Ghosts at Christmas by Darren W. Ritson Read Free Book Online

he did to try and rid the household of Kraster and Dorothy Cook’s ghastly skulls … they kept on returning. Eventually, he accepted the fact that he could not get rid of them, and left them where they were found in the house, on the banister rail. Dorothy’s prophecy had come true – Phillipson would never be rid of them. Phillipson now knew for sure that this was the work of the Cooks. They had come back to haunt him, with a tormenting vengeance. The two skulls remained inside Calgarth Hall, grinning menacingly at Phillipson each time he walked past them. In fact, the Cooks haunted the house – and Phillipson – until the day he died, as they said they would.
T HE S CHOONER H OTEL , N ORTHUMBERLAND , 25 D ECEMBER 1806
    The Schooner Hotel is allegedly one the UK’s most haunted hotels. This seventeenth-century coaching inn is reputed to have over sixty ghosts including a spirit called William, who is said to have murdered his family where rooms 28, 29 and 30 are now situated. This area is the oldest section of the hotel and at one time was one big living area. Split into three many years ago, all three of these rooms reputedly have their fair share of paranormal activity.
    The ghost of Parson John is said to meander the ground floor of the hotel in the month of September. Killed accidentally while opening a cask of his own special brew ale, the ghost is said to be seen holding the tap high above his head for all to see. The tap had ‘fired off’ and hit him on the head, so the story goes, but recently I was informed by a former employee of the hotel that the ghost of Parson John was nothing more than an elaborate hoax to try and ‘drum up business’ for the hotel, which, at that time, was not doing too well.
    I, however, have investigated the building on nearly fifteen occasions now and can testify to the fact that strange things do indeed go on there. I have personally seen doors open slowly, before slamming closed very loudly, I have heard footsteps in corridors when no one else was with me, I have found previously locked doors to be open (when I was the only person with the key) and have witnessed objects moving on their own.
    The Christmas story I wish to relate to you from this wonderful old establishment dates back to 1806. It was Christmas Day when Alnmouth witnessed one of its worst storms in history. In fact, the storm was so severe it changed the actual course of the river. As the rain lashed down and the wind howled outside, a small family huddled inside, around a huge burning fire in what is now the hotel’s ‘Chase Bar’, the youngestgirl sleeping on her mother’s knee. They were eagerly awaiting the return of the head of their family – a devoted husband and father who was out in the North Sea trawling the stormy waters in search of fish. Suddenly, the door to the inn burst open, allowing the treacherous wind and rain to blow furiously inside. A number of fishermen entered the inn carrying a body. It was the corpse of the husband. He had been killed while out at sea. The mother quickly rose to her feet with her hands over her mouth, horrified at the sight of her dead husband. As she stood, her daughter, who had been sleeping on her lap, fell into the roaring fire, hitting her heard upon the hearth in the process. She was immediately pulled from the flames by her family but she was badly burned and subsequently died of her injuries. She was just six years old.
    Her ghost has been seen and heard in the hotel’s Chase Bar. One witness said that while she was sitting in the restaurant area of the hotel, she heard the sound of a young girl coming fromaround the corner. We don’t know if the sounds that she heard were sounds of laughter or the sound of sobbing, but, knowing the bar was empty, she decided to venture around and have a look. As she turned the corner – still hearing the girl – she was astonished to find the room completely empty. Not only that, but as soon as she turned the corner