Spooky Local Stories

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Haunted Penistone
This page links from both the 'History' and the 'Extras' sections and it derives mostly from an excellent Facebook article posted by Graham Saunders, Thursday 25th October 2018 in the lead-up to Hallowe'en, which led to one of the busiest postings on the Community Action Penistone (CAP) Facebook Group. Further messages on facebook can be found at the page bottom from when it came up again in November 2021. My thanks to all concerned but particularly to Graham Saunders. Here are his stories with a few extra Fb comments added. Also some other stories added.

Now that we are fast approaching Hallowe'en ?? I thought it would be fun/interesting to look into some local ghost stories. I have compiled the six stories below from various sources. I have removed names unless they are in the public domain to save any embarrassment. I would like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to these stories (both living and dead) - GS.

Disclaimer
Please be warned if you are of a sensitive disposition as ghost stories are not for everyone. Do not read any further if you feel you may be adversely affected by tales of the Supernatural. Even if you think that you do not believe in the supernatural, unexplained things can and do happen by whatever agency.


Penistone Town Hall
Town Hall 2014Penistone's old Town Hall, or the Penistone Paramount as it is now known, has long been the jewel in Penistone’s Crown. It was built in 1914 as a theatre, dance hall and assembly hall, a year later to also become a cinema. Over the building's history, it has seen many a happy patron, and perhaps some so happy that they may never have really left.

One inhabitant seen numerous times is an elderly caretaker and his dog, whose love for the Paramount means that they still hang around the building to make sure it is still properly being taken care of. This spectral caretaker and his dog can sometimes be seen sitting upstairs or standing under where the clock used to be on the right of the stage, next to the curtain by the organ. Sometimes the caretaker and dog are a little more discreet about making an appearance but the dog's bark can sometimes still be heard, echoing around the building.

Whispering and the sound of women chatting has also been heard on several occasions and, on investigation, a group of women dressed in period clothing circa 1914 were seen standing gossiping in the Circle corridor, only to vanish when approached.

A little boy who can be heard laughing has been seen running through the downstairs auditorium and then fades from sight before the auditorium doors swing open and closed, one after the other as if someone had gone through them despite the child no longer being visible. On one occasion, a former member of staff felt an ice-cold chill pass by her side, immediately followed by another staff member charging in, asking if she had seen where the young boy had gone. Needless to say, no young boy had been seen and there was nowhere he could have gone without passing the staff member.

One late evening, a staff member was alone doing a final check on the dressing rooms when someone whispered in her ear, "What are you doing?" Chillingly, she knew she was the only one in the building doing her final checks before locking up for the night. On another occasion, a local Operatic group were rehearsing in the building when they became aware of being watched by two figures sat up in the circle, despite the circle being closed off. On investigation, the circle was empty. Staff have reported smelling cigarette smoke despite the premises long being designated non-smoking and no-one else being present. And just for good measure, and perhaps so as not to be ignored, staff have had the sensation of being pushed or had something brush against their legs or back.

Perhaps harking back to the dance hall days, a grey figure can sometimes be seen walking through the seats in the stalls. And in the Circle, staff have also witnessed some of the seats move and shake as if someone was sat in them. A blue light has been seen more than once floating from one side to the other across the otherwise empty balcony. The Selbys used to caretake the building and can both attest to the blue light story, as well as other unexplained bumps and noises.

So the next time you are enjoying your favourite film, and just before you take that first bite into your Choc Ice, you might just want to just take another glance at that person sat next to you!

From Shelby Johnstone (Fbook):
The story about the Paramount scares me. I used to clean there in a morning at 5 am and used to see something on the balcony all the time. A scary place to be when you're on your own in that cinema but I loved it, lol.

Reply from Tracy Lowe: We would have the radio playing so that we didn't hear all the banging.
Reply from Shelby Johnstone: Yes we had a radio but only ever saw things.

From Tracy Lowe (Fbook):
I worked in the cinema for many years early in the mornings and many a strange noise came from the stage but nobody was ever there. The seats would bang upright. Also the organ player had his office under the stage. We had warned him of all the strange noises going on - well one night he saw a black shadow moving in front of him. He was out of there like a bat out of hell. He never went back down again. I saw nothing, plenty did but heard lots.


