Jock Brocas On Spiritual Life

Monday, 13 July 2026

The Unquiet Spirits of Clacton-on-Sea

The Essex seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea is a peculiar place; a faded former holiday resort for London’s Cockney underclass, now best known for being the constituency of former (and maybe again, if he is re-elected on August 13th) Reform MP/leader, one Nigel Farage. Two of my articles on Mr Farage are linked below in Additional Reading.

I knew the area fairly well, as both my spinster grandmothers live in the village of Little Clacton, just outside the town. I used to stay with both for a week during the summer holidays as a kid. One of my grandmothers later married a faith healer, who held free surgeries in his consulting room at her bungalow. A decent old cove, he however did say I possessed ‘The Sight’, which was slightly disturbing for an imaginative youngster to hear, but there you go.

On Clacton Pier by JThomas, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Anyway, the area has an interesting history. I was told of smuggling tunnels linking the nearby church of Saint James to the ancient cellars of local pubs The Blacksmith’s Arms, The Ship Inn and The Queen’s Head, presumably as part of a ‘Dr Syn’-style contraband operation organised by the local vicar(s). Other tunnels were rumoured to link the manor house, Giddy Hall, to the coast (unlikely, as it’s around 2.5m away), so the Clacton gentry were also presumably involved in the racket.

From Hidden East Anglia:

From a genuine event has arisen an odd little legend. In 1806 the Cameron Highlanders were stationed in barracks at nearby Weeley. At the St. James’ Day Fair (on July 26th) a fight broke out outside the Blacksmiths Arms between villagers and some of the soldiers, with some of the latter being chased along the street. A soldier named Alexander McDonald had hurt his foot, and was caught, struck and slain. On the spot where his head hit the road, it was said that a hole appeared which could not be filled, no matter how hard people tried. His gravestone can still be seen in Weeley churchyard, with the inscription “late soldier in the First Battalion 79th Regt who in the prime of life was inhumanly murdered near Little Clacton”.

Little Clacton’s St James Church itself has a macabre history:

Prudence Lambert (1582): Prudence remarried two months after her first husband died in mysterious circumstances. Consumed by guilt, she hanged herself the morning after the wedding. As suicide was considered a grave sin, she was buried in unsanctified ground at the furthest edge of the churchyard. Legend holds this specific corner of the grounds is haunted by her restless spirit.

The Witch Trial Executions (1645): During the notorious Essex Witch Trials, local rector Henry Waite’s wife was executed for witchcraft, despite being said to be extremely pious.

Additionally, other Little Clacton women were accused of using "imps" to carry out their designs, causing long-lasting dark folklore to imprint the parish.

Nearby St Osyth's Priory is steeped in paranormal lore, most famously haunted by the ghost of its namesake, the Saxon Princess Osyth. She wanders the ancient grounds carrying her severed head after being decapitated by Viking raiders in AD 653.

St Osyth's Priory Gatehouse by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Other paranormal sightings at the priory include a hooded white monk and a phantom nun who peers into local windows.

A short distance from the Priory sits a 16th-century cottage known as ‘The Cage’, which once acted as the local prison for accused witches. In 1582, Ursula Kempe and others were detained there before being tried for witchcraft. The Cage has gained modern notoriety as one of the most haunted houses in Britain. Investigations have cited both poltergeist activity (former owners reported being pushed, and CCTV has recorded slamming doors and disembodied voices) and apparitions of shadowy figures and sudden temperature drops.

Clacton itself boasts as variety of supernatural phenomena that continue to defy explanation, including the following:

West Cliff Theatre Tower Road: Both Staff and performers at West Cliff Theatre have spoken of unexplained eerie noises backstage, footfall in empty parts of the building and the feeling that they are not alone after audiences have gone home.

Wilson House, Leas Road (no longer standing): In the late-twentieth century, a ghostly white lady was said to have been seen by several schoolgirls when this building was a dorm. Sounds of heavy footsteps could also be heard walking along the corridors late at night.

The Kingscliff Hotel: A woman in old-fashioned clothes has reportedly been seen walking through the corridors then disappearing without trace. Unexplained footsteps, doors opening by themselves and an uneasy feeling when parts of the hotel are empty have also been reported.

The old ballroom at former Butlin’s holiday camp: Butlin's Clacton was used as a training base when the Second World War broke out. A soldier was supposedly stabbed and killed in a fight which occurred at the ballroom and took to haunting the area. The camp was demolished and the area redeveloped in the mid-1980s; the ghost left at the same time. There are no official police or historical records of a stabbing in the Butlin's ballroom in Clacton during the 1940s.

St Johns Road: Phantom monks seen drifting along the roads in this area of Clacton.

Clacton Pier: Spooky figures have been seen on Clacton Pier after dark, vanishing as people get closer. Workers have claimed to hear footsteps and unexplained voices when the pier is usually deserted. Probably drunk.

Old Kinema: Local history accounts say a fire was started by a projectionist who perished in the building in a suspected suicide in the 1940s. His damned shade disturbed cinemagoers and staff. The cinema was closed and demolished in early 1962.

