One of England’s most endearing legends if perhaps not the most endearing is that of Robin Hood. A fictionalised character embedded in every child’s mind, but looking back in history we know there are many facts which can suggest he was real. A well-known link to ‘the real Robin Hood’ by some historians is as Robert of Locksley, Earl of Huntingdon. This link is thought to have derived from the epitaph of a ‘Robin Hood’ buried near Kirklees Priory in Yorkshire written as followed;

Robert Earle of Huntington
Lies under this little stone.
No archer was like him so good;
His wildnesse named him Robbin Hood.

Full thirteene yeares, and something more,
These northerne parts he vexed sore.
Such out-lawes as he and his men
May England never know agen.

This small poem seems to tie nicely with the famous character we have a picture of today, suggesting that he was a real Earl. Of course, he must have been a good guy – all the stories tell us so . . . don't they? Well, other historians have identified a farmer called Roger Godberd who was described as a thug that robbed the rich - he was even captured and held in Nottingham Castle. Could he have been the basis for this well-known character? A publication of a book called Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked in 2011 leads you to believe this is the guy! Or, could he be one William Robehod as other historians have claimed? Having found evidence to back it up where he is listed for a crime as being part of an outlawed gang suspected of robberies. The truth is we will never know, but it still compels people today to read about it and speak the legend to their children of the do-gooder who stole from the rich to give to the poor.

There are many others too, Such as that of King Arthur. Was he a real hero? An individual? Or could his legend be built on a string of seven or eight different men who conquered battles and are known by same name over a span of a 100 years or so?

There are the many historical events and legends that writers repeatedly explore, such as the lost Princes in the tower (time of Richard 3rd), – what happened to them? Did they both die? Or just one? Was a serving boy used instead disguised as one of the Princes and the real Prince escaped unscathed in disguise? How did this part of history find its way to us?

So why am I tellling you all this?

Well, it's simply to open your mind to the possibilities. Even today we have unexplained occurences that may hold their secret forever but that doesn't mean we can't delve deep into our imagination to create possible scenarios for ourselves. Legends like these are often what inspire me to write, and as you begin to read my books you will see that in areas of my writing I include true facts. I love to incorporate elements of the truth to cement realism and create stories with a twist. (This will be no more obvious than in my forthcoming publication The Spirit of Peterborough). Such as the story of Robin Hood has been twisted and altered as it’s passed down through the centuries to create new tales and ideas about the legend, I like to do the same.

Over the years I have heard many tales relating to the numerous ghosts that apparently reside or have made their mark in the Peterborough area, with each and every one of them stimulating me to ask questions; what actually happened here? What was the trigger? And Why? This would then provoke me into researching as much as I possibly could about anything that could have played a part in the birth of this tale. And when I say this I don’t just mean ghosts – I am intrigued by all types of mysterious aspects such as UFO sightings, local historical legends, the unexplained or the paranormal, or even just purely unusual or quirky facts or events.

Just last year my family and I had a day out at Rendlesham Forest near Ipswich in Suffolk where there was a now famous UFO sighting reported in December 1980. (See my account of the very unusual day) Dozens of service men had witnessed flashing lights and saw apparent unidentified craft flying at an impossible speed on three consecutive nights. They also reported strange markings on the ground, with no explanation of how they came about. Now at the forest, there is a tourist attraction that has grown from the legend, there is a small account of what happened on a board ahead of the paths. My boys read this before we started walking the trail and were excited at the thought that aliens may have landed here years ago . . .

When something like this happens it makes you wonder – is there life out there? Something must have happened to cause this but, precisely what? Where is the truth? How much is exaggeration or the embellishment of well-meant rumours?

Numerous authors such as Dan Brown; T.H White; Mary Stewart; Philippa Gregory and even the writers behind the Doctor Who series get inspiration from true history, myths, and legends. They turn some strand of well-known historical truth and turn it into a great piece of fiction. They use fact to help make their writing more believable, persuading us into thinking that it was really like that. It then creates a circle of appetising reading as it evokes in readers a feel of wanting to find out more about that period or event.

So, the fascination for me is always to ask that question: What might have really happened? How could a particular scenario really have panned out?

Has anything strange really happened to you? Have you ever been intrigued or mystified enough to do your own research? Has there ever been anything that has compelled you to look deeper?

I'd love to hear. You never know, you might have the basis for a good story!

After all my research there is something I take with me now every time I write. No matter what you do . . . always look over your shoulder, and you never know what’s round the corner . . .  

How many of you have been on a Ghost walk?

A couple of summers ago my family and I went on The Peterborough Ghost walk led by Stuart Orme. It was a scorching hot evening but the stories we heard were enough to send shivers down my spine. The tour started outside Peterborough Museum with some interesting accounts of numerous spooky sightings.

When you hear the word ‘museum’ what springs to mind? For most people they just think of the old historical artefacts and unless you like history then there is nothing for you there. That’s true to a point – but history is important by the way it shapes our future. We all know this, so why then have I enticed you to this page? Well, some of you may know about the ghosts of Peterborough Museum and some of you might not. How many of you know for example that there have been at least 8 reports of different ghosts there?

The most well-known ghost is that of the soldier Sergeant Thomas Hunter otherwise known as ‘the lonely ANZAC’. He was a First World War soldier that didn’t make it home. During the Battle of the Somme in 1916 he was injured. He was then taken to Portsmouth then transferred to a hospital in Yorkshire. However, on the journey his condition severely deteriorated and they made an emergency stop at Peterborough station. He was taken to the infirmary (now the museum) but all efforts to save him were in vain. He died July 31st 1916. There have been several sightings of a grey figured in an army suit appearing to climb the stairs then disappear. This is thought to be the ghost of the lonely ANZAC soldier who never made it back to his home in Australia.

