Liverpool Mercury March, 1913
The ghost of Upholland
One winter early in the nineteenth century coal was unusually dear, and poor folks had to struggle to keep their children from freezing to death.
This tragic winter brought new terror to the village. It was whispered that a ghostly funeral procession could be seen almost every night passing through the churchyard.
At Upholland there is a public path that bisects the churchyard and it was along this path that the funeral passed.
Many people coming home late at night saw it and their descriptions tallied – a white coffin with bearers and mourners, all clothed in white.
At last some bold spirits agreed to watch, and on the very first night were rewarded by seeing the ghostly procession slowly walking through the churchyard.
Instead of running away at the proof of the genuiness of the apparition, the watchers approached the body – thereupon the ghostly processionists dropped the coffin and took to their heels.
The coffin was found to be full of coal and further inquiries discovered that wholesale stealing of coal had carried on for some time by a gang of men.
Coal not being an easy thing to steal on a large scale, they had hit on this method of safe transportation.
Copyright 2002 / To date