Faceless monks, vanishing nuns and even black dogs - these are all among the ghost stories that have been recorded in the Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth area.
Whether or not you believe in them is another matter! Either way, they offer fascinating tales, some based around our local history.
These tales all come from the website, Paranormal Database (www.paranormaldatabase.com), described as “a serious ongoing project to document locations with folkloric, paranormal and cryptozoological connections with more than 13,400 entries” – including this collection in the Leamington Warwick and Kenilworth area.
1. Leamington Railway Station
After reports of disembodied footsteps, slamming doors and electrical disturbances, this station featured in several news outlets when a 'supernatural liaison officer' was hired to work there. Photo: Submitted photo
2. Lady in Tweed at Stoneleigh Abbey
While on the edge of the River Avon, standing in a field at the abbey, a visitor became aware of a cross looking woman dressed in tweed staring at her from the opposite bank. The visitor crossed the river using a nearby bridge, believing she was trespassing and wanting to apologise to the woman. However, as the visitor neared the lady, she suddenly vanished. Photo: Submitted photo
3. Chesford Bridge, between Kenilworth and Leamington
Ann Hawtrey (or Heytrey) was accused of murdering her mistress and hanged for the crime. Shortly after Ann's death, her ghost was said to have taken up haunting the bridge, close to the scene of the crime. Photo: Submitted photo
4. Monk without a face in Kenilworth - St Nicholas church and the avenue path which leads to Bridge Street
This area is said to be haunted by a faceless monk who once inhabited the nearby abbey. Two people in the St Nicholas graveyard during 1997 thought they were being followed. They stopped, only to realise that the people behind them were their doppelgangers, going through the motions of their own actions moments earlier! Photo: Submitted photo