The Dog and Partridge Country Inn and Hotel
This is situated on the A628 Woodhead Pass surrounded by Moor land high above Penistone. The Inn has a warm welcoming atmosphere giving no hint that the establishment has residents of the Paranormal variety! The existing buildings date back to the 16th Century and was originally a Moorland farm. Perhaps due to its sitting on the old Salt Trail, the farm began selling Ale to passing travellers and developed into a pub, then a coach house. During those bygone years the Inn has also being used as a temporary mortuary for persons who came to grief on the Moors.

There has been many ghostly occurrences and sightings over the Inn's long history and in recent times they peaked when the Inn underwent a full refurbishment and work was carried out on the structure of the building. This period of intense haunting was such that a team of Paranormal researchers, including several scientists and mediums, were called in. During this investigation, one of the mediums made contact with a spirit called William Turner and a later search of records revealed that someone of that name did at one time reside at the Inn.

One apparition that has been seen by staff and several customers is that of an old man with a white beard, who has been seen in several locations in the main bar but mostly on the corner bench near to the ingle-nook fire place. People who have seen the ghost usually get a feeling that someone is close and notice the old man standing or sitting nearby when they glance up. However, the moment they blink or take their eyes of him the old man vanishes into thin air! Some witnesses to this apparition have said that it bears an uncanny resemblance to the man with a horse and cart in an old photograph situated above the fire place.

Sometimes no ghost is seen at all but staff have experienced a strong feeling that they were not alone and that someone was watching them, even though no one else is present. This has been accompanied by all manner of items disappearing, only to turn up in the most unusual of places with no-one having any knowledge of how they got there.

During the refurbishment in 2003 - 2004, a strong smell like rotting vegetables would suddenly emanate from nowhere, then move from room to room with no apparent cause. To the rear of the Inn is a large barn which during the refurbishment was converted into twelve en-suite guest rooms. At this time, a number of photographs were taken of the barn documenting its conversion. Whilst looking over these photos some time later, a face could clearly be seen in one of the second floor round portal windows. What was unnerving about the face was, not only was no-one inside the barn at the time the photograph was taken but the entire second floor structure had yet to be built.This would mean that whoever or whatever was up at the window had nothing to stand on and could only have been at the window by hovering in mid-air.

So the next time you call in at the Dog and Partridge, it might be an idea to buy an extra drink for the old man at the next table who you catch in the corner of your eye. It could well be the ghost. (Or better still it could be me!)

Here's a note from Haunted Barnsley about the Dog and Partridge:
'This public house was once used to store dead bodies which were found on the nearby moorland. It is believed a few of these unfortunates have remained earthbound, and are now seen as fleeting shadows from the corner of one's eye. Strange smells have also been reported.'


The Beast of Penistone
Around the mid-1990s, the Police in Penistone received several reports of sheep being killed and partly eaten. Nearby were found large, but too indistinct to identify, footprints belonging to some large four-legged animal. The farmers, who are pretty knowledgeable about these types of attack were left baffled, as none of the traits seen on the attacked sheep matched any known predator that they had come across previously. They were confident that the attacks were not carried out by dogs or foxes. The Police, who were equally dumbfounded, decided to keep the details on these events out of the public domain until they could better understand what was carrying out the attacks.

Two or three of these attacks had already occurred on open farmland when the Police received a call from a businessman who lived in an isolated old house over in the general direction of Woodhead. The businessman, who had no knowledge of the sheep attacks, was duly visited by the Police and was found to be visibly shaken. He informed the attending Officers that early that morning, whilst it was still dark, he had opened the front door of his house in order to walk across the yard to his car and leave for work. Half-way across the yard, he suddenly heard the padding sound of footsteps. Looking over to his left, he saw a large black panther-type cat, a matter of only a few feet away. Both the big cat and the businessman stood stock still, staring at each other for what was probably seconds - but felt like hours. The cat's eyes burnt bright green. For whatever reason, just then the large cat reared on its hind legs turning on itself 180 degrees and ran off up the yard, leaving the business man to also turn 180 degrees and run back to the shelter of his home.

On relating the story, the businessman, a very down-to-earth and no-nonsense type of a person, was clearly embarrassed and requested to remain anonymous. Over the following days and weeks, searches were made but no trace of the beast was ever found and the sheep attacks stopped as suddenly as they had begun, so whatever happened to the beast no one knows. Perhaps it was just passing through.

