Terrifying Spirits of Willington Mill: Unravelling the Proctor Family Haunting

00:00:39

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Haunted History Chronicless. Before we introduce today's podcast or guest, if you like this podcast, please consider leaving a review. It costs nothing, but it helps share news of the podcast and guests I feature with others interested within the paranormal. It's a simple and easy way to help the podcast continue to grow and be a space for people to chat and come together. If you haven't already found us on the Haunted History Chronicless website, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you can find links to all social media pages in any of the notes for an episode.

00:01:14

Come and join us to get involved and gain access to additional blogs, news and updates. And now let's get started introducing today's episode.

00:01:33

The ghosts that haunt England are rich and varied and they appear in a wide range of different locations across a landscape that is truly diverse and awe inspiring and on which an eventful path has left its mark. From the sea sprayed cliffs of Cornwall to the bleak edges of Dartmoor, across the rich and fertile fields of the Midlands, through the industrial landscapes of Lancashire, over the rolling pastures of Yorkshire and into the wild and rugged scenery in the extreme north of the country, haunted England is a joy to explore and discover. In today's episode, we explore an 1830s to 40s haunting that occurred in the small township of Wellington that in its day was as famous as the Haunting of Borley Rectory would be almost 100 years later. However, unlike Borley Rectory, the haunting at Willington Mill house has never been satisfactorily explained. The haunting caused a sensation in the 19th century with local historians, journalists and psychical researchers all reporting on events.

00:02:38

And yet now it has been all but forgotten. So get comfortable and let's discover more about this fascinating case.

00:02:56

When mysterious circumstances occur out of the corner of your eye, when unknown noises are heard and items disappear from shelves and reappear on another, what is often created is often something that over time, becomes lost and sits instead hidden in archives and collections. England is full of tales of haunted castles, superstitions, witchcraft, mythical tales and ghost stories. Some of the material is often frightening, others delightful, intriguing and often sinister. One such report are the events of Willington Mill. On the eastern outskirts of Newcastle and England stood Willington Mill, a flower mill built in 1801 with a local reputation.

00:03:44

For decades, people had talked about the old mill house, how a witch had once lived in an old cottage on the land, and of the spirit of that of old Jeffrey. In the 1830s to 40s, haunting occurred in the small township that in its day was as famous as Haunted History Chronicles would be almost 100 years later. However, unlike Borley Rectory, haunting at Willington Mill has never been satisfactorily explained. These stories eventually seeped out into national publications after a pair of curious locals carried out an overnight vigil which ended in chaos, earning the mill the title of most haunted house in England. Tales of the haunting caused a sensation amongst local historians, journalists and psychical researchers, all reporting on events, including featuring in an early issue of Haunted History Chronicles in the 1880s.

00:04:41

Today, the story of the haunting has been all but forgotten. But were the stories anything more than just local rumor and legend? Willington in the early 19th century was a small, close knit industrial community nestled between the arches of the new railway bridge, with slopes on either side and a small stream known as Willington gut running through it and emptying into the river time. The area was not remote or isolated. In fact, it was a hive of industry, with collaries, shipbuilding and milling providing work for the community roper makers and flower, grain, textile and corn mills creaking and grinding with a constant industrial din.

00:05:22

And yet, even before the mill was built, the land had a somewhat sinister reputation, with the locals believing that a witch once lived in the area, possibly at the beginning of the 18th century. Some link the story of the Wellington witch to Mrs. Pepper historically attested individual who was tried and acquitted of witchcraft in nearby Newcastle in the late 17th century. Although this remains a theory as there are no records to support her presence. The witch may have been some kind of a cunning woman, a local folk healer.

00:05:55

If in fact she existed, she's said to have been refused final communion and died untriven, leading her to curse the area. More recent rumors hinted that a murder had been committed by one of the workers during the building of the mill, creating a further sense of unease in the local community.

