Ghosts at Christmas Read Online Free PDF

Cathedral Garden and many more. Decked out with plants and trees including roses, magnolia, azalias, lilac, cherry, plum and apple trees, rhododendrons, hedging, ferns, grapevines anda variety of vegetables, these gardens have been described by gardener and television presenter Alan Titchmarsh as ‘a tapestry of colourful blooms’, and they are a wonder to behold, no matter what time of the year you chose to visit. There is also a Moat Pool, a pond, and a fantastic maze in the meadow close to the main entrance – brilliant for adults and children alike. But where are the ghosts, I hear you ask.
    Well, back in 1463, Cuthbert Billingham inherited Crook Hall and eventually left it to his grandson, John, after his death in or around 1508. Cuthbert Billingham had a niece, and she is the woman thought to be the resident ghost of Crook Hall. Known as the White Lady, she has been observed by many folk as she silently meanders through the house. The ghost of Crook Hall has been well known for many years now and her presence has stirred up much interest within the local paranormal community. Her ghost is seen every now and again, but more often than not, she is felt. The best chance to see the White Lady – in full apparitional form, I am told – is on St Thomas’s Eve (20 December) each year. On that particular date, five days before Christmas, she is said to silently float down the ancient wooden staircase that is housed in the circular turret of the Jacobean manor house, her last recorded sighting being not that long ago.
    During my visit there, I met Crook Hall’s owners, Maggie and Keith Bell, and spoke to them in great detail about their ghost. Keith then took me on a tour of the house and showed me exactly where in the property the ghost is seen, including the area on the old stairwell. He then diverted my attention to a notice on the wall next to where the old stairwell is situated that tells the visitor all about the White Lady. With kind permission from Keith and Maggie, I am able to reproduce the notice:
    These ancient stairs, perhaps the oldest in County Durham, are haunted by the White Lady. She was the Niece of Cuthbert Billingham, who inherited Crook Hall. He quarrelled with the citizens of Durham and in his rage, cut off their water supply. There have been numeroussightings of the White Lady over the centuries. She is usually said to glide silently and gently down the stairs, although on one occasion, she was reported to thoroughly alarm guests who had been invited to Crook Hall for a ball by a rather more dramatic appearance. A banquet had been laid out in the medieval hall, but as the guests moved into the Screen’s Passage, they heard a soft rustle followed by a loud crash. When they looked into the hall they found that the tables had been overturned, destroying the banquet. A further rustle and a glimpse of a white figure convinced them that this was the work of the White lady.
    One wonders if the banquet was a Christmas banquet? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. A wonderful anecdote of the Crook Hall ghost to say the least, but one wonders why she chose to ruin the party, after all, she is usually such a benign soul. I have recounted this tale in a lot more detail in my book Haunted Durham (The History Press, 2010) which, incidentally, includes my own personal experience of a ‘strange happening’ during my visit there … but, because this ghost has most certainly got a Christmas connection, I feel it also has a rightful place within these pages too. I must now personally thank Keith and Maggie Bell, to whom we all owe our sincere thanks for keeping the wonderful spirit of Crook Hall well and truly alive for us all to see and enjoy. Long may she walk its ancient passages and halls.
T HE H AND OF G LORY , S COTCH C ORNER , N ORTH Y ORKSHIRE
    The Old Spital Inn was situated near Scotch Corner in North Yorkshire. The pub, which is now long gone, was, by all accounts, a spit and sawdust kind of place where