The Ghost of Anglesford Church
There have been many stories of a ghost in Anglesford Church, the most common suggesting that an apparition in the form of a woman sometimes appeared at midnight. This apparition is supposed to have been seen walking between the vestry door and the font at the base of the tower. Nobody really believed these stories and to my knowledge, until the incident I am about to relate, a vigil had never been kept. However, it was often the topic of light hearted conversation which sometimes followed the weekly choir practice and one Winter's evening it was decided that two members of the choir should stay and keep watch.
For adult members of the choir, practice normally started at 8pm. and finished at any time between 9.15 and 9.30 pm., depending on the progress that had been achieved and the mood of the Choir Master. Therefore, a vigil to take up position and watch until midnight would be at least two and a half hours. A decision on who should stay behind after the practice was taken by drawing straws, and the unfortunate couple to be selected on this occaslon were Anne and Les Bates. Les was clearly more enthusiastic than Anne. Late hours never seemed to worry him, but she always found it difficult to keep awake. However, she had agreed to take part on condition that Les could retain the keys, allowing them to lock up and leave the church as soon as possible after practice and return for a short period at about 11.45 pm. As usual, it took some time for everybody to leave after practice had finished, and it was nearly 10 pm. before they were able to take a last look round in preparation to leave.
Locking up was a somewhat involved procedure. It meant that the last person out of the church had to close the main entrance by securing it with a padlock in addition to a 'Yale' lock and a massive wooden bar which had to be slid into place across the entrance. Following this, it was necessary to put out the lights, the switches of which were located in a fuse and switch box at the foot of the tower. When this had been completed it was necessary to find your way in darkness along the main aisle and finally let yourself out via the "Priest's door" in the Chancel. This involved walking a distance of about 50 yards in total darkness unless of course, you had equipped yourself with a torch. Most of us who knew the building well never bothered, since we all regarded it as a friendly place where the thought of anything sinister rarely crossed our minds.
On this particular evening, it was agreed that Les should lock up the church and join Anne outside in the porch before they made their way to the car. The plan was to go home for a coffee and return in time to commence the vigil at 11.45 pm. Anne made her exit by the main door. Les put everything in place, took one last look round, and proceeded to the switch box where he put out the lights. For a few moments he stood still to become accustomed to the light and then he started to grope his way across to the main aisle. As he did so, he glanced towards the vestry door and thought he saw a tiny point of light just above it, At first he tock no notice and continued to grope his way forward but something possessed him to take another look. To his astonishment, the tiny point of 1ight had grown into a small diffuse blur that seemed to be slowly rotating above the door. He stood transfixed, not quite knowing what to do.
He felt no panic, just an intense feeling of curiosity, At first he thought it must be a reflection - perhaps the lights of a car somewhere, shining through one of the windows and onto the wall. Burely it couldn't be anything more sinister - perhaps it was just his imagination. He turned and took a few more steps towards the chancel and looked back again. This time the rotating blur had become larger and it seemed to be surrounded by tiny flecks of light which were also rotating.
"Oh this is stupid" he said to himself, "It must be my imagination. In any case it's nowhere near midnight; there's only one way to find out, I'll put the lights back on." With some unease, he groped his way back to the switch box keeping an eye on the phenomenon as he went. Almost with a sense of relief, he found the outline of the switches with his fingers and flicked them on - nothing happened. He tried again and again. Nothing bhappened. He checked once more but the switches were definitely on.
By this time the curiosity and unease had given way to deep concern. This was not a reflection; it was something more sinister. He must get out of the church; he must unlock the main door. His heart began to pound and he could feel the tension in his body rising. He moved as quickly as he could towards the door, watching the apparition as it grew steadily before his eyes. By this time, the small rotating blur and flecks of light had begun to assume a more definite shape. He could see what appeared to be the outline of a skull and there was a low pulsating noise. He fumbled with the keys and managed to get the padlock off the door.
He turned again to see that the apparition had moved towards him, This time the skull was much clearer, it stood out against a "black halo" whick in turn was silhouetted by a faint aura of light. it also appeared to have a pair of eyes which were dull red in colour. Panic was now beginning to set in. He pulled at the door, forgetting that he had to slide the bar back before he could get out. His heart was pounding faster than ever, his throat had gone dry and he had broken out into a cold sweat.
He looked once more and saw that the apparition was now positioned above him. He sensed intense evil. He tried to say something but nothing would come out. Almost by instinct he signed himself with the sign of the cross. Nothing happened, the apparition was still there. He pulled at the bar on the door but something was holding it in place. He felt an intense pressure on his chest and throat; he could not breathe.
Les tried to convince himself that this was not happening but the noise he had heard earlier was getting louder and he thought he could detect a faint smell of sulphur. The apparition seemed to be getting ever closer. By now it was towering menacingly over him. He looked round in desperation. Surely there must be something he could do. This was a Christian Church where 1t was inconceivable that he could come to any harm. He looked at the row of hymn books on the pew just inside the main door and noticed that one had a small palm cross as a book mark. He reached out for it, but his arms seemed like lead. He felt that this evil thing was bearing down on him to prevent any escape.
He tried again and this time he managed a tenuous hold on the cross with just two fingers. He drew it towards him but dropped it before he could secure his grip. Frantically he groped around to retrieve it. It seemed like an age before he grabbed hold of it again. In desperation he looked up at the apparition and held up the cross; this time it seemed to work. The apparition recoiled and he took the opportunity to have one more attempt to get out of the door.