Thornbury Road private house: In 2003, after a period of experiencing disembodied footsteps, doors opening and closing and electrical items working independently, the occupier saw the manifestation of a young girl. The occupiers were then dragged across the floor by their ankles and creeped out by the appearance of an evil old crone in the box room bed. I couldn’t find much, if any, supporting evidence.

Jaywick Martello Tower: Visitors to this defensive tower, constructed to combat Napoleon, have reported hearing footsteps echoing through the empty fort, along with strange voices, and the feeling that someone is watching them. Sudden cold spots have also been reported.

Old Lifeboat House: During the late twentieth century, a shopkeeper who hired a room to store surplus stock reported that items would rearrange themselves overnight.

Private house along St Osyth Road: From 1975 until the building was exorcised in 1978, the family living at the house reported spectral singing, ghostly footsteps, and a wee girl, who all could hear but only their four year old son could see. No online supporting material aside from The Paranormal Database.

St John's Church: Ghostly figures have reportedly been seen strolling through the churchyard, whilst whispers and footsteps are heard when nobody else is nearby. The church dates back to the twelfth century and has inspired local ghost stories for generations. Smugglers apparently used the locale, adding to its unsavoury reputation.

Ghosts of monks, the victims of a homicidal innkeeper, a cavalier, a highwayman, and a man torn apart by a mob have all been reported at what are now the environs of the quaint Treasure Holt Garden Centre.

What Happened To Clacton-On-Sea? A Town Stuck in Time

Little Clacton church by Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Fun Fact: The "Clacton Spear", a Neanderthal yew spear found near Clacton-on-Sea in 1911 is the world's oldest known wooden spear at approximately 420,00-450,000 years of age.

Down by the Seaside by Led Zeppelin

Additional Reading:

Nigel Farage: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/nigel-farage-pg-wodehouses-roderick-spode-made-flesh

Before Farage’s 5 million: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/farages-ps5-million-short-tour-british-sleaze

Sources include:

The Paranormal Database: https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/essex/esspages/essedata.php?pageNum_paradata=5

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2015/jun/05/your-spiritual-home-in-clacton

Haunted Hosts: https://hauntedhosts.com/haunted-places/essex/clacton-on-sea/

Clacton Gazette: https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/25654622.clacton-group-snaps-photo-ghost-historic-pub/

Clacton Gazette: https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/1169235.web-exclusive-ghostly-going-on/

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/10/clacton-byelection-nigel-farage-establishment-laurence-fox-reform

Haunted Isles: https://hauntedisles.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-ghost-of-st-osyth-october-haunting.html

Little Clacton Parish Council: https://www.littleclacton-pc.org.uk/little-clacton

St Osyth Museum: https://www.stosythmuseum.co.uk/buildings/the-cage

The Essex Witch Trials: https://www.eastanglianwitchproject.co.uk/blog/essex1

The Clacton Spear: https://www.exploringgb.co.uk/blog/the-clacton-spear-oldest-wooden-artefact-ever-found-in-britain

Treasure Holt Garden Centre: https://www.treasureholt.co.uk/about-us/

Clacton-on-Sea Header image attribution:

Mark Crombie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wednesday, 8 July 2026

Where to Find King Arthur & Round Table Companions Kipping - Until Needed...

Tales abound that the legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table never actually died, but lie sleeping in a cave, waiting for the moment of Britain’s greatest peril to wake and defend their island home. Or alternatively, to either sally out as part of the Wild Hunt and/or complete an annual supernatural circuit around the mountain or hill they reside in.

Some maintain Arthur was an historical figure who had been turned into a legendary hero; others say the precise opposite – he was a protective Celtic deity who was transformed into a ‘real’, ‘historical’ character. So where to find the Pendragon? There are plenty of places in Great Britain rumoured to house ‘The King of the Mountain’, many with similar provenance.

And here they are, those that I could find that is. There may well be more.

Glastonbury Tor

Arthur and his knights are said to be sleeping beneath Glastonbury Tor, often considered the mythical ‘Isle of Avalon’. Monks attempting to cash in on the legend claimed to have discovered the tomb of Arthur and faithless wife Guinevere at the nearby Glastonbury Abbey in 1191.

MundoSalvajeMedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sewingshields

In the 1800s, a knitting shepherd dropped his ball of wool near the overgrown ruins of Sewingshields Castle (no longer visible); following it he stumbled upon a hidden passageway to a great subterranean hall, with a massive round table in the centre. King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table sat around it in a deep slumber. On the table lay a bugle, a garter and the sword Excalibur. The yokel instinctively picked up Excalibur and cut the garter, upon which moment Arthur and company awoke. Arthur in cold fury said, “O, woe betide the evil day On which this witless wight was born, Who drew the sword, the garter cut, But never blew the bugle horn.”

The Arthurian entourage then went back to sleep and the shepherd scampered away, to an uncertain fate.

