Ghostly figure spotted at derelict South Lakeland house (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Ghostly figure spotted at derelict South Lakeland house

10:00am Thursday 26th January 2012 in News Exclusive By Helen Perkins, Reporter

Haunting: The photograph which 'terrified' demolition experts

A HAUNTING photo of a woman at a window has ‘terrified’ demolition experts who spotted the ghostly figure in a derelict guest house.

The team say the image, taken at Meadowbank House, Kendal, made their ‘hair stand on end’.

Their eerie photo, taken at the Victorian premises in Shap Road, appears to show a lady, with earrings, standing at the ground floor window.

Former resident David Grimshaw claims the ghostly woman is his late mother, Frances, who died almost a year ago.

The 59-year-old managing director, who now lives in Bedford, said: “That is my mother. I’m totally convinced — no one else looks like that.

“She had glasses and big earrings and she used to wear a dress with a bow at the front.

“She used to stand in that room for hours on the phone — it was the guest house reception and she took bookings from there.

“She would have been horrified if she had known the house was being demolished because it was beautiful, so maybe that is why she’s turned up.”

Hancock demolition supervisor Robert Johnson, 38, of Heysham, took the photograph of the house shortly before it was knocked down, earlier this week.

“It wasn’t until I got home and showed my wife that we spotted the woman,” he said. “You can see the jewellery on her and everything.

“I’ve always been a sceptic but I’ll have to believe in ghosts now.”

Work colleague Stuart Shan, 34, of Blackburn, added: “The day before we took the photo we were stripping the building inside and I noticed the chandelier swinging on its own.

“We said at the time the place felt strange.

“My hairs were standing on end when I saw the photo. I believe it is a ghost.”

Demolition worker Paul Jackson, of Carnforth, said the ghostly sighting made him feel slightly strange about their role in taking down old buildings.

“It makes you wonder what we could possibly unearth.”

Dave Armstrong, of Kendal contractors Cox and Allen, said the five gabled building, which was originally a dentist’s in the early 1900s, has been taken down to be replaced with a new commercial property.

He said he could not explain the image of the woman.

“There was only a black wall behind the window, we had taken everything out — there were no visible features.”