Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Paynes Garage on a Ghost Hunt

I led a Guided Walk recently for Paynes Garage of Hinckley – a version of my very popular “Haunted Leicester” walk.

Paynes staff, with relatives and friends, joined me outside the Town Hall, and we proceeded into the oldest part of Leicester.

Leicester is actually one of the oldest towns in England, so perhaps it is not surprising that it has more than its fair share of ghosts.

I pointed out before we started that people who believe they have never seen a ghost could well be mistaken. Ghosts do not necessarily dress in Elizabethan or Tudor clothes – they can just as easily be wearing jeans or trainers. Ghosts can be from last week just as easily as centuries ago. When seeing a crowd of strangers you do not necessarily known whether they are all actually alive.

I talked about the young boy who was dogged by disembodied footsteps on his way to school near St. Mary de Castro Church.

I spoke about the eerie experience I once had with a group in St. Mary’s churchyard.

Richard III, John of Gaunt and the historian William Napier Reeve all came into the story, as did the terrifying Black Annis, whose ghost still haunts the Turret Gateway.

Paynes staff went back to Hinckley with a new respect for the ghostly inhabitants of Leicester.