Deep in the bowels of Central Library is a scrapbook full of weird and wonderful tales. Known colloquially by staff as the ‘ghost scrapbook’ and more officially as ‘Ghost Stories and Weird Experiences, Life after Death etc.’, it forms Volume 37 of the Edwin Hick Collection. Hick was a devoted collector of stories of all sorts and created this scrapbook of ghostly tales from stories printed by local Yorkshire newspapers. Covering the 1920s – 1940s, this scrapbook has some wonderful tales to tell, from stately home ghosts, medieval monks and haunted sausages! Here are just a few of the tales:
A Claret Gowned Lady – A Leeds Ghost
A Spectral Monk – The Bolton Abbey Ghost Story
Ghosts of the West Riding – The Bramhope Knight & The Headless Robin
Owd Walter atop his Headless Steed
The Evil Lappet – Clothes and a Curse
The Harehills Cobbler – Ghostly Sight Through a Window
The Jet Black Mouse – When Evil Lives Ended
The White Lady of Richmond Hill / Cholera Ghosts
Hick’s ghost scrapbook is entitled ‘Ghost Stories and Weird Experiences, Life After Death etc.’ Full details can be found here.
Please book an appointment if you wish to view any of the Hick Collection by contacting localandfamilyhistory@leeds.gov.uk or 0113 378 6982. ID will be required.
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 