The Legend Of the Lost Viking Ship of Jarrow

About

I am always of the belief that there is no smoke without fire. So when I came across this bizarre legend, I just had to investigate.

During the 8th Century, Britain was invaded by Vikings, coming from Scandinavian settlements around Sweden, Norway and Denmark. They would use longboats to make the journey across the North Sea where they would land on beaches and invade the local area. These longboats were also specially designed to be able to sail in water less than a meter deep, meaning sails could he lowered, and the men could row up rivers - this was much better for getting to places inland.

These Vikings were feared, especially up the North East coast of England. The most famous invasion occurred on the small tidal island of Lindisfarne, known as Holy Island where a monk monastery was situated. The invasion was so brutal, that monks were used as target practice, and one legend states that some were skinned alive, with their skin folded up and nailed to the monastery door as a warning. The skinned individuals was kept alive and tortured. Local women were raped and abused, and religious figures were slaughtered. Lindisfarne has its own ghostly legends, and we will be bringing you that in a video later in the year.

The Vikings weren’t always brutal. In later years, invasions and pillaging stopped and trade agreements with communities were established, meaning a much less hostile relationship. 

But Tyneside has its own legends. It is well known that Viking longboats used the River Tyne as a route inland. There are stories from towns a villages up the Tyne valley of Vikings living there, marrying local women and starting Viking bloodlines. It’s possible that many people aroun here do have some link in their distant family line to Vikings.

There is a legend in Jarrow that a Viking longboat is buried somewhere underneath the town. Jarrow wasn’t a random place for the Vikings to target - there was a monastery here, and it was also the home of St Bede. The site of this Monastry is now built into the church of Paul. The reason for this Viking boat to be buried under here is unknown, but stories do exist in the area that a group of locals ambushed the invaders. By inviting the men into their small village and offering them food and alcohol, these Norsemen were soon drunk and asleep, allowing a massacre to take place.

A similar story exists on the town of Whickham, further up the River Tyne. Whether this ever happened, is a mystery for now.

But locals of the town of Boldon have reported seeing the ghost of a Viking. In the video, I have documented some of these sightings and visited the spot where they were said to have taken place...and that spot is by a narrow stream, which is part of the River Don, a tributary that flows into the River Tyne at...Jarrow.

This River was once a lot deeper ad much wider. Is it possible that a boat once sailed up here? Is it possible that that boat is still here, and this was the site of a bloody massacre? And what did a group of workmen really find when they dug a sewer for a nearby housing estate in the last century? 

Visit Jarrow

Jarrow is located up river from South Shields, which is where the River Tyne enters the North Sea.

The area of St Paul’s is located at:

Church Bank,

Jarrow,

NE32 3DY

The River Don flows past the church, and it is very likely that the longboat did go up the river, to this point at least. 

To see the site where the Viking ghost has been seen, and where rumours of the boat being buried, it is very close to Brockley Whins Metro station. If you come out of the Metro station but go to the side opposite the housing estate, you will see a big open area of grass and a small stream. This is the location I have been told the sightings occur.

The Real Story of Winter's Gibbet

Anybody who knows of the legends of Northumberland will have heard of Winter's Gibbet. It is a dark reminder that there was once a time when the worst crimes would be punishable not only with death, but humiliation too. Gibbeting not only executed the criminal in question, but would display the body via a raised structure, until all of the meat and flesh was rotted away, and the bones would then be taken down and buried somewhere.

The North East of England was the last area to still use a gibbet, when William Jobling was executed by hanging and gibbeted in the town of Jarrow in 1832. He was found guilty of murdering a local magistrate. His body was paraded before being put in the gibbet.

But near the small village of Elsdon, a gibbet remains to this day on a hill known as Steng Cross. Now the story of the murder is often confused and details have changed. I felt the need to make this video and post this blog because I have seen people who claim to be paranormal investigators making videos about a "William Gibbet" and believe that the murder took place in the village of Elsdon itself by a Pele tower. This is far from the truth.

