A Haunted Ely

Halloween

My friend and I made a girl's night out to theater for a scary flick, Ouija. The movie itself was okay. It had the potential to scary, but failed short. The story line was pretty interesting. The highlight of the show was actually the previous. During the preview for the follow up the Woman in Black, a rather suspenseful and terrifying scene happened and Holly dumped the contents of our popcorn on me! We managed to save some of it.. it was good popcorn. 

Prior to the movie, I handed out candy to trick-r-treaters. There were quite a few out and about in our neighborhood despite that the sun was gone by 5:00 pm! I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to the sun setting at 4:30 in the afternoon or earlier! 

Still, Halloween wouldn't be complete without some local town ghosties...

Hauntings around Ely

"Meet at Oliver Cromwell's House at 7:30pm for our Ghost Tour around one of the most haunted cities in Europe. You will hear stories that have travelled through the ages as well as more recent tales. Ghostly sighting guaranteed!"

Who could resist seeing the ghosts of Ely. Holly and I went on the ghost tour, and I'll try to see if I can remember some of the stories....

The first ghost story was outside Oliver Cromwell's house. The guide told of a story long after the death of Oliver Cromwell. The family that lived in the house received a visit from a married couple. On night, the wife of the visiting guest awoke to find herself across the room and being grasped by a man! He was muttering something along the likes of "this is not how it should be". After the ghostly encountered, the woman climbed back into bed without even waking her husband! Upon recalling the incident, she is said to have not known if the ghost was in her world or if she was in its world as it was so real. The ghost is believed to be Oliver Cromwell himself in contemplation of his own character in deciding the fate of the King that once reigned. 

Also, the sounds of children (believed to be Oliver's 8 children) can sometimes be heard laughing inside and outside the home as well as Mrs. Cromwell. A fun fact that was noted is that Oliver Cromwell's house is the oldest building still standing. Part of the house was constructed as early as the 1300s! 

Now not all the ghosts rumored to have been seen were people; some were of animals as well. Another ghost story told was about a dog, the Black Shuck, that is seen crossing the A10 road around tea time. Many have been certain they hit the dog and stop to check their cars only to find nothing. Around the 1950s, a woman was walking home at night by herself. She had no lighting to see clearly and was nervous. As she walked, a calmness surrounded her and she looked and saw a black dog beside her. She wasn't really a dog person, but seemed that the dog was rather nice. The dog followed her to her home and waited for her to unlock her door before vanishing. 

In the part of Ely that was once built for the militia, there is a ghost, a nurse that walks the street carrying a lamp to light the way. 

What was once a merchant's home has now been divided into 3 cottages. Built during the medieval period, the place may be home to a large medieval woman that enjoys looking at fine jewelry. The author of a book about haunted Ely used to live in one of the cottages, but she herself never saw the ghost. A visitor staying with the author did as very well possibly her cat. 

A particularly well known ghost is St. Etheldreda at the King's School. One night, three little boys watched as a blue hand (the hand of St. Etheldreda) glided up the staircase. During the 1600s, St. Etheldreda's shrine was destroyed. Apparently, St. Etheldreda's hand was taken and passed down from generation to generation until it eventually made its way back to the Etheldreda's Roman Catholic Church in Ely, which had been known to be inhabited by a poltergeist. Once the St. Etheldreda's hand returned, the poltergeist stopped. The hand is said to be displayed and is no longer blue, but wrinkled and brown.

The Dean of the King’s school took up residency in the old monks’ building. He had a little girl that claimed to see a menacing monk in a black habit standing at the foot of her bed staring at her. Where there should have been a face, there was only black. When she told her father, he stayed one night in her room, but nothing happened. The girl moved to another room, but the presence followed her.

There have also been stories of cheerful monks, tap dancing ghost, even Charles II’s mistress, Nell Gwynne.

The last story of the night was about body snatchers. Doctors in London used to be able to easily get the bodies of dead criminals or vagrants that had died in the streets for research purposes. However, soon a law was passed disallowing the practice. The doctors resorted to practicing on animals. However, they soon found animals and humans weren't similar enough. They began hiring grave diggers to provide them with bodies. The grave diggers would bury the poor dead souls during the day, mark the grave, and come back at night with a wooden shovel to dig up the body. They were eventually caught and body snatching a thing of the past. Some people have claimed they have seen a man carrying a shovel and sack headed for the graveyard. Others have said they have seen a young girl wandering in search of her body.

If interested in more ghostly tales about Ely, check out “Haunted Ely” by Vivienne Doughtly and Margaret Haynes. I think I'm going to have to get a copy for myself!