May, 2005

By CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLIN

Looking at the pieces on the ‘Spooky Norfolk’ website, and browsing through the calendar for inspiration for future locations and dates to go ghost-hunting, I was reminded of my first, impromptu attempt at exploring my interest in the paranormal.

It must have been the 19th of May 2 years ago when I convinced my partner that it would be an excellent idea to see if we could spy the ghost of Anne Boleyn at Blickling Hall.

This website had given me information about the anniversary of her death and told of the headless ghost that arrives at Blickling in a horse-drawn carriage of the spooky persuasion on this date each year, and I thought what more fool-proof ghost-hunting experience could there be?

So, before I got involved in writing for Spooky Norfolk I organised my own foray into the world of ghost-hunting.

One thing which the calendar didn’t provide was the time of this ghostly appearance. Had I thought about it more logically I would have come to the conclusion that when the clock struck midnight, and the 18th of May became the 19th, then the tragic figure would appear. Or even 24 hours later, when the 19th turned into the 20th of the month.

Blickling Hall at dusk.

However, I didn’t fancy staying up that late, and – it being my virgin voyage – I decided that it would, in fact, be best to visit the Hall at dusk on the day in question.

This was much more congenial to my daily routine, and much less terrifying. So David and I packed our cameras, a drink of water, and headed off into the balmy late-spring evening.

Understandably, a location of such beauty and importance and a National Trust venue, I was not expecting the staff at Blickling Hall to acquiesce to any request from me to keep the venue open for my paranormal purposes, so we were restricted to the surrounding area that was on offer.

That included Blickling Hall Park, which is open from dawn until dusk and in early summer was beautiful, with large, green meadows running down to a river.

It was very peaceful to wander about it, but as it got darker I began to feel somewhat spooked, probably more because of a sense of anticipation than anything else.

As the light became lower and a chill set in, we made our way back to the car and parked strategically opposite the building, giving us the best view of the approach road and the driveway up to the front of the house.

Performing our vigil in the car may seem like a complete cop-out, but it was certainly the most comfortable location, and one that would encourage us to stay for the longest amount of time.

Next to Blickling Hall is a church, enclosed by a small graveyard surrounded by trees and mature shrubs. David decided that he would investigate this area, while I stayed in the car keeping my eyes and ears open to the possibility of carriage wheels and headless horses.

I watched David disappear into the trees and the dusk until he was out of sight. I kept my eyes on the entrance to the graveyard, and tried to see David through the trees. Suddenly I saw a bright flash of white among the gravestones, only visible for a minute and then it was dark again.

I could hardly contain my excitement, but rather than run to the place I had just seen the movement I waited for David’s return.

When mentioned to him, David said he had not seen anyone else in the cemetery, and as he was wearing dark clothes I thought it couldn’t be him. But I asked him to go back and trace the route he had taken moments earlier, to see if he had in any way caused the apparition. He did this, and I saw no repeat of the vivid white which had flashed past.

Despite not being very likely that the ghost of Anne Boleyn would wander about in the graveyard rather than following her normal route up to the house, we were well and truly spooked. We sat almost silently in the car as the dark came in around us.

A barn owl flew overhead in all its white magnificence, and we were startled by a group of locals making their way to the local pub, appearing in our mirrors as black silhouettes as the last of the sun drifted away.

We continued our vigil until 9pm, at which time we came to the conclusion that we had lasted long enough and weren’t going to see anything unless we stayed a further three hours to midnight.

Not the most thorough or scientific of investigations, but it did give me my first taste of ‘ghost hunting’ and fed my interest, helping me realise that I wanted to explore more of the beautiful Norfolk landscape, find out about its history and see what might be lurking in the shadows…..

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