mill and is now a grade II listed building. Eckersley Mill is a combination of 3 mills:
 
Mill 1 was the weaving shed and warehouse.
Mill 2 was a boiler house, engine house and a winding and beaming room
Mill 3 was the spinning mill and warehouse.
 
As you walk towards this phenomenal mill you can imagine the history coming to life. The atmosphere surrounding it encompasses everything you believe should inhabit this building. Feelings of being touched, cold spots and shadows are just a small part of the history of Eckersley Mill.
 
A member of staff, when the mill was still active, reported cotton reels moving on their own, when she reported the happenings to an elder member of staff they simply smiled and said that she would get used to them as it was an everyday occurrence.
 
It is not of any surprise that the spirits of children haunt this building, At the rear of the mill there is a spirit of a boy who is often heard running down the corridors and has been seen looking out of the windows, perhaps longing to return home! Children were often used at mills as they could fit behind the machines, probably one of the most dangerous jobs at the mill. Children can also be seen throughout all the buildings of the mill and giggles have been heard; it is as though they are playing hide and seek.
 
At the rear of the mill a man was crushed to death in the 1950's, he is still known to be haunting this spot and his footsteps can be heard, loud and clear. People have also seen him standing in doorways observing visitors.
 
If you witness the ghost of a panicking man in the dining hall, there is no need to be alarmed, this is a replay of the man’s death, he died of a heart attack in that exact spot!
 
LINK

I've worked all night in Eckersley's Mill , on a couple of occasions, and never seen any ghosts, only a couple of rats and they were outside. In fact, it might have been the same rat seen several times, I don't know, but there was no ghosts or spectres or funny noises. Just me drillin'!

It might have been the ghost of a rat?

Ryland’s Mill Air Raid Shelters
WW2 air raid shelters behind the fence on the ‘Top Field’ of Mesnes Park.   If you were on your bike at the top end of the park and you suddenly found it going dark, the options were to risk a twilight dash through the park with the prospect of running into The Parky, or, out of the top gate across Ryland’s Field, but with the knowledge that the haunted air raid shelters were only feet away from you and you could be dragged off your bike and through the fence at any given moment.  Curling up in a ball and crying was also an option too.
It’s rumoured to have been haunted by the ghost of a boy who didn’t get to the shelter in time and was hit by a German bomb.

From A Time To Live, A Time To Die by Jonny Fairclough

Cleworth Hall in Tyldesley, where allegedly 'demoniac possesion' of two children was reported in 1594 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. John and Ann Starkie, lived at Cleworth Hall. They both became sick and they were believed to have been 'possessed' by evil spirits.

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A19860.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=fulltext

Get a charabanc trip up from Wigan.




https://www.hauntedevenings.co.uk/product/halloween-ghost-hunt-lancaster-castle-friday-27th-october-2017/

There is a Ghost Train running from Liverpool to Southport. Southport is going over to the darkside for a week. Well worth visiting. Might even see me flitting about 

https://en-gb.facebook.com/spookysouthport/

MAN IN BLACK CAPE
LOCATION

Hindley
DATE/TIME

2004, midday
TYPE

Unknown Ghost Type
An Education Welfare Officer asked to leave this police station after spotting a ghostly male figure in a black cape along a corridor. A police officer, who was the only other person in the building at the time, who questioned her about the sighting, reported the building was 'uncomfortable' for people working there.


http://paranormalmap.mirror.co.uk/map

There's something fishy going on here an' all..at the moment I'm wearing little pearl studs for pierced ears...cleaning my teeth the other morning I heard a ping..earring had shot out of said ear..said to hubby it's gone down the plug hole.he came in with it ..it was ON shower. curtain,not in bath,not on floor but ON shower curtain..but..with little butterfly stud still attached,so how had it come out of my ear..day after,I was reading..out it came again etc..this afternoon in the car..out it came again..how on earth can it come out with the stud still attached...help.

Was your hubby having a little Halloween trick on you Maureeen?

No Mrs A, like I said..it shot out of my ear while reading,then same again on the way to garden centre..Id feel better if he was playing a trick on me..I'm still mystified...if it does it again..they're coming out and staying out. lol