northern ireland Archives

Is Mossley Mill haunted?

March 25, 2011 by Andrew 8 Comments

The North Belfast Paranormal Research Group made local news when they approached Newtownabbey Borough Council seeking permission to begin a ghost hunt. In particular, NBPRG needed permission to have night-time access to the buildings and the grounds.

The site of Mossley Mill has had large industrial buildings on it since the 1700s due to the textile industry. That presence grew in size due to the Grimshaw family who introduced flax spinning of cotton and ordered the 1834 construction of the mill dam and chimney. The mill was purchased by the Campbell family in 1859, then sold to the Hanson Trust in 1978, to Herdmans in 1993 and then to Newtonabbey Council in 1996. The council stepped in to prevent the destruction of the historic buildings and began a major conversation and restoration project.

The first part of that project finished in 2000 and was opened by Prince Charles. The second part of the project, which was valued at around £15m, included the production of a theatre.

The theatre has been home for performances of Henrik Ibsen‘s Ghosts play. This is certainly responsible some of the causal mentions of ghosts at Mossley Mill. The council has also used Mossley Mill as alternative parking during Halloween celebrations, providing a shuttle bus between the mill and Ballyearl.

NBPRG’s co-founder, Carl Wetton, who emailed the council seems to be being a sensible as he can about investigating the hill for the paranormal. He told local press;

We expect this to be a dry run for future coordination of professional research and will also establish base readings so that we may more ably gauge when future readings are anomalous.

Hauntings

The renovated Mill has housed the emotionally charged Anne Frank (+ you) exhibition. The exhibition included photographs of Anne Frank, famous for the powerful and compelling diary she penned while hiding for her life from the Nazis in World War II, chilling film footage and graphic recreations. Although the exhibit only used relics it was been suggested by some researchers than exhibits and the like which spark off large amounts of emotional energy from visitors can seed the energy required for paranormal occurrences to begin.

In one Facebook wall post a local, Lynne, describes being alone in one part Mossley Mill after the first phase of the renovation. The temperature dropped suddenly and she could hear a scratching sound coming from in front of her, towards the ground, but no matter how far she walked forward the scratching sound seemed ahead of her.

Another poster reports simply seeing strange lights one night over the Mill building, near the chimney.

The Times Steps Living History group has run ghost tours in the Mill in previous years.

In Pure Spirit

Do you have any first hand accounts of the paranormal in or near Mossley Mill? Is the lack of

Picture credit: MJordan.

Causes: Is the credit crunch squeezing the National Trust?

February 5, 2009 by Andrew 1 Comment

The National Trust is an important and valuable institution. It looks after sites of historic interest in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It rules on important decisions like the Druid Keiller battle.

The National Trust raises money in a few ways. It collects money directly at some locations. However, as the credit crunch bites, people travel less and visit those protected and managed locations less. As a result, the National Trust collects fewer donations.

Another key way the National Trust raises money to help protect some of the most important buildings and landscapes in the UK is through memberships.

There are a number of membership levels;

Individual: Standard: £46.00 Direct Debit: £34.50
Joint: Standard: £77.00 Direct Debit: £57.75 (That’s two adults living at the same address)
Family Group: Standard: £82.00 Direct Debit: £61.50 (That’s two adults living at the same address with children under 18)
Family One Adult: Standard £62.00 Direct Debit: £46.50 (One adult with children under 18)
Young Person: Standard £21.00 Direct Debit £15.75 (aged 13 – 25)

You can sign up for any one of those levels online*.

If you re-read that list you might notice how generous and quirky the Young Person option is. It’s less than half the price of an Individual.

We might ask why a 24-year-old should pay less than half the rate 26-year-old pay. We might also wonder why a 13-year-old would be roaming around without an adult (and there’s one adult and child pass). Children under 5 tend to go free.

Simply put – the Young Person pass seems to be a bit of an expensive loophole for the National Trust.

Until the credit crunch this might have been a quirk rather than a bother but this week The National Trust communicated to some of its partners that they no longer wished them to promote the Young Person pass.

Is this a sign that the National Trust would prefer people to offer a little more help in these tricky times by signing up for the full Individual Pass?

There are signs that the cheaper Young Person pass might soon be phased out entirely. The page that once described the Young Person pass in detail has been removed from the site. This is a recent change, it may be due to the planned removal of the pass or simply site maintenance.

The Young Person pass is still available online* at the time of this article being posted.

In Pure Spirit

Please be aware that In Pure Spirit works to promote the National Trust – one of the reasons we’re aware of the uncertain fate of the Young Person pass.

Do you think the National Trust is worth supporting? We do. It is a shame it is being hit by the economic downturn like this. We would like to see more people taking local holiday breaks, visiting the National Trust’s fantastic locations, saving money over an expensive holiday abroad and also helping to protect Britain’s unique history and culture.

Disclaimer: Links marked with stars* are revenue links.

The White Lady of Tyrone: Ghost-hunters flock to the scene

January 8, 2009 by Andrew 1 Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

In recent weeks there have been a number of reported sightings of a white lady haunting a remote spot in Country Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

The reported sightings have become so wide spread and so common that cars belonging to sightseers and ghost-hunters clog the Mullaghmoyle Road, near Coalisland, where the ghostly woman has been seen the most often.

The sightings are compelling. Raymond Bell told the Daily Telegraph that his 17-year-old son did not believe in ghosts but after witnessing the white lady on numerous occasions had changed his mind.

Local politician Desmond Donnelly dismissed the sightings, saying; “If you ask me, it’s more likely to be a reflection of the moon on the river that flows through the area.”

The Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association (NIPRA) is one of the many investigators on the scene. A spokesperson for the group, Warren Coates, noted that the area had previously been researched after reports of a ghostly woman walking out in front of cars.

The White Lady ghost phenomena are commonly associated with tragedies – often those connected to broken hearts. Some academics trace the origin of White Ladies to the German deity Holda – a goddess of children, maidens and virgin youths.

In Pure Spirit

Have you made the trip out to Coalisland to wait for the ghost? We would love to see some pictures from the area.

Are you surprised that so many people make the trip each night? Newspapers suggest that as many as 60 cars have begun to park on Mullaghmoyle Road, staying as late as 1am and beyond.

A list of standing stones in Northern Ireland

January 7, 2009 by Andrew 1 Comment

Image by hoveringdog via Flickr

Megaliths (or standing stones) can be complete circles, incomplete circles or single vertical stones. Northern Ireland has very many standing stones and this list is just a sample.

In Pure Spirit

Have you been to any of these megalith sites? What was it like? Can you help us add more standing stones found in Northern Ireland to this list?

Is Mossley Mill haunted?

Causes: Is the credit crunch squeezing the National Trust?

The White Lady of Tyrone: Ghost-hunters flock to the scene

A list of standing stones in Northern Ireland

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