23/04/2012
Smithills Hall 12th May 2012
Regarded as one of the most haunted buildings in Lancashire, Smithills Hall has more than its fair share of ghosts and hauntings. George Marsh is reputed to have been encountered many times, usually as a shadowy figure but also the reflection of his sad face has been seen by staff and visitors in a mirror in the Green Room.
One man is convinced he saw Georges full apparition just before closing time when he visited the museum as a child. Again, this was in the Green Room, which not surprisingly is said to be the most haunted area of the Hall.
The figure of a lady dressed in clothes from the 1500`s has been seen in and near The Bower Room, and also on a staircase. This lady seems to have a cheeky sense of humour as visitors have reported being pinched on the bottom by her!
In the Great Hall a notable psychic saw a `strong` man and a `distressed` woman wearing clothes from the 1500`s. There are numerous reports of ghostly activity in the Chapel, including a male apparition and a female member of staff being pushed from behind so badly that she had several grazes from where she fell harshly against the wall to prove it.
In the shop twice in two weeks the manager saw in the Pugin mirror which used to hang there the reflection of a man dressed in black with white bushy hair watching her from the doorway.Both times when she turned to look the doorway was empty. She also saw the same man on the stairs.
In Colonel Ainsworths Room in the mornings staff are used to having set the glasses back straight on the table after they have been turned upside down or moved during the night when the museum is locked and empty.
Staff and visitors also report frequently other strange things, including barrier ropes swinging of their own accord, cats meowing, children giggling and cold spots.The ghost of a Victorian maid has also been seen.
The ghostly activity is not exclusive to just the Hall though, outside the hall also has its fair share of strange, unexplainable events. When the Hall was a residential home one of the members of staff regularly heard horses riding past the house late at night and into the early hours of the morning. She would often look for them, but no sign of the horses or their riders was ever found.
One sunny evening the director of a local theatre company performing at the Hall arrived early, and on hearing footsteps coming across the gravel towards him he turned to look, only to be greeted by silence and solitude.