Eildon Hills (Melrose, Scotland)

Sir Walter Scott tells of a horse dealer paid in ‘ancient coin’ by an elderly, archaically-garbed buyer who for some reason then takes him inside the hill that evening. As is by now expected, King Arthur and his knights are snoozing; shown the obligatory horn and a sword, the dealer blows the horn. The knights awaken and a loud voice (Arthur’s) bellows he is a coward for not grabbing the sword first.

Richmond Castle

Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

According to legend, the castle is built over a cavern where King Arthur and his knights sleep, waiting to rise from their slumber to defend England in her hour of need. Local potter Peter Thompson found his way by chance into the cave. The curious Thompson picked up Excalibur and was suddenly deafened by the sound of clattering armour, so he speedily replaced the sword. All was then still. But as he legged it, he heard a melancholic voice, “Potter Thompson, Potter Thompson Hadst thou blown the Horn Thou hadst been the greatest man That ever was born.”

The potter stopped only to seal the entrance so no-one else would disturb the sleeping knights. Or in another version, searched frantically for it, but never discovered it again.

Dunstanburgh Castle

Earl Thomas of Lancaster (cousin of King Edward II), built the Dunstanburgh edifice between 1313 and 1322, apparently to emulate Camelot, so no ‘Sleeping King’, just the story of a noble known to his allies as ‘Roi Arthur’ in opposition to the feckless Edward, who was famously said to have later died by red hot poker insertion.

In yet another iteration of the Sleeping Knight story, a knight named Guy the Seeker was led to a subterranean hall at the castle by Merlin. There he beholds a beautiful woman (Guinevere?) in a crystal tomb, surrounded by knights – but no mention of King Arthur. Sir Guy faces the tiresome sword and horn challenge and tries blowing the horn first, but forgetting to unsheathe the sword first, fails.

Dinas Rock

Craig-y-dinas boasts a 45m sheer vertical limestone face crowned by an Iron Age hillfort; a sleeping King Arthur and his army biding their time for a counteroffensive against any invaders. They also guard a heap of gold and silver, all protected by bells that will wake them from their kip should any miscreants enter the cave.

King Arthur's Cave - near The Doward

Dave.Dunford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

King Arthur's Cave lies at the foot of a low cliff at the north-western end of Lord's Wood in The Doward, Herefordshire. Shrouded in local superstition, it the cave is connected with Vortigern, the foolish British king who invited Anglo Saxon brothers Hengist and Horsa in as his mercenaries.

Big mistake.

Arthur and his knights apparently once sheltered in the cave, but only for a short time, when on the run from the Saxons. Merlin may have hidden some treasure there though.

The Doward (Welsh: Deuarth Fach, lit. "two small hills"), boasted cave dwellings which were inhabited until relatively recently.

Tintagel - Merlin’s Cave

OK, not a resting place, but worth a mention, the cave is located beneath Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. In Idylls of the King, Tennyson described waves bringing the baby Arthur to the shore and the mage Merlin then carrying the infant lad to safety.

Alderley Edge

The link between the caves at Alderley Edge and Arthur only dates to the Victorian period. In 1838, Mrs Gaskell wrote insisting that Arthur and his court lay sleeping there until England’s extremis roused them. J Roscoe’s 1839 poem ‘The Iron Gate: A Legend of Alderley’ fleshed out a fuller version of the story, but much earlier Cheshire tales spoke of warriors and wizards in the caves, ready for war, and a mysterious man (presumably Merlin) trying to buy white horses from a local farm for the reawakened knights.

Author and Cheshire local Alan Garner used this and other legends, in his novels The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath.

Cadbury Castle

Said to be hollow, King Arthur and his Knights sleep waiting to be called upon by Britain again in times of dire need. It’s said that on Midsummer's Eve (or every seven years in another version) a hole appears in the hillside and the Knights ride their horses down to drink the water from a spring near Sutton Montis Holy Trinity church (pictured), or maybe the Church of St Thomas à Becket in South Cadbury.

Freebrough Hill

A small peak south of the village of Moorsholm, in Redcar and Cleveland, England; legend says a local farmer, chasing a lost lamb, found an opening into the hill, thence a tunnel that led to an oak door, discovering the King and his knights asleep seated by the Round Table.

Arthur’s Seat

According to legend, King Arthur sleeps beneath the lion-shaped rocks on Edinburgh’s Arthur's Seat, the craggy remains of an extinct volcano close to the city centre. Others claim without evidence it was the site of Camelot.

And, an easily disproved myth, Merlin’s Cave in Clerkenwell, barely two minutes from where I used to live in Amwell Street.

Incidentally, there is another Merlin’s Cave - a pub in the Hertfordshire village of Chalfont Saint Giles, close to the appropriately named Seer Green, where Merlin and would stop off for a break on the way to London when conducting chores for the King.

There are many supposed burial places for Merlin, including Merlin's Grave, Drumelzier (Scottish Borders), The Marlborough Mound (Wiltshire), Bardsey Island (North Wales), and Merlin's Tomb, Brocéliande Forest (Brittany).

