The ghost of a young boy carrying a lantern has apparently been seen crossing the railway tracks at the Hatfield & Stainforth Railway Station in South Yorkshire. Witnesses claim to have seen the ghostly figure walking from the Colliery at one end of the railway tracks towards the bridge at the other end of the railway. Witnesses have described this boy as being around 10 years of age, wearing dirty, scruffy clothes, with a flat cap and holding a lantern. In the middle century sightings of the Lantern Boy were common and were seen almost every night. The last official sighting of the Lantern Boy was in 1945 but on occasional nights he has been seen walking down the railway track with his lantern. In 2000 two friends were sat down near the Stainforth Bridge at 8:00pm on a cold night when they saw an unusual light near the colliery. Slowly the light started to move and they couldn’t explain where it was coming from, they watched it as the light got closer and closer moving slowly towards the bridge. A few minutes had passed and now they could see what the light was. They were shocked to see a lantern in the middle of the track and holding it was a young boy.As they strained their eyes they noticed they could see right through him. Needless to say, they did not stick around. I've been interested in the location for quite some time and had decided to do some research.
The original station, known until the 1990's as “Stainforth and Hatfield” was built in 1866 as a placement for the South Yorkshire Railway’s Stainforth when the line was brought to its present alignment. The station was renamed Hatfield and Stainforth when it was considered that Hatfield was the larger population. As for the history of the Hatfield Colliery, I discovered that at 1.45pm on the 12th of December 1939, fate struck a cruel blow, and the season of goodwill became the season of horror and tragedy for the people of Stainforth and the surrounding villages. On that fateful day an over wind in No.2 Shaft, caused almost 70 men and boys to be admitted to hospital with serious injuries. Daniel Horrigan of Arundel Street, Stainforth, became the only fatality. He died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary two days later. The fact that Daniel was the only fatality was nothing short of miraculous, bu tmany men and boys suffered such horrific injuries that they had to have their limbs amputated to save their lives. There were other incidents at the Colliery where men and children were either injured severely or died. The Lantern Boy was believed to be a Trapper at the Colliery who died in a tragic accident underground in the 1800's. Trappers were young lads who would spend most days opening and closing wooden trap doors to aid air circulation in the tunnels for the miners. Eager to witness this alleged apparition myself, I decided to hold my own investigation there.
It was Sunday, January 16th 2011. I arrived at Stainforth Bridge at around 7:43pm. I stopped and looked at the railway track and the colliery in the far distance. As expected nothing unusual particular happened, that is, until 7:55pm. Something had caught my eye. On the bridge above the railway track I saw what I thought was a blue round light. It was there for just a few seconds and then seemed to vanish. A possible explanation could be that somebody was crossing the bridge on a bike and it was the bike light I had seen. However, I had not seen anybody enter or exit the bridge. Maybe it was a reflection of some sort, possibly from the colliery. Could this have been what people had been seeing? Was this the light that had scared so many? I didn't have a thorough explanation as to what the mysterious light was, maybe it was 'The Lantern Boy'. Determined to get to the bottom of it, I headed off towards the bridge, I eyes peeled for any movement what so ever. As I got closer, I realised that I was alone. There was no one to be seen. I was puzzled, what was responsible for the light I had seen? Further investigation did not reveal any findings. I was by now, considering calling it a night when I heard something...
At first faint, then getting louder. I could clearly hear someone walking down by the tracks. A rustling sound, made by walking through the grass, but when I looked, I could see no one. In fact, the only grass was that situated between the railway tracks. I listened as the sound faded away, only to return again five minutes later. I stood there glaring into the darkness, there was no one around. Again the sound of footsteps faded and never returned again that evening. As I was leaving I had an overwhelming feeling I was being watch. This place was certainly unnerving. I will continue to carry out further investigations and research and hopefully find out more about the mysterious boy that had died in the 1800's. In the meantime,I urge people to keep their eye out for 'The Lantern Boy'...
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