Local legend says that it was in the 18th century that the young man hanged himself in the stables adjoining the Castle Inn at Newport after a turbulent love affair.
Like their landlord predecessors before them, Stuart Luke and his wife Sarah have often found themselves woken in the middle of the night by the sound of whistling. But the subsequent check for intruders in the pub always reveals the premises to be peaceful, although five pence pieces are left strewn about the place.
According to local ghost walk guide and 17-year veteran of paranormal investigations on the island, Marc Tuckey, the whistling comes from the stable lad whistling at his horses.
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| This ‘hanging ghost’ was photographed in the Stable Bar at 11.42pm on Saturday 4th June, 2006 |
Mr Tuckey and a team of paranormal investigators and mediums spent a night in the pub earlier this year in an effort to make contact with any spirits haunting the ancient inn – the oldest on the Isle of Wight, dating from the mid-16th century.
He said: “The medium who claimed to have made contact with the dead stable lad during the investigative sessions told the group the long-dead groom was keen to let everyone know he had not taken his own life, but had been murdered by a woman and three men. He is said to have told her he was hoisted onto one of the stable beams where he had died of asphyxiation.”
The lad allegedly owed the woman money and when he could not pay his debts she had him strung up, according to Mr Tuckey. Then the medium told the team the spirit had used the words ‘Jethart Justice’ and ‘lichwake’.
“Neither myself or anyone on the team had ever the term Jethart Justice and, to be honest, it sounded just like gobbledegook to me,” Mr Tuckey told The Southern this week. “It was only when we did some research on the internet that we discovered it meant hanging someone first, then holding a trial afterwards. As for the term ‘lichwake’, it appears to refer to the wake or watch kept over a corpse prior to its burial.”
With Newport more than 300 miles from Jedburgh, the intrepid investigators were unable to unearth any proof that the tragic stable boy had links to the Borders town or even Scotland.
“We have not been able to uncover any connections between the stable lad and Scotland at all, but that doesn’t mean to say he didn’t have any,” added Mr Tuckey.
As for the five pence pieces, investigators believe the coins are similar to some of those used in the 18th century – and the long-departed stable lad is still attempting to pay off his debt.
Mr Tuckey said the Isle of Wight is now believed to be one of the most haunted places in the world, adding: “We get a great many visitors from the mainland and the Castle Inn is a very popular visit for those interested in the paranormal.”
Source: Southern Reporter
The photo of the hanged ghost is nice footage.
ReplyDeleteReading the word 'lichwake', I immediately thought what is a flemish word doing here.
Indeed the word 'lichtwake' is flemish for the watch with prayers and candles (=licht = light) kept over a corpse prior to its burial.
That`s very interesting Linda. I wonder if the spirit was originally Flemish in life?
ReplyDeleteYes Chris... me too I wonder if he was a flemish man.
ReplyDeleteAnd I got that feeling at the moment I saw the two words the medium got.
You know there has always been a lot of trafic between UK and Belgium and UK and France.
As well in earlier centuries as now.
I came several times when I was still healthy enough. Don't remember not all the places but was a few days in Londen, than we had taken the car on the boat. Most photos my ex has them, but maybe I'll find some dia's but need to clean and convert them.
I have friends, a couple and the have friends not that far from yours, but forgot where and will ask it again.
About that hanged man... maybe he has been murdered. The first words 'jethart justice' he spoke to the medium is giving me the information that he has been murdered. Because to me it seems the shortest way to say it was a crime. He wanted to compair his dead with an execution without trial.
And than 'lichtwake' (if we speak dialect we don't say the 't' in that word)gives me the feeling that he is bonded at that place waiting for the 'lichtwake'... maybe MAYBE, that word could be a sign for helping him to leave that place... MAYBE after having the 'lichtwake' he will find peace... BUT I AM NOT SURE... If I'm getting things than most I see I got it right after things did happen later and than I'm frustrated that I knew it without taking it serious and in some cases maybe I could have helped to avoid things.
Thus it could be possible the spirit was a flemish man in life.
And I remember Chrs in one of your videos at Youtube you are speaking about the ghost of a flemish girl or woman... don't know which video it was... need to look... want to know at what time she was there...
ReplyDeleteBack again here Chris.
ReplyDeleteWhen I closed here yesterday evening, I got the word "America".
And I felt a hesitating of someone, whether he (think the stable lad)should look for a future over the ocean to America or to England.
I stay with the opinion he was a flemish boy. And as in many poor families with sometimes more than 20 children, some went to look for luck and fortune over sea.
Maybe he hesitated or to go to America or to go to England.
This morning I clicked some pages on the web about jethart justice, allthough for me the meaning was immediately clear from the beginning : executed without trial. And I found something about Jethart in Scotland. But this here has nothing to do with Scotland along what I get and feel about it. And that's why they don't find a link with Scotland.
But I clicked another link and came in America, where the word 'jethart justice' was used for lynching mostly black slaves, sometimes by shooting but mostly by hanging. This is for me proving again that the boy had nothing to do with Jethart in Scotland, but it was once again another sign that in the stable lad's case, people took right in own hands and lynched the boy. And this is going together with the message the medium got from the stable lad.
That poor young man, I hope he soon finds peace. As for those who murdered him, I wonder where they are? Not in a good place, I'd guess.
ReplyDelete