Stubly Old Hall boasts more than one ghost, but it is only one of them that I am going to concern myself with in this post. The ghost of a young lady called Fatima. Fatima makes her presence known throughout the year, but she is known to be particularly industrious on Christmas Eve.
In the 12th Century Stubly Old Hall belonged to the Stobbeley family. The head of the family was Ralph De Stobbeley and there was a relationship between Ralph and Fatima. As is occasionally the case, through the years different versions of the story have emerged.
In the first version of the story Fatima and Ralph were engaged to be married, but Ralph got called away to the Holy Crusades. If this version of the tale is correct, Ralph was not wholly faithful to his lady love, and became involved with a Saracen’s daughter. By the time Ralph retuned home Fatima was dead, but remained at the hall in spirit.
In the second version Fatima was the Saracen’s daughter and when Ralph returned home without her she decided to follow her heart and set sail for England herself. Unfortunately she died on the journey, but not to be cheated of her reunion, even in death, Fatima’s ghost continued the journey. It was a romantic gesture on her part (if a tad over the top), but when Fatima eventually did materialize she found Ralph ready to marry his English lover on the Christmas Eve. Ralph had barely tied the knot though, when he heard the sound of a harp (Fatima’s) drifting in from outside. Of course, he went to investigate, but he didn’t come back. When his wife and their guest went to see what was keeping him they found him lying dead, with a look of terror on his face.
In both stories Fatima was cheated by her love and was quite understandably less than happy about it. Hence the haunting and the sad ghost of Fatima carries her frustration with her (so they say) even now. At one time the hall was a restaurant and whenever wedding receptions were held on the premises strange things tended to happen: brides had their headdresses torn from their heads by invisible hands, they were tripped by invisible feet and there jewellery was snatched away from them, by the jealous ghost.
But it is on Christmas Eve that Fatima plays her harp and it is believed that if you should stand in the grounds of Stubly Old Hall on that night then you will hear her tune to this very day.