THANK you to the readers who contacted me after last week’s column.

It seems a few of you have seen ghosts. And have chilling first-hand tales to recount.

Many thanks to the following readers who took the time to get in touch and send me their creepy tales: Davidina Haigh who has frequently seen the ghost of an old woman – thought to be a witch – wandering near her home. When she was demolishing some outbuildings, Davidina found dried herbs stuffed into the walls. “Possibly some person’s attempt to ‘ward off’ evil spirits,” she concludes.

Al Worrall encountered a ghost while working as the assistant manager at the Barley Mow pub in the Old Fish Market. It was his first night in charge and he had the job of taking the tills upstairs to count the takings in the office.

What happened next chilled his blood and it is an experience he has never forgotten.

What so spooked him that he had to calm his nerves with a stiff drink of Jack Daniels? Scroll down to read his tale...

Andrew Thompson was spooked by the floating spectre of an old lady as he drove along Wilderspool Causeway. But he wasn’t the only person to see the ghost that night. The motorist in front of him swerved his car to avoid the ‘lady’.

He asks: “Do any of your readers know who this lady was? Has any one seen the same lady? Has the lady ever been seen in or around the church or in the houses opposite? Honestly, this was a true experience of a ghost, I have never seen one since.”

Read his account and see if you can shed any light on who or what he saw near St John’s United Reformed Church.

It reminded me too of some of the tales I’ve heard about the building in which I am writing these words.

The Academy building is steeped in history, including among its former teachers scientist Joseph Priestley. Although I have not had personal supernatural experiences, a few of my colleagues have over the years.

Stories abound of caped figures dashing up the stairs, of doors opening by themselves and of a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff collar being seen in the photographers’ dark room. Indeed, this last ghost had to be exorcised years ago by a ghostbuster.

Various psychic mediums have visited the building and concluded that there may well be the ghost of a monk linked to the site as there was a 13th century Augustinian friary nearby (now the site of the Friar Penketh Wetherspoons pub).

All of which has left me feeling slightly chilled. So I will bid you adieu.

Until next week, dear readers. Don’t have nightmares....

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Here are the ghost stories sent in by readers.

Al Worrall:

About 10 years ago now I used to work in Warrington town centre's 'oldest' pub the Barley Mow. Needless to say there were many unusual things I experienced and encountered there (and not just the regulars!) although there is one that I will always remember and still tell people to this day.

I was the assistant manager there and the landlady at the time had gone away for the weekend leaving me in charge. Being my first time in charge I was both excited and nervous at this prospect, understandably, but also highly conscious of making sure security was paramount.

After a busy Friday night, after all the punters had left and all doors were closed and locked and the bar staff were finishing cleaning I took the tills upstairs to the office to do the nightly count. Once in the office I'd realised I'd forgotten to bring up the till receipts for each till which were needed to help with the count so I quickly nipped back downstairs to retrieve them.

On my way back up to the office, I was at the bottom of the stairs when I noticed the back of someone walking into the office. Immediately I panicked thinking someone had somehow managed to sneak in and, knowing the tills and the safe were in there, I raced upstairs to confront the intruder.

Upon entering the office there was no one there, nothing had been touched or moved and there was no other way out, although I had seen someone clear as day walking into that office.

Needless to say I quickly counted up the tills and takings, locked them away in the safe, locked the office door and nursed a large Jack Daniels downstairs!

 

Andrew Thompson, Woolston:

Hi Jeremy, I was reading your article in this week’s Warrington Guardian about ghosts. I must admit, it was very interesting to read whether ghosts are really true or false. I would like to share my experience with you, and please be assured this was a true and real event which occurred in the middle 80s.

It was one evening at about 17.45pm, I was travelling in my car down Wilderspool Causeway. There was a car travelling approx 100 yards in front of me, it was dark and the road was lit by street lights only, there were no other cars on the road except myself and the car in front.

Just as the car in front approached the little church on the left just passed the service station, I suddenly noticed an old lady floating from the church onto the road, the lady had no legs but the image was very clear, as she floated across the road, the car in front suddenly swerved to miss the lady, the car swerved suddenly right then left, as I approached the point the lady floated into the terraced houses opposite the church.

