Legends of the Grey Lady

REBECCA BATLEY explores a long-lived and enduringly popular branch of British ghostlore that has given rise to many a myth–and on one occasion even caused a riot.

Today, ghosts are the stuff of mass entertainment, with You-Tube channels, documentaries and guidebooks all dedicated to ghost hunting, and new ghost stories continue to appear regularly, often documented by Alan Murdie in his regular ‘Ghostwatch’ column. But no ghost is more enduringly popular, or more frequently sighted, than the Grey Lady. She is for many the quintessential ghost, and a ‘Grey Lady’ character appears in films such as Ghostbusters, The Good Witch and the Harry Potter series. This modern fascination with Grey Lady ghosts was in part born from the migration of people into Britain’s cities during the 18th and 19th centuries, a process that created ready breeding grounds for rumour and, in some cases, even hysteria, as new street light technology created menacing shadows and mysterious shapes in…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 450

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