So the next time you are out after dark and you see a black cat, it may be wise to just do a quick calculation as to how far away it really is, before you get any closer. It may be bigger than you think.


The Penistone Galleria
Looking towards Co-opThis is a tall three story building on Penistone’s Market Street and is home to several shops and businesses. Part of the building had been 'M & C Stores.' Over its long history, the building has seen a many and varied turn-around of occupants and visitors. So it may not be surprising that some may wish to return on the odd occasion. Even though they may have shuffled off their mortal coil.

It is the top floor of the building that seems to attract the most attention from the 'Other Side.' The third floor is currently home to a couple of shops, one of which being ‘Pretty Things’ haberdashery. The staff have on several occasions caught a glimpse of a dark figure climbing the stairs outside the shop, only for it to suddenly disappear before reaching the top landing.

However the most frequent ghostly visitation isn't a person at all, but a small black cat that slowly prowls past the open door of the shop only to vanish within a split second should anyone try to look for it. On one occasion a regular customer who had just walked out of the shop was heard to scream, out on the landing. Staff ran out to investigate to be told by the customer that she had screamed out because she had just seen a black cat walk towards her on the landing then turn and go through the door to the office next door. The staff immediately went to shoo the cat out of the office but, on trying the office door, they realised it was locked. Turning quizzically to the customer, the shaken witness said. "You don’t understand. When I said the cat walked through the door, I mean the cat actually walked right through the closed door!"

The staff located the keys for the office and made a search but, needless to say, the phantom feline was nowhere to be found. At one time, a motion detector in the stairway repeatedly activated the alarm and staff suspected that someone may have been prowling around. For this reason a CCTV camera was placed in the stairway and, the next time the alarm activated, the video link was checked. To the utter disbelief of the staff no actual intruder was seen but two brightly glowing orbs climbed the stairs at a height roughly to where a cat's eyes would be.

These occurrences are not common but it has been noted that the frequency tends to increase when the fabric of the building is disturbed through maintenance and repair work. So the next time you need to buy some fabric, please make sure it’s not the fabric separating this life from the next!

From Rachel Oxley (Facebook):
I work at Belle Visage and when it was in the Penistone Galleria. The stuff that went on there, me and the other staff could write a book. I used to hear footsteps and see shadows walking past the door. Candles smashed on me and things used to get moved around. I'm very happy we moved. Belle Visage was the bottom-floor shop on Market Street occupied by Cheeky Monkeys and Hour Glass.

Rachel Oxley (Facebook, Jan 2022):
Does anyone know any history of the buildings in Penistone? I work at Mane Man (Gent's hairdresser) next to the Market Barn and we've had some ghostly occurrences.

Marlene Marshall of Penistone History and Archive Group adds that 'I have just done some research on the building. It was owned by Risdon Derrocott Woodcock and was in his family for more than 100 years.' Many older residents will remember RD Woodcock's hardware shop there. Whatever you asked for would be "Coming in next Thursday."


Cubley Hall
Situated on Mortimer Road at the Southern edge of Penistone is Cubley Hall Hotel, Bar and Restaurant. Records show that a dwelling existed in this location back in the 18th Century when the site and four acres of surrounding land was originally a 'Pocket Farm.' The existing Hall was subsequently built and became a Gentleman's residence. Main door to Cubley HallDuring the late 1800s to early 1900s the property was purchased by Mr George Lockley and his wife Florence, who lived there with their four children. One of the children, a daughter, was called Florence Mary Lockley.

After the Lockley family, the Hall had various occupants, including various managers for Cammel and Lairds (steelworks), and during the second world war, soldiers were billeted there for a time. After WWII, the Council turned the building into an Orphanage and it is in this capacity that the Hall remained until the present owners took over the building in 1980 and converted it into its a Hotel, Bar and Restaurant. (See the Cubley History page).

Contrary to all the dire tales we sometimes hear about Orphanages, the one at Cubley Hall was apparently well-run and the children well cared for. So much so that every year at least two or three people who were children at the Orphanage pay a visit and fondly reminisce about their time there. On these occasions, and without fail, these visitors always ask the current owner and staff "Have you seen Flo?"

It seems that many of the children that resided at the Orphanage saw the apparition of a lady dressed in a long, turn of the Century, grey dress. The apparition never did any harm and the children and the ghost seemingly developing a mutual fondness, with the grey lady regularly being seen sitting at the end of children’s beds when they were feverish and unwell, as if watching over the children.

