Arrested for acting like a ghost, scourge of spectral gangs and a ‘headless’ man pleading to be let out of cemetery
Bygones regular Brian Stubbs shines a light on some paranormal sightings reported in the city over the past 150 years
IN Derby over the past 150 years there have been stories of ghostly happenings, appearing and disappearing in all sorts of locations. Some were obvious hoaxes or merely strange coincidences, while others were humorous. But few had a more darker side to them and posed more questions than answers.
Many of these stories and legends were at some time reported in the local papers, some of which are worth a closer look.
PLAYING TRICKS WITH THE MIND
September 1885 was a remarkable month for ghost reports but the events covered in these reports may have had their origins back in April of that year, when an advert appeared in the Derby Daily Telegraph. It read: “Have you seen the ghost, if not, go to Laurence’s Great Allied Ghost Illusion.
“In the Morledge, screams of laughter, startling novelties, with a full and talented company. New scenery, dresses and mechanical effects by Mr Harry Bosworth of Derby”
An illusion technique which became known as Pepper’s Ghost, was originally invented by an English scientist, Henry Dircks, who along with a colleague, John Pepper, developed it for use on the stage.
The technique was first demonstrated on Christmas Eve 1862, as part of a performance of Charles Dickens’ short story ‘The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain’ in London and was a huge success, even attracting royalty to the show.
The technique was s soon being used in plays and shows all round the country.
The illusion involved the use of two rooms, the main one in view of an audience and a smaller one positioned to one side or in front, but unseen by the viewer.
A plate of glass was placed in the main room, at an angle. When an object or figure in the side room was lit, a reflection would be seen in the main room, giving the impression of appearing out of thin air as if by magic and startling the watching crowd.
Many variations of this illusion were developed around the country and became popular in theatres, halls and even converted shops, as in the case of Mr Laurence’s establishment in the Morledge.
The manager even employed someone to play the harmonium during performances, to create an ethereal atmosphere for the public.
Laurence’s shop would have been part of the annual Easter fair in the Morledge when, for several days, crowds would flock into the town centre venue to walk round the various booths and tents and enjoy all the fun of the fair.
Many would have visited the Ghost Illusion , to be frightened and intrigued as to how the trick was done!
In his 1882 painting Morledge Easter Fair, CT Moore vividly captures the scene. It can be seen at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.
GHOST GANGS
In early earl September 1885, the local l papers began to report rep on unusual incidents in in various parts p of the town. People had reported seeing strange figures dressed in white, moving at great speed towards tow them and, when challenged, challe suddenly disappearing, disappe as if into thin air.
Sightings were reported in Stepping Lane, along Ashbourne Road and Burton Road, where an old lady was traumatised by the sudden appearance of a figure in front of her. She never fully recovered from the experience.
In a field near St Chad’s Church, a young girl was frightened by a whiteclad figure coming towards her and then vanishing. The girl’s screams soon attracted some neighbours and her father was sent for. On arrival he ran across the field and apprehended a youth, lying on the ground.
The youth told him he had been “larking about” and just copying the other “ghosts” he had read about in the papers.
He even explained how he managed to disappear, by only wearing a white sheet over his face and the front of his body, so when he turned around or lay on the ground, he appeared to vanish.
The father let the boy go but the matter was subsequently reported to the police, who arrested the youth. He had to appear in court and was fined.
A more serious incident took place a few days later on the other side of town and became known as “The Darley Grove Ghost Case”.
A 16-year-old youth named Burrows was charged with acting like a ghost and assault, when jumping out into the path of Frank Gray, a young man who was out walking with his girlfriend in Darley Grove, which runs along the edge of Darley Park.
Burrows had raised his hand, which appeared to have a pistol in it and Gray seized him and in the ensuing struggle managed to wrench it from him.
At this point a dozen associates of Burrows suddenly appeared, all carrying large sticks and landed several blows on Gray’s head as he and his girlfriend made a quick escape down Darley Lane.
The pistol, which was loaded with powder and a firing cap, was handed over to the police the next day and enquiries soon led them to the whiteclad figure, who was summoned to
the borough court.
There, the chief constable stated there was enough powder in the pistol to blind someone if fired into their face.
The bench wanted to make an example of the defendant and hopefully put an end to the ghost gangs who had been terrifying the town for the past month.
Burrows was bound over for six months and fined £3 17s 6d for the assault. This fine was a huge amount for Burrows who, as an errand boy at Haslam’s Foundry would only be earning a few shillings per week. The bench had declared that if the fine couldn’t be paid he would be “imprisoned for 14 days with hard labour”.
Fortunately, the Rev Percival of St Michael’s church stepped forward and paid the fine. He ran the Sunday school at the church and stated that Burrows attended there regularly and had always been well behaved.