Somehow the sheer terror he was experiencing gave him super human strength. Once more, he grabbed the wooden bar and managed to pull it free. Even so he could feel himself being dragged away from the door but he hung on. He reached for the "Yale" lock with one hand and turned the main door handle with the other. Suddenly the door flew open and a wind rushed in causing the draught curtains to blow out almost horizontally.
By now Les was obsessed by only one motive; he had to get out of the church. He was oblivious to anything else. Even after the door had opened he seemed to be struggling for ages to free himself from the clutches of the apparition. In fact, from the instant the door had opened until the time he emerged from the Church it had only been a matter of seconds.
When Les had stayed in the church to lock up, Anne had, as arranged, waited in the porch. She heard the keys turn in the lock and noticed the lights go out. From that point on it should have been no more than five minutes at the outside for Les to have completed everything and join her so that they could walk together down to the car. After waiting twenty minutes or so with no sign of Les, Anne was getting somewhat annoyed. He would certainly get the length of her tongue when he came out, and she was in two minds about calling the whole thing off. From ber point of view nothing had happened since the lights went out to indicate that anything was wrong.
Certainly the wind had got up, but that was nothing unusual. She had repeatedly checked to see if there was any indication of Les emerging from the "Priest's" door, and was astounded when the porch door burst open and he rushed out in panic. He should have come out of the "Priest's" door, not the main entrance - and why had he left in such a hurry, forgetting to put the lights out? Anne's first instinct was to follow Les down the hill but she hesitated for a moment, realising that the church was unlocked with all the lights now unaccoutably burning. She went inside, switched them off and emerged through the main door. "At least the 'Yale' lock will make sure that the building is reasonably secure before I get back" she thought.
She reasoned that Les had misunderstood the arrangement and had gone to the car in a hurry to avold her wrath. As quickly as she could, she went down the hill and into the car park. Les was sitting in his car. A feeling of anger came over her as she opened the car door on his side ready to give him a piece of her mind. For a second she hesitated. Something told her that all was not well. Les was sitting in the car staring straight in front of him. By the courtesy light she could see that his face was ashen. She felt his forehead. It was cold, with beads of sweat standing out. His hands were on the steering wheel. She spoke to him and got no answer, then she shook him - he did not move. She tried to remove his hands from the steering wheel but they were rigid.
The feelings of anger had given way to apprehension. "Merciful Heaven!" she said, "What has happened?" She knew that she had to get help. Les was obviously ill and needed a doctor or an ambulance. She hurried to the nearest phone box. Somebody was already there making a call. Anne hammered on the glass. The woman inside ignored her. She hammered again this time there was a look of annoyance. "I need to phone" she mouthed "My Husband's ill, it's an emergency." The woman in the phone box said something to the person she was calling and put down the receiver. "What's wrong?" she said. "My Husband's ill" said Anne "I need a doctor or an ambulance." "You had better go ahead" said the woman "I'1l give my friend a call later."
Anne picked up the receiver and dialed 999; "Emergency! Which service please?" The operator had responded in seconds. "It's my Husband" said Anne "He's ill, I need a doctor or an ambulance. "Putting you through to the ambulance service now" said the operator. There was a brief pause as the dialling tone rang out and a man's volce sald "Ambulance service! How can we help?" Anne explained the situation as best she could and told them where she was. "My Husband's in the car park near the new 'Bailey' bridge" she said. "We know it" said the ambulance man, "Somebody will be there within fifteen to twenty minutes - you go to the car park and wait at the entrance - the driver will look out for you."
It seemed like an hour before the ambulance arrived but in fact it was no more than ten minutes. The ambulance turned into the car park and two men got out. "It's my Husband" said Anne, "He rushed out of church after locking up about three quarters of an hour ago and I found him in the car." The two men hurried to the car and opened the door. Les was exactly as Anne had found him. At first they did not move him. They had a good look, checking his pulse and breathing. Then one of them turned to Anne and sald "Do you know if he injured himself when he came out of the church, or got involved in a fight?" "Not as far as I know" she said. "Why do you ask?" "Because he has come severe bruising of the throat" he replied. "Is he alright?" she asked anxiously. "We can't say at the moment dear, we'll have to get him out of the car."
As gently as they could, the two men eased Les out of his car, but his body was so rigid that they had to take him out in a sitting position. They took him up the steps of the ambulance and sat him down on one of the benches. They checked his pulse and breathing again. "Well there's a slight pulse" said one, "But his breathing is almost imperceptible, and we cannot understand why his temperature is so low and his body so rigid." He turned to Anne again, "When did you say he rushed out of church?" "About three quarters of an hour ago," she said. The ambulance man thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I have never seen anything like this before. If he hadn't been breathing I'd have said that he'd been dead for at least an hour."
During the next ten minutes, Les was given a series of injections and the ambulance men indicated that they were going to take him to the local hospital. They told her that the injections they had given him were stimulants, "He's not going to die is he?" enquired Anne fearfully. "Well he's still alive at the moment," they said "But a lot depends on how he responds during the next half hour."
It was already eleven thirty when the ambulance drew into the hospital. By this time, Les's rigid condition had eased somewhat and he had regained conciousness. The doctors checked him over and suggested that Anne should leave him with them overnight. "We should have a much clearer picture of his condition in the morning," they said.
Anne returned to the hospital the next day to find Les sitting up in bed and, apart from a few bruises, seeming little worse for his ordeal. She was obvicusly pleased but still had no idea what had caused the problem. "What on earth happened?" she said. "You came out of the church as though you had been chased by the Devil." "I was," said Les and related the whole story to her. "I never believed in ghosts or evil spirits" he said, "but I do now."
