THE GHOSTLY CHILDREN OF BEDERN

York is one of England’s oldest cities. It was founded by the Romans in 71 AD and became known as Eboracum. After four centuries of rule the Romans finally departed leaving it to become occupied by the Angles. In 866 AD, Viking invaders captured the city and renamed it Jorvik. By the middle ages the city had grown considerably, due mainly to its profits from the woollen trade. It also became a place of religious importance with its impressive gothic cathedral known as York Minster. Today the city remains a popular tourist destination attracting visitors from around the world who come to visit the many locations of historical interest.

The old part of the city sits snugly contained within ancient stone walls. Walk around them and you will be able to peer across the jumble of terracotta-tiled rooftops. Walk through its heart and you will enter the narrow streets and passages known locally as snickleways. Each one has a tale to tell or, moreover, a ghostly tale, for York is reputed to be the most haunted city in all of England, playing host to over 500 ghosts.

The avid ghost hunter might therefore find themselves in a bit of a quandary in not to knowing quite where to begin. For as night envelopes the city, and as the daytime crowds disperse, spectres seem to drift down virtually every dimly lit street or snickleway.

During the 19th century the area of Bedern was a grim and foreboding place occupied by slums and dilapidated warehouses. Amidst the ramshackle housing stood what was known as the York Industrial Ragged School. This was not a school in any traditional sense but a workhouse for waifs and strays. The institution was run by a cruel workhouse master, employed by the church, named George Pimm, whose job it was to round up orphans and set them to work. Pimm was a vile brute of a man who would take a morbid delight in thrashing the children for the slightest misdemeanour. Furthermore, he ensured that the orphans laboured for long hours working on farms, market stalls and as chimney sweeps. In return they were granted a few meagre hours of education.

Conditions at the workhouse were squalid and cold. Many children died from over-work, malnutrition and from the brutal beatings metered out by Pimm. When a child died the church would give them a Christian burial and remove them from their list. Pimm, however, realising he would lose his allowance for a dead child, decided to hide the bodies and not declare the deaths.

Winters were particularly bitter in those days and the ground too hard to dig even the shallowest of graves. Therefore, Pimm decided to store the rotting corpses in a huge closet until the spring, when the earth would begin to soften. It was not long before the rank stench of rotting bodies began to pervade the place.

It was around this time that Pimm began drinking heavily. He claimed to hear the sounds of screams and the disembodied voices of children coming from the closet. This eventually played on his conscience and he went insane. Eventually, taking a knife, he ran amok slaughtering the remaining children. Pimm was eventually discovered cowering in a corner whimpering amongst the mutilated bodies. He was subsequently taken off by the authorities to spend the rest of his life in an asylum.

As the years passed people began hearing the sounds of children playing in the streets of Bedern. Many locals would take a wide birth of the area late at night. However, over time, the sounds of the ghostly children seemed to fade and become almost forgotten, until a few years ago when much regeneration was taking place in the area.

It is often believed that building work, particularly the movement of earth when laying foundations, can reawaken paranormal activity. Interestingly, it was during this time that people began hearing the sounds of the children’s voices once more. One night a man was out walking his dog at around midnight. As he approached the archway leading into Bedern he began hearing the sound of children playing in the street. Needless to say he was surprised that children should be out so late. He was about to investigate when his dog began cowering and refused to budge. He left the animal for a few seconds and entered the passage; immediately the voices ceased.

While foundations were being laid for new housing an architect, working on the site, suddenly felt something claw at his shoulder. He turned around but was startled to see no one there. Later that evening, while preparing for bed, his wife noted the small scratch marks on his shoulder resembling that of a tiny hand.

Many people to this day today still claim to hear the sounds of the ghostly children late at night. It’s hardly surprising therefore that the area of Bedern features on so many York’s popular ghost walks.