Is ghostly repuatation justified? Richard Kershaw.
The Nunsthorpe Estate has, for a long time, had the reputation of being haunted… by a monk. Is it a true ghost or has it just been used as a tool to get rehoused by unhappy tenants? Rumours have circulated the town of how the estate was built on the site of the old monastery. After looking over old charts in the library it has now been learned that the estate was actually built on cornfields, nothing more. Events do seem to correspond in some of the cases, however. So, is it true or false, that conclusion is left for you to decide.
Case one is on Kirkstead Crescent in 1959. This particular house had an unfamiliar smell and tall shadowy figures were seen. The council investigated and decided to rehouse the family. Later that year another family moved in and never had a problem.
Case two was situated in Newton Grove. The occupiers did not report any sort of aspiration [sic], but they did have severe electrical problems. Doors opened and shut themselves. The council rewired the house, the YEB checked the property but could not find anything wrong. The council once again rehoused the family. Nothing further was heard from the new residents.
Case three is in Langton Drive. This was not reported but kept in the family. Mrs Scott, now deceased, complained about how deadly cold the house was. And then she told family members about how she had seen a tall man who knelt by the bed and looked as if he was tending a grave.
Case four, this was the most publicised of them all. It has become known as the Langton Drive ghost, but the property is actually situated on Sutcliffe Avenue. Over a period of two years four people saw the apparition. It was identified in each sighting as being a monk. A well-known ghosthunter from Mablethorpe came in to investigate but found nothing. Later a type of exorcism was carried out. In the end the council found a family to exchange with the occupiers.
Case five was in Redbourne Road. This took place in 1989 but this family owned the property. Things were thrown at a family member sleeping in the bedroom, doors opened and shut themselves, cold spots were felt on the stairs. They, too, had electrical problems and ended up being rewired by the YEB at great expense. The problems never stopped, but nothing serious has happened since this time and things seem to be settling down.
A lot of details given. And certain of the cases seemed to be within seven or eight years of each other. From this it would appear that the ghost or whatever it is shows itself at intervals. It does not stay in one place for years as a lot of ghosts do. It stays within the boundaries of what was the cornfield, so can we take it the monks from the monastery that was actually situated near the centre of the town used to work in these fields. Or is it seeing to the grave of an acquaintance that was buried in the area. That would seem to explain why all of the sightings mentioned that the figure was either kneeling or was stooped.
We can only speculate as to what the problem is. People have seen it but others have had problems that cannot be disputed. Eventually someone will find the truth and someone will gain real evidence as to the existence of this parapsychological entity. But all we can do for now is to report on the facts given and draw our own conclusions.
Grimsby Daily Telegraph, 28th May 1994.