GHOST WALKS
GHOSTS
Britain has more than its fair share of haunted houses and nearly every castle and stately home have its resident ghost, relating to some tragic event in its history. Most pubs dating back two or three hundred years have a ghost tale or two, which given time and perhaps for the price of a pint the landlord or one of the regulars will be pleased to relate to the interested visitor.
Many of the older ghost stories are linked to historical events and have been developed by word of mouth, changing through the centuries as the tales have been passed down. But even in the more sceptical times of the 21st century some of these stories have been backed by credible witness accounts. When members of the public have seen something quite out of the ordinary for which no logical explanation can be provided. There are in fact thousands of modern cases on record, far too many to be easily dismissed as resulting from hallucination and misinterpretation.
DERBY GHOSTS
Room 29 at the Bell Inn, Sadler Gate, which used to be a hotel, is said to be haunted by a young servant girl murdered by the Jacobite army in 1745.
At the Dolphin Inn, Queen Street, the gas taps in the cellar are mysteriously turned off making the staff think the barrels are empty.
Some of Derby’s better-known ghosts include the ghost of Joseph Moss, the only policeman ever to have been murdered in the city, who was shot in 1879. His ghost is said to haunt the fish market, which used to be the police station. A tombstone in the memory of Joseph Moss is on display at the rear of Derby Gaol.