Winter's Gibbet
Visited 8 September 2004
Winter’s Gibbet (also known as Elsdon Gibbet), a little known and out-of-the-way location in Northumberland, was to prove to be my first ghost hunt of the year 2004, accompanied by three first time ghost hunters, a couple of digital cameras and my trusty torch we headed off into the wilderness in search of the ghost of the murderer, William Winter.
Winter’s Gibbet is a monument to murder. In 1792 William Winter broke into old Margaret Crozier’s home at Raw Pele Tower, just north of the medieval village of Elsdon, with Jane and Eleanor Clark. They had noticed that she rarely had any visitors so they could break in kill her, rob her, and her body wouldn’t be found for a few days at the earliest giving them plenty of time to cover their tracks and make their escape. They carried out their plan perfectly, one rainy windswept night Winter knocked on Margaret’s door begging her for shelter from the elements, the kind old lady couldn’t turn this poor soul away on a night like this and invited Winter inside. Winter saw the opportunity and attacked her, punching and kicking the defenceless old lady, fracturing her left temple before slitting her throat. He signalled to the sisters who entered the home and the three of them stole any valuables they could find.
Rather than make their escape they stayed in Eldson and this was to prove their downfall, whilst sitting on a hillside eating fruit, a young sheppard spotted them and approached without being seen, he noticed the unusual knife Winter used to peel his apple and instantly recognised it as belonging to the recently murdered and still undiscovered Margaret Crozier, he also noted the strange nail like markings on the soles of the murderers shoes. The sheppard notified the police and Winter and the sisters were quickly caught thanks mainly to the tracks left by Winter’s shoes in the soft mud after the heavy rainfall.
On the 10th August 1792 the three of them were executed at the Westgate in Newcastle. The bodies of the two sisters were given to a local surgery to be dissected. The body of William Winter was put inside a gibbet cage and left to rot for all to see on Whiskershields Common, 3 miles south of Elsdon. His lifeless body was fed upon by birds, pecking out his eyeballs and feasting on his rotting flesh, insects and maggots would soon infect the corpse and wild animals would come to feed on any ‘meat’ that would fall from the cage. Eventually all that was left was his bones. The bones would traditionally be buried at the spot of the gibbet but it’s believed that Winter’s bones were scattered and his skull was sent to a Mr Darnell in Newcastle.
Winter’s Gibbet as it stands now isn’t on the original site of the Gibbet, this replica was erected in around 1867 and was complete with a wooden body, the body was removed as people were using it for target practise and now just a stone head hangs from it.
The ghost of William Winter is seen quite commonly at this site which is unusual since he lost his life in Newcastle and the Gibbet where he was hung up wasn’t at this spot, however he is said to be seen here, most commonly next to a cattle grid a short distance from the Gibbet.
And so the ghost hunt began…
Rather than make their escape they stayed in Eldson and this was to prove their downfall, whilst sitting on a hillside eating fruit, a young sheppard spotted them and approached without being seen, he noticed the unusual knife Winter used to peel his apple and instantly recognised it as belonging to the recently murdered and still undiscovered Margaret Crozier, he also noted the strange nail like markings on the soles of the murderers shoes. The sheppard notified the police and Winter and the sisters were quickly caught thanks mainly to the tracks left by Winter’s shoes in the soft mud after the heavy rainfall.
On the 10th August 1792 the three of them were executed at the Westgate in Newcastle. The bodies of the two sisters were given to a local surgery to be dissected. The body of William Winter was put inside a gibbet cage and left to rot for all to see on Whiskershields Common, 3 miles south of Elsdon. His lifeless body was fed upon by birds, pecking out his eyeballs and feasting on his rotting flesh, insects and maggots would soon infect the corpse and wild animals would come to feed on any ‘meat’ that would fall from the cage. Eventually all that was left was his bones. The bones would traditionally be buried at the spot of the gibbet but it’s believed that Winter’s bones were scattered and his skull was sent to a Mr Darnell in Newcastle.
Winter’s Gibbet as it stands now isn’t on the original site of the Gibbet, this replica was erected in around 1867 and was complete with a wooden body, the body was removed as people were using it for target practise and now just a stone head hangs from it.
The ghost of William Winter is seen quite commonly at this site which is unusual since he lost his life in Newcastle and the Gibbet where he was hung up wasn’t at this spot, however he is said to be seen here, most commonly next to a cattle grid a short distance from the Gibbet.
