Days of Horror

The Disappearance of Maria Whittaker (1866)


Listen Later

On Saturday, 22nd December 1866, the body of a young woman aged 18 years was recovered from a lodge adjacement to Holden Wood cotton mill, that was owned by Mr. James Maxwell and situated in a place known as Holden Wood, near Haslingden.

At around half-past one in the afternoon, John Holgate, a spinner employed at Maxwell's mill, whilst passing by his place of work, had noticed something bobbing about just above the water level in a lodge that was within yards of the mill.  Upon making his way over to the waters edge, it was then he saw the head of a young girl which was just above the water, with the remainder of her body submerged.

Already knowing the depth of the water in the lodge was quite deep, reportedly around nine feet, he knew that trying to recover the body himself was an almost impossible task, so Holgate left to fetch for another worker, who in turn went off to search for a policeman.

By the time a police officer had arrived, water from the nearby Holden Wood reservoir had been slowly filling the lodge, which in turn was by now submerging the victims head.

And yet despite a struggle, all three men succeeded in retrieving the body.


For more on this story, please visit our website at https://www.daysofhorror.com


Please follow us on social media;

Twitter – https://twitter.com/dohpods

Instagram – www.instagram.com/dohpods

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/c/DaysofHorrorPodcast


Music :

Another Day - Myuu (free copyright sounds and music)

Casual Desire - Ugonna Onyekwe (free copyright sounds and music)

Contact - The Tower of Light (free copyright sounds and music)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Days of HorrorBy Christopher Dunn


More shows like Days of Horror

View all
Paranormal Activity with Yvette Fielding by Create

Paranormal Activity with Yvette Fielding

64 Listeners

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal by History Hit

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

775 Listeners