Grays Beach

Running along the banks of the Thames, Grays beach (Grays Wharf) dates back to around 1228-9 and was owned by the church at Grays but was soon used by The Lord of the Manor, Richard de Gray, to transport corn and other produce.

In the 19th Century, factories were built alongside the beach and continued to do business until late into the 20th Century.

The beach itself opened in July 1906, the idea was to have a place of relaxation for the people of Grays and Thurrock.

Grays beach is also the mooring site of the boat named The Gull. The Gull was built in 1860 and after more than 80 years service for Trinity House it was bought for use as a clubhouse at Thurrock Yacht Club, opening in 1971.

The Gull

Over the years there have been quiet a few reported deaths around the waters of Grays beach. The waters are not very safe as they have a strong tidal pull and many swimmers have got into difficulties there.

But do these accounts of lost lives in the waters of Grays explain the reports of paranormal activity along the pathway of the beach? Dogs refuse to go any further down the pathway and what about the boat that seems to appear once in a while with the ghostly sailor at the wheel.

One of the strangest reports I have been given is in regards to a well-respected member of the community in Grays. He was walking his dog along the pathway at Grays beach. As he walked past a few trees a white figure appeared 20 yards in front of him. The dog started to back up.
The white figure took to the air and flew at the gentleman, as it neared him it gave him a good chance to see what it was, he describes it as a lady in a white shawl and she had with long grey hair, but as the lady neared the gentleman she let out an ear piercing scream and vanished.
To anyone that knows about paranormal stories they would describe this lady as a Banshee, the legend of the Banshees has been an integral part of Irish folklore for hundreds of years, but what would one be doing at Grays beach?

Another tale from the same footpath is from a young man who took a stroll along the beach and as he walked back past the children's play area he was hit with something on the back of the head, as he tried to look to see who had thrown it and he was just in time to dive out of the way of a bin that was flying his way, as he picked himself up off the ground he noticed that the bin he had seen flying towards him was back in its place and fixed to the ground.

So what was going on at Grays beach? Well there was only one way to find out…

We started our walk along the beach by The Gull and moved along the wall near the waters edge.
Steve and Elaine both felt quite happy and at ease and from time to time we stopped to look out over the waters at the ships moving down the stream.
We had walked about 200 metres along the wall when Steve stopped and lent on the wall. After some time he said he was feeling sadness, he was picking up on a young girl that he believes had drowned in the waters near there. He said she had lost her life not far from there but this is where her body was found. He gave a date of around the 1970's for this death. It is hard to pin point this event as there have been many bodies pulled from the waters and if they don't get found there they turn up at Tilbury just a few miles away.

Steve continued to walk along by the way and said that he was feeling uncomfortable and was picking up on several energy changes but could not work out why.
Steve was also picking up on residual energy of the activity that had taken place, he described several barges moving along the waters edge and men unloading the barges.

The further we walked along the waters edge the more uneasy Steve said he felt but still could not work out why. We were level with the footpath that runs next to the children's play area, this is the area that most of the reports were about. I was interested to see how the Mediums would feel when we came back along that path.
As we moved past that area Steve said he was feeling more at ease.

We had gone past the point of were the ghostly boat had been seen and nothing had been picked up by the Mediums.

Soon we reached the far end of the pathway, the only way to go now was back, but as we stood in the corner of the pathway that we had just come down and the footpath that lead back along the children's play area, Steve and Elaine said they were aware of a negative energy. It seemed that if this was a spirit the Mediums were picking up on it was not going to give away much to them as both Mediums could not tell us more than the fact that it was it was very negative energy and it was not a very pleasant feeling.

We turned and started to walk back down the footpath again.

We continued to walk along the path until Steve stopped, he said he was aware of a lady in white, he said he did not wish to use this term as it was to cliché, but there was no other way to describe her, he said she would walk along this part of the path in a white dress.
Where we had stopped was the same point to where the report of the lady flying towards a gentleman and screaming as she did so.
Steve said he was feeling uneasy with her but she would not come close enough to get more information.

As we made our way back to the cars, Steve said that all the time he had been walking along the footpath he had felt that he needed to be on the other side of the fence, the fence run around the children's play area and Steve said this is were most of the energy was coming from. The children's play area I believe is built on the site of the old factories. Could it be that the paranormal events that have taken place by the beach are down to events that once happened in the factories?

I was a little disappointed that not much else was picked up on the night but I was happy that Steve had stopped at the point were the lady in white had been reported and he had picked up on her.

Was this lady an Irish banshee? I doubt it but is she an unsettled soul trying to find her way? We will never know.

Most of the team felt happy walking along the footpath but Mark was not so happy. He later told me that at one point when Steve had said he was feeling uneasy Mark felt as if all his energy had been drained from his body, so much so that Mark did not stay around much after the investigation had ended, this is quite unusual for him as he is normally one of the last to leave.

I don't feel I have any evidence to say that Grays beach is haunted but I cannot say that it is not either.

I would not feel happy walking along the waters edge on my own at night but then again in this day and age, who would?
Thurrock Paranormal will keep and eye on Grays beach to see if any more reports come from there but for now you will have to make your own mind up.

Written By Shane Ralph
Copyright© Thurrock Paranormal 2006

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