The creepy ghost story about two doomed Hull lovers which has stood the test of

[GhostHunting]

The creepy ghost story about two doomed Hull lovers which has stood the test of time

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/creepy-ghost-story-two-doomed-338141

Everyone loves a good old fashioned ghost story, but some last longer than others.

And this one about an annual meeting on the River Hull between two star-crossed lovers is one that has invariably stood the test of the time.

One of the story's protagonists, Robert D'Onston Stephenson, was born on Charles Street, Hull, on April 20, 1840.

His mother was a member of the well known Dawber family and his father a member of the privileged Stephenson family.

Mr Stephenson had been engaged to a 'young North-country heiress,' who he named only as 'Louise,' but he was forced to break off their love affair.

On Monday, August 26, 1867, Mr Stephenson and Louise took their final stroll together as a couple and happened upon Barmston Drain just a few minutes before the clock would toll for midnight.

There they agreed a pact to meet on the same day once a year to see each other once again.

Louise said to him: "Grant me one favour, the only one that I shall ever ask you on this earth, promise to meet me here twelve months to-night at this same hour."

Mr Stephenson reluctantly agreed and replied: "Well, I will come if I am alive!"

She then said: "Say alive or dead!", to which he responded: "Very well then, we will meet, dead or alive."

A spooky chain of events soon happened following that, though, which had dramatic consequences for both Mr Stephenson and his former lover.

The couple met the following year and, again, agreed to meet in 12 months time.

Mr Stephenson wrote: "We again left each other repeating the same formula, 'dead or alive.'"

The following year, Mr Stephenson was shot by a fisherman but, despite being unable to walk without crutches, Mr Stephenson, who had been working as a clerk at Hull Customs in Whitefriargate, met again with his ex-lover.

But he was left shocked when he discovered exactly what had happened to his former acquaintance.

Writing about the encounter, he said: "As she got nearer I could see her pass lamp after lamp in rapid succession, while the strokes of the large clock at Hull resounded through the still night.

"At last the patter, patter of the tiny feet sounded on the woodwork of the bridge, and I saw her distinctly pass under the lamp at the farther end - it was only twenty yards wide, and I stood under the lamp at my side.