Hauntings W

Walton Holymoorside Primary School
Lights have been seen to turn themselves on and off late at night at the primary school in Holymoorside, when no-one was in the building and there was no automatic mechanism to cause this to happen.   Unexplained footsteps have been heard in an alleyway near the affected classrooms.   Three very loud bangs were heard coming from inside the building in the morning of Saturday, 30th December 2017, when, again, the building was unoccupied.

Walton Hospital

At Walton Hospital, now used as a geriatric hospital but used as a TB sanatorium in the 1930s / 1940s, apparitions of ladies passing from ward to ward have been seen and a ghost named ‘Charlie’ has often been seen. In Barwise Ward, phantom footsteps have been heard and bells have rung from empty beds where the former occupants have only recently died.

One male patient, whilst standing at the washbasin and despite being deaf, heard a voice saying "You’re going to be all right." Turning round to see who it was, he saw a nurse in old-fashioned clothing, including apron and starched hat. The image immediately disappeared. One of the staff implied that this sighting was a regular occurrence.

References:
Pearson, 1984; Brindle, 2011.


Wheeldon Yard, Chesterfield

Between late 1890 and the Spring of 1891, poltergeist phenomena occurred at a semi-detached house in Wheeldon Yard, which was located near the River Hipper. Witnesses saw objects floating from one place to another of their own accord, including a candlestick, various levitated objects were broken and the grandson was struck by a tin can.

References:
Eyre, 2016.

Whitecoats Primary School, Whitecoats Lane, Chesterfield

The year 5 toilets were reputed to be haunted at Whitecoats Primary School.   Around 2013/14, people heard bangs and faint chatting coming from the toilets when no-one was actually in them.   On one occasion around this time, one teacher's laptop just vanished.   The police came in to investigate but there had been no visitors and no one in the classrooms at the time as all the children were all in assembly.


White Swan, Chesterfield Road, Dronfield

During the 1990s, apparitions were seen and property was mysteriously moved about at the White Swan pub.

References:
Eyre, 2016.


Whitwell

One rainy Winter’s night, at Whitwell Parish Church, a man boarded a bus with no overcoat and a completely dry suit. He ascended to the top deck but when the conductress went to collect his fair, there was no sign of him.

References:
Armitage, 2005; Hopkins, 2013.


Whitwell Colliery

The Whitwell Phenomenon, known locally as ‘The Gremlins’, occurred between November 1969 and November 1973. Despite visits from all manner of experts, the conveyors in the colliery kept stopping between 6.45 a.m. and 12.45 p.m. Once started, they would stop again.

References:
Hopkins, 2013.


Whitwell Manor Hall

In the 19th and early 20th century, it was alleged that a ghost would appear on Christmas Eve at Whitwell Manor Hall, producing groans and rappings.

References:
Eyre, 2016.


Williamthorpe Colliery, Chesterfield

In the early 1960s, a road man saw a figure walking along a shaft in the dark at Williamthorpe Colliery. Throwing his light up to illuminate the figure, he recognised the figure as a person named Marren, who had died a few days previously. The witness ran screaming from the site and terminated his employment.

On another occasion, two senior electrical apprentices were working on a pump. The men forced themselves through cobwebs which completely covered the tunnel for hundreds of yards to reach the pump. On completion of the tests, one asked the other "Is the pump running right?". Before he could reply, they both heard a voice say "Yes it is". They searched the area to ensure that they were not having a joke played on them but could find no-one.

References:
Paranormal Database, 2014a.

Wingerworth Church

In the early 20th century, on Low Sunday (the Sunday after Easter), the organist of this church, Mr James, had just finished playing when he sensed something behind him.   Turning round to face the darkness of the altar, he was amazed to see a big, blue bubble passing across the font.

References:
Winter, 2022.

Wingerworth Graveyard

Gwen White and her husband and border collie dog Sammy were walking through Wingerworth Graveyard one evening when suddenly a figure swelled up and disappeared into a yew tree. The dog stopped stock still and stared at the spot with his ears pricked up. The image had been that of a semi-transparent man wearing black trousers and a white shirt.

References:
Armitage, 2010a.


Wingerworth Hall

Various ghosts have been seen over the years at Wingerworth Hall, including a priest and a maid.   An apparition of a lady in a white nightgown has also been seen, both in a second floor bedroom and flitting around the passages.   This is alternatively thought to be either the spirit of a nun or the spirit of an old retainer, who, in the early part of the 20th century, became senile and was confined to that bedroom.   She declared that the Hunlokes (owners of the hall) had taken all her money;  so she would come back to haunt them.   The bedroom was never used again.   Perhaps her spirit was looking for her money.

References:
Winter, 2022

References:
Pearson, 1984; Armitage, 2009b;  Eyre, 2016;  Winter, 2022.


Winsick

From June 1973, the home of a couple in Winsick seemed to become haunted. While the wife was out at work during the night, the husband could hear scratching noises, heavy footsteps, floorboards creaking and the sound of something heavy being dragged along the floor.

During the same period, in the daytime, he could hear what sounded like furniture being moved in the room where his wife was sleeping. At first, she was undisturbed but, later, she also heard these sounds.

They sensed that there was an evil presence, which seemed to largely be dealt with by a priest visiting and blessing the house.

References:
Pearson, 1984.

Woolworth’s, Burlington Street, Chesterfield

Over several decades at what used to be the Woolworth’s shop, numerous members of staff heard the sound of crying and screaming and smelt smoke. There was one particular room which staff refused to visit to fetch stock unless they were in pairs, as they found the room to be so cold and eerie. In 1975, workmen’s tools were mysteriously scattered all over the cellar floor and a single footprint was left in the newly laid concrete there.

The building had previously been used as the Palace Cinema and on December 27th, 1911, a fire occurred there in which five children died. Screaming and crying were heard during the attempted rescue – so there may be a link between this and the screaming, crying and smoke phenomena heard in later years.

References:
Pearson, 1984; Brindle, 2011.


Wragg’s Farmstead, Owler Bar

One owner of the cottage built on the site of Wragg’s farmstead found the ghost of a little old lady dressed in a Victorian nightgown sleeping in his bed, after getting up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. Despite turning the light off and on again, he could still see her there.

References:
Armitage, 2011.