Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ghost Train

I have always had an interest in the history and paranormal heritage of my town Blackpool, my late granddad ( Frank Gregson )  used to work for Blackpool Pleasure Beach and I was taken down by him to met the staff and watch what went on behind the scenes and of course watch the changing face of the park as new rides were built and constructed. He used to repair the track on the ghost train from time to time and bore testimony to the rumours that ‘Cloggy’ the former ride operator could still be heard, more on that later and what would happen when he was by himself. This meant I was incredibly lucky as sometimes I got to go on the rides for free, jolly exciting for someone who loved the funfair.

A little bit of back history in 1930 the owners had seen the ride in London and decided to build their own “Pretzel” ride (named after the Pretzel companies, which built them in the USA). The Pretzel Ride was duly opened that year. As the name, Pretzel, was unknown in the UK and did not give much of a clue as to the ride itself, in 1931, the park changed the name to The Ghost Train - taken from the hit film of that name, starring Jack Hulbert. An interesting fact to note for the history buffs reading it was actually the first Ghost Train in the UK

In 1936, Architect Joseph Emberton re-designed the ride (the man behind the Casino building, Grand National Station, and Fun House) was commissioned to design a much larger, two level Ghost Train.

It had an impressive frontage, complete with model skeletons, skulls, and ghosts. It opened up into a giant set, with a roller coaster-style drop in the centre, and balconies on either side.  Riders were housed in 2-person cars, which were secured to the moving track. It took just under 4 minutes from start to finish. The ride was completely re-built in 1957, by new designer-in residence Jack Ratcliffe, and its new frontage was far plainer. The cars were all painted pink. In 1976, it had another re-vamp, and the frontage gained castle-style battlements and a massive skeleton. As a little girl I remember asking my parents ( David & Kath ) where they would have got a skeleton that big as I thought it was real….I now know obviously it was specially made.

Over the years many tales have been discussed about ‘Cloggy’ who either dies in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. It is said that he passed away after a horrible illness but gave Blackpool Pleasure beach and the Ghost Train many years of dedicated service.  From reports gathered by myself and research I found out that he was a very committed member of staff who would do anything to ensure that customer service standards were reached and that the customers got the fright of their lives when on the Ghost train. It seems this continued for the gentlemen even after he had passed to the other side, customers would say after dismounting the ride that they had been touched or grabbed by someone that they could not see but hear.  Over the years the reports and stories only increased with the shocked members of the public then later finding out that the extra ‘sensations’ were not actually part of the Ghost Train ride at all.

My late granddad ( Frank Gregson ) worked for the Pleasure Beach for many years and had a young apprentice called Steve. It seems while  they were doing maintenance repairs Frank would often have a giggle at the customers expense. He would stand very still and wait for one of the cars to round and would then lean forward and say ‘Hello – how are you’ and then collapse in a fit of giggles as the car then moved on with now screaming passengers. 

However, this was not the only odd occurrence that happened to the staff that worked there, as with all rides they do need to be maintained and repaired and kept in good working order. Odd sounds, tapping, footsteps and groaning were heard echoing through the walls, when the workmen left and of course followed procedure, and turning  off the power and electrics an odd sight greeted them as they left the building. A skull atop the ride was still lit up, so back inside they went to investigate the issue and spent over an hour trying to find out what was causing the fault, alas to no avail. Whatever they did to rectify the situation the light on the skull would not turn off; needless to say they had to leave and reported the incident as a one off.

In 2004 the TV series of ‘Most Haunted Live’ paid Blackpool a visit, naturally they investigated Blackpool Pleasure Beach, other locations included Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens. Local press at the time had the following to say. “The Most Haunted team are to spend 24 at Blackpool’s famous funfair to investigate stories of a haunted ghost train and frightening poltergeist activity.”

One of my long time on-going projects is to gather information and history about Blackpool Ghosts and the surrounding area; I was contacted by the production company to provide history and research for the show. On the Sunday of the three day Live broadcast I was lucky enough be have been invited as part of the studio audience – I took my mum Kath with me. Lets just say watching from the now a housing estate on the Pontins site, it was educational to see what information I had provided that they used in the show.

Derek Acorah seems to hear and have contact from ‘Cloggy’ but we don’t seem to learn anything new about the late gentlemen in question. Various team members hear odd noises and one claims to have been touched on the head.

This has appeared also in the Blackpool Evening Gazette/ Copyright JWGregson 2026 

Blackpool Pleasure Beach ghost train !

On the 18 July 1936 Carleton Crematorium was  officially opened. Famous people also buried there, Violet Carson of Coronation street, Reginald Dixon band player, Stanley Mortenson football player and Jimmy Clitheroe comedian.