00:06:16

The mill and mill house were built sometime between 1818 six by the business partnership of William Brown, Joseph Unthanks and Joseph Proctor Senior. The Unthanks and Proctors were cousins and were both respected Quaker businessmen. This innovative mill was thought to be the first steam powered flower mill with engines running well into the night. The mill house itself was next to the mill, but separated by a road and was originally lived in by Joseph Unzanks and his family. When Joseph Proctor Senior died in 1813, his son, also called Joseph, joined the business and became a full partner in 1829.

00:07:01

The house was visually unremarkable and very typical of early 19th century domestic architecture. It had three floors, including the ground floor and a garret or attic above area. Some sources say that the house did not have a seller, but again, sources differ. For example, one person says that there was no cellaring, whilst WT Steed and some other modern writers believe that this house did have a seller. This point is important because some believed that the seller was related to the alleged murder at the mill house.

00:07:35

It may have been where the body was concealed. Life was unremarkable at the Mill House for many years. Unthanks lived there from 1806 until 1831, when Joseph Unthank finally retired and moved his family out of the Mill House to Battle Hill Farm. The same year, Joseph Proctor had married Elizabeth Carr of Kendall, so he and his new wife took up residence at the Mill House and in a few years their new home was filled with their young children. Things seemed to be going well for the Proctors until January 1835.

00:08:10

It was at this point Joseph Proctor decided to keep a diary to record events giving us a firsthand account of the haunting. The accounts of the events described next are from that diary. It all began with footsteps in an empty room. For approximately two months the nursemaid employed to look after the children heard something pacing back and forth in the room above the nursery. Occurring every evening, they lasted for about ten minutes.

00:08:39

So forceful were the steps that they even rattled the window frame in the nursery. The nurse made unease at these strange noises steadily grew until she became convinced that the noise was supernatural in origin, consequently reporting it to her mistress. So terrified by the experience was she that the young girl left the employment soon afterwards. The nurse maid was not alone in hearing these ominous noises emanating from the third floor. Elizabeth Proctor soon bore witness to the strange sound herself.

00:09:12

At 11:00 a.m. One morning she was in the nursery when she too heard a heavy tread in the room above. The replacement nursemaid was not told why her predecessor had left, but it didn't take her long for her to find out why, as she too soon was regularly being terrified by the sound of heavy boots facing back and forward in the room above the nursery. Whenever noises were heard in the room, the room was swiftly checked. At each time it was found empty, only occasionally having been used for storage by the family.

00:09:46

The room itself had, until only recently, prior to the reports, been sealed. With the door nails shut and the fireplace and windows boarded up, giving nail access from the roof. The room itself lay thick with dust. Exactly when the door was sealed and by whom it was opened remains unclear. The Unthanks only lived on one floor of the house during their tenure.

00:10:09

Did they know something about the room? Did they seal it shut? Did Proctor open it unknowingly, releasing something that should have remained sealed up forever? This room soon became known as the disturbed room. And with every inhabitant of the house having experienced some form of unexplained and terrifying phenomena emanating from this space, things were only going to get worse.

00:10:35

In early 1835, Joseph Proctor's diary noted that he and his wife were disturbed in their bed by the sound of a mallet hitting a block of wood ten or twelve times very close to them. The following night when putting his baby's son in his crib, he described hearing indistinct noises from the room above. Then suddenly a metallic sound tapping on the cradle, causing it to vibrate. These were amongst the last times the noises were heard in the disturbed room. Whatever was in there had got out and was now roaming the house, terrifying the inhabitants.

00:11:13

On the same night, Thomas Mann, the highly respected foreman of the mill, was working a night shift, tending the mill engine to about 01:00 a.m.. He was in the mill yard to collect more coal when he heard a loud, grating noise on the cobbles. The mill had a wooden cistern on wheels that was used to bring water to the mill horses. Man was convinced someone was trying to steal the cistern and rushed to confront the thief. To his surprise, the system had not moved and the yard was deserted.

00:11:45

By the time man described his experience to Proctor, he was convinced the event was supernatural. In his journal, Proctor himself noted that he had sometimes heard disembodied footsteps on the gravel outside the house. It was clear to Joseph Proctor that something uncanny was going on. He broached the subject with his cousin Joseph Unthanks. And in February 1835, Proctor wrote the following my wife and I were informed by our cousin Unthanks that they understood that the house and that room in particular in which the noises now occurred was said to be haunted before they entered it in 1806, but that nothing they knew of had been heard during their occupancy of 25 years.

