Ghosts at Christmas

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Book: Read Ghosts at Christmas for Free Online
Authors: Darren W. Ritson
parts of the building go back to the fifteenth. The inn is one of Cumbria’s highest public houses, standing at 1,489ft above sea level. The views you get from this area are spectacular, with theLakeland mountainous ranges and untamed wilderness reaching out far before you in almost every direction. The acclaimed poet, William Wordsworth (1770–1850) visited the inn during many of his Lakeland adventures and penned the line ‘who comes not hither ne’er shall know how beautiful the world below’.
    The Kirkstone Pass Inn was formerly known as the Travellers Rest, which was an apt name, for many weary travellers and visitors to the area would stop off here to rest their tired legs and take in some much needed refreshment. Of course, being the ancient building that it is, it is not surprising to hear that this public house has not just retained its charm and character, but, by all accounts, a few of its former patrons too – in the form of resident ghosts.
    Many people over the years have reported ‘strange occurrences’ within the walls of this old drinking den, including much violent poltergeist-like activity. Doors are said to open and close on their own, glasses are thrown from behind the bar and staff and visitors alike often feel an eerie presence. These disturbances are put down to two alleged ghosts. The first is that of a lost hiker who, for whatever reason, decided to vent his aggression in this old building, and the other is a grey lady.
    Some folk suggest that these two ghosts are not responsible for this at all, and blame a phantom child named Neville. He is thought to be responsible for the movement of furniture and picture frames. Neville, according to Richard Jones in his book Haunted Inns of Britain and Ireland , was alleged to have been killed outside the inn when he was run over by a coach and horses.
    The area outside the inn is reputedly haunted too. Nearby, there is a tree that is known as the ‘hangman’s tree’ – no prizes for guessing what happened there in days gone by. Stories persist of a harrowing spectral form seen around the hangman’s tree. The spectre is thought to be that of a former innkeeper from the 1700s, who was accused of brutally murdering his children after they disappeared from the inn without any warning.
    The final ghost – the one that ties the Kirkstone Pass Inn to the theme of this book – is the ghost of Ruth, who haunts the area every Christmas time; around the anniversary of her tragic death. The story goes that, one inclement night, she decided to set off with her newborn baby into the darkness to see her ill father. During her efforts to reach her father’s house, she was caught up in a winter blizzard. The blizzard became so severe she began to worry about her child. She took off some of her garments and wrapped the baby up so the child would be warm.
    Ruth then forced her way forwards, heading on into the driving snow, eventually succumbing to it. Freezing cold, she dropped to the ground. It was not long before Ruth died of exposure, but happily the baby survived and was found soon after. Ruth’s sad ghost is said to be seen around Christmas at the dead of night as she endlessly searches the area in vain looking for her beloved child.
T HE S KULLS OF C ALGARTH H ALL , L AKE W INDERMERE , C UMBRIA
    Calgarth Hall stands imposingly on the shore of Lake Windermere, and is one of the oldest buildings in the surrounding area. Allegedly, the manor house was once subjected to a haunting connected to the unjust killing of two innocent people.
    Kraster Cook and his wife Dorothy lived on an area of land which was very much sought after by one of the locals, a man named Myles Phillipson. By all accounts, Pillipson was a wealthy, influential man who was used to getting his own way. However, the Cooks refused to sell him their land and no amount of money or persuasion would convince them to part with their precious house. Phillipson wanted the land to build upon. He had

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