Real life ghost stories by Joe Baker
On Halloween Joe Baker travels back in time and recalls some stories from Belfast’s recent past
I guess it’s that time of the year when we turn our attention to the more sinister and supernatural aspects of life or indeed death.
One of these subjects is going to be ghosts and many stories are going to be told where people meet but sadly most of them are going to be comple nonsense. For example there is a number of tours arranged which bring folk around what’s meant to be Belfast’s haunted spots but sadly they are all the result of someone’s over active imagination. One example being the Belfast hangman who roams the streets looking for victims but the slight historical downfall is that not only have there never been any Belfast hangman but there is no record of any Irish ones either!
In Belfast there are thousands of ghost stories and for people such as myself the hard work is not in gathering them but in trying to figure out which ones are absolute rubbish. People do this in different ways but I do this by exploring the incident on which the ghost stories are based. For example if it’s centred around a man who was tragically killed in a certain place then I try to find out if a man was indeed killed at that place in a tragic way. If not then it’s obviously rubbish.
But there’s really one question which we must ask ourselves when it comes to these and that is what are they? There are many explanations for ghosts ranging from trapped souls through to images caught in time. The latter would actually seem quite sensible given the fact that not all ghosts are ‘human’. For example in London there is a case of a ghostly bus and in several parts of the country there are cases of ghostly trains with one being the infamous ghost train of South Armagh. However, these explanations only focus on sightings but what of other supernatural activities? Poltergeists are infamous paranormal experiences where objects, and sometimes people, are thrown around and if that is not good enough then how do we explain occasions when ghostly feelings, sounds and smells have been experienced?
GHOSTLY SMELL!
The latter would seem to be quite unusual but there are numerous cases of strange smells being sensed in areas where paranormal activity occurs. The human body is made up of five senses if we ignore the alleged sixth sense. There are ghosts which can be seen, ghosts which can be felt, ghosts which can be heard so why not ghosts that can be sensed through smell? The other sense of taste is not ignored, as there are indeed cases of people who have experienced a foul taste in their mouths in places of paranormal activity.
PRISON GHOSTS
In Belfast there are cases of householders being almost overcome with the smell of gas and when the supply was checked it was found to be fine. One such case was on the Crumlin Road and when research was carried out on the history of the house it was discovered that two sisters had actually died in the very room where the smell was detected and that they had been overcome by gas fumes.
Another case also occurred on the Crumlin Road this time at the Belfast Prison. There are numerous ghost stories in this building with one said to have been an American Jew who was hanged in the 1930’s for a murder which he may not have committed. A ghostly figure matching his description had been seen wandering the walkways of the prison wings and most of the sightings were by the warders.
EXECUTION CELL
A few years ago I was one of those who organised several tours of this prison and everyone on it agreed that once they were in the execution cell they were overcome by a sudden coldness and this was before they even knew what the cell was. Another ghost in the prison was said to be that of a young boy who had horrifically took his own life, as he was terrified of being whipped by the prison hangman. For years after this tragedy it was said that the cries of a young boy could be heard in the dead of night which must have been a scary experience for the other prisoners.
TRAGEDY
A few months before the outbreak of the First World War two parents were locked up in the Belfast Prison with their children being looked after by the grandmother in two small rented rooms at 29 Constance Street in the Ballymacarrett area of the city.
The grandmother, Matilda Roberts, worked in the Belfast Ropeworks and when she went to work Mrs Lowry, whom the rooms was rented, looked after the children and gave them their breakfast. On the 28 January 1914, Ms Roberts went to work as normal leaving Mrs Lowry to get the children up and give them their breakfast, which she did. Mrs Lowry lit a small fire in the front room to give them some heat and after leaving the eldest child aged seven in charge left to do some shopping. A short time afterwards Anna Hamilton, who lived next door at number 27, was sitting at home when she heard the screams of children coming from next door.
On rushing in she found George Roberts, who was aged three, in flames and running around. She managed to get him down and put out the flames using a shawl. She then ripped off the burning clothes and sent the children to get help. Medical help arrived and the young child was taken to the Ulster Hospital in Templemore Avenue and placed in one of the emergency beds.
Back in the Belfast Prison the parents were told nothing of this occurrence, as there was no way of communicating with them. In these days the prison was extremely strict and was divided into separate sections for men, women and children.
CRYING SOUND
There was never any talking allowed between prisoners and visits were only arranged under exceptional circumstances. That evening the prisoners were locked in their cells at the usual time of around six and Mrs Roberts, like the rest of the prison, settled down to sleep as they were usually awakened around 5am the following morning.
However, this night Mrs Roberts was to get no sleep whatsoever. Later in the night she was awakened by the sound of gentle crying. Instantly she recognised this crying as that of her youngest child George. This crying stopped but the second it did Mrs Roberts later stated that the room was filled with the most disgusting burning smell, which lingered for a few moments and then completely disappeared. Mrs Roberts went into hysterics, as she knew something was seriously wrong. She banged and banged at the strong wooden door until a warder came along but he simply told her to shut up and get back to her bed. This had no effect and poor Mrs Roberts continued banging and clawing at the door in tears until she fell down with exhaustion.
The warder had placed her on report and the time of the incident was noted as 2.35am. Back at the Ulster Hospital the young boy died as a result of his horrific injuries. The time of death – 2.30am!
NEXT WEEK – The Ghost of the Belfast Workhouse
