News Far from purrrfect poltergeists and other ghost tales of Harrow

By Intern at Headstone Manor

Introduction

The humid summer heat waves are past us, and though the shorter days bring a relief from the heat, they also promise longer periods of darkness. As we see less, we at the Headstone Manor and Museum draw closer together, and we listen more closely, too. We listen for footsteps, and voices, and other strange sounds, the sources of which we cannot see. In other words, we listen for ghosts, or spirits, or other creatures that go bump in the night. So we hope that you will join us on this journey as we wander the murky corridors of Harrow’s haunted history.  

If talk of the supernatural sends chills racing up and down your spine, rest assured, many, though of course not all, of Harrow’s tales involve spirits that are benevolent, neutral, or mischievous at worst. No need to go running for a blanket to hide under, though I do invite you to get comfortable, to open your mind to asking some questions about the nature of the ghosts in the stories we tell, and maybe fetch yourself a fresh cuppa to enjoy along the way.

The Slain Saint and His Savage Sister

Among the oldest, and most disturbing, stories of the supernatural in Harrow is the story of Kenelm, Harrow’s boy-saint. He was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Mercia, the ruling power over the land we now call Harrow in the first century CE. When Kenelm, at seven years old, inherited his father Cenulf’s kingdom, his half-sister Cwoenthrith had him killed while he was sleeping so she might take the land for herself. Legend has it that a dove then flew from his severed head with a message to Rome where an angel passed news of the murder on to the Pope, who sent people to uncover the bloody deed. The boy then came to be recognized as a saint. His half-sister, on the other hand, was forced to give up all the lands she gained from the murder, and, in anger, she tried to curse the one that had taken it all from her. Her curse came right back upon her as she read the Psalms backwards, and it is said that her eyes fell out of her head and she died. When no one would take her body, her saintly brother appeared and told them to cast it into the sea, though all they could find of it was her skull, hands, and feet. 

When returning to the world from a life after death, where is the line between a righteous angel and a vengeful ghost? 

Holy? Spirits

Religious figures have continued to play a role in Harrow’s ghost stories to the height of ghost story reporting in the late 1990s and early 2000s. An unknown nun was said to haunt the graveyard at St Mary’s–though there is also a story of a real nun hanging a sheet from a grave to scare away trouble-making boys. Here at Headstone Manor, people have reported hearing chanting, which they have attributed to monks from the time when the Archbishop Simon lived in the Manor. While the connection with the Archbishop could make some people consider Headstone Manor a sanctified place, there was never an abbey or place for monks to live on the site, so some volunteers question the root of this story. 

How do you, dear reader, think a nun would feel about the possibility of her spirit coming back from the dead to haunt a graveyard? Does spirituality include or preclude an acceptance of the supernatural?

Ghostly Gals

Spectral women feature prominently in Harrow’s ghostly annals. Indeed, male ghosts seem to be somewhat of a rarity if intrepid reporter Mark Kearns’ work in the Harrow Observer throughout the 1980s and 1990s is any indication. Several of the ghostly women are tender and kind figures. A prime example of this is the nurse who haunts 11 Byron Hill. The nurse tended to the owner’s son from the time he fell ill until he passed away, and in gratitude the father left the house to her, which she converted into a nursing home. Sightings of her have been reported since, and the place is said to have been protected from illness thanks to her influence. There is also the story of Betsey, the tollkeeper’s daughter who died in the 1920s, having lived for over 100 years. Years after her death, a psychic came to her house and said they were able to sense her spirit because Betsey loved her home so much her spirit couldn’t bear to part with it, even if her body had passed on. 

More macabre matrons are mostly mysterious, such as the woman in a green dress drifting through Bentley Priory who has had a variety of identities attributed to her, from merely being an anonymous figure to potentially being Queen Adelaide. Another figure was seen as no more than a shadow crossing the road and getting hit by Dave Pullen’s car, but the shock of the encounter, Dave claimed, turned his hair curly. 

The most frequently found frightening feminine phantom is the Grey Lady at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, who is said to haunt the bed where her son died every November 13th at midnight, and scare any children who used that cot. However, one of her most notable stories is that she failed to make her annual visit when a paranormal society actually came to investigate her presence. There are also more general stories of unseen women crying or unearthly howling heard in the night. Feelings of sudden cold or dread are also reported, including here at the Headstone Manor, particularly in the Buttery and the Great Hall by former residents and volunteers. 

Why do you think so many ghost stories are told about women? What kinds of ghost stories can you recall hearing about men? What do you think about figures like the Grey Lady who turn up in all kinds of different stories across the nation–does the fact that they show up so widely mean there is something true or false at the core?

A Far From Purrfect Poltergeist

For this last story, this intern apologizes if she fails to hide her scepticism, as it is one of the most popular ghost stories in Harrow. Roxeth School is said to be visited by the spirit of a former teacher in the guise of a ghost cat. The cat’s most notable ghostly act is to run and hide from view in a storage closet when chased. As this intern understands it, such behaviour is not unusual for cats even before they have joined the ranks of the dearly departed, so the paranormal aspect seems questionable. 

Is the simplest answer always the right one, though? If there’s even a small hint of something unexplained, should the imagination have free rein to suggest the most magical scenario?

Conclusion

Even in the age of technology and increasing accessibility of scientific knowledge, there is still something that draws us to stories of a world beyond our understanding. Maybe there’s something comforting about the idea that our loved one’s spirits can linger beyond the grave, that the energy that propelled them and the love they experienced doesn’t disappear but continues on in the form of friendly ghosts. Then, from there, the opposite side of the coin has to be acknowledged, and that’s where the less friendly, and more threatening varieties of spirits come from. Having never encountered a ghost in my life before, I cannot say for sure what makes stories like this come up again and again throughout our history, and especially in this peculiar little corner of London. But what do you, dear readers, think? Have you heard any of these stories before? Have you had a spooky sighting yourself, or has your neighbour? Carve out some time this Halloween season to share a scary story!  

This intern is not a Harrow local, so the facts, as they are, of these stories come from various articles (mostly from the Harrow Observer) which are available through the Headstone Manor and Museum archives.