10-31-2008, 11:28 AM
Ok, we're a bit more settled here now. Although the Ashdown Forest is well-known for enchanted childhoods (i.e., Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh), there have been a couple moments where I could envisage the setting of our home in a Gothic novel.
The house is a small bungalow set on a large estate. It appears to be a former barn or stable or something. It currently is a sheep farm. Several other houses are situated on the same estate, including the gate house, the main house and a converted coach house. The bungalow is farthest in from the road and there are no lights, so in the dark, with no moon overhead, it can be very spooky. We had a couple nights of heavy winds and it kept banging the door of our shed. Being so isolated, it was wonderful to imagine a ghost outside. One night, I had to go to the car to get something and our gate swung to (from the wind) and the clanging of the latch as it caught really brought to mind some scenes from Gothic novels.
A few nights ago, my husband and daughter were returning from picking up some furniture and they drove through the forest. At an isolated spot in the forest they saw a figure of a woman, all dressed in black, standing and just staring straight ahead. No parking lot nearby, no cars, nothing. It gave them a spook because they couldn't be sure if it was real or not. No one would be crazy enough to stand out in the cold in the middle of a forest for no reason.
Now, tonight we will be going on a Ghost Walk in a nice place, appropriately known as Devil's Dyke. We had been there when we first arrived and the place would be a perfect setting for a gothic novel, should I ever get down to writing one. You stand on top of a hill with a deep ravine running below. It was very windy at the time and you could imagine being tossed off from the top. I have yet to hear the history of this place. Hopefully, we'll find out tonight.
The house is a small bungalow set on a large estate. It appears to be a former barn or stable or something. It currently is a sheep farm. Several other houses are situated on the same estate, including the gate house, the main house and a converted coach house. The bungalow is farthest in from the road and there are no lights, so in the dark, with no moon overhead, it can be very spooky. We had a couple nights of heavy winds and it kept banging the door of our shed. Being so isolated, it was wonderful to imagine a ghost outside. One night, I had to go to the car to get something and our gate swung to (from the wind) and the clanging of the latch as it caught really brought to mind some scenes from Gothic novels.
A few nights ago, my husband and daughter were returning from picking up some furniture and they drove through the forest. At an isolated spot in the forest they saw a figure of a woman, all dressed in black, standing and just staring straight ahead. No parking lot nearby, no cars, nothing. It gave them a spook because they couldn't be sure if it was real or not. No one would be crazy enough to stand out in the cold in the middle of a forest for no reason.
Now, tonight we will be going on a Ghost Walk in a nice place, appropriately known as Devil's Dyke. We had been there when we first arrived and the place would be a perfect setting for a gothic novel, should I ever get down to writing one. You stand on top of a hill with a deep ravine running below. It was very windy at the time and you could imagine being tossed off from the top. I have yet to hear the history of this place. Hopefully, we'll find out tonight.