According to legend, Sir Lancelot is buried at ‘Joyous Gard’, which could be in France, or Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland:

In Meigle, Scotland there is a site named Guinevere's Grave; apparently, the former queen made her way to Scotland after King Arthur’s supposed death, changing her name to Vanora. There she went back to her old naughty ways, provoking the townsfolk to kill her. Other tales speak of Guinevere becoming a nun at either Caerleon or ‘The Mound's Marker’ at Amesbury .

King Arthur TV shows and movies

King Arthur is of course, the subject of numerous novels, TV series and movies. Here’s the first episode of an interesting one from 1977, ITV’s Raven (all episodes currently available on YouTube). An orphan/former borstal inmate (Phil Daniels) assists a Merlin-esque archaeology professor (Michael Aldridge) in his excavation of a system of caves beneath an ancient stone circle, containing 5th-century rock carvings related to the legend of King Arthur.

C. S. Lewis ’ 1945 novel That Hideous Strength (’A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups’), in which Arthur is said to be living in the land of ‘Abhalljin’ on the planet Venus.

Camelot (1967): I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight? Changed to, “I Wonder Who The King Is Screwing Tonight? by a bored Richard Burton during the long-running, first stage version of the show.

Arthur is not unique in the legendarium; there are many other examples of slumbering monarchs, heroes, religious leaders, the odd dupe (Van Winkle) and villains across the globe, including the following, some illustrated with clips.

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa

Rip Van Winkle

Brân the Blessed

Thomas the Rhymer

Typhon and Enceladus in Mount Etna

The demon Hobbomock, sealed in Sleeping Giant mountain in Connecticut

Bernardo Carpio, the ‘King of the Tagalogs’

Ogier/Holger the Dane

And quite a few more, including I guess, Jesus, as he was laid to rest in a cave on a hill.

Also... Kay Khosrow, Shah of Persia, Alexander Suvorov, St. Wenceslas (Václav) of Bohemia, Stephen I of Hungary, Loki, King David, Artavazd I of Armenia, Queen Tamar of Georgia, St. John the Evangelist, Kind Dunmail, King Harold II, Owain Glyndŵr, William Tell, Csaba, the son of Attila the Hun, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Kūkai, founder of Shingon Buddhism, Charlemagne

Stephen Arnell’s novel THE GREAT ONE is available on Amazon Kindle:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-One-Secret-Memoirs-Pompey-ebook/dp/B0BNLTB2G7

References

Article header image attribution:

Évrard d'Espinques, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Kate Bush - King of the Mountain: https://youtu.be/F8xk_AkeP5c

Richmond Ghost - https://great-castles.com/richmondghost.html

King Arthur - https://gwrachtimeline.co.uk/king-arthur-sleeps-under-the-dinas-rock

Wild Hunt - https://nightbringer.se/the-legend-of-king-arthur/a-z-arthurian-events/wild-hunt/

Eildon Hills - https://nightbringer.se/the-legend-of-king-arthur/arthurian-locations/e-arthurian-locations/eildon-hills/

bardsandauthorsblogspot.com

themodernantiquarian.com

theforestreview.co.uk

hexham-courant.co.uk

When Religion Stops You Healing From Grief

Grief is Often Misunderstood by Religions

Healing from grief, is an illusion. In fact, personally I am of the opinion that you cannot heal from grief. It is a journey and an experience that requires integration. It is a normal aspect of life. Yet, it can be more difficult than you think. However, it is often worse when you are bound by expectations and perceptions of others; when the religion you follow is ignorant of grief and bound by dogma. I have lost count of the times that I have been approched by loved ones left behind who are suffering more because of the ignorance and lack of understanding from their church or religious order.

If you have never suffered the pain of grief, it can be hard to empathize with the suffering that someone experiences when the loss of a loved one is the only thing on their mind. No amount of frivolous statements offering plastic coated comfort can help. And to compound matters, your religious beliefs may preclude you from experiencing the reality of the continuation of life after death.

In some world religion teachings, it seems that a belief in the afterlife is not at the forefront, and the attitude towards death can often do more damage than good. When someone is not allowed to move through the process of grief and is forced to carry out a ritual that is not in alignment with the individual’s soul, damage can set in very quickly. The grief experience is often worse and healing is an even longer way off.

You must learn to move through grief

Hearing that you may not be able to heal from grief is naturally hard to accept but can be explained in a better way. Grief is part of life in this earthly plane of learning and understanding. It is an emotion that teaches us great lessons, such as love, divinity, compassion and above all – forgiveness. It is not something that you heal from but is an emotion that you must experience in order to learn lessons and to grow spiritually.

Grief, however, will always travel with you, but in time, it will become a part of you. Like a child who cries, you learn to comfort it through the conditional love that you show. As the child of grief becomes a part of you, your loved ones in spirit will be able to see through the fog that your grief created. They want to communicate and let you know they are well and around you. But if your belief is not in alignment, you create blocks and distance yourself from them.

When belief stops you from healing

When your religion or circumstance, including learned environments, have a tunneled vision of life, it is often quite impossible for you to experience any form of communication with your loved ones on the other side. Did you know that all they want is to show you they still live and are unhindered from the shackles that earthly life confined them to? If you could see how happy they are, if you could awaken to the loving messages they continually send you, then you would know that life continues and not be hindered by man’s weak perceptions that often do more damage than good. You can then progress toward experiencing and moving through your grief and learning what you need to learn a little faster.