And so the ghost hunt began…
Harry Dalton, Ryan Elwell, my younger brother Tommy Kirkup and I set off for our destination at 8:30pm, the three new ghost hunters were all in fine spirits, laughing and joking, obviously excited about what lay ahead and perhaps not taking it quite as seriously as I’d hoped. Ryan told us a tale of how, earlier this very day, he was sitting in his room and his door was completely shut, but all of a sudden swung open and an icy chill filled his room on this very warm day, maybe his house is haunted, the previous occupant was an elderly lady who died there. Pretty soon we were on the A696 heading through the country roads and, as we left civilisation behind us, slowly but surely it got darker, then fog descended and it was a struggle to even see the road in front of us. A large owl flew right in front of the car which set the mood for what was in store for us when we reached this dark place of murder and death. On the way there the fog would suddenly stop and then we’d drive a little way and the fog would be very thick then stop again (I thought nothing of this at the time but have since read Alan Robson write exactly the same thing in his story of Winter’s Gibbet in his book Grisly Trails and Ghostly Tales). Harry pointed out how clear the sky was and how it was a blanket of stars. The newcomers weren’t laughing and joking anymore, they realised that we were heading into the middle of nowhere in absolute darkness, earlier Tom had agreed to wander off to the cattle grid where the ghost is seen alone, he was quick to announce that this was no longer part of the plan.
When we reached the layby opposite the field where Winter’s Gibbet stands and when I turned off the headlights of the ‘Mystery Machine’ it was pitch black with thick fog, the clear sky was now shrouded in dark clouds so there was no light whatsoever. I was the only person who’d brought a torch so we had no choice but to stick together. We headed into the field unsure of where exactly the Gibbet stood, pretty soon we found it. It was huge, 15-20 foot tall with an eerie looking head hanging right above us. There was total silence except the occasional sound of a sheep in the distance, it wasn’t cold, it was a warm evening, and I was feeling fine.
When we reached the layby opposite the field where Winter’s Gibbet stands and when I turned off the headlights of the ‘Mystery Machine’ it was pitch black with thick fog, the clear sky was now shrouded in dark clouds so there was no light whatsoever. I was the only person who’d brought a torch so we had no choice but to stick together. We headed into the field unsure of where exactly the Gibbet stood, pretty soon we found it. It was huge, 15-20 foot tall with an eerie looking head hanging right above us. There was total silence except the occasional sound of a sheep in the distance, it wasn’t cold, it was a warm evening, and I was feeling fine.
My companions all seemed to be doing OK but were perhaps a bit apprehensive when I suggested walking further into the darkness through another field towards where I guessed the cattle grid lay, we headed into the next field and carefully followed the fence towards the road and the cattle grid area. With only one torch we were stumbling and falling all over the place, someone pointed out that we were walking through a farmer’s field in the dead of night, we could easily be shot at by the farmer or there could be bulls in the field who might fancy impaling us on their horns. We saw a car go past in the distance and realised just how far away the road was. We decided to turn back, go to the car and drive to the road, it was at this point that I heard something. I told everyone to shut up, Harry then confirmed what I thought I’d heard “I heard a whistle” he whispered. That was what I’d heard. Why would anyone else be out here, alone, with no torch? Could it be an animal? Which animals whistle? We turned around and headed off. Everyone was in more of a hurry to make the return journey, running off ahead because no one wanted to be at the back, in the end it was decided that I would be at the back. Although we all know from horror films that it’s always the one at the back who dies first!
We got back to the car and started driving in the general direction of the road we needed to be on, it was so dark that it was total guess work but pretty soon we had reached the cattle grid where the ghost of William Winter is so often seen. I got out of the car and took some photos, on one of them there are hundreds of tiny orbs, not sure what it could be, it wasn’t raining and on the photos taken immediately before and after there is no sign of the orbs. In the distance there was a strange light, it looked like car headlights changing direction rapidly, but it was changing far too fast to be a car or a motorbike.
We got back to the car and started driving in the general direction of the road we needed to be on, it was so dark that it was total guess work but pretty soon we had reached the cattle grid where the ghost of William Winter is so often seen. I got out of the car and took some photos, on one of them there are hundreds of tiny orbs, not sure what it could be, it wasn’t raining and on the photos taken immediately before and after there is no sign of the orbs. In the distance there was a strange light, it looked like car headlights changing direction rapidly, but it was changing far too fast to be a car or a motorbike.
We were standing around quietly, and it was the kind of place you expect something to happen. It did. There is a farmhouse not far away and the loudest, bloodcurdling scream you could ever wish to hear came from the farmhouse, we all jumped, this was followed by a howl, it sounded like a wolf but probably a dog. The scream sounded human but to be honest I’m not sure, I doubt an animal could make that noise but it was unbelievably loud. We quickly jumped in my car and sped off.
