Tonight, pumpkins will be glowing and youngsters will be out in full force trick-or-treating in spooky costumes.

Of course, it is Halloween, or the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.

The annual day, celebrated on October 31, blends ancient pagan traditions with Christian observances.

Now, traditions have turned into celebrations of all things dark, even enjoying gruesome stories that have happened throughout history.

In this feature, we celebrate all things spooky in West Norfolk…

‘It is a very haunted area’

Embracing all things paranormal is Nicky Proctor, the founder of The Original King’s Lynn Ghost Tour.

She takes customers eager to learn about Lynn’s haunting tales on a tour of the town, starting at the Saturday Market Place and finishing at the Tuesday Market Place.

Nicky started the tour back in July 2021 and has said that this year has been her busiest to date.

“Lynn is very haunted compared to historic cities like York. We are quite inundated with ghost stories,” she said.

“The tour is four years old now, it has not changed, but it has evolved in that time.”

Nicky has researched countless amounts of ghostly sightings and experiences that have taken place in Lynn throughout the years.

Since starting her tour, she has heard even more stories from those who have been on the tour.

She is joined on the tour by her assistant, ‘mad Alice’.

Nicky has heard of two similar spooky experiences that have taken place in Thoresby College, located on Queen Street.

“One lady who worked in an office told me that staplers and holepunches were going missing,” she said.

“Another who came on the tour and worked in the offices said that this was still happening, and that once the items were found, they were cold to the touch.”

Those who know of Nicky, who also runs the Into The Shadows Paranormal Investigations King’s Lynn group, often come to her, sharing their paranormal experiences.

“They are more shocked than anything,” she said.

“It is a personal thing for people. A lot of people believe in orbs and get excited looking through their phone cameras at things they see.

“A lot of people contact us through our Facebook page if they think they have any paranormal activity. We often ask them to keep a diary.”

Nicky’s ghost tour is available to book throughout the year, including in the winter months.

With the Halloween season being one of the busiest times, there are limited time slots available.

Dates can be found via The Original King’s Lynn Ghost Tour’s Facebook page.

Are you sitting comfortably?

It is fair to say that some terrible, gruesome things have happened throughout history, and West Norfolk is no different.

We have a few tales to share, from burning alleged witches in Lynn to a hanging gone horribly wrong.

Robert Goodale:

Did you know the story of Robert Goodale, a market gardener from Walsoken in 1885.

He came to a rather unfortunate death following his sentence for killing his wife.

Mr Goodale has been married called Bethsheba for 22 years. He owned a piece of land at Walsoken Marsh, near Wisbech, where he grew fruit and vegetables.

On September 15, 1885, Bethsheba did not arrive at the market garden, and a search was made for her.

Her body was discovered the following day in a well.

Examination of the body revealed that she had been struck three times on the head, most probably with a bill-hook, and then thrown down the well, where she drowned.

Goodale was arrested by Sgt Roughton on suspicion of murder and later charged with the crime.

He came to trial at the Norfolk Assizes at Norwich before Mr Justice Stephen on Friday, November 13.

Evidence was presented of the Goodales’ unhappy marriage and of threats of violence made against Bethsheba by her husband.

A witness testified that he had heard a quarrel in the Goodales’ house on the afternoon of the murder. Although the murderer later confessed that his wife had confessed to him that she “preferred other men” to her husband.

The trial resumed on Saturday, and after the closing speeches and the summing up, it took the jury just 20 minutes to reach their verdict of guilty of the wilful murder of his wife.

Goodale was sentenced to death and removed to the Condemned Cell in Norwich Castle.

He was executed on Monday, November 30. The trap doors were set level with the floor over an 11’ 5” deep brick-lined pit in the middle of a small yard.

Goodale stood 5’ 11” tall and was a heavy man at 15 stone with a “weak neck”.

It was considered that a drop of 5’ 9” should be given.

Goodale’s legs were strapped and the white hood and the noose were applied.

Goodale several times exclaimed: “Oh God, receive my soul.”

As the church clock struck for the eighth time, Berry released the trap doors, and Goodale disappeared into the pit, but the rope sprang back up to the horror of the witnesses.

As they looked down into the pit, they could see the body and the head lying separately at the bottom.

An inquest took place into Mr Goodale’s death, which determined that the drop was too low.

A public burning:

Over in Lynn during the 1500s, it was not the best place to be a woman.

Many were accused of being witches at the time, and were either boiled to death or burnt at the stake.

In 1590, Margaret Read was found guilty of witchcraft and publicly burned at the stake in the Tuesday Market Place.

Her legacy is still marked today on the brickwork of buildings numbered 15 and 16. The mark, a diamond shape with a crudely carved heart inside, is still visible today and is known as the “Witch’s Heart”.

The legend states that as she was being burned, her heart burst out and struck the wall of the building opposite the stake. It’s said her heart then bounced into the nearby River Ouse.

The impact of her heart is said to have left a permanent mark on the brickwork of buildings of number 15 and 16.

Another accused of witchcraft was Mother Gabley in 1583. She was said to have boiled eggs in cold water to create a storm at sea.

A legend from a haunted hotel claims a maidservant was sentenced to be boiled alive in the Tuesday Market Place for poisoning her mistress, but this is a local ghost story and not part of a known historical trial.

Speaking of treating women unfairly, have you heard of Mary Taylor?

She was a young servant in 1731, who helped her lover, George Smith, rob her employer.

When the plan was discovered, Smith murdered the mistress.

Smith was hanged for murder, but Taylor was convicted of “petty treason” for the higher crime of betraying her social superior.

Her punishment was to be burned alive in the Tuesday Market Place.

Other haunted tales:

True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum in Lynn also has some spooky tales.

The museum is said to be haunted by more than 37 ghosts. Reports include poltergeist activity, phantom figures, and the sightings of a young woman with red, bulging eyes and red marks on her throat.

Over at the Duke’s Head Hotel, it is rumoured to be haunted by a maidservant who was sentenced to be boiled alive in the market square for poisoning her mistress.

Along the Purfleet Quay, a ghostly figure of a newlywed woman is said to scream before throwing herself into the water. Other reports describe ghostly soldiers fighting and turning the water red with blood.

Have you had any spooky sightings in West Norfolk? Let us know by emailing letters@lynnnnews.co.uk.

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