Launceston Castle Cornwall.
It looks lovely in this photo, but it has a strange and unhappy feeling. There are certain places in the town where past history has left a terrible feeling of darkness and negativity. The castle is one of them and the main town square another. The Reformation left a very bloody stain on Launceston. People were hung drawn and quartered in the main square.
I was for nine years the Vicar of St Stephen’s Launceston. The town has a very nasty past in connection with the Reformation.It was a Royalist stronghold and there was an almost fanatical devotion to Elizabeth I.
Saint Cuthbert Mayne (1544–1577) was the first English Roman Catholic “seminary priest” to be martyred under the laws of Elizabeth I. He was martyred in the main square of the town. He was imprisoned in the dungeon at Launceston Castle. It was a place that always gave me the creeps, even on a sunny spring day. The dungeon is now in ruins, but I could never walk past without shuddering.
While in Cornwall in 1656 George Fox, the Quaker, and a friend were arrested and taken to a magistrate who imprisoned them in Launceston Castle prison for having long hair. They were imprisoned for nine weeks before being escorted to trial by a body of soldiers. The charges against them were not proved but they were fined for not taking their hats off in court and were sent back to Launceston Prison until they paid their fine; something Fox was not inclined to do as it was unjust.
Some terrible atrocities were inflicted on Catholics and dissenters in Launceston. As a result of the prayer book rebellion 28 Cornishmen were executed at Launceston Castle. Good Queen Bess as she is popularly called was no saint. The first Elizabethan age was one of terror and retribution.
Main entrance in the Town to the Castle
A question I often ask myself is this. Is there an objective reality of evil in places where terrible atrocities have been committed, or is it a subjective phenomena as a result of being familiar with past history? Possibly its a little bit of both.
Personally I’m of the opinion that evil atrocities and wicked acts have left vibrations that some people are able to pick up. It’s almost as if “spilt blood” can cry from the very ground where it has been shed.
That strange quotation from Genesis 4:10 may hold the clue.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”
All Along the Watchtower 
It’s a good question. I sometimes wonder the same, when on occasion while praying I feel a fearful presence about me. This of course is a rare occurrence and likely just psychological fear, but when it happens it does make continuing prayer more difficult.
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One of the vicarages I had to live in was haunted. There was a servant’s stairs. During the daytime it was okay, but at night it was a terrifying place and I would never use it. I was thankful when the C of E decided to sell it and I moved into a new vicarage.
It was a parish with many problems and I experienced dreadful opposition from certain church people. The previous vicar had a nervous breakdown and left after a year. The parish was in the heart of the tin mining centre of Cornwall. There were mines all round. There was one mine which ran under the church.
There are many wild tales of haunted mines. Many Cornish men and women are a bit “fey.” I have to include myself in that category.
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I certainly think it is possible. The West has been caught up in materialism for so long that it has forgotten the power of the mind/spirit. From a biblical perspective, we could think of the way people have been overwhelmed by the presence of angels, let alone God Himself.
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We all have a Guardian Angel and I firmly believe that I have one. A number of bizarre things have happened to me and I’ve been aware of being in some way protected. Some would attempt to explain such uncanny experiences as being the result of having a vivid imagination. I’m far from convinced.
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Scripture affirms we all have a Guardian Angel. We will only know fully when we die how often and in what ways have our Guardian Angels protected us in this life. Some of the saints had special friendships with them, like St Frances of Rome I think.
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A fascinating post. I am certain it is true – but only for those who are sensitive to such atmospheres.
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A Church I love in the City of London is St Etheldreda’s Church
It is just a stone’s throw from the noise and bustle of modern day London . But amid the clamour of mammon, there stands this hidden ancient gem, a spiritual sanctuary of the Middle Ages, a haven of peace and tranquillity. The ancient sanctuary is filled with spiritual presences. Years ago I knew it well.
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It is a good practise to have some blessed salt and holy water near you at all times. The priests used go out and bless the fields and all ways and boundaries at one time but that practice has fallen into disuse afaik.
I know many people who have had experiences with ghosts of one sort or another. They seem to be souls who are caught between two worlds. Since we are each our neighbour’s keeper, praying for such souls that they might be released from their torments would be a good thing to do.
St Oliver Plunkett, the martyred Archbishop of Armagh, came from near my mother’s homeplace in Co. Meath. While he was treated abysmally by his executioners, his faith never failed and he is now seated among the blessed, enjoying being in the presence and sight of God in Heaven.
As St. Stephen prayed for those who killed him, so did Our Dear Lord and so do all
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When I was the Vicar of St Stephens Launceston every three years we would walk the parish bounds blessing the fields and farms with Holy Water. As many as seventy of the faithful would walk with me. It was quite a gruelling course over hedges and across muddy fields.
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Yesterday I visited St May’s, Chipping Norton. I didn’t sense anything untoward, though two men were digging out a drain in the churchyard.
When I returned home, however, I found that the Rev Henry Joyce -sp varies- had been hanged, from the church tower.
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A long time ago or that day???
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About 1550, I’d say! I think I would have noticed his corpse as I was admiring the clerestory and having a good look at the roof!
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😂😂😂
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1550s, I’d say!
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That must have left remnant of what happened and no doubt could be intuited by certain Christians.
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I usually pick up on ambiences, but that incident occurred outside the church, so maybe not detectable inside, where worship is wont to be made.
