Taken from Newsletter Issue 34 - February 2006

Stocksbridge lies in South Yorkshire surrounded by steep hills. When the people got told they were going to get a bypass few could have anticipated what else this would bring to the area.

On September 7th 1987 the bypass was nearing completion when two security guards were driving pass an electricity pylon. To their astonishment they could see underneath the pylon a group of four or five children wearing old fashion clothes and dancing in a circle. Fearing for the children’s safety the men got out and investigated the area. The children had gone and there were no footprints in the fresh mud. Once back in the car they continued on patrol and came across a white hooded figure on a bridge. The car beams shone right through the figure before it too vanished in front of them. Finishing the patrol they contacted the police who later sent two officers to the site.

On September 12th PC Ellis and Special Constable John Beet visited the location at around midnight. The site was deserted as the two security guards had neither returned to work or been replaced. The officers were sat on location at the site, they were laughing about how earlier they had been scared by some white plastic sheeting that had been blowing nearby in the wind. Suddenly PC Ellis felt something cold and could see the upper torso of a man next to the car wearing light clothing with a ‘V on the chest. Then it was gone and appeared on the passenger side of the car. Special Constable John Beat let out a scream and hit his colleague. He had seen the figure was dressed in Victorian attire with a wizened face and pointed nose. It had stared at him with pointed eyes. PC Ellis jumped out of the car but the figure was gone and there were no footprints. He got back into the car and they drove to Pearoyd Lane to await the arrival of other officers. As they waited there was a terrific bang from the rear of the car. The officers jumped out and as they did so a series of bangs were heard. The PC’s described it as someone hitting the car with a pickaxe. The PC’s drove away in fright, later examination of the panda car showed no damage.

During the autumn of 1987 Graham Brooks and his son were jogging in the area when Graham saw a figure approaching him in the middle of the road. Graham decided to wait in a layby for his son who was catching him up. Graham described the approaching apparition as wearing a brown cape which was buttoned up down the front and gaiters and the clothes looked seventeenth century. To their horror as the figure drew closer they saw it had no eyes and a black face that was lacking a nose and mouth. Worse still the figure was walking and dragging something that was beneath the level of the road. As the figure passed both the father and the son who was now at the scene noticed a very musty old newspapers smell. The figure then disappeared.

The bypass eventually opened on Friday 13th 1988 and no more was heard until July 1992. When Mr and Mrs Simpson were returning home across the top of the bypass they were greeted by an amazing sight. To their left in a field was a grey figure described as ‘jogging’ it had a head and arms and legs but no facial features. It was running above ground level and the arm movements were not co-ordinated with the legs. As it reached the car it rose up and disappeared into thin air. Since then psychics have visited the site with similar results of apparitions coming in all shapes and forms from ghostly Monks to black shapes that appear solid. Investigators have even reported strange heated areas and a loss of time spanning hours.