Ghosts
It is said that a phantom coach and horses can be seen galloping down Hastings high street on cold and windy nights and that the rear bar of The Stag Inn on neighbouring All Saints Street is haunted by a gaggle of witches. Sightings of both tend to happen, umm, after closing time, which would rather suggest that perhaps there are other forces at play. Still, the town is steeped in 1,000 years of history, with death and bloodshed soaked into the very fabric, and even the most sceptical find themselves ‘touching wood’ at Halloween. The ruins of Hastings Castle that dominate the West Hill behind Rock House can take on a particularly spooky appearance after nightfall.
Little remains of the stone fortress once impregnable from three sides and built after William of Normandy’s coronation to protect his coastal interests. However, it is one of Sussex’s most popular heritage sites with visitor numbers particularly high on 31 October. Ghost hunters frequently convene for ‘spectre watching’, with reports given to staff about sightings. The most popular are visions of hungry prisoners roaming the castle grounds – presumably in search of abandoned packed lunches.
On certain days (I have yet to be there) sailors have claimed to have seen a ghostly reflection of the complete castle on the sea. In the 1960s, an enthusiastic tourist photographed a ghost of a nun wandering near the chapel. Another claimed to have spotted the ghost of Thomas A Becket, which, given that he is also regularly seen at the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral, would suggest he is as busy dead as he was alive.
If I stand on a chair in the upstairs bathroom I can just glimpse the area known as the Ladies Parlour. It is to here that most ghoul fans flock, in the hope of spotting the shimmering vision of a medieval lady. It is suggested that she was one of the many maidens called upon to grace the sidelines during jousting competitions. Aficionados say that the best chance of seeing her is on a full moon. Sadly, that was last weekend during the bonfire celebrations when the ruins were closed, so there was little chance of meeting her.
Unless, of course, you happened to be a friend of the security guard who seemed to be conducting his very own private witch-hunt.
Next week: Whither bins?
Little remains of the stone fortress once impregnable from three sides and built after William of Normandy’s coronation to protect his coastal interests. However, it is one of Sussex’s most popular heritage sites with visitor numbers particularly high on 31 October. Ghost hunters frequently convene for ‘spectre watching’, with reports given to staff about sightings. The most popular are visions of hungry prisoners roaming the castle grounds – presumably in search of abandoned packed lunches.
On certain days (I have yet to be there) sailors have claimed to have seen a ghostly reflection of the complete castle on the sea. In the 1960s, an enthusiastic tourist photographed a ghost of a nun wandering near the chapel. Another claimed to have spotted the ghost of Thomas A Becket, which, given that he is also regularly seen at the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral, would suggest he is as busy dead as he was alive.
If I stand on a chair in the upstairs bathroom I can just glimpse the area known as the Ladies Parlour. It is to here that most ghoul fans flock, in the hope of spotting the shimmering vision of a medieval lady. It is suggested that she was one of the many maidens called upon to grace the sidelines during jousting competitions. Aficionados say that the best chance of seeing her is on a full moon. Sadly, that was last weekend during the bonfire celebrations when the ruins were closed, so there was little chance of meeting her.
Unless, of course, you happened to be a friend of the security guard who seemed to be conducting his very own private witch-hunt.
Next week: Whither bins?