We returned to the cattle grid and the sky was clear now, we watched the stars for a bit, we spotted two slow moving stars in the sky, shooting stars perhaps, maybe UFOs, probably wishful thinking. Ryan suddenly said he’d seen something at the cattle grid, Harry said he saw something too, they both said they’d seen a dark shadow walk across the road at the other side of the cattle grid, there was nothing there now. Was it imagination? This was the first time both of these lads had been in this kind of situation, but they both saw it, surely confirmation enough that they had in fact seen something unusual, perhaps even the spirit of William Winter. A few minutes later Ryan walked with Tom to where he’d seen the shadow and re-enacted what he had seen, he also said out loud “Show your face you f**king loser” not a great idea, antagonising things we don’t really understand. It isn’t how I would recommend going about these things but then again Derek Acorah of Most Haunted does it so why not! We stayed a little longer without anything happening so decided to call it a night. As we set off back home a large bat flew in front of the car, good end to the evening I thought but this didn’t turn out to be the end of our evening. As I drove home everyone was excitedly chatting about what we had experienced tonight. I then told Ryan some stories of how spirits can follow people from a haunted location to their home. He looked a little worried and instantly regretted challenging Winter into showing himself. We passed a sign for Bolam Lake Country Park, and I suddenly had a thought “Who’s up for a bigfoot hunt?” I asked, there was a chorus of “yes” so to Bolam Lake we headed…
We returned to the cattle grid and the sky was clear now, we watched the stars for a bit, we spotted two slow moving stars in the sky, shooting stars perhaps, maybe UFOs, probably wishful thinking. Ryan suddenly said he’d seen something at the cattle grid, Harry said he saw something too, they both said they’d seen a dark shadow walk across the road at the other side of the cattle grid, there was nothing there now. Was it imagination? This was the first time both of these lads had been in this kind of situation, but they both saw it, surely confirmation enough that they had in fact seen something unusual, perhaps even the spirit of William Winter. A few minutes later Ryan walked with Tom to where he’d seen the shadow and re-enacted what he had seen, he also said out loud “Show your face you f**king loser” not a great idea, antagonising things we don’t really understand. It isn’t how I would recommend going about these things but then again Derek Acorah of Most Haunted does it so why not! We stayed a little longer without anything happening so decided to call it a night. As we set off back home a large bat flew in front of the car, good end to the evening I thought but this didn’t turn out to be the end of our evening. As I drove home everyone was excitedly chatting about what we had experienced tonight. I then told Ryan some stories of how spirits can follow people from a haunted location to their home. He looked a little worried and instantly regretted challenging Winter into showing himself. We passed a sign for Bolam Lake Country Park, and I suddenly had a thought “Who’s up for a bigfoot hunt?” I asked, there was a chorus of “yes” so to Bolam Lake we headed…
Conclusion
I heard some strange things, saw a few strange lights, caught something bizarre on camera, and virtually cacked my pants when I heard the scream from the farmhouse but ultimately, no, I didn’t see a ghost. Ryan and Harry can both claim to have seen their first ghost however, they both saw a man shaped black shadow walk across the road where William Winter’s ghost is said to regularly be seen. If one had seen it then it might be could be dismissed as imagination, especially given the circumstances. Both of them saw the same thing however so imagination isn’t a valid explanation. Overall this trip was a resounding success. Maybe next time I’ll see something for myself.
**UPDATE JUNE 2006**
With regard to the scream we heard coming from the farmhouse, it may not have came from the farmhouse at all. I have received an email from a UK based researcher in cryptozoology (study of big cats and other unusual monsters) and he informed me that nearby Harwood Forest is said to be occupied by a Sasquatch and what we'd heard was it's cry, sounding like a dogs bark and turning into a fading scream. The researcher in question was one of the first people to see The Beast of Bolam Lake. The scream seemed to come from the farmhouse BUT I'm not sure where Harwood Forest is, so perhaps it came from behind the farmhouse or alongside it. I'll let you make your own mind up as to what you think it could have been and perhaps one day we'll return to Winter's Gibbet and maybe even pay Harwood Forest a visit.
**UPDATE JUNE 2006**
With regard to the scream we heard coming from the farmhouse, it may not have came from the farmhouse at all. I have received an email from a UK based researcher in cryptozoology (study of big cats and other unusual monsters) and he informed me that nearby Harwood Forest is said to be occupied by a Sasquatch and what we'd heard was it's cry, sounding like a dogs bark and turning into a fading scream. The researcher in question was one of the first people to see The Beast of Bolam Lake. The scream seemed to come from the farmhouse BUT I'm not sure where Harwood Forest is, so perhaps it came from behind the farmhouse or alongside it. I'll let you make your own mind up as to what you think it could have been and perhaps one day we'll return to Winter's Gibbet and maybe even pay Harwood Forest a visit.