The Children at the Orphanage called the ghost "Flo" and it is thought to be the apparition of Florence Mary Lockley. At one time, the window on the main stairs in the Hall had a stained-glass image of Florence that would cast a ghostly image of the young woman into the hallway when it was hit by the sun. Unfortunately this window is no more. However, if anyone should still like to see Florence, there are several photographs hanging in the main bar area. These Photographs date back to 1904 when Florence married Mr John Morrell at the Penistone Methodist Church. One of the Photos shows the wedding reception held at Cubley Hall and another shows Florence in a grey dress with her sister Beatrice.

With no children to tend to, Florence rarely seems to visit the Hall anymore. But every now and again there is an unexplained door opening and closing or the odd clattering sound in the kitchen when no-one is there. One or two guests who have stopped overnight at the hall have said they have seen shadows moving in one of the rooms, and one member of staff said that she could feel a presence up on the second floor and point-blank refused to go up there alone. The photographs of Florence were kindly donated to the Hall by a niece and what little else is known of Florence is that she passed away in Durham in 1956, right at the beginning of the Hall's tenure as an Orphanage.

So just be aware of what type of spirits may be served up on your next visit to Cubley Hall and, above all, don't be tempted to go with the Flo.

Michael Henry Fanshawe (originally submitted to the 'Just Old Penistone Pictures' Fb group):
Cubley Hall has evolved through the centuries from being a moorland farm on the Pennine pack horse routes of the '|700's, to a fine gentleman’s residence set in four acres of mature gardens and grounds during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was Mr Lockley who owned Cubley Hall at this period in time. He was the Manager of the local foundry, owned by the famous shipbuilding and engineering company Camel Laird. The Penistone site made train wheels, forgings, castings and railway lines. A model village was planned at Cubley Hall with school playing fields and church, but sadly in 1922, Cammel Laird closed with only a portion of the village completed. Cubley Hall then passed through several owners from English Steel to Newton Chambers, but after World War II, it became an orphanage until the late 1970's. Children who lived at Cubley Hall often saw the ghost of Florence daughter of the owner Mr. Lockley. 'Flo' was married at Cubley Hall in 1904. At the top of the stairs, a full size stained glass window of Flo used to cast a ghostly shadow across the hall. Cubley Hall was purchased in 1980 by the current owners and, after two years of hard work renovating the place, it was opened as a pub


White Hart
Not much of a story really but it will be no surprise that this ancient pub has its very own spectral resident. It is by far the oldest public house in the area, originally built in 1377, although it will most likely have been rebuilt several times. As the licensee Sam Thacker lived upstairs in the 1990s, he would tell people about the ghost of a lady who would walk about at any time of day or night and cause the floorboards to creak. If memory serves well, Sam had actually seen the lady more than once.


Stocksbridge Bypass
In the early 18th Century, Stocksbridge was little more than a densely-wooded valley through which the Little Don (or 'Porter') River ran. Around this time, a 'fuller' (a person that cleans wool) by the name of John Stocks built a small wooden bridge over the river and the name by which it became locally known forever lent itself to the surrounding area.

With the passage of time, the small dirt track near the bridge grew into a toll road and became increasingly busy. Legend has it that around that time the toll road was the scene of a horrific stage coach crash, killing all on board the horse-drawn conveyance. For many years after this dreadful accident it was said that, during the dead of night, unwary passers-by would hear the sound of furiously galloping horses before witnessing the horse-drawn coach still carrying its passengers - the unquiet dead.

The years continued to pass by and, apart from the very occasional sighting of the phantom coach, all was quiet. That was until the land was disturbed in order to build the A616 Stocksbridge Bypass. By 1987, construction of the Bypass was well under way. Some of the construction workers slept on site in caravans and had on occasion heard the sounds of children singing and laughing during the night. Though late in the hour for young children to be out in that area, the construction workers readily dismissed the sounds as coming from local children playing near the site. But all that was to change on Tuesday 8th September 1987.

