There are many theories about what ghosts are. Some appear sentient, attempting to pass on a message or highlight their cause. Others are best described as recordings etched into the landscape, replaying their often traumatic and emotionally charged events for those with the eyes to see.
The gore, despair, terror and fury of a British battlefield might be the perfect place for hurt and dying soldiers to imprint their feelings. Is this why eye-witnesses, in these locations, report that the battle is still going on? Or is it that the sudden nature of their deaths means that these ghost soldiers don't realise that they're dead?
Whatever the explanation, the phantom armies seem engaged in an endless war. Take, for example, these tales of Romans, Royalists and Roundheads, still caught in their battles for Britain.
Roman Ghost Armies Patrolling Britain.
Bleaklow, in the Peak District, has such a reputation for Roman ghost sightings that it has been speculated that an undiscovered road once cut through there. The Legionnaires all appear to be following the same path, across the National Park. It would have linked the Snake Path with Longdendale. David Clarke collected some of the stories from wardens and the media. As the location includes a section of the Pennine Way, hikers and rock-climbers frequently reported the ghostly sightings. In 1932, four climbers, taking a breather near Hope Cross, had witnessed a whole Roman legion go by!
At Bowerchalke, in Wiltshire, indistinct horses are sometimes glimpsed, along with the sound of a fierce battle. It was on this site that native Britons once clashed with the invading Roman army.
A couple of years ago, I met a woman who swore that she had seen a couple of Roman soldiers walking across a battlefield. In interest, I asked her where this was and her response made me blink. It was Naseby. I didn't have the heart to tell her that it more famous for being a civil war site. Mistaken identity?
Ghost Soldiers Still Limping Home from the English Civil War.
On July 2nd, 1644, Oliver Cromwell's army defeated Prince Rupert's Royalists, in the battle of Marston Moor. Today, the A59 road cuts straight through the battlefield; which isn't always obvious, until a ghostly cavaliar or four appear in front of a car. They are well known along that stretch, sometimes solitary, but often in small groups. They seem wounded, trudging along, supporting their weaker fellows. They invariably just fade from sight, before the shocked eyes of living onlookers.
Peter Underwood was a celebrity post-war ghost-hunter, active for over forty years. In his autobiography, he talks about an unnamed village in England, which over-looked a civil war battlefield. He recalled that six houses, the church and the local manor house all reported haunting from 17th century soldiers. His investigations were inconclusive, though he and his team did experience sudden temperature dips and strange knocking sounds during their vigil there.
In 1968, a policeman was driving his patrol car down the A640, near Buckstones, in Yorkshire, when he spotted a group of mounted Royalists. He apparently drove past them three times to assure himself that he wasn't imagining it. A lone Royalist rider has been spotted several times, in the vicinity of Chatwell, in Shropshire.
These are just some of the stories of ghost soldiers and phantom armies that haunt the British Isles. Take care on the road.
Sources:
- A Green, Our Haunted Kingdom. (Fontana/Collins, 1975).
- D Clarke, Ghosts & Legends of the Peak District, p 122-123. (Jarrold, 1991).
- P Underwood, No Common Task: The Autobiography of a Ghost-Hunter, p 196-198. (Harrap, 1983).
- TW Whitaker, North Country Ghosts & Legends, p 50-51. (Grafton, 1988).
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
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