Hit play, enjoy the video, and please like & subscribe to the channel!

About The Gibbet

The current gibbet is actually a replica. The original wooden structure became too rotten and eventually had to be removed. There was also a replica head which used to dangle down, and popular myth is that this keeps getting stolen, but my research leads me to believe that it is kept in safe hands by its owner who paid for it many years ago.

William Winter came from a family of trouble makers. Most of his family spent time in and out of prison, and William had recently spent years locked up on a prison ship for petty crimes, but upon his release, he made his way back to Northumberland. For reasons unknown, William decided to kill.

Together with 2 sisters helping him, Eleanor and Jane Clark, they had their target. An elderly woman living 3 miles north of the village. It would be the perfect crime - a remote area, no witnesses, and a woman so fragile. On a rainy night in August 1791, they struck. They knocked on Margaret Crozier's door, and when she opened, they battered her to death, and ransacked her home.It was the perfect crime.

A few days later, William was spotted napping close to the scene with a boot bearing a nail matching that of a bloody footprint at the scene of the murder. He also had items belonging to the deceased in his possession.

The ghost of William Winter is said to stand close to the road, by an old cattle grid. This is not visible anymore, but a dark patch of tarmac shows where the cattle grid once was. Many motorist has driven past in the dark and seen a man standing in this spot. Some even claim to still be able to see a body hanging from the gibbet itself.

In 1832, a woman from Newcastle was showing off to her friends and decided to swing on the gibbet. The rope gave way and she came crashing to the ground, suffering some deep cuts to her neck and hands. Her injuries matched that of Margaret Crozier.

In 1987, a man called John Harbottle and friends decided to investigate the site. One of his friends screamed when she saw the head begin to swing from the gibbet on its own accord. 

Finding the gibbet can be tricky. The first time I went, I spent ages driving around. Above is the location of the gibbet in relation to the village of Elsdon. It is about 2.5 miles south east, and the gibbet is not sign posted anywhere.

 Above is a closeup of the gibbet. You can see there is a lay-by opposite to park in. The red circle shows the location where William's ghost has been seen. You will notice the road is a different shade - this marks the spot of the old cattle grid. I believe the exact spot of the sighting is at the grass verge on this cattle grid and on the side of the road of the gibbet. I stand on this exact spot in the video above.

From Elsdon: Leave via the south west end The old circular stone enclosure which was used for livestock will be on your left as you leave. Its about  a 5 minute drive, and you cant miss the gibbet.

The postcode for the gibbet is NE19 1TB. It is very windy up there, so wrap up warm!

The Murder Scene

Please don't arrive at the pele tower in Elsdon itself, the poor vicar who lives there must get sick of people going and knocking on his door because someone uninformed posted it online.

The Murder took place at the Bastlehouse on Raw Farm. It's nearly 3 miles north of Elsdon. Drive north out of the village and keep going a fork off to the left and a space to park. You can drive all of the way up to the farm but I wouldn't recommend it. Its only wide enough for a single vehicle from this point, and the road is often used for military vehicles accessing the ranges, so any car coming in the opposite direction would have to reverse a long way! Plus, its a nice walk to, and you will see the spot where William was caught. The walk takes about 30 mins from the main road to the farm.

When you arrive at the farm, you will see that the road runs right through it, so it does have public right of way. Below is a marker showing which building the murder took place in. It is now used as a storage building on the farm.

If you do visit, please ask permission from the farm before trying to enter. The road is public access, but the buildings belong to the farm and is private land. I have heard of people asking to see inside and being given permission. People on the farm have also reported this building to be haunted too.

Finally, if you do wish to visit the execution site, it was on Westgate Road in Newcastle by the old West Gate. It is opposite the Tyne Theatre and is approximately on the location of where a newsagents now stands.

Hvítárnes Hut in Iceland (Investigation)

In August 2019, we were given access to visit and record inside the Hvítárnes hut.

