Haunted Houses In Mogh's Half
Scary Books: True Irish Ghost Stories: St John D Seymour
The northern half of Ireland has not proved as prolific in stories of
haunted houses as the southern portion: the possible explanation of this
is, not that the men of the north are less prone to hold, or talk about,
such beliefs, but that, as regards the south half, we have had the good
fortune to happen upon some diligent collectors of these and kindred
tales, whose eagerness in collecting is only equalled by their kindness
On a large farm near Portarlington there once lived a Mrs. ----, a
strong-minded, capable woman, who managed all her affairs for herself,
giving her orders, and taking none from anybody. In due time she died,
and the property passed to the next-of-kin. As soon, however, as the
funeral was over, the house was nightly disturbed by strange noises:
people downstairs would hear rushings about in the upper rooms, banging
of doors, and the sound of heavy footsteps. The cups and saucers used to
fall off the dresser, and all the pots and pans would rattle.
This went on for some time, till the people could stand it no longer,
so they left the house and put in a herd and his family. The latter was
driven away after he had been in the house a few weeks. This happened
to several people, until at length a man named Mr. B---- took the house.
The noises went on as before until some one suggested getting the priest
in. Accordingly the priest came, and held a service in the late
Mrs. ----'s bedroom. When this was over, the door of the room was locked.
After that the noises were not heard till one evening Mr. B---- came home
from a fair, fortified, no doubt, with a little "Dutch courage," and
declared that even if the devil were in it he would go into the locked
room. In spite of all his family could say or do, he burst open the door,
and entered the room, but apparently saw nothing. That night pandemonium
reigned in the house, the chairs were hurled about, the china was broken,
and the most weird and uncanny sounds were heard. Next day the priest
was sent for, the room again shut up, and nothing has happened from that
day to this.
Another strange story comes from the same town. "When I was on a visit to
a friend in Portarlington," writes a lady in the _Journal_ of the
American S.P.R.[4] "a rather unpleasant incident occurred to me. At about
two o'clock in the morning I woke up suddenly, for apparently no reason
whatever; however, I quite distinctly heard snoring coming from under or
in the bed in which I was lying. It continued for about ten minutes,
during which time I was absolutely limp with fright. The door opened,
and my friend entered the bedroom, saying, 'I thought you might want me,
so I came in.' Needless to say, I hailed the happy inspiration that sent
her to me. I then told her what I had heard; she listened to me, and then
to comfort (!) me said, 'Oh, never mind; _it is only grandfather_! He
died in this room, and a snoring is heard every night at two o'clock, the
hour at which he passed away.' Some time previously a German gentleman
was staying with this family. They asked him in the morning how he had
slept, and he replied that he was disturbed by a snoring in the room, but
he supposed it was the cat."
[Footnote 4: For September, 1913.]
A lady, formerly resident in Queen's Co., but who now lives near Dublin,
sends the following clear and concise account of her own personal
experiences in a haunted house: "Some years ago, my father, mother,
sister, and myself went to live in a nice but rather small house close to
the town of ---- in Queen's Co. We liked the house, as it was
conveniently and pleasantly situated, and we certainly never had a
thought of ghosts or haunted houses, nor would my father allow
any talk about such things in his presence. But we were not long settled
there when we were disturbed by the opening of the parlour door every
night regularly at the hour of eleven o'clock. My father and mother used
to retire to their room about ten o'clock, while my sister and I used to
sit up reading. We always declared that we would retire before the door
opened, but we generally got so interested in our books that we would
forget until we would hear the handle of the door turn, and see the door
flung open. We tried in every way to account for this, but we could find
no explanation, and there was no possibility of any human agent being
at work.
"Some time after, light was thrown on the subject. We had visitors
staying with us, and in order to make room for them, my sister was asked
to sleep in the parlour. She consented without a thought of ghosts,
and went to sleep quite happily; but during the night she was awakened by
some one opening the door, walking across the room, and disturbing the
fireirons. She, supposing it to be the servant, called her by name, but
got no answer: then the person seemed to come away from the fireplace,
and walk out of the room. There was a fire in the grate, but though she
heard the footsteps, she could see no one.
"The next thing was, that I was coming downstairs, and as I glanced
towards the hall door I saw standing by it a man in a grey suit. I went
to my father and told him. He asked in surprise who let him in, as the
servant was out, and he himself had already locked, bolted, and chained
the door an hour previously. None of us had let him in, and when my
father went out to the hall the man had disappeared, and the door was as
he had left it.