Like most construction sites, there had been a problem with the theft of tools and materials and, for this reason, a local security company was employed to make regular patrols of the area. That night, just around midnight, two seasoned and quite burley security guards made their way to patrol the site. Whilst driving along Pearoyd Lane, the security men in their Landrover saw a group of young children dancing in a circle beneath a large electricity pylon. The children appeared to be playing ‘Ring-a-ring of Roses’. Concerned that children so young were out at such an hour, the security guards parked their vehicle and began walking across the field towards the children. On approaching, they noticed that the children seemed to be dressed in raggedy medieval-style clothing but, before they could get close, the children seemed to just vanish into thin air. Confused and concerned, the two men checked the muddy ground under and around the pylon but the mud appeared undisturbed with no sign of footprints.

Shaken, the two men hurriedly made their way back to their vehicle and continued to drive down Pearoyd Lane, feeling somewhat safer and more at ease in their Land Rover. But those feelings were to be short-lived, as only few yards down the lane, they came face-to-face with a monk-like figure dressed in a hooded cowl, standing in the middle of the road. What was worse was that, as the headlights of their car crept over the figure, they clearly shone straight through it, before the figure vanished completely.

The two security guards fled the scene and later telephoned Deepcar Police Station to report the incident. Not surprisingly, the local Police treated the report with some scepticism and wrote the matter off as, in all likelihood, being the result of over-imagination in a dark and isolated location. However the report had to be taken more seriously when the local priest contacted the Police at Deepcar, to say that the two security guards where at his church in a state of hysteria, refusing to leave and demanding that the construction site be exorcised.

On the night of Friday 11th September 1987, PC Dick Ellis and Special Constable John Beet patrolled the area in a patrol car. Curious about the events a few nights earlier, the officers parked their car up near to the construction site facing Pearoyd bridge. The evening was quite warm so both officers had their car windows open.

After a short time, PC Ellis saw something flapping about atop the bridge and so alighted the car and ran up on to the bridge. There, he soon discovered a loose piece of tarpaulin which he secured by placing some bricks on top and made his way back to the Police vehicle. In the absence of anything exciting happening, the two Officers were just about to call it a night and move on, when PC Ellis felt the strangest feeling. He commented to his companion that he felt like someone had just walked over his grave. Then PC Ellis became aware of a presence by his side and, quickly turning his head to the right, he saw a person's torso a few inches from the open window. It was dressed in dark material with a sort of white 'V' shape running down from the chest. PC Ellis jumped back in his car seat and the torso disappeared, only to reappear by the side of Special Constable Beet's open window. The car briefly felt like someone was shaking it but, when Pc Ellis climbed out of the vehicle and ran around it, there was no-one there.

Once back in the car, PC Ellis tried to start the vehicle but - imagine the Officer's horror - when it just wouldn't start. He turned the ignition key again and nothing happened. It was dead. The Officer frantically gave a third attempt and the engine came to life. Trying to think straight and make sense of what was happening, PC Ellis drove to the construction site, where he stopped to try and radio the Police Control Room. It was at this point that the officers heard a loud bang at the rear of the car. PC Ellis was later to say it sounded as if someone had hit the back of the car with a baseball bat. PC Ellis again climbed hesitantly out of the car but could see nothing or no-one that could be responsible for attacking the car. The Officer jumped back in the car again, just in time to hear another loud bang at the rear of the car and the car started rocking up and down. PC Ellis hurriedly started the car and drove away with another loud bang as the car was attacked for a third time.

The Two Officers quickly made their way to Deepcar Police station, where they made a full report of the incident including personal statements. Since this time there have been numerous incidents reported of monks and other spectral figures spotted on or near the Stocksbridge bypass with some motorists even bracing for impact, believing that they were about to collide with pedestrians on the road, only to drive straight through them.

So, if you are driving along the bypass, keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you. And perhaps think twice before stopping to pick up a lonesome figure walking along that road late at night.

From Andy Cudworth (Fbook):
Having served at Deepcar (Police) in the late 90's, I regularly parked up on Pearoyd Bridge on the night shift on my own with my window down or I walked about. In all that time I saw nothing other than shadows from passing cars.

One night we got a call of a truck driver saying he'd seen a ghost in white on the bypass near the bridge. I went up and sure enough he was literally petrified. His hair was, no word of a lie, stood on end. I did an area search and walking down into Stocksbridge. There were about five 18 to 20 year-olds dressed up and they had been messing about trying to scare passing motorists. Ghosts are in our subconscious and imagination, not physical. Good story though.

