Halloween: Ex Marlborough People- Marlborough Ghosts!

It would be unusual for an historic town such as Marlborough not to have reports or rumours of the odd ghost. I’m aware of a few alleged ghosts and spooky places (below), but there must be more, so please do share!

“George” and “The Grey Lady”

As a little girl my mum, along with my granddad, went to stay with my great aunt while my grandmother was in hospital. My great aunt lived in the flat above what is now Dress Couture between the town hall and the graveyard.

One night my granddad awoke to see what he thought was my mum standing at the end of her bed. He put the light on to check that she was alright, and found her fast asleep in bed. Another extended family member had reported seeing the same “grey lady” in Edwardian clothing, it later emerged.

My great aunt and uncle also spoke of hearing footsteps where an old staircase had used to be before it was destroyed in a fire. They put this down to being a ghost they called “George” but mum always wondered if that might have been footsteps from passers by walking through Patten Alley.

The Ghost in The Parade

When I was at St. Mary’s my best friend lived with her parents at the flat above what is now More than Pine in The Parade. As a 5 or 6 year old I was disappointed but also relieved that I never saw their ghost, but they used to talk about a friendly presence which they used to see walking past the frosted glass of their sitting room door.

The present occupiers are aware of their supernatural friend.  They also say it feels like a friendly presence- in spite of an incident a while ago in which every mirror in the flat cracked simultaneously for no apparent reason!

William Golding’s old house on The Green

William Golding wrote of how he used to be terrified of going down to the cellar of the house where he grew up on The Green because it backed on to the graveyard of St. Mary’s, but I don’t know if it’s actually meant to be haunted?

The Red Lion at Avebury

Voted as one of the top ten most haunted pubs in the world, The Red Lion at Avebury has even had a visit from Yvette, Derek and co, appearing on the often hilarious Most Haunted a few years ago. To see a clip from those episodes see you tube. There have been reports of at least five different ghosts at the Red Lion.

“Florrie” has been seen coming out of and disappearing in to the well which she was alleged to have been thrown down by her jealous soldier husband in the 17th century when he caught her with a lover. She also apparently frequents the ladies toilets. Other ghosts which have been spotted include two children, another woman and a man with a knife.

It’s worth a trip there, just for a peer down the well, which is inside the pub. I used to love staring down it to scare myself as a child....

Do you know of any other ghosts in Marlborough or the surrounding area? Please to share them with us in the comments section below, there must be more?