The Ghost of Old Nick

### **The Story**

The story of the Ghost of Old Nick has been passed down from student to student for centuries.

It happened long ago. It is believed that at some point in the early 18th century, under the cover of darkness, an unidentified man was killed. It is heavily implied in the records from the time, that he was attempting to steal the large brass bell from the school's bell tower to melt it down and sell the metal. Tragically, when caught by a member of staff, he accidently tumbled off the tower, sliding down the tiled roof and falling 50ft to his death, landing at their feet.

He was left to lie in a morgue to wait identification from someone, but nobody came. There was no identity papers, no family members or next of kins came forward. After the Pottington Green priest refused to bury the man in his graveyard, the decision was made to bury him in a special spot in the nearby woods. All records of whereabouts the site actually is have been since lost, or destroyed.

### **The Ghost's Name**

The ghost got his name of Old Nick because he was trying to 'nick' the bell, which also works because it is a man's name. Over the centuries, the name of the ghost has varied.

* The Ghost of Old Nick, or just simply Old Nick
* The Bell Tower Ghoul
* The Bell Tower Prisoner
* The Ghost/Ghoul of St. Clarence's *(mostly used by tourists)*
* The Fallen One

### **Sightings**

#### **The First Sighting (1800s)**

There have been countless sightings over the years, both significant and insignificant, big and small. The first documented sighting was two weeks after the incident. The groundsman, who was preoccupied with lighting the gas lamps at the school gates noticed:

> "A strange figure dancing about on the lead rooftop in the distance. I grabbed my flaming torch and made my way to the front of the building. I looked up, calling to the figure. "What on earth are you doing playing up there? A man died up there only two weeks ago!" As soon as those words passed my lips, the figure stopped dead in its tracks and gazed down at me. It was too dark, so I shined my flame up towards where he stood. I saw the face...it was him...I think. As soon as I saw it, before my very eyes, it vanished into the thinnest of air. He was gone."
>
>

Upon telling people what he had seen, he was dismissed as mad. Subsequently, he was relieved of his post as Groundsman and was sent to spend the rest of his days in Feuhead Sanitorium. Unfortunately, in mysterious circumstances, he died only two weeks later - a spooky coincidence.

#### **The 1940s**

In the September of 1940, a group of students, led by Head Boy at the time Frederick Fornsbry, went on a secret escapade in search of the ghost. On two separate nights, they witnessed eerie shadows. On the second night, they too saw the figure, and ran back to their dormitories, terrified. However, it was soon discovered that their sightings were in fact a Nazi Spy who was hiding in the bell tower making secret transmitions back to Germany.

Throughout the 1940s, there was speculation of sightings, but nothing came to fruition.

#### **The Builder Incident (1951)**

The next major sighting after that was 1951, when work was being done on the school. One builder, who's job was to help retile the roof, was sitting on the ledge of the bell tower, eating his lunch. He began to notice a cold chill on his back and felt he was being pushed, as he suddenly fell down the roof. Luckily, he managed to cling on to a drainpipe, whilst his other colleagues went to fetch a trampoline for him to land on. He was rescued just in time, but just as he got down, they all spotted a dark figure above them. The builders refused to finish the job in fear, packed up their things and left. This is the only DAYLIGHT sighting of the ghost.

#### **The Wind Vane Incident (1966)**

In 1966, the wind vane that sat upon the bell tower mysteriously fell onto a student's head, concussing them. Upon two weeks in hospital, they awoke screaming about the vision of a corpse in his dreams. This was linked to Old Nick, but any association was denied by the staff to the rest students at the time, in order to prevent panic. The current headmaster at the time Joseph Garringden debated holding a séance in order to contact the man and ask him to stop causing these incidents.

There was arguments from the school board that it was just a pure coincidence, but there was no wind that day for the vane to fly off the way it did. One member of the school board, the victim's father, resigned, taking his son with him. The victim was kept in hospital for another year before moving far away to Australia.

#### **The Final Sighting (2018)**

The last sighting of the ghost was the evening before his burial on Saturday 27th October 2018. Mrs. Jeanette Garringden, the current headmistress, went into the empty school on the weekend to do make some final arrangements for the ceremony the next day. Upon leaving the school building, she placed a wreath on the steps and drove up to lock the school gates. In the distance, she spotted the figure. He was standing on the bell tower ledge, looking out at her. She turned towards him, smiled and saluted him before getting into her car. This was the first time the figure had been smiled at in all the years of its sightings.

The figure didn't disappear but decided to watch her go. Driving off, in the rear-view mirror of her car, with the sun-setting behind the school, she could tell tat he was finally going to be at peace. That day was the final sighting, they ceased after that.

Mrs. Garringden didn't mention the sighting to a single soul, out of respect.

### **Investigations and the end of the ghost**

In the autumn of 2018, a dogwalker was walking her dog through the Pottington Green woods when she fell over a stone. However, it wasn't a stone, it was the original gravestone of the unidentified man. The name of the man was still unknown, because the carving on the gravestone had eroded.

The school decided to try and put the ghost to rest by holding a special ceremony in the man's honour on Sunday the 28th October 2018. Since then, all sightings of the ghost have ceased. It is believed the ghost has finally passed on, happy.

The bell tower is now named the Nick Bell Tower after him, but only some people know this fact. Out of respect, he is no longer mentioned by any staff member, in fear he might return.