From Rachel Dixon (Replying on Fb to Laleh Rose):
I thought you’d like them!
Did you ever watch 'Strange but True' about Stocksbridge Bypass?

See also Road Ghosts - Haunted Highway by Dr David Clarke, under the heading of 'Urban Legends.'
He writes about UFOs and other strange stories.


Nurse Ghost on the Top Road
Penistone's isolation hospital had opened in 1897 on the left side of the 'top road' just after Scout Dyke (A629 to Ingbirchworth and beyond), more or less opposite the outdoor pursuits school. Now demolished, it was known as 'Penistone and Thurlstone Joint Smallpox Isolation Hospital' (from 1897 to 1929), then became 'Penistone Infectious Diseases Hospital' (1929 to 1948), and later 'Penistone Hospital' (1948 to c.1962); to ultimately be known as the 'Stanhope Hospital' up to its closure in 1977.

The hospital would have seen many extreme cases of contagious disease and far too many resulting deaths but the care from staff was always exemplary. Apparently a ghost of a nurse has been seen many times near the hospital. 'People have talked about a nurse that walked on the top road but when drivers stopped to see if she was okay, but no-one was there.' (From 'Felix of York' Archive Gp, Facebook)


'Local Ghost Trails'
ChurchyardThese snippets are from an interesting little book by Clive Kristen, lent to me by Lynn Selby. Local stories are briefly summarised here. Other stories in the book include such as Shibden Hall, Cannon Hall, Monk Bretton, Mam Tor, Mexborough, Barnsley collieries and Elsecar. 'Local Ghost Trails' does a much better job of telling these tales and is available from its Barnsley 'Pen and Sword' publishers (Wharnecliffe Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-871647-48-7).

1. Penistone Telephone Exchange
The old exchange was sited in a house at the top of Church Street, Penistone. The story is a simple one under the title of 'Crossed Wires' and refers to a switchboard operator who it is said had lost her mind. Upon her passing, it seems the telephone equipment behaved so badly that the engineers could do nothing to fix it and it all had to replaced. Perhaps the misbehaving equipment had been one actual cause of the lady's problems, combined with long hours sat in a small room waiting, and waiting. That's it, really, no ghost but how mechanical things might be affected when someone dies.

2. A Ghostly Blue Light
This one refers to a blue light seen hovering over a grave in Penistone churchyard. Although the name is not listed elsewhere, the book claims that Thomas Hunter had been a newly-ordained curate of Penistone St John's church in 1793 (but not found in the Clergy Database or the Vicars page). He had been standing in the churchyard watching the birds as daylight was fading and saw a blue glow over a grave, which hovered then moved off. He marked the place with a stone. We must remember that there were no street lights in those days and a moonless nighttime could be dark indeed. He ran after the glow which by now was moving quickly and followed it through a wood to a farmhouse door. A second light appeared near an upstairs window and, after hovering around for a while, they returned together to the churchyard. As he arrived back at the churchyard, he saw the lights blend together and disappear in a place which he again marked with a stone.

When he came back in daylight, the curate found the two marker stones that he had placed there to be at each end of a horizontal gravestone which had not been disturbed since a burial in March 1774. The next day, Hunter saw the sexton opening the grave while talking to the Deacon. The sexton explained that a boy had died of the Scarlet Fever at sunset on the night before. It turned out that he had lived and died at that same farmhouse that the curate observed on the night.

3. The Old Crown
This story is about possible (although unlikely) body-snatchers, or 'Resurrectionists' operating locally. It was based on flimsy evidence. It seems that a fob watch sold in the Old Crown was thought to have belonged in a grave elsewhere and this added to a suspicion that the Old Crown might have been involved with a murky trade in grave-robbing. Newly-buried (or in the case of Burke and Hare, newly-murdered) bodies were sold at a great profit for use by hospital anatomists to learn their profession. As the centres of this grisly business were well outside our own area, it seems unlikely that it was carried out anywhere local. The bodies would need to be conveyed to such as York and Durham and hardly worth the effort.

On a related matter, at one time, people were sometimes accidentally buried alive if they had become unconscious. A precaution would be to tie a string to an arm or leg with a bell attached and someone watching over the new grave. If still alive, the unfortunate person could tug the string, ring the bell and draw attention to their living condition. That is where the phrase: "Pull the other one, there's a bell on it" came from.