00:12:28

How the Proctors felt at this revelation and whether they truly believed the unfanks had not had any strange experiences in the house is not recorded. After this bombshell, Proctor began to research reasons why the house might be haunted and made an indistinct half. A raised note in his diary saying the following an infirm old woman, the mother in law, the builder of the premises, lived and died in the house. And after her death, the haunting was attributed, much as we made of this phrase, as potentially relating to the Willington Witch. But it must be remembered that the mill house was comparatively new, so if a witch lived there or nearby, she was likely to have been in an earlier, older house.

00:13:24

We are about to celebrate hitting our 100th episode of Haunted History Chronicless on the last Friday of April 2023 to say thank you for the months of May, June and July. There are going to be daily paranormal podcasts available to enjoy on all tiers over on Patreon, as well as the usual additional items available over there. Signing up now will gain you access to these as well as all previous archived content. For as little as one pound, you could be getting hundreds of podcasts to enjoy and more, and know that you're contributing and helping the podcast to put out another 100 episodes. You can find the link in the.

00:14:04

Episode Description Notes as well as on the Haunted History Chronicles's website, along with other simple and great ways to support the podcast directly. It's all truly very much appreciated. And now let's head back to the podcast.

00:14:29

Throughout 1835, the family and other visitors continued to experience strange phenomena on an almost daily basis. The haunting had now evolved from simple bangs and footsteps to full blown apparitions. As the following incidents from November of that year testify a respectable neighbour had seen a transparent white female figure in a window on the second story of the house. The following incident appeared connected early in the evening two of the children, one aged about eight, the other under two years, both saw, unknown to each other, an object that could not be real and which went into the room where the apparition was after it seen and disappeared there. By now the house's reputation had become notorious and some visitors did not wish to stay in the house overnight.

00:15:21

In November 1835, Elizabeth Proctor's sister, Christiana Wright, was visiting from Mansfield and chose to lodge with Thomas Mann and his family to avoid the disturbances. However, this precaution made no difference. The following incident occurred about 09:30 p.m.. Soon after going to her bedroom, Thomas Mann's wife went out of the house for some coals and was struck by a figure in the window previously referred to. She called her husband, who saw the same figure passing backwards and forwards and then standing still in the window.

00:15:58

It was very luminous and likewise transparent and had the appearance of a priest in a white surplus. Mrs Mann called her husband, daughter and Chrissy on a right to observe the apparition, which remained in the window for around ten minutes until it gradually faded away from the head downwards. The witnesses described the night as moonless, the yard empty, the window blind down and the figure seemed to come through the blind and the glass. Possibility of a projection via a magic lantern was discounted at the time because the magic lantern would only have projected only onto the blinds. The next event took place on the 16 December 1835, when Elizabeth Proctor's sister Jane Carr was visiting.

00:16:44

A little before 12:00 at night, Jane Carr and her bedfellow were disturbed by a noise similar to the winding up of a clock, apparently on the stairs where the clock stands, which continued for the space of ten minutes. When that ceased, footsteps were heard in the room above, which is unoccupied for perhaps a quarter of an hour. Whilst this was going on, the bed was felt a shake and Jane Carr distinctly heard the sound of a sack falling on the floor. The ghost was not finished with Jane Carr yet. On the 31 January 1836, the following was reported at about 12:00 at night, Jane Carr, being quite awake, was disturbed by a noise similar to a person knocking quickly and strongly on a piece of board in the room.

00:17:32

When that ceased, she distinctly heard the sound of a footstep close by the side of the bed. The next event dated around the 21 February 1836, involving Mrs. Proctor, who was sleeping apart from her husband and sharing her bed with the children's nurse, a woman called Pollard. As they were lying in the bed, they were raised up and down three times, as if a man was underneath the bed pushing it up with his back. The Proctor's son Joseph also experienced his crib being raised up several times and was so frightened that he called out for a light.

