Ghostly goings-on in the Yorkshire Dales

How do you feel about ghosts and shadows of the past? Have you heard of witches' marks or apotropaic marks? We didn't realise it when we bought our house, but in theory our house is protected by one of them...

I'm not sure I entirely believe in ghosts or witches, but a few experiences have shown me how the past can echo down the years. Many years ago we stayed near the Bolton Abbey Estate, in Beamsley Hospital, a beautiful 16th/17th century Landmark Trust property, once home to impoverished gentlewomen. It's a former almshouse built in an octagonal shape, with a series of rooms set around a chapel. To get from the bedrooms to the kitchen and lounge area you have to walk through the chapel which still has an ancient Bible and the feeling of a church. The black Labrador we had with us wasn't so keen on walking through the chapel but we ignored that.

However as I walked through the chapel after our first night there, my then 3 year old daughter matter of factly said, "this is where the noisy ladies were". I asked her what she meant and she replied, "the ones who kept talking at night and waking me up". I pretended to ignore it but the following evening after we'd put her to bed she called to ask me to "tell the ladies in that funny room to stop talking". Make of that what you will. It is a lovely place to stay whether the women folk chatter in the chapel or not...

We now live in an old mill, dating back to 1704. It's always felt like a friendly house, very comforting and welcoming. Except for one archway in a bit of the building we don't use much. I just felt a bit "shuddery" when I went through it but thought maybe it was because that part of the house needed more renovation and care. Then other people commented on the peculiar feel of that one spot. That part of the building had been let out to various people in the past and when I asked them if they'd ever had any strange experiences, without prompting they commented on the archway. It didn't really bother any of us, but it did feel odd. I couldn't find any history of hangings, or other grisly goings-on so tried to ignore it but even after re-decoration that spot continued to feel uncomfortable.

I happened to be sitting next to our local vicar one day at an event so very casually asked him if vicars actually do exorcise buildings or is that just something in horror films? He said that they prefer not to call it an 'exorcism' but they do house 'blessings'. The vicar asked me why I'd asked and when I explained his response made me think such situations are actually quite common. We talked about the exact spot in the house and speculated on the reasons. We agreed that if it continued to bother us, he'd come to the house. A couple of days later I realised I'd gone back and forth through that archway and it felt completely different. Can a vicar thinking about a troubled spirit really make a difference? It didn't really make sense to me but the feeling really has gone.

It didn't end there though. Upstairs in the house is a lamp that suddenly started to switch itself on every night. For a little while we all assumed other members of the family had left it on or were playing tricks, but then we went round the house switching everything off before a holiday. As we arrived home in the dark, a light was shining. Yes, it was on again. Now when we go into the room and switch it off, we always smile - what ever is causing the light to come on feels friendly and up-lifting. I still can't say I believe in ghosts but I suppose it's natural for a very old house to have different kinds of history within its stones.

There's a date stone on the outside of our house, which has a daisy wheel at the side. For a long time I stupidly thought it was just a showy flourish the stonemason had carved for some random reason. ​An architectural historian corrected me, The daisy wheel shape is actually a type of ancient graffiti known as a 'hexfoil' which was carved into walls and wood to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck to the building! So we're fine...