Reaction from CAP Members on Facebook
NetherfieldThese stories attracted a good many replies on Community Action Penistone (Facebook), some adding their own ghost stories to Graham's.

From Richard Parker:
An absolutely brilliant read but you missed the most famous ghost of the area - 'Peg Leg' from Scout Dyke centre.

From Dale Smith:
Don't forget the Flouch Inn. My mum worked there, many strange happenings in the kitchen.

From Zoe Horsfield:
Tracey Horsfield, you should write about the ghosts at Rose Hill!
Tuesday Tetley: It was Ryan, I think, that once asked grandma who the old lady was at the top of the stairs.
Zoe Horsfield: Where?
Tuesday Tetley: At Rose Hill. (Rose Hill is a large house in its own grounds off Green Road).
Tuesday Tetley: Grandma or granddad told me years and years ago, one of the Machen’s said to grandma "Auntie Linda, why is there an old lady at the top of the stairs" then Gemma wouldn't go up anymore either.

Zoe Horsfield: Aaah right, my mum told me grandma and granddad (mother correct me if I'm wrong), they went out for New Year's Eve, and Paddy (I think that was his name) was looking after your mum, my mum, Mark and Michelle. Aunty Michelle went to the toilet and came back downstairs and said "Ha ha, very funny" - someone had tried to get into the bathroom and was shaking the handle, but none of them was doing it. It was a ghost!

Tuesday Tetley: That would not surprise me at all, that house is so creepy!
Imagine if they still had it when we were growing up, we used to scare ourselves senseless without a scary house.
Tuesday Tetley: And that wasn't his name, he was just Irish. I think he was called Ted maybe?

From Glenys Clark:
Old Netherfields House had a ghost. We called her Sally. When it became part of the Grammar School, we used to clean in there. It used to be an old folks home or something. We would be working away and often heard the lift going up or down. Nobody ever got out and no-one was in when the doors opened but it left a cold feeling. When we had finished, we switched all the lights off but, walking down Huddersfield road nearly every night, a light had been switched on.

From Rebecca Clarke:
I'm thinking a book written about this would be very popular! (JB: The Archive Group has since produced such a booklet, available from their Archive on Thursday mornings)

From Carol King:
Old vicarage Guest House was creepy at times. You got the feeling someone was watching you while working there and we had few scary instances over the years.


November 2021 - More Stories
The subject came up again on the Archive Group's Facebook (November 2021), sparked by this question from Corinth Heaton:

Q. From Carinth Heaton:
My great niece is doing a project on haunted buildings. Are any buildings in the Penistone area believed to be haunted? Many thanks.

A. The usual places were suggested in response: Cubley Hall, Paramount, Spread Eagle. But also some new ones:
Wortley Hall, a Thurgoland cottage, the Horse and Jockey pub in Thurgoland, top floor of Cinnamon Spice, the 'Icecream House' on the Green at Thurlstone, and Middlewood Hospital. All good stuff. Here are some of the replies to Carinth's question:

Mark Beevers:
Cottage in Thurgoland I lived in was definitely haunted. Me and my sisters used to sit in garden rather than waiting inside for our parents. We were only young but we knew it was haunted. It was a scary little cottage.

Kellie Gorman
The building that used to be M and C Stores. (JB: - I have heard of this one several times before and have myself felt a strange 'presence' on the top floor. See the 'Galleria' section above.)

Chris Sykes:
Top floor above Cinnamon Spice (former Fieldsend's greengrocery shop). Years ago a face used to be seen peering through the windows.

Laura Denton:
The Horse and Jockey pub in Thurgoland is definitely haunted. When I worked there, I saw and experienced quite a few strange things (stil do while having a drink there) and the landlord and lady who lived upstairs at the time (who I’m still in contact with) experienced strange things definitely, there’s a bit of history about the place too that locals will tell ya.

Danielle Marie Greaves:
Rose Hill House (off Green Road). My grandparents use to live there. My grandma use to tell me stories of some experiences she had there.

Alison French:
My mother worked at Middlewood Hospital and has stories to tell.

Ajay Shorey
Not Penistone but just down the road at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.