00:18:09

In 1838, Jane Carr was again visiting. Terrified to spend the night alone, she was sharing her bed with the cook, Mary Young, when things soon took a terrifying turn. Sometime between 11:00 and midnight, mary Young heard the bolt on the door of their room slide back steps, then approached the dressing table, upon which burned a rush light. The light was obscured as if the figure had extinguished it. Jane Carr then felt bedclothes raised over her twice.

00:18:39

Then they both heard something rustling the curtains as it went around the bed. Mary Young claimed she saw a dark figure on the outside of the curtains. Jane heard and felt a sound like a fist hitting the headboard on her side. Mary Young then felt pressure on the bed and saw the curtains pressed inwards before they both heard it leave the room without shutting the door. The following morning, the door was found to still be bolted.

00:19:05

Quite understandably, Jane Carr kept her head firmly under the bedclothes during this nocturnal disturbance. The children were not immune from the paranormal activity, and while they were sometimes scared of it, they seemed to cope with growing up in a haunted house quite well most of the time. Their experiences range from the bizarre to the amusing to the downright terrifying. For example, joseph Jr. Experienced disembodied snatches of conversation voices, saying things like never mind and come and get.

00:19:40

He also appears to have haunted himself, as he claimed to have seen his own image staring back at him on one occasion. On other occasions, the children claimed they saw and pursued strange animals, including an odd looking cat and a strange monkey. As an adult, Edmund claimed he recalled the following events clearly although he was only around two years old at the time, he claimed to have experienced the following terrifying experiences experiences which included disembodied white faces and a female apparition with hollow eye sockets. Willington Mill has an unusual claim to fame which was the site of one of the first ever recorded ghost hunts in England. Gossip about the haunting at Willington Mill traveled fast despite Joseph Proctor's best efforts to quell the rumors.

00:20:29

In 1840, Dr. Edward Drury, a sceptic, wrote to Joseph Proctor and cordially invited himself, his dog and his brace of pistols to hold vigil at the house. At some time when the Proctors were away from home. Surprisingly, Joseph Proctor agreed to the request. He drew the line at the dog, which was fine with the pistols.

00:20:51

Dr. Drury arrived on Friday the 3 July 1840, along with another ghost hunter, a chemist called Thomas Hudson. They hoped to spend the night alone, locked in the Mill House along with an elderly servant. However, Mr. Proctor unexpectedly returned home from his family trip for business reasons.

00:21:11

So the two sceptics dined with the hardened believer, suffice to say, became awake, inverted, or some might say primed. After carefully searching the house for any tricks, the vigil began. A letter from Dr. Drury to Mr. Proctor provides an account of what happened next.

00:21:31

He and Hudson had taken up position on the landing of the third floor at about 11:00 p.m.. Just before midnight they began to hear the sound of their feet pattering on the floor. He couldn't tell where they came from. Then the sound of knocking was heard by their feet, followed by a hollow cough and the sound of fabric rustling up the stairs towards them. By 12:45 A.m., Drury was feeling cold and wanted to go to bed, but Hudson insisted they stay up until dawn to occupy himself.

00:22:05

Drury picked up a note that he had dropped on the floor, read it, then checked his watch. It was 12:50 a.m. In taking my eyes from the watch, I became riveted upon a closet door, which I distinctly saw open, and saw also the figure of a female attired in grayish garments, with the head inclined downwards and one hand pressed upon the chest as if in pain and the other extending towards the floor with the index finger pointing downwards. The terrifying figure advanced on Drury and his sleeping companion, stretching out its hand towards Hudson in an attempt to protect his friend. Drury charged at the figure.

00:22:49

Tony succeeded in crashing into Hudson whilst giving out a terrible yell. He was carried from the scene in paroxysms of fear and did not regain his senses for a full 3 hours. Some link this apparition to the alleged murder at the Mill House Hallowell and Ritzen, in their excellent book on the haunting suggested that the body of a woman was buried beneath a large stone in the cellar. WT. Steed also thought that there was something hidden below there too.

