Eden Camp (Former POW Camp), North Yorskshire
Eden Camp is one of the many camps setup to house the growing number of prisoners of war that were being captured by the allied forces in Europe and North Africa. Eden was originally a barbed wire area that enclosed a series of tents, which slowly grew in size as the war continued.
The first arrivals were 250 Italian prisoners that arrived at the nearby Malton train station and marched to the camp.
Soon, 33 wooden huts would replace the tents, with the number of prisoners growing to 1200 living here. The majority of those based here were made to work on the land, in jobs such as agriculture.
Following Italy’s surrender in 1943, switching alliances mid war, the number of Italians coming in slowed, and more and more German prisoners arrived at the camp. They were split alphabetically, so those with surnames in the first half of the alphabet went to America, and the 2nd half of the alphabet came to the UK.
German prisoners were ranked based on their risk. Low risk prisoners were ‘category White’, and were generally non-Nazis, grey was medium risk, black was staunch Nazi. High risk prisoners, such as the SS and U-boat crews who were usually sent to camps in more remote locations such as the Scottish highlands.
Following the war, the last German prisoners were repatriated in 1948, with the last prisoner leaving here in 1949. The camp then hosted displaced persons from across Europe, becoming semi derelict, before being used for agricultural storage, for items such as grain.
It was largely forgotten about and most of the buildings were in bad condition until 1985, when a local businessman Stan Johnson bought the site to transform it into a crisp factory, but the chance visit of 3 Italian prisoners who had decided to come back and have a look convinced him to transform it into a museum.
So is it haunted? Well people working here especially at night believe so. The most common sightings are figures walking between the buildings. Security guards claim they often have to inspect buildings after lock up because they hear people talking, but then find total darkness and a locked up hut.
There is one known entity that haunts the camp, and many mediums have picked up on him – George. Records show there was a George that died here, although he wasn’t a prisoner, he was British and worked here, but died in influenza during the war. His ghost is regularly felt in the bar area, as the lady who worked in the gift shop told me. She hasn’t seen him, but knows someone who has.
There are also records of a German prisoner dying in the camp hospital, having been listed as a “war influenza patient” in July 1947.
On the 17th September 1947, an army truck carrying 26 German prisoners of war from Eden Camp crashed through the gates of a level crossing at Burton Agnes train station, before being hit by a passenger train from Hull, killing 7 prisoners and 2 British officers. Each one of those prisoners had been based here, and it has been suggested that their spirits have returned in the afterlife.
But other than that, I’ve spent several months researching records of the camp, and found very little in the way of deaths. If you want to find out more about the train crash, there’s a brilliant book available by Richard M Jones, and the accident report is available online.
So is it haunted? Well people working here especially at night believe so. The most common sightings are figures walking between the buildings. Security guards claim they often have to inspect buildings after lock up because they hear people talking, but then find total darkness and a locked up hut.
There is one known entity that haunts the camp, and many mediums have picked up on him – George. Records show there was a George that died here, although he wasn’t a prisoner, he was British and worked here, but died in influenza during the war. His ghost is regularly felt in the bar area, as the lady who worked in the gift shop told me. She hasn’t seen him, but knows someone who has.
There are also records of a German prisoner dying in the camp hospital, having been listed as a “war influenza patient” in July 1947.
On the 17th September 1947, an army truck carrying 26 German prisoners of war from Eden Camp crashed through the gates of a level crossing at Burton Agnes train station, before being hit by a passenger train from Hull, killing 7 prisoners and 2 British officers. Each one of those prisoners had been based here, and it has been suggested that their spirits have returned in the afterlife.
But other than that, I’ve spent several months researching records of the camp, and found very little in the way of deaths. If you want to find out more about the train crash, there’s a brilliant book available by Richard M Jones, and the accident report is available online.
However, it is claimed that prisoners actually enjoyed living here. Many settled in the local area after the war and didn’t want to leave. Some fell in love and married locals and have had families of their own in Malton. Unlike the image of POW camps often suggest, the prisoners in Eden Camp were well looked after, and as mentioned earlier, it was former prisoners that didn’t want to see it turned into a crisp factory but kept open to the public for educational purposes. An official report shows that there were no complaints about food, the work, and a library consisting of over 1700 books to read. There were no attempted escapes, and it was graded: “a good camp”.
This opens up a new theory on the paranormal. Maybe some spirit choose to return to places they really enjoyed in life. This blows apart any current scientific theories such as the stone tape theory and suggests that a spirit maybe able to choose where it can haunt. When investigating, all possibilities should be considered.
However, the skeptical view is that most of these prisoners left the camp and lived lives of happiness for years after elsewhere, so when they did die, this camp would be low down on lists of places they’d realistically come back to. I could spend hours debating these theories as I find it all very interesting. The influenza deaths would realistically be the only underlying reasons for any paranormal activity here.
What is also interesting is that this site is located right beside a large power station, with overhead cables attached to pylons which run over the camp. Could this be an explanation for paranormal reports? I look into it in the video.
Visit Eden Camp
Eden Camp is located just outside of Malton in North Yorkshire.
Recently, the museum has changed to become a seasonal attraction, meaning it is only open to visotors between April – October, however it is open 7 days a week, and open 10:00 – 17:00.
Prices:
Adults: £17
Children: £12 (under 5s are free)
Seasonal passes are available.
Address: Eden Camp, Malton, North Yorskhire, YO17 6RT,
Website: https://edencamp.co.uk
Ghost Hunting at Eden Camp
The following are companies that have events at the camp.