If you follow a particular religion that places no emphasis on the afterlife, then you risk causing more suffering to yourself and others around you. Some religions such as Buddhism, Baha’i Faith, Bon, Atheism (sort of religious belief) and Confucianism, do not place much emphasis on the afterlife. Therefore, when someone experiences loss and it has a crippling effect, they are hindered from moving through the grief process in a way that could help them suffer less. When their loved ones try and communicate with them in the subtle ways of the soul, it often goes unnoticed and unnecessary suffering continues.

A grieving individual may not follow any particular faith and still have an unyielding fear of a life hereafter. This normally stems from ingrained beliefs from family members or through educational theories. Whichever way, this grieving person tends to suffer just as much as the individual who follows a particular faith.

Imagine Less Grief

Imagine if you will, not feeling the fear, loss and pain that comes when you can no longer see the smile on the face of your loved one, hear their voice or see signs of them around you. Imagine if that did not exist and instead, understanding that your loved ones can and do communicate with you.

Learning the language of the soul enables you to accept your grief, comfort your grief like your child and feel your loved ones as alive and vibrant as they were in their earthly life. The truth is, your loved ones do communicate with you. In the quiet of your mind, in the spark of your soul, exists the energy of love, the eternal bond that never breaks, that comforts you during difficult times. You need not suffer anymore. Allow yourself to move through grief. Do not be imprisoned by dogmatic beliefs.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press and has since joined the PDN group.

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

My Experiences With Leslie Flint

There has been much written and documented about Leslie Flint. For example, how he was the most tested medium of his day by researchers and found to be 100% genuine. But this account is about our experience with him and I feel no need to go into other areas, as they can easily researched if needed.

Leslie Flint’s Direct Voice séances were wonderful and we learned so much. One very interesting point is that the voice actually moved around the room. As Mickey, or whoever was talking at the time, went to someone else, you could hear that the voice was further down the room. This does not come through on the audio recordings, unfortunately.

Some are going to ask, did anyone famous come through? Well yes, a few did. Elizabeth Garret Anderson (1836-1917), who started the first hospital for women. Nellie Wallace (1870-1948), the old Music Hall star known as ‘The Essence of Eccentricity’.

How we discovered Leslie Flint

It is hard to know exactly where to start, as not only was it so long ago, but things happened in a certain manner before we actually went to Leslie Flint’s séance for the first time.

Early in 1981, my wife Wendy and I opened the back room of our flat as a healing sanctuary. We were the first ones to actually do this outside of the Spiritualist churches, in our area of Great Yarmouth, anyway. It was a great success and every Thursday evening we would work until nearly midnight on some occasions.

A widower called John that we got to know at our local church became so interested in what we were doing that we offered to train him as a healer. Not long after that, we began to work with a new patient, a lady from Lowestoft in East Suffolk whose name was Jo. After our first healing session, she asked if she could come again the following week. We said of course, that is why we are here, you don’t need to ask.

Jo told us that she moved down to Lowestoft after losing her husband Les, who had himself been a healer. She went on to say that she was thinking of moving back to where she had come from as she found the local people not to be very friendly and was feeling a bit disillusioned. But she said that we were like a warm breath of fresh air as we were so friendly in welcoming her. She started to come and see us each week and also got to know John, who lost his wife Jean about a year earlier. They became friends and later married.

During this time, Jo regaled us with stories of Leslie Flint and lent us her signed copy of his autobiography Voices in the Dark. She naturally treasured her book but entrusted us with it and said, “I must have it back, but will buy you a copy for Christmas.” True to her word, her gifted book is now one of our valued possessions.

One day she said, “Would you all like to go to Leslie Flint’s for a Direct Voice séance”? We jumped at the idea. She said that Leslie, by that time, was actually retired and only did séances occasionally for people he knew or who had previously attended. As Jo had been before, Leslie knew he could trust her if she wanted to bring a group to see him.

She told us that Leslie only asked for a nominal charge of £6 per head which we could manage okay. But we would have to go by train from Great Yarmouth to Paddington which was a bit expensive for us. At that time we existed on a basic benefit, which was barely enough to keep soul and body together.

Then I had a thought. A couple of years previously I had bought an acoustic guitar, which I was vainly trying to learn to play. I had actually given up on that a while ago as I knew it was never going to happen. A friend’s daughter had expressed interest in buying it from me and I said she could have it for £25 which was half of what I had paid for it. She readily agreed, and the sale covered our train fare and a meal.

Jo arranged things with Leslie, and our séance was booked for 2nd June 1982. It was a three hour journey to Paddington and we had to get up very early on the day. We piled out of bed at 5am to get ready to catch the train. Our little flat was full of the atmosphere of expectancy. It was as though our spirit friends already knew of our visit and what was awaiting us.

