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Original poster

Does your area have a Grey Lady myth?

118 replies

QuestionableMouse · 28/07/2021 19:03

Working on my thesis which is folklore based and keep seeing various versions of the Grey Lady myth pop up.

Does your area have one, and if so, what is it? 😁

OP posts:
BrozTito · 29/07/2021 06:54

Have you heard of the white lady?(read Robert Graves' the white goddess) Bridlington near me is named after bridget ive been told, and is the white lady of the area.

BrozTito · 29/07/2021 07:03

We have the ghost of anne gritthiths aswell nearby in burton agnes. A brilliant ghost story and heard her called a grey lady.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 29/07/2021 07:21

Didn't Chris de Burgh used to belt out a song about a 'Lady in Red'?

I never followed the lyrics so I don't what's it's about - a lady in red, I suppose.

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Spooky & paranormal
lobsterkiller · 29/07/2021 07:26

Yeah, locally two. One at an old monastry where she seeks out her lover (naughty monk.) And one in the woods, some miles away.

BrozTito · 29/07/2021 07:28

They always throw themselves from things, usually before weddings. Its the same in bosnian folklore.

BrozTito · 29/07/2021 07:29

The ghost of Katherine (Anne) Griffith, who died at Burton Agnes Hall in 1620, is reputed to have haunted the Queen's State Bedroom. Anne Griffith was the youngest of the three sisters whose portrait hangs in the Inner Hall, daughters of Sir Henry Griffith who built the Hall. The story is that Anne had watched the building of the new house and could talk and think of nothing else; it was to be the most beautiful house ever built. When it was almost finished Anne went one afternoon to visit the St. Quintins at Harpham about a mile away, but near St. John's Well was attacked and robbed by ruffians. She was brought home to Burton Agnes but was so badly hurt that she died a few days afterwards.
Sometimes delirious, sometimes sensible, she told her sisters that she would never rest unless part of her could remain in 'our beautiful home as long as it shall last'. She made them promise that when she was dead her head should be severed and preserved in the Hall forever, and to pacify her, the sisters agreed. However when Anne died, she was buried in the churchyard.
Then the ghost walked and scared the life out of everybody. Remembering Anne's dying words, the sisters took counsel with the vicar and eventually agreed that the grave should be opened. The skull was brought into the house and so long as it was undisturbed, the Hall was peaceful and untroubled. Many attempts have been made to get rid of it. Once it was thrown away, another time it was buried in the garden, but always the ghost walked with tremendous noise and upheaval. The skull is still in the house, built into one of the old walls, probably in the Great Hall. Nobody knows for sure just where it is but now she can watch over 'her beautiful home'.

cherrytree63 · 29/07/2021 07:42

Not a grey lady, but Nell Gwynne is supposed to haunt the Red Lion pub in Redbourne, which is my local.

MartyHart · 29/07/2021 07:54

OP Bamburgh Castle has one of these.

longwayoff · 29/07/2021 07:55

White Friars here.

MrsJBaptiste · 29/07/2021 07:55

@idontevenknowanyonecalledblurb

Yes- temple newsham near us has a grey lady (or she may be white!) that haunts the corridors- of course everyone has had a encounter or story to tell!
You must be near me (5 min drive to TN) but I thought their ghost was the Blue Lady?

Either way, Grey or Blue, I never want to meet her! 😨

Iamthewombat · 29/07/2021 07:59

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

Didn't Chris de Burgh used to belt out a song about a 'Lady in Red'?

I never followed the lyrics so I don't what's it's about - a lady in red, I suppose.

This really made me laugh.
couchparsnip · 29/07/2021 08:01

There's supposed to be a grey lady that haunts one of the theatres in Northampton. It's been there since the 1880s and I've over the years lots of theatre people have seen her. One even reports her walking through

Iamthewombat · 29/07/2021 08:02

Not a grey lady, but Nell Gwynne is supposed to haunt the Red Lion pub in Redbourne, which is my local.

White Friars here.

That’s right, all mention any ghosts you can think of. Never mind whether the ghost is a lady or has a colour ascribed to her.

VienneseWhirligig · 29/07/2021 08:04

There's a grey lady at one of the main medieval buildings in the city centre, where Mary Queen of Scots was once held prisoner. There is also allegedly a poltergeist inside one of the gates of the old city wall, but I think that's bollocks because I spent nights there (working on security) and it was absolutely fine. It looks like a haunted place from the outside, but it's unlikely.

cookiecreampie · 29/07/2021 08:07

@HoobleDooble

Yes, our school (formerly a private Manor House) was suppose to have one. The story was that she fell down the stairs in the main building and died there.
Maybe we went to the same school. Was she a nun?
mrsnolasco · 29/07/2021 08:22

There was a grey lady in the old Salisbury Infirmary. When it closed in the 90s, they held a service in the chapel and invited her to leave.

Laufeythejust · 29/07/2021 08:31

There’s a grey lady at my wedding venue Samlesbury Hall in Preston. She is meant to be seen walking across the path. The history of the building is so interesting. The most haunted episode is terrible though haha.

startrek90 · 29/07/2021 08:42

The Rose theatre in Lancaster has a grey lady. I can't quite remember the story though, I know she is supposed to appear in the gallery during Shows though.

SedentaryCat · 29/07/2021 08:53

Yes, a grey lady in one of the villages near us. Near an old abbey, so possibly a nun.

Where I work is an old airfield and occasionally people have claimed to see a man wheeling a bike across what used to be the runway.

ProfYaffle · 29/07/2021 08:55

There's a grey lady of Tombland in Norwich. The story is she is a young girl who was boarded up in her house with her parents because they had plague. When a suitable amount of time had passed, the authorities opened up the house and found 3 bodies as expected, the parents showing signs of plague and errr - nibbling. The the girl was uncorrupted by plague but had choked to death on her parents' flesh ....

Iamthewombat · 29/07/2021 09:14

@ProfYaffle

There's a grey lady of Tombland in Norwich. The story is she is a young girl who was boarded up in her house with her parents because they had plague. When a suitable amount of time had passed, the authorities opened up the house and found 3 bodies as expected, the parents showing signs of plague and errr - nibbling. The the girl was uncorrupted by plague but had choked to death on her parents' flesh ....
That’s more like it! A grey lady who is not flinging herself off something in despair over some stupid man. Go Norwich Tomblands grey lady!
Pinkywoo · 29/07/2021 10:35

@ProfYaffle I take it you've been on the Norwich ghost tour too!

SmidgenofaPigeon · 29/07/2021 11:05

@ProfYaffle I’m from Norwich and I’ve been on that tour! Didn’t get the story of her eating her parents though-just that she starved to death!

SophieB100 · 29/07/2021 11:09

I was waiting for Tombland in Norwich to be mentioned, and the ghost tour. There's a Whitefriars in Norwich too. What used to be the Samson and Hercules nightclub in Tombland - I'm going back decades - next to that was Tourist Information shop - next to the little alley way. The grey lady was often spotted floating down the alley way. My friend after leaving school - so going back over 40 years Shock worked in the T.I. and she saw her float along the alley way from her window!

GeidiPrimes · 29/07/2021 11:13

Our grey lady haunts the Abbey. And sometimes Tescos.