Ghostly-goings on in north Northamptonshire

A hooded monk, said to walk the railway bridge on the A6003 between Kettering and Corby, was spotted by a policeman in 1984. There was a paranormal investigation carried out by NT investigators in 2009 that uncovered ghostly happenings.

Aristocrat Grace was an early feminist. She inherited half her family's fortune, practised medicine and wrote one of the earliest female autobiographies. She was buried in the church in estate grounds in 1620. She was also charitable, and is said to walk to halls of Apethorpe scattering silver pennies behind her.

One of the county's most talked-about spooks, the Grey Lady is said to have taken her life by jumping from one of the hall's balconies. This image was captured in 2014 by our reader Tom Bingham.

Lady Isabel died at Barton Seagrave castle in 1331 after being chained up in the dungeons by a spurned lover. She eventually drowned in the Ise and her ghost is said to float above the river so her feet remain dry.

The pub in Tower Hill Road is probably the oldest building in town. There is a trapdoor said to lead a passage that runs underground to Rockingham Castle, although it is likely collapsed. In the 1100s the site belonged to Cistercian monks which may explain why a monk-like figure has been seen gliding across the floor and fading into the panelling. There are also reports of footsteps on the stairs and a young girl laughing.

The inn has reportedly been haunted for many years by a ghost who has the appearance of a Quaker and wears a black old-fashioned jacket and white knee-length socks. He moves quietly along the alley at the back of the pub and some time ago two customers came face to face with the spirit as they headed for the toilets. The ghost is also said to move objects and slam doors.

In the 1960s there were reports of a lady who would be seen to walk the corridors, passing through doors that would open and close behind her. A young waiter would sometimes sleep in room 11, rather than go home, until one night he woke to find an old lady sitting on the end of his bed. He never stayed over again. When the hotel was renovated in the 1980s the manifestations stopped until the old bakery was converted and became part of the inn in 1993. Noises were often heard in empty rooms, particularly at the top of the building, which was once the living area of the old lady who owned the bakery.

NT reporters visited the store in 2004, when staff told ghostly tales about regular hauntings at the store by the ghost of Stan Hull, who committed suicide 60 years ago after returning to his Pioneer Avenue home after the war. He died at Rushton, further up the railway line that runs adjacent to the store. Staff said they found open cans of bitter on the floor on Sunday mornings and someone saying good morning when there is no-one in sight.

In the early 1900s the then-headmistress of the Girls' School Mary Ozier had a wooden doll made to represent a schoolgirl of the time the school was built (1717). It was about 90 centimetres tall, painted and possessed a frighteningly realistic piercing stare. Nicknamed 'The Dutch Doll' and placed above the door on the inside of the school, the girls became petrified of it. They started circulating accounts of seeing and hearing it walking around at night. After the school's closure it was mounted on a wall in the church, though by this time someone had taken a saw to its feet in an attempt to stop it walking around. On the night of the 18th of January 1981 it was stolen from the church and has never been heard of or seen since - some people believe it walked out on its own accord.

This mysterious loud drumming sound has been heard emanating from the covered well in Drumming Well Lane on days that will go down in history. Its sound has apparently been a prelude to the Great Fire of London, the death of Charles II, and the death of Cromwell.