| Date | 3 July 2016 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0064 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Town ghost stories
I was delighted to receive a copy of former Windsor policeman Brian Langston’s new book True Ghosts and Ghouls of Windsor & Eton, which comes at a time of a sighting of a Tudor ghost in a central Windsor hotel.
This is the first book to be dedicated to Windsor’s ghosts since the mid-1970s. ~ 1870s
The idea for the book came about 20 years ago when Brian was on the beat in Windsor and Eton and came across many spooky tales which he squirrelled away – only for his career to get in the way.
Brian wrote the book together with his wife Jen who sadly died last week after a short illness.
He was a former assistant chief constable in the Thames Valley Police and now lives in the South of France.
Brian has used his former police training to hunt down stories of ghosts which haunt the towns of Windsor and Eton.
[Image caption: The New Inn, Park Street, the scene of a haunting in 1929]
The book is roughly divided into two sections, the first devoted to hauntings and sightings in Windsor Castle and the second around the streets and buildings of Windsor and Eton, consisting of over 200 sightings and unexplained occurrences between the two parts.
Some hauntings have been known about for some time while others are newly-researched ones.
One would expect there to be ghosts of Royal personages within the castle and we are not let down here; these include Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, Charles I, George III and Queen Victoria to name a few.
However, there are other not-so-well-known hauntings who make an appearance in the book, such as a sentry in 1936 who almost fainted when watched a headless lady dressed in black through the Horseshoe Cloister and disappear in front of him.
The town as historic as Windsor, is naturally to be subject to many stories of ghosts in all parts of the historic town.
The book is excellently researched and is a must for local historians and lovers of spooky stories.
It is published by Halsgrove of Wellington and is priced at £9.99 and is available at Waterstones.
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