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I have been in certain churches and buildings where the atmosphere is dreadful.
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Me too Malcolm. My own parish was tainted by its priest who scandalized the Holy Space with a young woman of the parish and got her pregnant. The Church has never fully recovered and the Masses have never been the same; the ‘aura’ of those who gather for Mass has become rather worldly since. The priest himself had a ‘feeling’ about him that exuded evil from every pore (probably why he doused himself in men’s cologne. And a look into his eyes would send shivers down your back. I placed an exorcised St. Benedict medal on the top of the Confessional for some compulsive reason that I do not fully understand. Shortly thereafter the Cofessional was no longer used by the priest but said face to face. He was removed after the public scandal and was laicized but the Church still echoes his irreverence.
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Isn’t the word ‘evil’ rather strong for this context? Sinful, weak, hypocritical, and so on – but actually ‘evil’? It is a word I rarely use of anyone. Even paedophile priests, who have corrupted the young, often turn out to be pathetic, immature and psychologically disturbed rather than ‘evil’.
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It would be if you hadn’t experienced evil in the flesh before, Francis. Yes, I used the word quite literally. This man’s eyes were almost murderous. My wife (the DRE at the time) was driven into a deep depression directly attributable to his treatment of her and she felt paralyzed around to even defend herself against his psychological and spiritual attacks. There is far more to the story than I could fully explain in a comment box though.
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…who follow Him. It is two years now since the Egyptian Coptic Christians were martyred on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea along with their Muslim co-worker. All died invoking the name of Jesus and committing their souls to Him. As the good thief was converted on the Cross, may all murderers and villains of every stripe turn from their wicked ways and believe the Good News of Christ.
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Any place where evil presides needs to be exorcised. Exorcism is a ministry of the Church and there are priests who specialise in it. In my youth, it was always old priests who were assigned to this duty in our diocese. The reason being that the work was physically hard on them (as well as spiritually) and they didn’t live long after taking up the work. The devil is tenacious and rude as you know.
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We have a diocesan “Exorcist” here in the Truro Diocese.
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Sorry – that was posted by mistake – please delete!
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I believe that there is a palpable sadness at Auchwitch and that no birds ever sing there.
The old religion in this country consisted of casting spells and curses on your enemies. It’s sad to see that the premier nation on earth has reverted to the same nastiness
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/exorcists-warn-against-wiccan-spell-to-bind-donald-trump-95286/
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It is a dreadful and terrible sin to cast a spell on anyone and it horrifies me. To think that individuals should do such a wicked act is almost unbelievable. It will rebound on those who have dome it and they will regret their action.
As Christians we can only bless people and wish them well.
May the President of the United States be protected by the Holy Angels and covered by the precious Blood of Christ Jesus.
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Golly, I don’t think I have ever experienced evil vibes. I may be too dense to perceive them. Having a very active imagination, I would worry that people imagine “vibes” that don’t objectively exist. (I am originally from Missouri which is called the “Show me state”, meaning “Prove it!”) I do have a little story to tell. I once awoke in the middle of the night and saw what I thought was an malignant presence hovering in the doorway of my room. I sat up, pointed at the menacing blob and said, “Go away go away go away go away.” To my surprise it obeyed my command and I went back to sleep feeling rather amazed that I had had the strength to overcome this menace. The next day I realized that I was fighting a fever and thought perhaps all that I had perceived during the night was a figment of a fevered brain. I should add that I was pondering many issues of faith at the time and so perhaps I was under some kind of attack, I don;’t know. It did feel very real to me at the time but I just don’t know if it was all a fevered dream. I only tell this story to show that I do believe in the presence of evil, but I have not experienced “evil vibes” when visiting historic places. On a more cheerful note,it occurs to me that if there are truly objectively evil vibes out there in the world, there must also be very good and holy vibes out there, too. Now that’s a concept I could happily hang my hat on!
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Celia,
I appreciated very much your thoughtful and interesting comment.
Evil vibes .do not necessarily imply any supernatural manifestation or vision. The phenomena can best be described as an intuitive response to a wicked and evil action that may have occurred in a specific place. Certain events are so terrible that they have left an impression that a few people are able to pick up.
I was for three years a curate in Canterbury. In fact I was ordained in the Cathedral and had a flat just outside the old city wall less than a 100 yards from the Cathedral.
Often I made my devotions in one of the many side chapels. I was never comfortable praying in the Chapel of the Martyrdom where Archbishop Thomas Beckett was murdered. It isn’t a restful place. Now was it a subjective feeling because I knew previously what had happened there or was it an objective reality? I lean towards the latter interpretation.
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I once had an experience at university where I was in bed and felt something pressing on my chest, sort of from the inside. All I knew to do was to cry out “Jesus” and then it stopped. I could not say with certainty that it was a supernatural experience, but on the other hand, I don’t think it was a “minor cardiac event” – if that were the case, I would have expected to feel much weaker afterward than I did.
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I think that when ‘evil’ is present you know it, indubitably, even if you cannot put into words why. I was once in this position. I forced myself to say the ‘Our Father’ over and over again and the ‘evil’ vanished. I have since heard that the ‘Our Father’ is the very best prayer for this kind of horrible visitation and I have subsequently read of other people praying it under similar circumstances.
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QVO where are you? Calling QVO!
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