As I walked into our front room, all of Wendy’s ornaments were pinging like crazy. We both stopped in our tracks and listened as they went ping, ping, ping for a few minutes, or so it seemed. We were so enthralled by it all that time seemed to stand still for awhile.

We went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea, where Wendy had an indoor washing line set up. She gets a bit embarrassed when I tell folk about this next bit. There was only one item of clothing on the washing line and it was part of Wendy’s underwear. Well, the washing line was going crazy, pinging up and down with quite a force, and there was the item belonging to Wendy going up and down with it. Once again we were truly amazed. When all was still again, I tried to emulate it by pinging the line myself but it just wasn’t the same. When spirit does something, it can’t be imitated

Meeting Leslie Flint

We set off on our journey full of excitement and expectancy at what we were, hopefully, going to experience that day. Jo told us that Leslie had managed to fit us in with another group who were also booked that day. It didn’t matter. We were just excited at the prospect of going at all.

He had to leave the room for a while and when he was gone, Wendy thought she would looke under the cinema seats to see if there was anything untoward there. Leslie came back while she was still looking! He wasn’t offended in the least. In fact he said: “Go on look everywhere; satisfy yourself that everything is as it should be.”

Leslie Flint was waiting for us when we entered the room. Being polite, I said, “My name is Robin and this is...” That’s when Leslie said, “NO, don’t tell me names. It won’t be evidential if I know all your names.”

He had to leave the room for a while and when he was gone, Wendy looked under the cinema seats to see if there was anything untoward there, and Leslie returned while she was still looking! He wasn’t offended in the least. In fact he said: “Go on look everywhere; satisfy yourself that everything is as it should be.”

He even told her to go and look in the projector room where the film machinery was. So she did and found nothing wrong there, either.

Most of our group and the other guests sat themselves in the cinema seats. For some reason, I had spied a piano near the corner of the room and Wendy and I sat down beside that so we were a bit separate from the others. Then the lights went out and we were sitting in total blackness. Leslie told us to just to talk normally amongst ourselves, and to him, of course. Keep it light hearted and laughter will help. I can’t recall exactly how long it was we chatted away; it may have been around half an hour or maybe a bit more.

Then Mickey started to speak. It is almost impossible to say what happened in detail as it was so long ago but here is a link to that séance so you can all hear it for yourselves. But I can tell you this, it was truly wonderful.

Our first séance

After our first séance, Leslie knew we could be trusted and agreed that we could bring a group to see him on our own.

Our next séance was arranged for 10th November 1983. This time, we travelled to Paddington by road. We had made friends with a chap called Brian through a local charity that we were both helping with at the time. When we told him of our first séance with Leslie Flint, he was interested in coming along to the next one. Brian had a large Mercedes van that he used to take disabled people around in and offered to take us all in that to see Leslie. So we took our circle members with us for our second visit.

Our second séance

Everyone enjoyed it so much we all decided that would love to go again, so we arranged once more to go on 11th July 1984. Once again, Brian took us all in his vehicle.

Our third séance

We went to Leslie’s for a fourth time, but I can’t recall the date. The reason may be that it was a dud. Nothing happened at all. We must have sat there in the darkness for around two hours when Leslie called it a day. He was so sorry, full of apologies that nothing had happened, what with us coming all that way. But you see, dear Leslie was getting on a bit and he couldn’t guarantee a result. He said it was happening more often and that his own energies weren’t sufficient on that day. Of course we were disappointed but we had a lovely talk with him while we were waiting for the séance that was never destined to start that day.

We were all of good cheer though, and made an appointment for another visit which would take place on 1st October 1985. I have labelled this as our fourth séance because it was our fourth and final successful visit.

Our fourth séance

May I just add that for all these and other wonderful séances to be heard on YouTube, has been made possible by my good friend Jack Terrence Andrews who has so diligently uploaded them to his channel The Leslie Flint Trust. There you will hear many more recordings of the unique and wonderful Direct Voice mediumship of Leslie Flint.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

The Rudston Monolith & Yorkshire’s Mysterious ‘Wold Newton Triangle’

Up in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where I once studied history at the University of Hull, in the parish churchyard of Rudston village, stands the towering Rudston Monolith, at over 25 feet (and weighing 40 tonnes), the tallest standing stone in the United Kingdom. A smaller stone, also in All Saints churchyard, was once located near its larger sibling. The Norman church was constructed on an ancient pagan site, a common practice through the ages.

Angela Findlay, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rudston Monolith

The name of Rudston stems from the Old English "Rood-stane", equating to "cross-stone", meaning the monolith was probably already an object of some heathen veneration, adopted (as always) by Christianity.

The Rudston Monolith is associated with several local legends; one claims the stone was thrown by the Devil at the church, but missed due to divine intervention, others say it fell from the sky to flatten evildoers bent on desecrating the churchyard for satanic reasons.

Those who hold with belief in the ancient ley lines etched across England’s landscape, claim no fewer than five actually converge in Rudston.

