Looking into my family history, I wanted to see where my great grandparents had lived. I knew it no longer existed. But maybe I could find an old photograph. I found a couple, but actually found a lot more!
As a kid, I was always told "your grandma was haunted, it terrified her that much... she went white before 30". Well, I had stumbled upon some stories of where she lived! Hauntings that dated back to the late 1700s. Could it be true that she was visited by a spirit?
Near the farm that they lodged on, there was a brook. In the 1700s, 2 skulls were found in. It was decided that they should be laid to rest within the church grounds, in an unmarked grave. It turned out to be a terrible idea! From the point the skulls were removed (buried or separated), all hell broke loose. Potentially, quite literally. It seemed to cause the spirits a lot of unrest. A decision was made to return the skulls to the house. This set things back to normal and the reports of hauntings ceased. Until the next time any way!
Whenever the skulls became separated, it stirred things up. They were kept on a bible belonging to the Bradshaw family. However, at some point one of the skulls became damaged. It needed urgent care, nobody wanted to find out what would happen, should one become damaged beyond repair. The damaged skull was encased in silver, a desperate bid to ensure the protection. It was during this repair that my relatives were plagued by stomping on the stairs, the opening of the latch at the front door, drawers being open and slammed shut. How do I know this? I found an article about my great grandad going around the property, as he believed that someone had broken in. This was the final nail, and him and my great grandmother left the property that weekend. In the article my great grandmother is described as "looking ill and ashen".
The skulls have been inspected and one is female, the other is male. The female one is the damaged skull, the male one has a crack running through. It is believed this crack would have been what killed the male. Noone knows how they came to be. One story is that the farmers daughter was having a secret relationship with the farm hand. Upon finding out, her brother beat they hand so badly, it killed him. She is said to have died of a broken heart some days later. Their love so deep, even in death they cannot bear to be apart.
The skulls now rest at Turton Tower in Bolton. Not far from where they were found. They are to this day on the bible. I went to visit them at the weekend, the volunteers explained that they sometimes need to remove the skulls from their case. When they do need to move them (they try to do this as little as often), they take great care in holding down the skulls and talking to them. The fear is that should they come off the bible or they are caused upset, they will haunt the place they once were found. This is now a residential area, and over the years there have still been reports. A woman screaming, seeing a lady walking in a satin dress and just the general feeling of being watched!
I love anything history related. But to stand close to over 300 year old skulls, was very eerie. It was quite a feeling to know the skulls had been a part of my family and we didn't know, I wonder if my great grandparents knew of the stories then somewhat 90 years ago.