In 1936 my local paper, the Blackpool Evening Gazette ran a very interesting ghost story about Carleton Crematorium. A Layton taxi driver claimed he had seen the face and body of a green ghost at the gates. This story appeared 90 years ago, yet the media still deals with it in a ‘shock’ value way. In the actual article it is pointed out that 5 years previously in 1931 a lonely widow had been battered to death in nearby Robins Lane- perhaps the green face had been this poor woman’s ghost.

Looking into the history of the area I was quite surprised to find how much land the crematorium actually covered and delighted to find the following information,  In 1087, the local villages Bispham, Layton, Marton,  Carleton, and Staining mentioned in the Doomsday Book, along with Rossall, Thornton, Poulton and Lytham. On 18 July 1936, Carleton Crematorium was officially opened. This leads me to believe that the alleged sighting happened in the autumn or winter months. Now in Carleton the lane is lined with houses; Robins lane is no more than a path winding through the Fylde countryside.  Along the miles of 'lane' are several old farms - clearly the lane was an ancient track linking all the local farms with the agricultural market which used to be held at Carleton in the early seventeenth century.

When I have spoken to my friends and fellow historians I was amazed about the information I received back about the area. There are many hidden ponds around the area, and winding paths, myths and stories. One of these is that many farms had a 'hand' insignia over their doorways, carved in red stone. This dated back to serious fears of foot and mouth disease in the late eighteen hundreds, when superstition still reigned high in rural areas. The Red Hand was both a warning and a guard against transfer of animals, and stopped movements between farms. Quite possibly one of these artefacts had found it's way into a local pond - and had found it's way into legend when it was discovered by a child explorer. My father even to this day refuses to drive past in the car, due to the stories he has read!  I also discovered that Blackpool's UFO research group had staged several 'watches' along Robins Lane in search of similar strange lights and ghostly apparitions. When I also tried to recreate a watch with my husband we both took photographs which produced various anomalies.  Had we got a picture of the ghosts?  Unfortunately we decided that the strange glows that we had captured were marsh mist which had been reflected by the camera flash. 

However, none of this explains what happened to the poor taxi-driver, back in 1936. And despite the newspaper's tendency to turn his experience into a rattling good story, there is no reason to doubt that he did have a very frightening experience. It was nearly eleven o'clock on a cold December night when a lady outside North Shore Station hailed Harry Hodges' cab and asked him to take her to Robin's Lane in Carleton. Harry set off to take the best route; over Carleton railway crossing and along the Carleton road. He turned into Stocks Lane and was about to turn right into Robins Lane when his passenger interrupted, asking him to turn left instead. Harry was puzzled - the road on the left led only to the Crematorium gates - but the woman insisted, so he did as she asked.

He pulled up just in front of the gates and waited whilst the woman found her purse to pay him... and as he turned to take the money from her, he looked out of the car's side window and found himself staring into the face of an old man, 'with sunken eyes, long dark hair, a Punch-like nose and prominent chin'. Then Harry jumped almost out of his skin as an ear-splitting scream came from behind him - his passenger had obviously seen the face too. The next moment, the woman was clambering out of the cab and running off, disappearing down a path to the left of the Crematorium gates. Stunned, Harry continued to watch in grim fascination as the phantom face moved around to the front of his cab, and then... it wasn't there any more. It had simply disappeared.

Harry's next thought was one of concern for his terrified passenger, who had obviously seen the face too. Quickly, he put his cab into gear and manoeuvred so that the headlights illuminated the path the woman had taken, but there was no sign of her - and we can forgive him if he didn't actually get out of his car to make a more thorough search.

The next day, Harry was still trying to make sense of his experience, and not knowing who else to call, he called the local newspaper. His hope was that other people might come forward and give him a logical explanation for what he had seen, or failing that, help him track down the woman who had been in the cab, and who he was sure had also seen the 'face' as well. Only she could corroborate his story, and convince everyone - and Harry himself - that he hadn't imagined the whole affair. The reporter who covered the story asked around in the area of Robins Lane, in the hope that someone might recognise the woman's description, but he had no luck. It was as if the woman had just disappeared into thin air.

The question arises; why did the woman run off beyond the Crematorium, where there are only fields? Probably because she lived at a local farm and this was the quickest way home. The reporter enquired only at the houses on the small part of Robins Lane which is built up - and which is some distance from the fields beyond the Crematorium - so it's no surprise that he could not find her. The second question; why was the mysterious face green? Probably because whatever-it-was was glowing in the reflection of Harry's car headlights. But explaining the 'face'; what it was, why it was there, and where it disappeared to - that's a little more disappeared to - that's a little more difficult. Perhaps it would be surprising if a lane which has been used for hundreds of years, as Robins Lane undoubtedly has, were not haunted. It must surely have seen its share of accidents and tragedies, and after all, life would be very boring without a little mystery here and there.

Carleton Crematorium - March 2025

Copyright JWGregson 2026