The last ride
The sound of spooky hooves woke me...
Waking with a start, I heard the clip clop of horse’s hooves. The sound had woken me up.
Someone’s out for an early ride, I thought as the distinctive noise faded.
I glanced at the clock before going back to sleep. It was 5.30am.
Later that morning, I realised something.
The road is at the front of my house and I sleep at the back.
I can’t hear sounds from a horse on the road!
So what had I heard?
Library find
It was odd and I put the experience to the back of my mind.
But a few days later, browsing in my library I found Haunted Chatham by Neil Arnold.
I didn’t know Chatham had any ghosts, I thought. When I flicked through the pages, I came across the name of my street.
The story was about the ghost of a white horse that was said to gallop on my road.
The author added that no-one had seen the ghostly horse for a long time. Well, I wouldn’t be sure about that, I thought, shocked.
Whilst I didn’t see the ghost, I certainly heard it.
Legend
A few days later, I mentioned the ghost and story to my neighbour Emma, who’s 94. Emma has lived on the road all her life. I expected her to laugh. Instead, she said: ‘Oh yes, the lady on a horse. When I was a child, we used to try and watch out for her. Local legend said she rode down this hill and when she reached the road, she…’ Emma fluttered her hands and said, ‘vanished like a mist, I saw her myself – just the once.’ I listened transfixed as Emma continued. ‘The identity of the ghostly woman was a mystery. But local legend says her boyfriend was murdered and she went looking for the murderer and was killed herself. The woman’s spirit vowed to haunt the road until the killer was caught. No-one knows if he was ever brought to justice,’ said Emma.
Peace
Now the sight of the ghost has gone and all that’s left is the noise. The haunting is fading. I expect that over time the noise will disappear, too. Hopefully, then the rider and her horse will find some peace.
The ghost of a horse was said to gallop down my road