00:23:17

Strange events continued for many years and Proctor continued to record them in his diary and communicate with interested parties on the subject, including William Howitt, Catherine Crowe and the Spiritualist Magazine. Despite his professed efforts to stop the story spreading, he seemed fairly open to discussing it. By 1847 the Proctors had finally had enough of their haunted house and moved to Count Villa in North Shields. Ghosts gave them one final performance the night before they left when they heard banging and dragging of boxes down the stairs, as though the ghost was planning to move house with them. When Joseph died in 1875.

00:23:59

Edmund, his son, found the diary amongst his papers. Frustratingly, the manuscript was incomplete, ending abruptly in August 1842. Joseph was never able to find the missing pages, which were promised to contain absolute proof the events were supernatural. The widowed Mrs. Proctor asked Edmund to wait until after her death before publishing the diary.

00:24:23

Edmund respected her wishes. Edmund finally submitted the diary to the Journal for Psychical Research, where it was published in their edition. After the Proctors, the mill house was split into two. It was occupied by two families, one of them being the man family. The mans were familiar with the house's history and did continue to experience some strange events.

00:24:46

Nevertheless, they remained there for 20 years. Later it was broken up into tenements and eventually fell into ruin.

00:24:56

Joseph Proctor closed the mill in 1865 and eventually sold it in 1871. It's worth mentioning that the mill has its own ghost as well. The ghost of a little girl named Kitty is said to haunt the mill, having been killed in an industrial accident. The Willington Mill haunting has never been satisfactorily explained. Most of the contemporary accounts dress the reliability of the witnesses.

00:25:21

Joseph Proctor and his wife would have out Quakers. Proctor was an abolitionist, the member of the temperance movement. Several of the other witnesses were trusted family members or long standing servants and employees. Great pains were taken at the time to consider trickery environmental factors or noises from heavy industry. All were, at the time, discounted.

00:25:45

Often, hauntings of this kind can be traced back to bored children or teenagers faking poltergeist activity. There are two famous 18th century cases stockwell Ghost and Haunted History Chronicles, where the culprits in both cases were young girls simply out for mischief. This is a possibility at Willington. It was a presumably young nurse maid who first reported the phenomena. However, she soon left after reporting it.

00:26:12

There are also the Proctor children to consider. However, the haunting starts in 1835, when the oldest child was only two years old, so that would seem to rule them out, at least initially. As far as environmental factors go, the railway viaduct was not opened until June 1840, so would not seem to be a cause. However, it would be interesting to know when construction began and if digging deep foundations for the railway archers could have caused vibrations or noises in the house. In addition to this, the noises of the steam mill and even the gut, emptying and filling with the tide, could account for some of the noises.

00:26:53

It's also a possibility that once the family and others experienced some inexplicable phenomena, they remained hypervigilant, describing unusual events of the supernatural rather than looking for a natural explanation. Priming may also be a factor, in particular with Dr. Drury, who began as a skeptic but was rigorously primed about what kind of events to expect by Proctor. This may also account for Edmund recollecting chasing strange animals when he was two years old. His eight year old brother Joseph may have been playing a prank and priming him by saying did you see the strange cat?

00:27:31

Rather than did you see a strange cat? Causing Edmund to create a false memory of events. There are also several instances that could be attributed to sleep paralysis or hallucinations, which are associated with the first stage of sleep and with waking up. This could be a factor in Dr. Drury's experiences with the apparition of the old lady.

00:27:53

If he had nodded off, he could easily have had a terrifying hallucination and then woken himself with a shout. Others had experiences that could similarly be linked to this natural phenomenon. The diary itself is also problematic. Can we be sure it is genuine and that Joseph wrote it when events were occurring? He could have written it after the event and misremembered or misinterpreted things.

00:28:17

Haunted History Chronicles by Hallowell and Ritson looks at many theories and possible explanations from a paranormal perspective. They consider whether there was a murder at the site and whether the Browns, Unthanks and Proctors knew or suspected a body was located in the cellar of the mill. Hallowell and Ritzen also considered the intriguing possibility of a time slip in the area. Whether family hearing echoes as a future or seeing into the deep prehistoric past. Thanks for listening.