This case marked the end of the spate of ghost incidents in Derby and subsequent newspaper reports noted that where the apparitions were sighted, many of the local gardens had been burgled of equipment and produce by groups of youths, while the ghostly diversion was taking place!
PIGEON CAUSED QUITE A FLAP
Noises can play strange tricks with the mind, as demonstrated by a story in the Derby Daily Telegraph from April, 1929.
A Mrs Styles ran a boarding house in Green Lane Derby, along with her husband. It was frequently used by visiting theatrical artists while they were working in the town.
Mrs Sykes started receiving letters from prospective boarders requesting they didn’t want to be given the “haunted” room near the cellar. A local rumour had got around that the cellar led to the Green Lane Baptist Chapel and Mary Queen of Scots had been briefly held there en route to a more permanent prison. It was thought her spirit was haunting the boarding house.
A troupe of dancers had recently
stayed at the house and the girls had been frightened by strange noises during the night.
After telling Mrs Styles of their ordeal, the following morning the landlady immediately solved the mystery. Her husband was a pigeon fancier and it was the cooing of his roosting birds that had disturbed the dancers’ sleep!
Strangely, Mary Queen of Scots had stayed quite close to Green Lane, when, on the night of January 13, 1585, she lodged at Babington Hall before travelling on the next day to Tutbury Castle.
A blue plaque on the wall of the Nat West building in St Peter’s Street marks the location of the hall.
FRIGHT ON CEMETERY WALL
Humour is often at the heart of many ghost stories, never more so than in an article that appeared in the Telegraph in December 1929.
Under the headline “Two versions of a Derby ghost scare” it detailed firstly, the story of a young man and his sweetheart who, one Sunday evening were standing in the lee of the Nottingham Road cemetery wall. Suddenly they heard a noise, and looking up saw in the gloom a figure leaning over the top of the wall and shouting “I want to come out”.
The apparition then appeared to raise a hand and remove its head.
The terrified couple ran away in panic.
Mr John Betts, a painter by trade, had been in the cemetery, tidying up a family grave and planting some bulbs when he suddenly realised that it was after 7pm.
Rushing to the exit he found the gate had been locked. Finding a low part of the wall he managed to climb over it and was just about to descend when he spotted the young couple, right below him. He shouted down “It’s all right I want to come out.”
Mr Betts added: “In an endeavour to reassure the young lady, I politely lifted my hat. Now that was unfortunate as I wear a wig, and the wig came off as well, doubtless giving the impression that I was beheading myself. They gave a shriek and ran off before I could explain !”
SAD MAN IN POTTING SHED
In October 1936, the Derby Telegraph printed a story about a house in Brick Street. As part of a clearance scheme, the town council was about to demolish the premises at No 2 which, according to local stories, had apparently been haunted for 190 years.
The apparition appeared to be that of a sad-faced little man, wearing a wide brimmed black hat and a flowing black cloak who, over the years had been glimpsed moving across the walled back garden.
A Miss E Hall, a previous tenant, had lived there for 36 years since childhood and related her story to a Telegraph reporter.
She told him she remembered sitting in her dining room one day and, looking out saw a “little man glide along the back garden path, heading towards the potting shed”.
She mentioned it to her mother who went outside and found no one there. A few days later her mother confided to her that in fact, she too had seen the figure on three previous occasions, and in broad daylight.
Miss Hall went on to say she saw the little man several times after that, always heading towards their potting shed where he seemed to vanish into thin air.
Several subsequent tenants also claimed to have seen the “ghost”.
The evening following publication of this story saw a crowd congregating in front of the house, causing quite a disturbance.
Lighted matches and fireworks were thrown into the derelict rooms and several windows were broken. Eventually the police had to restore order and the following morning council workers boarded up the windows.
Demolition was soon under way and when knocking down the potting shed, the floor suddenly fell in, revealing a deep well that nobody knew existed.
It doesn’t appear that anything else was found as the site was cleared and built on in due course.
A local belief was that way back in 1745, when Bonnie Prince Charlie marched down Ashbourne Road towards Derby, some of his men were billeted at No 2 Brick Street, which at that time was a substantial Georgian building.
Perhaps one of these men, for whatever reason, had fallen down the well and drowned, although it has to be said, the description of a sad-faced little man wearing a wide brimmed black hat and a flowing black cloak, does not seem to fit with our notion of what one of the Young Pretender’s tough Highlanders would have looked like! As in many ghost stories, it will have to remain a mystery!
Derby has always been a so-called hot-spot for many ghostly sightings in our older buildings which have been well documented over the years. Many had logical and often humorous explanations, but some seem to defy reason and will continue to fascinate us for a long time to come.