I visited an abandoned village with troubled past — what I saw still haunts me | UK | Travel

When I was a child, I moved to an isolated hamlet near Wimborne in Dorset. The hamlet was located less than a mile from the now-abandoned and ruined Knowlton Church, a medieval building that many people claimed was haunted. I didn’t spend much time at Knowlton Church as a child, but after we moved away, the fascination with its history and the alleged ghosts grew.

The church itself is said to be one of the most haunted places in Dorset – and for good reason. This Norman church, built in the 12th century, is located in the middle of a Neolithic ritual henge, a pagan place of worship. The church is a symbol of the area’s transition from pagan to Christian worship, according to the English Heritage website.

It’s believed parts of the church were constructed using some of the ancient standing stones that were there.

But it’s not just the church that makes Knowlton so unique. The parish church also stands in the centre of earthworks. According to the English Heritage website, the Neolithic earthwork « is one of the great Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial complexes in southern England ».

The main earthwork, known as ‘Church Henge’, surrounds the church and has been protected from plough damage, while the others are only visible on aerial photographs.

The history of the church and the village fascinates me, but when I was a teenager, there was one thing that drew me back to Knowlton: the ghosts.

One night, some friends and I decided to drive back to the church and see if we could spot any of the alleged ghosts.

Among the spirits said to haunt the church are a phantom horse and rider who gallop across the grounds at night, passing straight through the church itself; a ghostly face that appears in the top window of the tower; and, according to some, a weeping woman who kneels outside the building.

I’d always believed in ghosts and the supernatural, but had never had my own paranormal experience.

We parked up by the church with the car lights facing the building, waiting for something to happen. Initially, nothing did. We giggled and chattered nervously, not taking our eyes off the medieval structure.

Then, suddenly, the church disappeared from view, as if a black veil had been thrown across the building. We all let out a scream, jumping in our seats as the structure vanished. It soon reappeared as if nothing had happened.

My first reaction was fear; what had I just witnessed? Was someone playing a trick on us? Was someone watching us and trying to scare us away? My instinct was to run. Some of my friends shared my view and wanted to get away, but one wanted to go out and investigate. We quickly decided it was safer to head home.

While my experience was unusual, I’m not the only person to experience paranormal activity at Knowlton Church. Cheryl, a Salisbury resident, told Bournemouth Echo in 2022 that she believed she had seen a ghost there. After looking back through some photographs of the church she took, she spotted something odd: a dark figure lurking in an archway.

Other explorers and self-professed ghost hunters also claim to have witnessed sightings.

Today, Knowlton is a tiny hamlet in a remote area, but many years ago it was a bustling village with a lively community. However, it’s believed that the village was largely wiped out by the bubonic plague, also known as the ‘Black Death’, in the late 15th century.

Those left behind left the village and moved elsewhere, leaving the homes to rot. Eventually, the buildings were ploughed into the earth, but their foundations can still be seen to this day in some areas.

While the village was abandoned, the church is believed to have remained in regular use until the 18th century, when its roof collapsed. However, there’s also a local tale that suggests the church fell into ruin after the bell was stolen and thrown into the river.

According to some stories, the bell was taken by the Devil himself, while others say a group of thieves tried to steal it but were stopped by a witch.

I’m still not quite sure what I saw that night. It’s possible it was simply some mist, or perhaps a trick of the light, but I’ll never forget how I felt.

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