The Hanging Pit: The Haunting of Bodmin Jail (Investigating the Haunted)

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It has been reported that the ghost of Matthew wanders around the jail, pleading his innocence to those who encounter him. He has been seen on several occasions, making his presence felt in dark corners of the jail.

Perhaps most chillingly of all though, the fifth floor claims to be the favoured location of a malevolent non-human entity. Proof of the Afterlife at Bodmin Jail? Wandering around the grimy cells of Bodmin Jail, the apparition often reveals itself to visitors, who have reported feeling unsafe in her presence.

5. Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Over the years, the jail experienced overcrowding, leading to several extensions and a completely new building replacing the original in 1861 (Spooky Isles). The pitiful ghost of Matthew Weekes is said to wander aimlessly throughout the darkened hallways of Bodmin's jail, having been hanged on the drop gallows erected outside the walls of the great prison for murder. has on many occasions been asked by children visiting the jail with their parents who the lady in the long dress is that they saw crying in the jail cell. He also recalls Charlotte Dymond near Bodmin moor's Rough Tor near Camelford. That story too is well told a thousand times over.

Another top ranking ghost on the spectre list appearing regularly at Bodmin jail in Cornwall is said to be that of the fine spiritual ghost of a Warden named George. The paranormal experience took place in the Naval Wing of the jail. It is an area that has often been at the centre of paranormal experiences and is where many inmates were confined. More than 35,000 prisoners were held at the jail, including 341 children. Fifty-five people, eight of them women, were hanged within the walls, some for heinous crimes such as murder (one woman, Sarah Polgrean, poisoned her husband, Henry, with arsenic hidden in a pat of butter), others for what through modern eyes seemed much more minor, such as sheep rustling or setting fire to a neighbour’s crop. The last execution took place in 1909. Claiming to be in a relationship with a former soldier called James Westwood, Wadge and her two children hitched a lift with a local farmer to Launceston, allegedly to get to the rendezvous point. However, she was to return to the workhouse with only one child, her elder child, John.Or that of Selina Wadge, who was hanged at the age of 28 in 1878 for the murder of her son, whom she was said to have dropped into a well on Bodmin moor. Her final words were: “Lord deliver me from this miserable world.” It’s said that Weeks was the spurned lover - Dymond had attracted another suitor, Thomas Prout, 26, the nephew of Penhale Farm’s owner, where she worked. Perhaps this is why the terrified and frustrated ghost of Matthew Weekes now roams the grey granite corridors, still lost in time and is still searching desperately for an answer. The paranormal tours include a ghost-hunting experience, where guests can use tools such as ouija boards to attempt to communicate with spirits. [6] Ghosts [ edit ] Deep underground in the cells of Bodmin jail though, one feels an almost oppressive tingle of the prison's sordid history and it's easy to sense and almost touch the reality and terror of its distant and long forgotten inmates.

Around the jail many visitors and staff often report the feeling of being watched, orbs have been seen down the corridors, footsteps have been heard, voices, rattling keys, and people feeling as though they’re being touched. The ghostly face in the window that looks remarkably like Boycie (John Challis) in the BBC series 'Only Fools and Horses.' Isn't a ghost!It's not the first time a ghost has reportedly been seen at Cornwall's old jail - which is believed to be the county's most haunted location. The honorable Home Secretary, in his infinite wisdom; "Did not see fit to interfere with British justice,"and the reprieve simply did not come. Jamaica Inn was one of those safe havens for the likes of smugglers to stop off and rest their heads before they continued their exploits. Why is Jamaica Inn so famous?