Antiquarian Sir William Stukeley (1687–1765) found a large quantity of skulls during his dig at the Monolith, and understandably suggested it may have been a site for human sacrifice. An experiment conducted by William Strickland in the 18th century suggested the stone may even extend underground to a similar depth as above ground. This has yet to be confirmed.

Other prehistoric monuments in the area include four ‘cursi’ - huge Neolithic enclosure structures resembling Roman chariot-racing tracks which comprised parallel banks with external trenches. Three of these constructions converge on the site of the monolith itself. Some say they were used in rituals connected with ancestor worship, or were astronomical in nature. They may also have served as buffer zones between ceremonial and occupation landscapes.

The famed ‘disappearing’ Gypsey Race chalk stream bisects four of the cursus monuments and would have had to be crossed, were these routes to be followed to the Monolith. Local folklore says when the Gypsey Race is flowing in flood (The Woe Waters), ill fortune or great events are close at hand. The Race was in flood in the year before the Great Plague of 1665–66, at the restoration of Charles II (1660), when William of Orange landed in 1688, and before both World War One and World War Two, as well as the exceptionally cold winters of 1947 and 1962.

Recent studies posit the cursi were, in reality, used for ceremonial athletic or military competitions, in keeping with their resemblance to Roman circuses.

Not too far away in North Yorkshire stand The Devil’s Arrows (named due for a similar reason as Rudston) at Boroughbridge; three prehistoric standing stones, the tallest stone measuring 22.5 feet, second in height in the United Kingdom after the Rudston Monolith.

The Rudston Monolith is impressive, but is overshadowed by France’s Grand Menhir Brisé, also known as the Pierres-Pages Menhir, situated in Locmariaquer, Brittany, estimated to have been 20 meters (65 feet) tall originally. Although it subsequently broke into several pieces, the Menhir remains far taller than the Rudston - if it was still standing, not strewn into massive chunks on the ground.

The Wold Newton Triangle

The East Riding is also known for another strange occurrence, that of the boggles, ghosts and others who dwell in the mysterious area known as the Wold Newton Triangle, which runs from Scarborough to Driffield then stretching east to Flamborough.

The Wold’s many myths and legends also include green-hued faerie folk, headless ghosts, a greedy Queen, a black skeleton, a Parkin (gingerbread)-eating dragon, sea serpents, shape shifters, enchanted wells, and the giant monoliths, ley lines and the disappearing river which I’ve already mentioned.

But why should such a relatively remote and sparsely populated place be the location for so much supernatural phenomena? In terms of explanations, two are offered: the Ley Lines and the Gypsey Race River, which grant Newton Wold a unique place in the paranormal world.

The Wold has more recently become associated with some of the greatest heroes and villains of pulp, crime and science fiction; the home of a literary conceit conceived by legendary fantasy/sci-fi writer Philip Jose Farmer (1918-2009). In 1795, this part of the Yorkshire Wolds was disturbed by what came to be known as the Wold Cottage meteorite, which supposedly led to genetic mutations in the local population. The object is currently on display at London’s Natural History Museum:

Chemical Engineer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A monument marks the spot where the stone fell, with this inscription:

Here On this Spot, Decr. 13th, 1795

Fell from the Atmoſphere

AN EXTRAORDINARY STONE

In Breadth 28 inches

In Length 36 inches and

Whole Weight was 56 pounds.

THIS COLUMN

In Memory of it Was erected by

EDWARD TOPHAM

1799

Mischievous supernatural spirits, known as ‘Boggles’, lurk in the area, causing chaos and fires on the roads - to this day. In addition, it was/is believed that each dale in the Triangle possessed its own brand of hobgoblins that help, or hinder, both locals and the relatively few visitors. They apparently resemble small hairy men and regularly interacted/interact with humans. Having lived near the area, the description pretty much nails the local inhabitants, so I would take this with a (fairly large) pinch of salt.

A family at Hart Hall Farm in Glaisdale had been aided by their hobgoblin for generations and it was indeed mutually beneficial. The head of the house caught sight of the creature at his work late at night, and was shocked to see he was buck naked, aside from his covering of coarse, matted hair. Instead of milk or cream, he decided to pay that night with a smock for it to wear. But the hobgoblin was incredibly insulted, bellowing at the master for the correct payment and abandoning the hall. The sprite didn’t want to cause any harm or mischief, but never helped them out again.

The Hob of Hart Hall by Mick Garratt, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Yorkshire hobgoblin supposedly inhabits the cliffs at Boggle Hole. Stroll along the beach from Robin Hood’s Bay and you’ll find a rocky cove with a youth hostel set in an historic mill.

If you linger beside the rock pool looking for fossils, you may just catch a glimpse of the Boggle, either ambling towards you, or on a mission further afield...