At this point I really thought I was seeing things but I realized I wasn't, the driver of the car in front must have thought it was a real person because the lady floated from the church at the last minute, it was at this point I realised I was not seeing things: this was a real ghost, the lady just literally floated across the road. To be honest I have never seen the lady again , I have travelled a number of times down Wilderspool Causeway hoping to see the lady again this to no avail.

Do any of your readers know who this lady was? Has any one seen the same lady?

Has the lady ever been seen in or around the church? Or in the houses opposite? Honestly, this was a true experience of a ghost, I have never seen one since.

 

L M Cameron:

I’m a train driver, and have been for over 40 years; I am truly a disbeliever in anything supernatural.

About five years ago I was taking a train of coal to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. As I approached a signal at Fiddlers Ferry, in between the 2 crossovers, I noticed an old lady. She was stood on the opposite side of the canal, she was very striking even though it was dark, there were no lights, and it was around 01:30. She stood out to me, maybe 6 foot tall, white hair to her shoulders, curly and wide at the bottom, sharp angular features, big smile, a shawl, round her shoulders, what looked like a long nightie, a big handbag held in front of her.

Shocked, I brought my train to a stand, told the signal man why I had stopped, then phoned the police, explaining that there was a lady stood opposite me.

I couldn’t help her, there was a canal between me and her. I called the police. They asked a few questions, and didn’t seem too bothered until I described the area. She was between the canal and the river not far from a lock that allows boats to get into the river, and I added that I didn’t think she was looking for ASDA.

I was genuinely worried for her, so I thought I’d done my bit, I even called the driver in front and asked did he see her, he said yes, but didn’t have the means to do anything about it.

Well, 2 hours later I was exiting Fiddlers Ferry, and I saw a police car, in the little car park that is opposite the Ferry Inn.

I stopped and asked the officers if they had seen anything? They said “no “. Not being able to stop for long, I proceeded on and put all in the back of my mind, went home and slept.

I had been on long hours, I forgot all about it, till a few weeks later I was reading an old Liverpool Echo that reported a lady was found washed up on Widnes marshes. To this day I wonder if it was her, could I have done more?

I have told this tale a few times, but only recently someone suggested, did you see her before or after? I said, after what? After she died, or before.

That made me think, how I can describe her so well, it was dark, very dark, and she was, very clear. Have a walk down there when it’s dark, I wouldn’t!!!

Does anyone know of anything else about the Ferry Inn, or the marina that could shed any light on this tale?

 

Davidina Haigh:

We moved to Strand House, in a village outside Carlisle, in 1974. One day Ian and I were in the car preparing to go shopping - Ian was driving. As he started to reverse out of our driveway I looked behind and saw a very old woman slowly walking across the pavement behind our car, and I said "Wait a minute, let that old woman get past".

We didn't think anything of it - but then, several times people visiting our house would sometimes say "Oh, I think there is someone coming to the door" and then "Oh no, I think she has gone" and things like this.

On one particular day I was off work ill, and I was sitting on the settee cuddling my beloved cat Leo - my back was to the window, but all of a sudden Leo absolutely FROZE and her "hackles" came up and she was staring wildly through the window - I think she had also seen our ghost.

Finally, on the day Ian and I got married, after the ceremony all the guests came back to our house for a party, and our best man (a staunch Catholic, and a true "no nonsense" fellow) ALSO said "Oh you've got another guest arriving - there's a little old lady coming up the drive" - but of course, she disappeared again!

We later discovered that there were the ruins of an old tiny cottage in the woods beside our garden, and there had been an old woman who was thought to be a witch had lived there nearly 200 years ago.

When we demolished some of our outbuildings to create our new extension to Strand House, we discovered all sorts of dried herbs etc, stuffed into every opening of the old building, possibly some person's attempt to "ward off" evil spirits - although I have to say, I always felt this old lady to be totally benign.

All very interesting though!