The Hanging Pit: The Haunting of Bodmin Jail (Investigating the Haunted)

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Bodmin Jail was begun in the 1770's and was constructed by Napoleonic prisoners of war using 20,000 tons of granite quarried on Bodmin Moor. Chronic overcrowding led to its being extended several times in the 19th century, before it was finally closed in 1927. At the exact stoke of eight in the morning, Selina Wadge was clearly heard to say, "God deliver me from this miserable world." And William Marwood, her executioner, mercifully released the bolt which plunged Selena Wadge eight feet into her eternity.

Martin Lyall, the jail’s general manager, accepted it was a challenging time to open a tourist attraction but said the “staycation” market had been strong in Cornwall this summer.The honorable Home Secretary, in his infinite wisdom; "Did not see fit to interfere with British justice,"and the reprieve simply did not come. He believes that the figure captured is that of William Hampton, who was the last inmate to be hanged at the prison for his crimes. Visitors have claimed to have the feeling of being strangled or choked in some way, and many feel forced to cut their visit short and leave the building, so strong these feelings are. What lurks inside the walls of Bodmin Jail in Cornwall? An Innocent Condemned Man’s Spirit Unable to Rest? Bodmin Gaol was designed by Sir John Call and built in 1779 by prisoners of war, and was operational for 150 years, in which it saw over 50 public hangings. It was the first British prison to hold prisoners in individual cells. The Debtors Act of 1869 abolished imprisonment for debt so the prison had spare space that was taken over by the Admiralty for naval prisoners. Eventually, the naval prison occupied an entire wing of the building, before it was closed in 1922.

In 2018, a husband and wife ghost-hunting duo took cameras and other ghost-hunting equipment to the jail. The footage they took appears to show a ghost thought to be William Hampton, a prisoner who was hung at the jail, as well as visible "light orbs". [9] [10] Over the years, the jail experienced overcrowding, leading to several extensions and a completely new building replacing the original in 1861 (Spooky Isles). With its dark forboding walls bearing witness to the desperation and terror of the convicts inhuman incarceration here. Tony believed the 'apparition' caught might be that of William Hampton, the last man to be hanged in the county. Among the first prisoners to face the gallows at Bodmin Jail were William Lee and John Vanstone, both convicted of burglary. The last hanging took place in July 1909.Recent years have seen the old Governor’s Hall being used as a restaurant and function room, with other parts of the jail becoming a tourist attraction popular with those with an interest in the paranormal. On Sunday February 9th, 1840, just a day after the murder, with little else to report, Captain Norway recorded his dream and the conversation with Wren in the ship’s log.