No matter where you are in Spalding or the surrounding area you are never far away from sites of historical interest and it is therefore no wonder that there is such a wealth of paranormal activity.
The grandest, most picturesque historical site, Ayscoughfee Hall Museum, was home to many generations of the Johnson family, including Maurice Johnson (II) founder of Spalding Gentlemen’s society. Local folklore told of a ghostly white lady walking the grounds and, following many years of access to paranormal investigators being denied, the building was finally investigated on Friday 17 September 2010 by a local paranormal team. During the investigation the activity, experiences and audio recordings taken suggested the presence of several resident spirits and it would therefore seem that there is much more to Ascoughfee Hall than the mere speculated presence of a white lady.
Just a stones throw from Ayscoughfee is Bridge Street, where renovation works inside shops and out on the street have uncovered bodies of Benedictine monks – some falling outside what would have been the consecrated ground surrounding the priory in the 13th century. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that ghostly monks have been seen walking in this area and also in the former priory buildings close by, the remains of which still exist today.
On nearby High Street is Cley Hall Hotel – a historic former family home dating back to the 18th Century where a builder had a chilling experience whilst working alone in the front lounge, when he saw the ghostly apparition of a man in period clothing appear in the room next to him.
In Spalding town centre and the surrounding area are many locations such as pubs, restaurants and shops with ghostly stories to tell. One hotel in Spalding market place has had a lot of activity reported, by staff and guests alike. The inexplicable goings on include a phantom maid that likes to look after her guests in the Honeymoon Suite by running them a bath –and many guests that have stayed in that room have also reported waking up with a tray on the end of their bed. Other hotels and pubs in surrounding areas such as Surfleet and Holbeach have reported the ghostly sounds and sightings of playful children – running, playing and even singing. In one hotel they also like to move objects, leave hand prints on the mirrors and mess up the freshly made beds. Many of the haunted locations in and around Spalding have now been investigated by a paranormal team and the investigations have proved quite enlightening in finding out the identities of the spirit entities responsible for all the chaos and capturing evidence.