Michael Henry Fanshawe (originally submitted to the 'Just Old Penistone Pictures' Fb group, and used higher up this page in the Cubley Hall section):
Cubley Hall has evolved through the centuries from being a moorland farm on the Pennine pack horse routes of the '|700's, to a fine gentleman’s residence set in four acres of mature gardens and grounds during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was Mr Lockley who owned Cubley Hall at this period in time. He was the Manager of the local foundry, owned by the famous shipbuilding and engineering company Camel Laird. The Penistone site made train wheels, forgings, castings and railway lines. A model village was planned at Cubley Hall with school playing fields and church, but sadly in 1922, Cammel Laird closed with only a portion of the village completed. Cubley Hall then passed through several owners from English Steel to Newton Chambers, but after World War II, it became an orphanage until the late 1970's. Children who lived at Cubley Hall often saw the ghost of Florence daughter of the owner Mr. Lockley. 'Flo' was married at Cubley Hall in 1904. At the top of the stairs, a full size stained glass window of Flo used to cast a ghostly shadow across the hall. Cubley Hall was purchased in 1980 by the current owners and, after two years of hard work renovating the place, it was opened as a pub

Carinth Heaton (who asked the question):
Thanks everyone but I really need details not just locations. This is for a child in Cambridgeshire. She isn't going to be visiting, but is very interested in spooky goings on and wants to know if there are any ghost stories around here. I need details because just naming a location and saying that it's supposed to be haunted won't mean much to her.

Marlene Marshall:
Penistone Archive have published a booklet on The Hauntings of Penistone and areas. You can obtain one either from the Community Centre on a Thursday morning between 10am and 1.30pm or Cafe Creme have them, otherwise we could post one out to you. The cost would bee £2 plus postage.


Three More Stories
From Haunted Barnsley.

About Penistone St John's Church:
'In 1793, a local curate watched two lights dance around a particular grave in the village, before disappearing. The following day, the grave was opened to allow the burial of a young boy who had died at the time the glowing balls had been seen.'

About Long Lane/Old Anna Lane, Penistone:
'Two young girls were riding down the lane near the grammar school when they had to swerve and miss a woman whom appeared in front of them. They describe her has been from the sixties era wearing a coat and hat and walking a dog. When they turned round to see what she was doing, she had completely disappeared.'

About Thurgoland, Thursday, 17 September 1992:
Location: Hollin Moor Lane and Badger Wood Road, off A629, a few miles from Penistone.

'A taxi-driver from Kendray, John Cullen, 29, was driving with his wife Diana, 33, and their three children, along this dark back lane between Thurgoland and Hood Green, when a ghostly figure floated out in front of their car near the Eastfield Inn, causing it to stall.

"This ghost-type figure floated about three feet above the road in front of our Orion car," said Mr Cullen. "The car just stopped - it stalled on me. The featureless shape, which drooped down like a policeman's cape, glided to my wife's side of the car and into woodlands at her side of the road."

The couple, who didn't previously believe in ghosts, just looked at each other. Mr Cullen claimed to have seen it before, but didn't mention it for fear that people might think him crazy. Since on this occasion his wife saw it also, they decided to report it to the police.'


From the BBC
From the archived 'Sense of Place' Ghost Stories:

From Nicola H:
My mate was having a crafty cig on Old Anna Lane (Long Lane near PGS) with her sister. She was in a car and her sister was in another car. Nessa got out of her car and into Mel's. Only when Nessa had finished her fag she went back into her car. Just about to start the engine when a white figure of an old 1960s-style woman came to the window and vanished before her eyes! Spooky or what?

More from Nicola H:
Me and my friend were on a bike ride in Penistone near the Grammar School (Old Anna Lane/Long Lane) and I was a little in front of my mate. I was coming around a corner and I had to dodge this woman wearing a 60s-style coat with a 60s-style hat, with a little dog. I turned around to see where my mate was behind me. When I asked her if she had to miss the woman as well, she started laughing, saying that there was no woman and dog in sight. To this day I can remember it as though it was yesterday. Does anyone know about Old Anna Lane? Maybe it was Old Anna herself!


Thank Yous
Many thanks again to Cllr Graham Saunders for kindly granting permission for me to reproduce his stories on this website.
Thanks too to Lynn Selby for lending the 'Local Ghost Trails' book.
Also thanks to all of the interesting replies on CAP Facebook group from readers. JB.


Back Top Home Jo Brand: 'Everything becomes magnified at night. Sounds travel in a different way, it's dark and everything seems far more spooky.'