Vehicle spectra

In a world full of mystery and unusual phenomena, it's not just human and animal spirits that inspire fear and fascination. Along the ancient roads of England, among the marshes of Devon, Lady Mary Howard's carriage haunts the haunting apparition of a tragic figure, pulled by the skeleton of a dog. Other apparitions, such as Judge George Jeffreys's black carriage and the number 7 double-decker bus, also appear in London, and their stories continue to intrigue. These fascinating tales of transport ghosts, which connect the past with the present, are worth exploring.

The world is haunted not only by the ghosts of people and animals, but also by strange apparitions of objects! Among the most sinister apparitions in this category is undoubtedly the terrifying carriage of Lady Mary Howard, sighted on the old King's Way road, amid the marshes between Tavistock and Okehampton in Devon. Trapped within the carriage is the pale apparition of Lady Howard, daughter of the 17th-century landowner Sir John Fritz of Fritzford. The carriage is constructed from the skulls and bones of Mary's four husbands, who were supposedly killed by her. It is drawn by the skeleton of a ghostly dog.

On the evening of June 28, 1944, at approximately 9:45 p.m., David Hanchet was cycling home. As he reached the intersection of Bell Lane in Enfield Old Town, a northern suburb of London, he saw a tall, black, box-shaped carriage, with a driver and two black horses, emerge from the hedge surrounding the gardens to his left. In the dead silence, the spectral vehicle, enveloped in a blue glow, sped along the hedge, its wheels hovering a foot above the ground. A moment later, it disappeared into the depths of an old workshop. The driver wore a tall black top hat and a long whip. Several people were in the carriage. A small boy riding a bicycle also saw the terrifying apparition and fled in terror. Many other people had also seen the strange ghostly vehicle roaming Bell Lane. Legend has it that the ghost of the famously cruel Judge George Jeffreys, a loyal servant of James II, travels in the carriage.

In 1936, the apparition of a modern form of transport – the number 7 double-decker bus – was a common sight! The bright red, illuminated vehicle, devoid of passengers, driver, or conductor, sped down St. Mark's Road in Kensington at midnight. Many drivers traveling this route fled in panic to avoid a collision with the bus. The apparition ceased to be a sight when one driver, startled by its appearance, swerved sharply, struck a wall, and died instantly. Shortly afterward, the wall was dismantled and the road widened to improve safety. Since then, no one has seen this strange apparition again.

There are also reports of a Spitfire apparition at Biggin Hill airfield in the southern suburbs of London, and a Wellington bomber hovering in Dyfed over the Towy Valley, between Llandeilo and Llandovery, where warplanes conducted test flights during the Second World War.

Among the strangest phenomena are undoubtedly road accidents in which the vehicle is real; the victim, however, is a ghost! On a rainy evening on November 2, 1981, Andrew Cutajar was driving on the A12 to Great Yarmouth. Nearby, Hopton noticed a cloud of gray fog in the middle of the road. As he approached, the cloud took the form of a tall, bushy-haired man wearing a long cape or cloak and old-fashioned lace-up boots. The figure remained stationary, so Cutajar had to brake to avoid a collision. The car skidded, ran over the man, and emerged on the other side of his incorporeal body! The apparition quickly vanished. The car veered onto the grassy verge, and its driver, fortunately, was unharmed. It later turned out that this stretch of road was often visited by ghosts who "fell prey" on drivers. It's safe to assume that this unfortunate figure from ancient times had no idea about modern road traffic!