Stephen Arnell’s novel THE GREAT ONE, is available on Amazon Kindle; a new book, titled THE FORTUNATE ONE, will be published later this year.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-One-Secret-Memoirs-Pompey-ebook/dp/B0BNLTB2G7

References

Mysteries and Monsters: Wold Newton Triangle interview with Charles Christian: https://youtu.be/P5TsBe6b3sY?si=XQIZ8m_7fqOW4s4a

The Tallest Monolith in Britain: https://youtu.be/nPcLsAeui6k

Children of the Stones: FromThe Urban Prehistorian, “...there is a healthy Children of the Stones vibe at the Devil’s Arrows.” https://youtu.be/F67_DB-BFwc

Medium Anthony Borgia & ‘Spirit Priest’ Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson

I have long been a fan of medium and author Anthony Borgia and have original copies of some of his books which I treasure. For me, they are up there with Testimony of Light written by Helen Greaves which has been in continuous print since 1969. This underrated book is deserving of much wider readership, as are Borgia’s, whose writings are such an honest pleasure to read. While some of the language may now be dated, the wealth and breadth of what he covered is magnificent.

‘Knowledge is the best antidote for fear, especially if that fear could be of the possible or probable state of existence after we made the change from this life to the next.’ Anthony Borgia, Life in the World Unseen

Anthony Borgia (1896-1989) was a medium who transcribed the thoughts of a deceased Catholic priest and author Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914) whom he had known in life. Benson was the son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward White Benson.

Photograph by G. Jerrard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Benson was originally a priest in the Anglican tradition, but later changed allegiances and re-qualified as a Catholic priest. Borgia was a close friend of Benson’s for five years prior to his passing into the spirit world. Benson was appointed a supernumerary private chamberlain (now Chaplain of His Holiness) to the Pope in 1911 and consequently styled as Monsignor. He was a prolific author, both of fiction as well as religious tomes and died very young at age 42.

From the Spirit World, the Monsignor dictated a wealth of transcripts to his friend Anthony Borgia, and many of them were converted into books. He has a great deal to say, which he hopes will correct the teachings contained in his previous influential Christian books that were written when he was living on earth.

Borgia’s books containing transcripts of Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson include Beyond this Life (1942) and The World Unseen (1944). They became the first and second part of the 1954 publication Life in the World Unseen. The sequel, More About Life In The World Unseen was published by Odhams Press/Citadel Press in 1958.

ABC of Life (1945) was later republished under the title Here and Hereafter, and the preface includes a reference to forming a trilogy with the two previous books. Facts (1946) and More Light (1947) are heavily laden with religious commentary and neither are particularly popular compared to the others, perhaps indicating it was wiser to stick to non-religious topics.

Heaven and Earth was published in 1948. Here is a timely excerpt:

Free copies of all of the aforementioned Anthony Borgia books can be downloaded on A Spiritual Journey - New Birth website.

Anthony Borgia had a strong gift of clairaudience. It was through this particular aspect of his mediumship that he was able to assist Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson in realizing his dearest wish - that of putting into print the knowledge and facts of life after death, and helping to banish the fear of death which affects so many people.

The books for which Anthony acted as Monsignor’s transcriber are rightly regarded as among the ‘classics’ of Spiritualist literature. It was always a source of great happiness to him that he had helped, in this way, to spread the great truths of Spiritualist teachings.

Anthony Borgia: Life in the World Unseen

The foreword of Life in the World Unseen (1954) was written by Sir John Anderson. His closing words are as relevant today as they were in 1954:

’Civilization is at the parting of the ways, and it is to be hoped that more informative literature, such as this, will be forthcoming, to enable the Spiritual regeneration of the world to proceed, so that Peace and Harmony may reign supreme!’

Excerpts from Life in the World Unseen - Introduction by Anthony Borgia, regarding the passing of his friend Monsignor Benson:

After he had passed from this life, I many times wondered as to his welfare. Through a spirit friend I was told that he was well and prospering, and that in time I should hear from him directly. Such eventually proved to be the case, and there commenced a series of scripts given by him, the first of which, Life in the World Unseen, gave an account in some detail of his actual passing.

He recounted how, at the close of his earthly life, he was met by a former colleague named Edwin, and taken by him to the spirit world, where his home awaited him, a counterpart of his house on earth. After a brief rest he commenced his explorations, under Edwin’s guidance, of the land of his new life. During the course of their rambles they met a young girl of great charm, named Ruth, also a newcomer to the spirit world, who joined them, and the three have been together ever since, closely associated in work and pleasure.

Anthony passed in 1989 at the age of 93, a man of profound intelligence allied to an enquiring mind. His interests were many and varied, although those which remained the strongest and lasted all his life were the study of music and of psychic science, in both of which he could be considered something of an expert.

A man of great kindness, warmth and generosity, he was a splendid example of true Spiritualism, never exhibiting this better than during the many years of near blindness in his old age when the grace, courage and humour with which he bore this affliction drew the admiration of all who knew him. His books remain as a testimony to Monsignor’s great desire to share his knowledge of the life to come, and to Borgia’s own homage to truths which sustained him throughout his long life.

Below are some insightful passages from Life in the World Unseen (mind the spelling errors):

Excerpt about Monsignor Benson’s transition into the spirit world:

Excerpt about communication with loved ones on earth and when they are likely to join you in the spirit world:

Monsignor speaks of an immense building which exercises the function of an office of records and inquiries where one can inquire about newly arrived souls and when a friend or family member is due to arrive: