The Ghost On Station Road

A Memory of Royston.

I lived at 59 Station Road, Royston. My parents moved there in the very early 1960's and I was born in 1969 and my brother David in 1972.
It was a semi, with what seemed to be a garden that went on forever. I was always at the shop on Station Road run by Gwen Miller and her husband Cyril. So it was us, the Haigh's at 59, then the Jobson's, and at 63 the Pagan's. We all loved going to Abeldy or Notton Woods, carefree days out for hours, bliss. We also used to play on what we all called the Isla Sky which I think at one time was called Windmill Hill and there were a few houses on there, placed at Windmill Terrace. I remember many families, the Mcloughlins, Stewarts, the Horsleys. Next door to us was a fish and chip shop run by the Standevens, Mary and Malc but it closed down when I was young and put back to a house.
Our house was haunted and by no stretch of the imagination was it imagined. It was horrible. I remember waking up one morning and seeing a man stood at the bottom of my bed, he was wearing a red lumberjack shirt and jeans. He had his hands on his hips and he was laughing and laughing with his head going back and forth.....but no sound left his lips. Because I was a young girl, when I told my parents, they said it was a window cleaner and I took it as that, but I knew it wasn't really.

I had been ill in bed and needed a drink of water so badly but couldn't muster the energy to go get one. Suddenly, from out of the darkness, I saw a hand from the wrist down. The hand had the most pretty green silk blouse cuff, because I remember the pretty buttons on it, and the hand was holding a glass of water, so I sat up and drank it. Just then my mother came in and put the light on, the hand was no longer there and she said "I thought you may need a drink love". When I told her I had already had one, she went white, I was in her bed after all. My dad used to see a big black cat in his bedroom, he said it was totally out of proportion because of its size and it would just sit there. When he did get up to challenge it, it would simply vanish.
My mother awoke one night to the sound of scratching on her bedroom window. When she opened her eyes she was frozen in sheer terror, because around the bed she said there were four young children, with blond curly hair and high neck cotton nightgowns, but they all looked very drawn and thin and they were calling her Mummy over and over again and trying to pull her out of bed. When she began screaming, my dad jumped up and pulled the pulley light switch on, they both sat there until morning, afraid.
Me and my brother would often hear people walking across the landing on a night, looking back it must have been terrible for my parents - my mum, for 2 years after I was born would hear a baby crying. She first assumed it was the neighbours, then outside, me even, but I was always asleep. It nearly drove her mad. She eventually told my dad and he ripped up floors, went into the loft, you name it to show Mum nothing was there. She said the baby sounded like it was distressed, like it needed feeding almost or just needed to be picked up. We did hear either a baby was stillborn in the house or the mother died in childbirth. Still, it does not explain the crazy events. The house was built in the 1930's so it would not explain the Victorian kids. Thats just a sample of some of the events that took place. I have never been able to find out any information on people that used to live there to at least try and explain. We moved out in the 1980's and moved to Ashley Croft and then to Selby.
That house has affected me in many ways. Its like I need to close the chapter but need answers first. I also remember Jimmy Fox, he was a character and a half. I also remember a poor mound lad shooting himself in the chest by accident with his brothers gun down common lane.
Some people seemed a little bit wary of Station Road and I for one would love any history or any information regarding Station Road whatsoever, so please if you have any, please drop me a line, I'm also writing a book about it.
Many thanks
hbvrl@aol.com

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