Haunted church farm among real life spooky stories in new book

Spooky Lincolnshire trains, a haunted church farm and a ghost in Lincolnshire sounding like Kenneth Williams are just some of the stories included a new book launched in Skegness this week.

Stephen David Briggs started writing the book ‘A matter of life and death’ 30 years ago, which is nine chapters of real life ghost stories mainly from the Lincolnshire area with accounts from different family members.

He died in 2009 and his son Stephen Nicholas Briggs, 39, who has lived in Lincoln and Skegness, has been writing the rest of the book on and off in stages since and more so over the last two years before launching the decades of work at Skegness Library on Monday, October 29.

Some extracts from the book have been compiled below:

Extract from the stories at Church Farm, Skegness

The Most Haunted television show previously filmed at the location and on Stephens first day of volunteering at the site he said many things happened.

“I was upstairs on my first day and hearing steps in the parlour, I called out, only to be greeted by silence. The wooden floors make it impossible to move quietly and upon inspection the house was empty. But this was nothing compared to the incredible experiences over the next three years,” writes Stephen.

One of the stories takes place on a Halloween night once the public had gone. “I sat on the stairs for a rest,” said Stephen. “Above me were a line of cast iron coat hooks and it has puzzled me why anyone would saw one off cleanly with a hacksaw.

“So it came as a surprise to view footage of myself, in which I was not alone. Under these hooks in white shirt and black tie was clearly a young man with his head bowed, standing calmly below the missing hook.

“Equally strange would be that when a video went on YouTube of myself in the yard, two figures are clearly watching me, talking to themselves, in the upper doorway.

“There is absolutely no doubt that I saw a ghost maid heading to the dairy. I thought it was a volunteer, until I followed her into an empty room. What I found odd was the whistling noise in my ears as she walked in front of me, with rosy cheeks, mob cap and ankle length white apron. She had her arms clasped in front of her.”

Spooky Lincolnshire trains

Stephen Nicholas Briggs had various spooky train-related experience and there is one at Ludborough, Lincolnshire which sticks out among his most memorable stories in the county.

In his book he writes: “I have seen two ghostly trains recently, a coal train passing through Wainfleet with a line of red coal trucks, the type that you see in museums. The most recent one was at the 1940s day at Ludborough.

“This lovely station is now the hub of the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, having been part of the Grimsby to London line and closed in 1980. As I was watching “Spitfire”, the resident engine, about to depart, I heard the hiss of another engine behind me on the other platform.

“Physically impossible at the moment, as the line has not been laid on the other side yet! Looking across to what had been the Northern line, there was nothing there but as I turned back to Spitfire, a whistle split the air again, behind me!”

“I never saw any ghosts having sex in public lavatories”

One of my favourite stories is the surreal encounter in a public lavatory at The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. It was my 29th Birthday, it was freezing cold and I could hear voices.

I thought nothing of it until I opened the door and I was the only person within a mile. One of them sounded like the late actor Kenneth Williams, he even said “ooooh fancy seeing you here”.

“There were three foot steps then absolute silence. No running taps, nobody walking away, nothing…and the toilet is isolated so anyone walking away would be seen and heard.”

Stephen added: “Sadly the tabloids got hold of the story and I have been stuck with it ever since. I never saw any ghosts having sex in public lavatories!

The book is available to buy for £6 from Lincoln Antiques on Steep Hill in Lincoln and Moon Spirit in Spilsby or in person from Stephen.