The ghost of a little girl who is heard but not seen is said to haunt the Gallery on the first floor and only rarely has anyone caught a glimpse of her – enough to know she’s a little girl. Her face appeared in a window and she was seen behind a closed glass door where upon investigation there was no one there. What happened to her no one knows, but she is always heard giggling so she must be quite happy to roam the museum.

The late 1940s brought a visit to the caretaker’s daughter who was ill with chicken pox. The family lived in the first floor flat. She claimed she was visited first by a Doctor, only to be visited again by the Doctor who really called sometime later! Months afterwards when they were sorting through old photographs she came across the ‘Doctor’ who visited her. He was identified as Alfred Caleb Taylor, a former Doctor, who had died twenty years earlier from radiation poisoning. (Little was known about the effects of radiation from x-rays back then.)

These are just a few accounts of the supposed ghostly inhabitants that reside inside the museum, but even the car park behind it is said to have a spirit lurking around occasionally. From what is known about the history, the museum car park is it where the hospital use to put the dead. Accounts have come through of people complaining of being touched by an invisible cold hand. When the scouts use to use the building they claimed to often feel a cold presence and never like sleeping overnight there as they were sure to have a restless night. Going back to the car park later that evening with my family I remember that we were all looking over our shoulders . . .

Along the walk we learned that Peterborough is a city home to various Roman ghosts that like to continue their legion march. People have reported seeing ghostly Roman soldiers at night on the surviving earthwork of Car Dyke that runs roughly through the city from north east to south west. The Bauer business park at Lynch wood is also said by its workers to be haunted as the lights have a mind of their own, and two shadowy figures on horseback have been seen. These are thought to be Romans as archaeologist had to clear Roman burials before the building work could commence..

Even the more modern building of Queensgate shopping centre is haunted. After dark when the lights are out, a few little children still continue to play as their laughter has been heard by security guards at night, also noises of footsteps have been heard.

There is a legend rather than a ghost that we are told influenced the famous writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles. It is the legend of Black Shuck. The Shuck was said to roam the coastline of East Anglia and around and into the Fenlands. The last report was in the early 1100s and it was recorded in the Peterborough Chronicle that the Shuck had been seen in the ‘dark part of town and the woods that stretch from that same town to Stamford’. This was witnessed by the Monks of the time and it is said that the Shuck appeared there and roamed the woods throughout Lent until Easter. It was thought that seeing the Black Shuck brought death or illness to those who witnessed it. Doyle visited Peterborough before he wrote Hound of the Baskervilles and the legend of Black Shuck was something he was fascinated by and likely influenced his writing.

I love modern day parallels, and when I read about this legend it reminded me of a summer about seven or eight years ago when we suddenly once again heard reports in this area of a large black wild animal roaming nearby woodlands . . . this time it was supposed to have been a big wild cat!

I found the ghost walks and the stories that were told quite inspirational and when I write I am fascinated by these things from the past.

What about you? Have you ever written or told a story based on legend, history, or something that really happened? Have you ever been inspired by anything from the past to do something new, or to at least include it in your life in some way? After all, the past can help shape who we really are whether you’ve cared to notice it or not!

The Cathedral as you will know stands strong in the heart of the city centre, but how much do you know about some of the stranger aspects of its past? Here are some small facts that anyone genuinely interested in the city should know, and as you begin to read my books you will see where I get some of my inspiration from!

The history of the Cathedral dates back to 655 AD to when it was originally an Abbey of St Peter housing the Benedictine monks. Therefore it hardly comes as a surprise that there have been numerous reports over the years of people encountering ghostly figures in black robes looking very much like monks. One famous sighting is that of the single monk who appears on a number of occasions walking through the ruins of the cloister, then as people get a closer look he disappears. Another sighting of a monk has been witnessed inside the Cathedral; better known as the terrified monk. He is young and is always seen doing the same thing. He walks up the cathedral nave, stops suddenly and looks back then runs terrified as though he is being chased. What happened to him no one knows, but this same moment is replayed, he is always oblivious to any apparent change his surroundings!

More monks have been sighted in the graveyard. Two ghostly monk figures have been seen walking under one of the archways, and another part where the monks were buried, one has been spotted a number of times kneeling as though in prayer. It seems very fitting that these ghostly religious figures still appear today, always carrying out there Godly duty that seems somehow still strangely relevant to us.

If you ever pass the Cathedral precincts late of an evening, take a chance to look up at the windows. Some say that a flickering light may appear. If you ever see it, it is said to be the light of the stonemason’s candle. The stonemason always stayed late into the night at work on the building of the Cathedral, and used his candle to guide him on his way. However, one fateful evening his candle went out while he was still up high working, it was too dark and he stumbled falling to his death. The light at the window shows the stonemason's continued desire to work long after his death, unaware that it no longer needs to be done.

I always find it amazing how these ghosts from our past continually still seem to appear today. It is as though they have a mind of their own and they don’t want to be forgotten. It can seem that they may appear for a reason, embedding themselves into time allowing their actions to be replayed.

What if that’s what ghosts are? A fragment of time stuck that just replays itself repeatedly, like the terrified monk described above. It's ordinary people like you and me that see ghosts, maybe next week maybe next year! What if we actually became part of their story!

It’s one thing that I have always wondered, and there never seems to be a definite answer; what do you think? What is a ghost?