Ghost Stories

Is Dovery Manor Museum haunted? Audiences on Friday and Saturday evening were offered a brief glimpse of other times, other voices, other rooms and, perhaps, other spirits encountered by Porlock people over the years, both in the museum and in the local area. After drinks and canapés in the Great Hall the audience gathered in the museum’s atmospheric solar where they were asked to read aloud ‘ghostly snippets' to open the evening's entertainment. After this they settled back to enjoy an entrancing rendition of The Highwayman by an appropriately attired Gordon Kidd. John Hill then introduced a selection of spine-chilling, uncanny and poignant stories of local ghostly experiences sensitively and sympathetically read by the acclaimed Museum Players: Nigel Greenwood, Christine Greenwood, Jane Hill, Chris de Vere Hunt, Penny Kelham, Tony Richards and Mark Palmer. From the spirits of King Alfred’s armies and the Danes encountered at Danesford; Norsemen in Porlock Bay and hooded figures near Culbone to the tale of a troublesome gravestone, a shepherd at West Luccombe watching his flock from beyond the grave and the Phantom Buglers in the Vale, the tales captivated the listeners.

Chris de Vere Hunt delighted with her haunting ballad, ‘Porlock Lady Forsake Not Your Cavalier’ and ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’.

The evening’s entertainment was brought to a close as everyone was sent out in good spirits joining in enthusiastically with ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky.’ The audience and cast exchanged eerie reminiscences over coffee and chocolates.

The stories were collected, compiled and written by Lita Strampp, props were provided by The Blue Violin Company and the magnificent spider’s web was created by Marjorie Steeds.