Amanda Norman

The night before last, I visited my childhood playground, which is the old churchyard of St Peter’s Church in Heysham.

Although it was deep in the night, I was almost floating amongst the graves bathed in sunlight. My curiosity was growing by the minute as the once so familiar place took on an air of mystery. The surroundings were slightly different and then I came across a mound of Earth next to the church.

My eyes lit up as I’ve always wanted to take a photograph of a freshly dug grave. My excitement was building as I drew nearer to the graves edge. ‘What would I do if I seen a coffin in there?’ All sorts of images running through my wild imagination, but they came to a sharp halt when I peered over the edge.

The pit must have been about 7 foot long, 4 foot wide and 6 foot deep. It was swept clean of loose Earth as though it had been left by some recent archaeologists. The walls were made of brick so it looked like a discovered room, or could it have been a mass grave?

I stepped back and into a large stone wall that I didn’t recognise as being there from my previous visits. On closer inspection, it was a massive headstone and the lettering was severely worn out due to its old age. Was this the headstone to the mass grave?

A chill ran down my spine and I moved away seeking more familiar surroundings.

Of course it was only a dream!

I can’t stop thinking about my mini adventure hence me writing about it here. Surely it should mean something to me?

If you would like to view more photographs from the churchyard of St Peter’s in Heysham, visit my gallery by clicking here.