Cornish Ghosts

Let’s hope the weather people are right when they say we’re in for a lovely, sizzling summer.

In these days of credit crunchiness a lot of us will be foregoing foreign shores in favour of a holiday in dear old Blighty.

Cornwall is a definite hotspot, and not just for surfers and sun worshippers. Just about every town, village and old smugglers pub has a ghostly tale or two to tell.

The most famous smugglers pub of all is Jamaica Inn which makes an ideal first stop as you enter Cornwall. I’ve been there a few times and have definitely felt an eerie presence, especially in the bar area.

Jamaica Inn was built in 1750 as a resting place for weary travellers. However, its isolated location made it an ideal hiding place for the smugglers that operated along the Cornish coast. Unsuspecting travellers often found themselves at the mercy of cutthroats and pirates.

One stranger, after an exhausting trek across Bodmin Moor, was standing at the bar enjoying a tankard of ale. He was lured outside by robbers and was never seen alive again. The man’s body was found a few days later on the bleak moor. Since then, the ghost of this poor stranger has been seen at the bar, quietly supping his ale and staring at the door. Is he waiting patiently to take revenge on his killers?

The ghostly figure of a man wearing a tricorn hat and a long cloak has also been witnessed in the bar. People have described him as looking like an eighteenth century highwayman.

In the bedrooms some guests have been startled to hear disembodied voices and whisperings late at night. The language of these voices is not English but Cornish – the language that would certainly have been spoken by the smugglers.

Jamaica Inn lies on the edge of Bodmin Moor, home of the legendary Beast of Bodmin, a massive black feline creature that has been terrifying locals for centuries.

Nearby is Bodmin Gaol, definitely one of the grimmest places I have ever visited. The first thing you see outside the building is the gallows where dozens of men and women (some innocent, some very, very guilty) were publicly hanged.

The building itself is semi-ruined but you can go underground and walk around the dungeons. There are lots of cells with unearthly wax figures depicting the former inmates and the horrific conditions that they existed in.

One of these inmates was a crippled farmer by the name of Matthew Weeks. He was hanged for the murder of his lover Charlotte Dymond whose blood spattered body was found in a field in April 1844. Matthew Weeks protested his innocence right to the end and many people believed him. His ghost is said to wander the Gaol, furious at the injustice dealt out to him. Meanwhile, the ghost of the murdered Charlotte is said to be seen every April in the town of Camelford.

Another Ghost is that of Selina Wadge who was hanged in 1878 for killing her infant son. Her ghost is said to show a particular interest in young children.

In the early nineteenth century one unfortunate old woman, Ann Jeffries, became the victim of superstitious neighbours. She was accused of witchcraft and carted off to Bodmin Gaol where she was locked in a dungeon. Ann refused to confess to being a witch and was subsequently starved – the logic being that if she didn’t die then she was bound to be a witch. Unsurprisingly, she died. Her emaciated spirit is sometimes seen in the bowels of this horrible prison.

Bodmin Gaol is a very interesting place to visit but has an extremely oppressive atmosphere. This is a place where thousands of people endured dreadful suffering and some people may find it an unpleasant experience.

A medieval lord of the manor, Henry Pengersick seems to be responsible for many of the castle’s ghosts. By all accounts he was a violent psychopath who killed anybody that crossed him. One of his victims was the aforementioned monk sent by his abbey to collect the rent. The ghost of this monk has often been seen in the castle grounds.

A particularly unpleasant spectral scene is sometimes witnessed in the main bedroom. A woman is seen writhing in agony on the bed. Another woman (her maid?) is desperately trying to comfort her. Could this unfortunate woman be another of Henry Pengersick’s victims?

Paranormal investigators have documented no less than thirty spirits at Pengersick Castle. There are also light flashes, mists and strange voices. These voices, like those at Jamaica Inn, are sometimes heard to speak in Cornish, a language that has not been in use since Victorian times.

One of Cornwall’s grandest houses is Lanhydrock, a National Trust property. It dates from 1630 but had to be rebuilt in 1881 after it was destroyed by fire. The shock of losing their beautiful house sent its owners, Lord and Lady Robartes to early graves (they are buried in the grounds). It is thought that they, along with other long dead family members and various servants, have maintained a ghostly presence throughout the house’s fifty rooms.

A little old lady, dressed in grey, has been seen sitting quietly in the Long Gallery. Some people, thinking she is a guide, have approached her only to see her vanish before their eyes.

I visited Lanhydrock a couple of years ago and definitely felt the presence of many spirits all around.

The Nursery, with its Victorian toys and books, seemed particularly active. Some people claim to have heard children giggling in this area.

In the Billiards Room, where the gentlemen would retire after dinner, I was certain I could smell cigar smoke (smoking, of course, is strictly verboten in modern day Lanhydrock).

One of the bedrooms belonged to a Robartes family member who was killed in the First World War. His uniform was laid out on the bed and the room was locked for several decades. This room has a very eerie and very sad atmosphere and I certainly felt a spirit present here.

Along with all the ghosts, Cornwall has giants, pixies (piskeys), various strange beasts that stalk the country lanes, druids and King Arthur.

There is so much in Cornwall that I will be returning to this enigmatic county in future blogs.