Derek Acorah’s Most Haunted Experiences: Levens Hall

Our columnist Derek Acorah shares his tale of a spooky encounter in an old Cumbrian hall…

“Levens Hall in Cumbria is a beautiful old building, part of which dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to be haunted by many, many ghosts. Among them there is a grey lady who is said to walk the driveway. She is reputed to appear in front of cars before disappearing without trace. There is also a second ghostly lady who is said to appear in the house, usually to children, and there is a small black dog who is also reputed to wander around. The hall was allegedly cursed at one point when a starving woman was turned away from the house. The curse was that no son would inherit the property until the River Kent didn’t flow and a white fawn was born in its surrounding park. The curse was lifted in 1896 when the river froze over and a white fawn was born.

“As I entered the hall, my first impression was that of a lady who smiled and murmered the name ‘Jocelyn’. At least I knew that there would be some spirit activity while I was present. I felt drawn to a room on the upper floor. My spirit guide Sam guided me to a bedroom to the left of a huge square landing. As I entered the bedroom, I became aware of a spirit lady who emanated peace and calm. She wore a dress which was covered in small marks, and as I concentrated further, I realised that it had a flower print on the material. She had a mob cap covering her hair, and spoke to me of the children, and I gained the impression that she had been a governess of sorts.

“A swirl of pink drew my eyes towards the bed. As the first spirit lady faded from my view, I could make out the shape of yet another female outline. This lady, as she became clearer to my eyes, said nothing, but looked haughtily towards me. “This is the Countess of Suffolk,” Sam advised me. “She was the daughter of James Grahme, who owned Levens Hall many, many years ago.

“Moving on to a second bedroom, I could hear a name being shouted… ‘Bellingham! Bellingham!’ The name was repeated over and over again. I got a brief glimpse of the small black dog, which is alleged to wander around the rooms of the hall. Was his name Bellingham? I don’t know. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. I was aware that many spirit entities were around us at the time of my investigation. Sam told me that there were a number of vortexes in the hall, and that was why it was visited so often by spirit people. My psychic appraisal and my spiritual information from Sam came in to prove once again that for some reason the spirit people find it far easier and more appropriate to make sure that vortex, (or ‘spiritual doorways’ as I like to refer to them), are very close in proximity, if not directly on top, of ley lines, and I was convinced and still am that Levens Hall sits firmly above ley lines.

“My investigation of Levens Hall drew to a close. I encountered many spirit people within its walls – far too many unfortunately to catalogue here – but I did see the grey lady, famed for walking across the driveway. It was she who corrected me when I mentioned having seen an orb. ‘No,’ she said rather frostily, ‘they are quite simply life lights’. I gathered her meaning to be that they are signs of people who are still alive in life, but in a different dimension, and that they are still in the old places where they once lived, but are now in a body which is so ethereal and so light, that they are not generally seen by the naked eye in physical form.”

Meet Derek…

Derek Acorah is one of the world’s most renowned spiritualist mediums, having demonstrated to millions of people in theatres throughout the UK and beyond over his 25-year career in the public eye. For more information, visit derekacorah.com