About

Hvítárnes is the oldest mountain hut in Iceland. It was built in 1930 and is still operated by the Icelandic touring association. In terms of its interior, it is very basic. There is a downstairs room that sleeps 4 in bunk beds, and a kitchen space with a gas stove and running water from a water tank. Upstairs there are sleeping mats for up to 25 people. There is no electricity in this lonely hut, no WiFi, no telephones, and you certainly can't get a mobile phone signal out here. This is the most remote you will ever be. It is located very close to the Hvítárvatn lake, which serves the River Hvítá (translates as White River) which flows into the famous Gullfoss waterfalls, which all tourists will see if they ever do a Golden Circle trip in Iceland.

The views are stunning - to the north, you can see the spectacular Langjökull glacier. If you're lucky, you will see icebergs floating in the lake. About 20 miles to the west is Hofsjökull, another Glacier which is very much visible from the hut. Its hard to put into perspective just how remote this place is. Its possible that you can sleep here and be 15km from the next nearest hut. This hut is really for hikers, climbers and local shepherds...and that's how the legends started.

The ghost stories of this hut are terrifying, especially for men. The stories go back pretty much to the opening of the hut when Englishman staying here claims to have seen a woman walking out of the hut, and vanish into thin air in its first season of operation.

A lawyer from the small town of Keflavík was so afraid, he slept outside in a tent. When he woke, he saw a woman in the tent with him, and claims to be able to see the fabric of the tent through her body. Until then, he knew nothing of the legend.

The hut has several guest books going back over 70 years. It is full of accounts of bizarre goings on. A regular occurrence is for men to be awoken in their sleep to that of a woman trying to physically pull them from their bunk bed. This occurs mainly in the bunk downstairs by the door. One man claims he was dragged out while his son watched him...3 times in one night.

In the 70's, a group from Austria and Switzerland were on a hiking trip, and slept in the hut for the night. It is claimed that a woman was seen in the middle of the night talking in a strange language, and even went as far as pushing one of the guests out of the upstairs window and onto the roof.

Stories of the haunting also very common within large groups of people staying in the hut at the same time. In the early 2000s there is a report of a group of visitors that were woken during the night to the sounds of metal scraping on metal as if someone was trying to climb up to the top floor.

There have also been sightings of the face of a woman seen inside of the hut while people are standing outside. When people go inside to investigate, the hut is empty.

Another common phenomenon are people having strange dreams while staying in the hut. There are several cases in guest books where people have described the exact same dream. It starts inside the hut, and the person realises that they can see a woman standing out of the back of the hut. Every time she beckons them to follow her. When the person who is dreaming does follow her outside, she leads them past a fence surrounding the hut. This seems bizarre because there is no fence around the hut, but back in the early days, there was one. Once you get next to the woman she points back towards the hut and you can see the face of a man staring from the window. The woman seems distressed to see him and at this point to dream always ends. Since the first guest book in the 1930s there have been over 25 cases of people reporting to have had this exact dream. Descriptions of the woman are almost identical, and also match those who have seen her at the hut in a ghostly form.

So who could be haunting this hut? Many people theorise that it may have something to do with the ruins visible outside of the hut. It is believed that they are part of an old settlement that once existed on this site. According to legend and there was a murder here, although there have been several different variations in the story. One Legend claims that's when this place used to be a village, a man murdered his wife for reasons unknown. It is claimed that he cut her body up into several pieces and either buried her in a shallow grave or dumped her body in the lake. Many people believe that it is her restless spirit that haunts the site. Could this ghost be trying to tell people where her body is hidden?

The settlement on this site was abandoned after the Hekla volcanic eruption some 70km away. Many other small settlements in Iceland were also abandoned because of the ash that travelled such a great distance in the year 1104. The Hekla volcano last erupted in 2000.

Another legend tells of a woman who got stranded during one of Iceland's bad winters in the 1930s. It is said that she became lost and disoriented, and froze to death outside. This version of the story is least likely as there have been no records of a woman dying in these circumstances.

During my research, I spoke to Halldór Óli Gunnarsson who wrote his entire university thesis on this hut. During a stay, he captured this photograph.It clearly shows a strange mist n shot over the spot of the old ruins.He claims he took several other photos, and this is the only one with anything like this on. This is also the exact spot that people have claimed to see the woman in their dreams.

It was taken facing the hut from beyond the ruins of the old settlement. In the photo you can clearly see a strange mist over the old ruins. He claims that he took several photos, and this was the only one with this phenomenon in the photo. I can't thank Halldór enough for giving me access to the research, interview transcripts and photos he has taken of this place and it's guests.

Visit Hvítárnes

The first thing I must stress is how difficult it is to reach this location. The only way that you can reach it it is with a 4x4. It is around a 3 hour drive from Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. The main route actually takes you past the Gullfoss waterfall, and then a mile or 2 later, the tarmac road ends and you drive on a single gravel road. It really does feel like you are on the surface of Mars, ad the orange dust, and large boulders on either side are similar to that of The Martian. Over 20 miles of the journey is on terrain that only a 4x4 vehicle can handle. If using a rental car, using a non-4x4 vehicle could void your agreement.

It is also worth noting that all hire car companies in Iceland have 4x4s, as the terrain can be unpredictable. Most rental companies require bookings made with a credit card, and do not accept debit cards. There is one company that will accept debit cards, but they do require you to buy the premium insurance package. Lotus car rentals do this, and they are based at the main Keflavik Airport.

Finding the hut can be tricky, but keep an eye open for sign posts. In fact, the drive from Reykjavik was very enjoyable. I chose to take the southern route, which takes you past the Blue Lagoon and over the former sea bed where today you can still see the old cliffs inland where the waves would crash against, up until the last ice age. The other route takes you through a lava field and through the town of Selfoss. This town was where the epicenter of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck in 2008, injuring 30 people. If you stop at the supermarket, you will see an earthquake simulator, which is terrifying.

Below shows where the Hvítárnes Hut is located. You will also appreciate from this just how remote this part of Iceland is, as there are no villages or towns nearby.

To book a stay in the haunted hut, visit The Icelandic Touring Association's Ferðafélag Íslands.The cost of staying for the night is 6000KR (£37.50 as of 2019, or €43) per person, and it can accommodate up to 30. It Is essential that you bring your own food, as there are no shops for miles. There is an outdoor toilet located about a 30 second walk from the hut.

There is no postcode or address for the hut, but it's GPS coordinates are 64°37.007 – W 19°45.394.

Summer if the best time to visit, as the roads are clear, and also there is no heating in the hut. Don't forget your camera...the views are out of this world.

Top Tip: When leaving, leave early in the morning and stop at Gullfoss waterfalls. The coachloads of crowds won't arrive until late in the morning, so get there early and appreciate the stunning photo ops.

Contact Icelandic Touring Association:
Telephone: +354 655 0173
Email: fi@fi.is

Meanwhile, while visiting Iceland, visit Reykjavik, its a cool town, and I have also compiled some of the city's best ghost stories in another video.

The Victoria Tunnel (Investigation)

About

The Tunnel is a sub terrain former wagon way, built in 1839 and opened in 1842 to transport coal from Leazers Main Colliery in Spital Tongues 2.4 miles to the River Tyne in Newcastle, where waiting boats could transport it out to sea.

After the colliery ran into financial difficulties, it was forced to close in 1860 ending the tunnel’s main purpose of transporting coal, having only been in use for 18 years. The pit was closed down and the tunnel was sealed up and forgotten about. The entrance was built over by housing, and the exit made way for The Glass House Bridge foundations.

Following the outbreak of war on 1939, underground public air raid shelters were needed. The tunnel has to be rediscovered, modernised and new entrances constructed along its 2.4 mile route. At its peak, it could hold up to 10,000 people below ground

Following the war, most of the entrances were sealed up and forgotten about. Years later, it was voted #1 as Britain’s Worst Air Rade Shelter due to its dark and damp conditions. Legend has it that one man who suffered shell shock during WW1, refused to leave the Victoria Tunnel, and spent 6 years underground without ever leaving. The tunnel was the safest place to be.

