IF they could talk, the sturdy walls of Landguard Fort would reveal some very dark secrets indeed.Tales of beatings, drownings, suicides, firing squads, and grisly murders - and some say the victims still haunt the corridors and courtyard, roof and ramparts.

Richard Cornwell

IF they could talk, the sturdy walls of Landguard Fort would reveal some very dark secrets indeed.

Tales of beatings, drownings, suicides, firing squads, and grisly murders - and some say the victims still haunt the corridors and courtyard, roof and ramparts.

Ghosts have been seen and mediums have felt their strange presence, recalling the horrific stories of the rough and ready lives of soldiers who served at the Felixstowe fort, guarding Harwich Harbour from plunder and invasion by England's enemies.

The tales of those who died and are said to still be stalking the monument are now being relived every weekend as part of a Ghost Tour being run by writer and historian Richard Bradshaw.

He said: “The fort has a fascinating history and lots of horrible things went on - many of them sadly unrecorded because in those days the military was a nasty place to be and many incidents which would horrify us today would not seem that bad or extraordinary to them.

“We have done as much research as we can and mediums have been to the fort at separate times and told us the same stories of things they say happened - and they have not met or talked to each other about the incidents.

“One recently told me that a soldier involved in one incident had been troubled by his conscience and then hanged himself in a certain corridor elsewhere in the fort.

“I was a bit dubious because I knew the corridor well and thought there was nowhere anyone could do that. Later I was walking down it and saw there was this hook sticking out of the wall I had never noticed before! It made me shudder.”

Mr Bradshaw, a volunteer at the fort, does the tours dressed as a “man in black” - seeking out the paranormal rather than aliens - on Sundays at 3pm.

Have you seen a ghost at Landguard Fort? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk