In the last in a trilogy of ghost stories for Halloween, Island Echo recalls the tale of the Blue Lady, who is said to haunt Nettlestone and its environs.
The Blue Lady is possibly the Isle of Wight’s most well-known apparition. She has been talked about by generations of schoolchildren from the North East corner of the Island (and possibly still is).
She originates from Nettlestone Priory (now Priory Bay Hotel). However, her ghostly visitations are said to have been sighted far along the coast.
It is believed that smugglers in bygone times spread her name ever further afield to keep credulous folk in their beds in the evenings whenever a cargo of contraband was landed.
The Blue Lady tale was especially popular with pupils of the former Bishop Lovett Middle School in Ryde. She was held responsible for scary happenings in the ‘dungeons’ (basement beneath the school). Whenever an object fell from a shelf in the cellars, apparently she was to blame. She was also said to have haunted the woods below the school.
However, the Blue Lady is nothing to be scared of. She is thought not to have been a ‘lady’ but rather a 14-year-old girl, who lived at the Priory over 2 centuries ago. Up until the start of the present century, her portrait adorned its walls; she is said to have died shortly after her likeness had been completed.
She has been described as a ‘sweet and charming’ ghost, as happy in death as she had been in life. Locals claim to have seen her playing with a ghostly King Charles’ spaniel in the fields around the village and on the beach.
However, around a century ago, when the Priory changed ownership, the seemingly happy apparition turned sad. Those working at the Priory handed in their notice. They had been disturbed by the sounds of a girl sobbing and desperately calling out for her pet dog.
A glass case which contained the girl’s stuffed spaniel had vanished. It had been sold together with the former contents of the house when ownership changed hands.
Having been informed of the tale of the ‘ghost’ and her missing pet dog, the new occupant searched high and low for the girl’s lost stuffed animal. Eventually, it was found in an antique shop in Newport, repurchased for a pound, and returned to its former place of honour at the top of the stairs.
The Blue Lady apparently still haunts the Priory and its environs, but the sobbing and disturbances were said to have ceased with the return of her former companion.
Have you (or anyone you know) ever come across the Blue Lady in Nettlestone or further afield? Let us know in the comments…
Another excellent story
I love these tales please keep them coming.
Ghosts are obviously all fantasy and for the weak of mind but I do love good yarn.
Just like churchgoers then.
Yes like those who believe in the afterlife.
All religion does is sow division and start wars.
Hardly for the “weak of mind”. Ghosts have been seen by countless numbers of people in all cultures throughout human history. Plenty of strong minded people have seen them. A very perplexing and challenging phenomenon but clearly not a fantasy.
Countless number of television shows dedicated to the paranormal, millions if not billions of people with cameras and videos at there fingers tips yet not one proven ghost sighting……Uuum definitely for those who can’t understand science and prefer fantasy but I agree great story for scaring those dilouded enough to believe in ghosts
If you regard pictorial evidence as absolute proof, then there is plenty of “proof”. I am a sceptic but know plenty of sane, educated people who have seen them and have no reason to lie.
Excellent IE
Is the portrait at The Priory with the dog?
The featured image is of the ‘blue lady’. However, only the top half of her has been shown. Her portrait includes a dog at her feet.
Ah, yes, Bishop Lovett Middle School. The caretaker, Mr Arrapiss, would often mention the ‘blue lady’ haunting the cellars of St. Johns House and, I am sure, deliberately frightening the school children.