The main ghost said to haunt the tunnel is that of William Coulson, who was killed in 1852 when he was struck by an out of control wagon. He had been showing 2 businessmen the Tunnel with the intention of selling it. A note asking for no wagons to be sent down failed to reach the pit head in time and a wagon was sent into the tunnel. A dark figure is the most common sighting in the tunnel, most recently made by a tour guide in April 2018 while on a tour with a group of 12 other people. Many people believe this to be William’s ghost.

There were also deaths at the entrance of the tunnel by the pit head. 2 accidents involving a stationary steam engine exploding claimed 3 lives. 

During the war, a young boy was killed while standing at the air raid entrance in Shieldfield. It was the night of September 1st 1941, and German bombers flew low enough to be undetected by radar. That night, most people heard the bombs before the they heard the sirens, many dying in their homes. Over a thousand people became homeless that night, and the loss of life was horrific.

Some young children used to try to avoid going into the Victoria Tunnel, and preferred to watch the planes, and collecting shrapnel to take to school the next day. A boy known as Ben was struck by a piece of shrapnel and lay dying in the street outside of the tunnel. This story is not available online, but only by the accounts of living witnesses. One medium picked up on Ben’s presence in the tunnel, and claimed Ben was carried to safety inside the tunnel but sadly died of his injuries. This cannot be verified by myself at the time.

In 1941, a 7 year old girl called Irene Page fell into a bomb hole on Tarset Street. When she did not climb out, another local boy called Ernie Smith went looking for her using a rope, but he also failed to surface. 2 off duty firemen climbed down, and again, neither came back up. That day, 4 dead bodies lay at the bottom of the hole, killed by a pocket of poisonous gas. The Victoria Tunnel runs under this spot. The presence of Irene in particular is commonly mentioned by mediums. Strange activity is also reported at this spot - torches being turned off, and a child’s voice has regularly been heard.

In 2014, a ghost hunting group posted a video on YouTube that shows strange EMF activity responding to questions, and footsteps audibly coming towards them and then stopping right beside them. They soon left the tunnel!

Other strange activity includes flashing lights, growls, sudden cases of extreme emotion and the constant sensation of being followed. Many of the tour guides at the Victoria Tunnel will refuse to go down by themselves.

Visit The Victoria Tunnel

Address

Victoria Tunnel Tours (Meeting point)

55 Lime Street

Ouseburn Valley

Newcastle Upon Tyne

NE1 2PQ

(The Tunnel entrance is on Ouse Street, a couple of minutes walk away)

Telephone: 0191 230 4210

A 700 meter section of tunnel is open to the public today thanks to lottery funding, and this is the same section we were given access to in our show. This is run by The Ouseburn Trust. An entrance close to the Great North Museum (formerly the Hancock Museum) is still visible but not accessible to the public. 

The closest Metro station is Manor’s. Exit the station and walk away from the city towards Byker. Turn right at The Tanner’s Arms onto Crawhall Road and walk down Stepney Bank. This was the location of a WWII entrance. Also, note St Dominic’s Church - the tunnel runs directly below it, and is marked by a cross on the wall of the tunnel where people would often go to pray during an air rade.

From Gateshead, walk over the Millenium Bridge and walk east until you reach the point where the River Ouse merges with the Tyne. Head along there and it’s a 5 minute walk, and very pretty. 

Tours are just £7 per person and will last around 2 hours. This includes a tour of the Ouseburn Valley and use of the Tunnel’s own torches and hard hats. Due to high demand, tours need to be pre-booked. Note - food and drinks are not allowed inside the tunnel, and there is nothing living in the tunnel, so no rats or spiders!

Word of advice - keep your tour tickets, as it gets you discount off food at The Cluny nearby, which is also one of the city’s best live music venue. There is also discount available at The Ship Inn pub, which specialises in Vegan food.

Paranormal events are also heavily in demand and do sell out. 

