THE HALFWAY HOUSE

The Halfway House, resides in picturesque Childer Thornton, on the A41 in Cheshire. This tiny village makes up part of the Ellesmere Port borough, though older than Ellesmere Port, it was not included in the Doomsday survey, but at the time was in the possession of the Abbot and Convent of St. Werburgh.

The Halfway House derives its name from being nearly halfway between Chester and Birkenhead, (8 miles and 7.25 miles respectively). The public house was built in 1839 as a coach stop on the main road. Apart from this importance the Halfway House was also a source of revenue for the children of the village, especially when the races were being held at nearby Hooton Park, the children would gather bunches of wild flowers, even dandelions and sell them to the thirsty travellers for a shilling a bunch. Most of the old buildings in the village have long since gone, one was a pub called The Rifleman’s Arms.

The Halfway House is three stories high, built from a good quality brick, with bay windows, behind the pub still stands one of its original stables. When you look around it gives you the impression that you’ve stepped back in time. Step inside and you are immediately greeted by a real burning fire and a friendly atmosphere. The current tenants have been on the premises for over 8 years. Jane Cross and Chris O’Grady, (and of course Stella, who herself has fame attached, Jane will be happy to tell you all about that), are very friendly and happy to have a chat with anyone. Both of the licensees have had some strange experiences. The Guinness is probably one of the best pints around, and the quiz and theme nights are always a hoot.

I have taken part in numerous vigils at the Halfway House, and not once have I been let down, many anomalous sightings, shadows, balls of light, strange bangs and other anomalous sounds and occurrences have been witnessed. Below is a short list of the strange occurrences:

1. A lady in white in the snug, gently gliding through the wall and into the lounge before sitting down and gradually disappearing.

(Many patrons have seen this mysterious lady).

2. In the pool room, an elderly grey looking man, hunched over has been seen from time to time.

3. A ball has been seen bouncing down the stairs, closely followed by an apparition of a young boy, who was apparently asleep by a gas fire, and suffocated from a carbon monoxide leak during the 1960s.

4. Further upstairs, in the residential area, a strange looking gentleman in a dark black suit has been seen looking out at the stables.

5. The sounds of a stage-coach has been heard many times, making its olden day trip through the now blocked entrance at the side of the pub.

6. An apparition of a cellar-man has also been seen on occasion, as if still working away down below.

7. Finally, a sickening sigh has been heard to emanate from the bar area.

My most recent visit was on Saturday 11th of March this year. Again I was not disappointed. With the help of some new equipment, I was able to pinpoint activity, and alert another investigator via voice actuated transceivers. Again the white lady was seen on three occasions, along with the gray looking man, but our evening took a twist whilst looking for the pesky cat, meowing and spoiling our strictly monitored environment, first seen near the bar area, and then being observed in the cellar via CCTV cameras.

Two other investigators rushed down to rid the cat from the premises, but were to late, (or so they thought). But the cat was still seen at the base, (where all monitors and thermometer home units were under constant surveillance). The cat could still be heard. I decided to take some photographs directly where a fellow investigator was sitting. I thoroughly investigated the area, and later developments gave evidence of a new addition to the list of apparitions in the pub.

Many other strange events occurred with some investigators feeling quite ill after passing through a suspected cold spot. A odour of burning wood, and other strange noises emanating from the blocked opening of a tunnel, which leads from the pub to a local farm further along the road, and onto a farm in Rivacre Valley, (which incidentally used to be a vineyard ran by Benedictine Monks).

From all the data collected at the Halfway House, it is by far a favoured haunted venue, and probably one of the most haunted buildings throughout the area. I have been asked to return in the future whenever I want to, and I can’t wait to go. Visit Halfway House and tell them that I sent you, but there is a certain seat which you may not want to sit in, the story and the seat are for you to find……?

This article was read and permission for its use was given by landlord Chris O'Grady.

This case was discussed at the MAPIT conference in Ellesmere Port in September 2000 at at several other lectures, it was also published in the Chester Evening Leader and the Ellesmere Port Pioneer.