Ghost Island

As well as many other names such as the Garden Isle, and Dinosaur Island, one of the best loved nicknames is Ghost Island, as we seem to have more than our fair share.
Just why there are so many ghosts on the Isle of Wight is a mystery. Some say it's because of powerful unseen energy or ley lines which run under the Island.
This small island is home to hundreds of ghosts and spooky happenings. It has everything - from phantom monks, grey ladies and poltergeists - to the shades of smugglers, soldiers, Royalty and Romans. There are ghostly murderers and their victims, ghost-ships out at sea, and even a ghost-train still running on long vanished rails.
With the Island’s rich historical heritage, its violent and colourful past, it’s not surprising that ghostly goings-on and haunting echoes of those turbulent times continue to reverberate through 21st century, with the spirits of smugglers and shipwrecked seamen walking still on lonely West Wight beaches.
The Most Haunted team including Derek Accorah, Yvette Fielding and Richard Felix paid a visit to Ghost Island last year to film two programmes of Most Haunted, and their amazing experiences at Arreton Manor and Appuldurcombe House can be seen on Living TV’s new fifth series.

HARE AND HOUNDS
Arreton Murderous woodcutter Morey who was deemed to have killed his young grandson in cold blood in 1737, was tried and hanged, and his corpse left rotting on the gibbet at Gallows Hill, near the Hare and Hounds, until it became ´an offence to eye and nostril´. The gibbet crossbeam, complete with a notch cut in it beside the date of his execution can be seen in the pub. Morey´s restless spirit can also be seen, roaming Gallows Hill, carrying a large axe...

APPULDURCOMBE HOUSE, Wroxall . This handsome haunted mansion with its 365 windows and 52 rooms is now a shell of its former self. The ghosts however, remain. They include a phantom carriage, brown-clad monks, dark shapes glimpsed flitting through the grounds. Unseen hands regularly leaf through pages of the visitors' book.

THE PUB THAT VANISHED
You may never find this one, but have fun trying! One dark November night, two Island men set out from Newtown, on what became the strangest night of their lives. They came upon a pub - the Falcon or the Vulcan - where they shared a drink with some unsociable spirits. The drab bar felt unwelcoming and cold. Hostile eyes turned towards the two strangers and all conversation ceased. They drank up quickly and left. The strange old-fashioned pub, which was along a narrow lane somewhere between Newtown and Calbourne, has never been seen again. Despite repeated attempts, neither the lane nor ghostly pub has ever been found.

Journalist and local author Gay Baldwin has been investigating and researching ghost stories for over thirty years. Her series of Isle of Wight ghost books, video, DVD, audiobooks, you can order on-line at www.ghostisland.com.
In 1993, Gay devised the popular Newport Ghost Walk - a spooky stroll around the old town with a supernatural slant, which has introduced thousands of Islanders and visitors to the darker side of Newport.
Led by professional storytellers in Victorian costume from the Isle of Wight Ghost Experience, the walks leave St Thomas's Square, outside the haunted Wheatsheaf Hotel at 8pm on Wednesday nights. There's a new route every year and you can buy tickets on the night or book in advance at any of the Island´s Tourist Information Centres for the walks, which take approximately 1.5 hours.
You can also try several other walks throughout the year, such as the Botanic Garden in Ventnor, Cowes Old Town, Ghosts of Godshill, St Catherines Lighthouse in Niton (including supper), Arreton Manor Grounds and Freshwater Bay. All walks are subject to availability. If wet, do dress appropriately. Call 01983 520695 or check www.ghost-tours.co.uk

Halloween Games

Wink Murder;
was always a favourite, played in a darkened room, sometimes only lit by individual players candles. There are a few variations including one version named 'vampire',
take a look at the rules..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wink_Murder.

Apple Bobbing;
Apples were such a powerful symbol in ancient times that the paradise of Celtic mythology, Avalon, literally means Apple-land. The apple is linked with both the Celtic festivals that gave rise to Halloween celebrations and the Roman goddess Pomona, who became associated with Halloween later on.
To bob for apples requires only a large tub or bucket filled with water and plenty of apples. During the Victorian era, it was believed that the first to catch an apple in her teeth would be the first to marry, or that after she snagged an apple, the first name spoken in her presence would be that of her future spouse. Sometimes Victorian hosts would insert charms into the apples, each predicting a different fortune. For example, capturing an apple with a coin in it would mean future wealth. A creative host could come up with many different types of fortune telling charms

Carving pumpkins..
Jack-O’-Lanterns may have been named for the story of a sinful man named Jack who managed to trap Satan in a tree and refused to set him free unless he promised to spare Jack from an eternity in hell. Unable to enter heaven or hell, Jack was given a hellfire ember to place inside either a carrot or turnip so that he could find his way around earth’s dark places. Later, pumpkins were used to make these lanterns, as their size made them more suited to carrying a flame

Snuff out the candle..
Bewarned not without an element of risk of catching your trousers or other apparel on fire, so hitch loose clothing out of the way before playing this game, it is totally hilarious though..
Tie a large spoon on a piece of string long enough to reach to lower calf level on each participant, tie the rest around their waist. The spoon is now dangling between their legs from the string entending from the handle. The spoon must be hanging down from the back of the player. The player now has to position themselves over a lighted candle and scoop down over it and snuff out the candle with the dangling spoon face. Failure to snuff it out, in say 2 minutes, will of course result in a one of a selection of appropriate silly forfeits.
Its not as easy as it seems..:)

Tell Ghost Stories or go Ghost Hunting...
Here is one of many of our local ones concerning the manor of Knighton.
Knighton is a hamlet near to Sandown on the Isle of Wight.
It is usually pronounced as Kay-nighton by local people, to avoid confusion with the larger, village of Niton, near Ventnor.
Knighton Gorges
Knighton manor house used to be the grandest manor house on the Isle of Wight. Sir Hugh de Morville fled to the house after killing Thomas Becket of Canterbury. The house was owned by the de Morvilles until 1256 when Ralf de Gorges which is where the name Knighton Gorges comes from.
All that is now left of the house is the two stone gateposts. The house was demolished in 1821 by George Maurice Bisset in order to prevent his daughter inheriting it after she had married a clergyman without Bisset's consent.
Knighton Gorges is a cornerstone of many unearthly tales, as the house has long been said to reappear at times in ghostly form, Lit up in all its former glory once a year on New Years Eve and entertaining a party in full swing, which to the unsuspecting observer seems like a period fancydress. Locals have also reported seeing animal-like gargoyles on top of each gatepost; these figures, if ever they existed, were removed many years ago and all that is left is plain stone.
The area is haunted by various ghosts and is a must stop for ghost hunters. One such tale is that of Sir Tristram Dillington, who is thought to have committed suicide after taking to gambling heavily after tragedy struck with smallpox killing his children and the death of his wife. His valet is said to have concealed the nature of his death by placing his corpse upon his horse, Thunderbolt, and driving it into the lake, ensuring that the property was not forfeited. The story is that the ghost of Sir Tristram rides a ghostly horse each year on the anniversary of his death, which occurred on 7 July 1721
Want another Story,... of Love, Crusades and Time Travel, pop over to this fabulous link IOWRock and read another of our Island's Tales, Its really worth it.
http://www.iowrock.demon.co.uk/clearspot/blimp_lucy.html
Have fun. Happy Halloween.