Every Halloween, the tunnel runs a scare night called Terror In The Tunnel in which actors and actresses dress up and scare people in the dark. I have been on one of these, and at £6.66, it is cheaper and scarier than other events of its kind!

Edit: Every few months, tunnel tour guides are given a chance to access the 'north' end of the tunnel, and I was allowed to record with them on a one of these visits in July 2019. This section of the tunnel is not open to the public. To see what this area looks like, see the video below! Sadly as you can see!

Jedburgh Jail (Investigation)

So after presenting ghost hunts on the radio for almost a decade, it was time to raise the bar, so the first one needed to be a big one to get the ball rolling.

About

Built on the site of an ancient 12th century fort, the Jail was built in 1823 to house some of the most notorious criminal in the area. Jedburgh itself lies in a troubled location in the Scottish Borders and has seen the border change between the Scots and the English many times.

The term ‘Jeddart Justice’ originates from Jedburgh, and means “hang first, tried later.” The execution spot in the jail can still be visited today, although it is not marked.

The first ghost is said to be that of s Scottish Piper, who is often heard playing bagpipes on the battlements. His ghost is more of a legend to the people in the town, but strange lights have also been seen in this area. The ghost of a prison guard is said to wander the notorious Men’s wing - he has often been reported as a dark shadow, while others have felt the sensation of being pushed out of the way. Cell 18 is said to be haunted by a prisoner known as Edwin McArthur, who was executes in the prison. People inside Cell 18 have been scratched and objects thrown at them. Many mediums have also claimed to have picked up on his presence too.

Several TV and radio shows have used Jedburgh to broadcast from, all of which reporting technical problems. Batteries draining faster than usual is the most common feature, and this is something members of the public have also reported - especially mobile phones going from fully charged, to flat within minutes.

Other sightings include a shadow often seen close to the execution spot and mischievous children in the family wing.


Visit Jedburgh Jail

Address

Castle Gate

Jedburgh

TD8 6AS

Telephone: 01835 864750

If you ever get the chance to visit Jedburgh, I fully recommend it.
From Newcastle, it’s only around. 90 minute drive. Drive west along the A69 towards Hexham, then turn off onto the A68 and head north. It’s a beautiful route and takes in some stunning scenery, including one or two locations we will be visiting in the next few months. Once you get over the border into Scotland, you will see signs for Jedburgh. Stay on the A68 all the way and the road actually runs through the town itself. The Jail is at the top of a very steep hill and parking is available around the side.

From Edinburgh, it’s a similar distance - head south on the A7 then follow signs to the A68.

Please be aware that the jail’s opening times are seasonal between March and November, and general access is free. Please this their website for more info.

If you are visiting Jedburgh Jail, I also fully recommend spending time in the town itself - the abbey has its own ghost story, although much of it is in ruins now. I also really recommend The Carter’s Rest for pub food. Between shooting daytime scenes around the jail and the investigation that evening, this was where we hung out at, and their Thai curry is 10/10!

Welcome

So we have moved across to the 21st Century and joined YouTube!

Over the last decade, myself and Chris Felton have worked in radio. We launched Dead Air in 2010 to be the largest paranormal radio show in the UK. Over the years, we’ve stayed in haunted castles, graveyards, pubs, manor houses, people’s homes, and even made several national newspapers when one of our videos went viral in 2015.

The purpose of this channel is to bring our content to the wider web. We’ve entertained the people of Newcastle with our radio show, and we have some die hard fans. But we want to step it up and gear and bring it to a new platform.

We will be doing ghost hunts, but we will also be vlogging. We have years of experience between us, and we are lucky enough to be in a position where we can offer advice on getting  into this amazing industry.

We will show you how to go about going on ghost hunts, getting the right equipment, and most importantly, deciding who to trust. There are a lot of fakes and cons who sadly look to profit at others expense.

Remember, ghost hunting is fun, and itbshould always be that way. I’ve come across plenty of dodgy people on this journey, and I am now able to spot them a mile away. 

So please hit the subscribe button, and hopefully enjoy our channel!