Silent Night, Ghostly Night: The Haunting of Cold Christmas Church
Dec 25, 2023
St. Mary and All Saints Church is located near the village of Thundridge in Hertfordshire. It was built on the estate of Hugh Desmaisnil in 1086 and remained in use for almost 800 years before being partially demolished, leaving only the tower standing. However, this church is better known by another name, one derived from a terrible event that occurred one December 200 years ago: Cold Christmas.
It is said that during one particularly cold Christmas in the 18th century, numerous children sought refuge from the harsh cold in the church. Tragically, many of them did not survive the night. Since then, there have been reports of their spirits haunting the area. Witnesses often report hearing children’s disembodied voices and seeing shadowy, childlike figures around the ruins.
But is this story true? While there is no documented evidence to confirm such an event, the graveyard, which remains to this day, does contain a large number of children's graves dating from the period when the story is believed to have occurred. Intriguingly, some of these graves have the date of death marked as December 25.
The children are not the only spirits said to haunt the area. In 1978, a woman walking through the old churchyard witnessed an army of ghosts exiting the tower's door and advancing towards her. To her shock, they didn't stop but walked straight through her. Another eerie sighting involves a vintage car, in which a couple sits motionless in the back seat, simply staring ahead. Most churches are built facing East to West, but Cold Christmas was constructed differently. Its foundations were laid following the direction of the nearby river. Intriguingly, while the river generally flows East to West, the section nearest the church flows North to South. Although it’s not unheard of for churches to be built North to South, many believe this alignment, deviating from tradition, is a sign of the devil and could possibly explain the paranormal activity in the area.