"Some little time after, I had a visit from a lady who knew the place
well, and in the course of conversation she said:
"'This is the house poor Mr. ---- used to live in.'
"'Who is Mr. ----?' I asked.
"'Did you never hear of him?' she replied. 'He was a minister who used to
live in this house quite alone, and was murdered in this very parlour.
His landlord used to visit him sometimes, and one night he was seen
coming in about eleven o'clock, and was seen again leaving about five
o'clock in the morning. When Mr. ---- did not come out as usual, the door
was forced open, and he was found lying dead in this room by the fender,
with his head battered in with the poker.'
"We left the house soon after," adds our informant.
The following weird incidents occurred, apparently in the Co. Kilkenny,
to a Miss K. B., during two visits paid by her to Ireland in 1880 and
1881. The house in which she experienced the following was really an old
barrack, long disused, very old-fashioned, and surrounded with a high
wall: it was said that it had been built during the time of Cromwell
as a stronghold for his men. The only inhabitants of this were Captain
C---- (a retired officer in charge of the place), Mrs. C----, three
daughters, and two servants. They occupied the central part of the
building, the mess-room being their drawing-room. Miss K. B.'s bedroom
was very lofty, and adjoined two others which were occupied by the three
daughters, E., G., and L.
"The first recollection I have of anything strange," writes Miss B., "was
that each night I was awakened about three o'clock by a tremendous noise,
apparently in the next suite of rooms, which was empty, and it sounded as
if some huge iron boxes and other heavy things were being thrown about
with great force. This continued for about half an hour, when in the room
underneath (the kitchen) I heard the fire being violently poked and raked
for several minutes, and this was immediately followed by a most terrible
and distressing cough of a man, very loud and violent. It seemed as if
the exertion had brought on a paroxysm which he could not stop. In large
houses in Co. Kilkenny the fires are not lighted every day, owing to the
slow-burning property of the coal, and it is only necessary to rake it up
every night about eleven o'clock, and in the morning it is still bright
and clear. Consequently I wondered why it was necessary for Captain
C---- to get up in the middle of the night to stir it so violently."
A few days later Miss B. said to E. C.: "I hear such strange noises every
night--are there any people in the adjoining part of the building?" She
turned very pale, and looking earnestly at Miss B., said, "Oh K., I am so
sorry you heard. I hoped no one but myself had heard it. I could have
given worlds to have spoken to you last night, but dared not move or
speak." K. B. laughed at her for being so superstitious, but E. declared
that the place was haunted, and told her of a number of weird things that
had been seen and heard.
In the following year, 1881, Miss K. B. paid another visit to the
barrack. This time there were two other visitors there--a colonel and his
wife. They occupied Miss B.'s former room, while to her was allotted a
huge bedroom on the top of the house, with a long corridor leading to it;
opposite to this was another large room, which was occupied by the girls.
Her strange experiences commenced again. "One morning, about four
o'clock, I was awakened by a very noisy martial footstep ascending the
stairs, and then marching quickly up and down the corridor outside
my room. Then suddenly the most violent coughing took place that I ever
heard, which continued for some time, while the quick, heavy step
continued its march. At last the footsteps faded away in the distance,
and I then recalled to mind the same coughing after exertion last year."
In the morning, at breakfast, she asked both Captain C---- and the
colonel had they been walking about, but both denied, and also said they
had no cough. The family looked very uncomfortable, and afterwards E.
came up with tears in her eyes, and said, "Oh K., please don't say
anything more about that dreadful coughing; we all hear it often,
especially when anything terrible is about to happen."
Some nights later the C----s gave a dance. When the guests had departed,
Miss B. went to her bedroom. "The moon was shining so beautifully that I
was able to read my Bible by its light, and had left the Bible open on
the window-sill, which was a very high one, and on which I sat to read,
having had to climb the washstand to reach it. I went to bed, and fell
asleep, but was not long so when I was suddenly awakened by the strange
feeling that some one was in the room. I opened my eyes, and turned
around, and saw on the window-sill in the moonlight a long, very thin,
very dark figure bending over the Bible, and apparently earnestly
scanning the page. As if my movement disturbed the figure, it suddenly
darted up, jumped off the window-ledge on to the washstand, then to the
ground, and flitted quietly across the room to the table where my
jewellery was." That was the last she saw of it. She thought it was some
one trying to steal her jewellery, so waited till morning, but nothing
was missing. In the morning she described to one of the daughters, G.,
what she had seen, and the latter told her that something always happened
when that appeared. Miss K. B. adds that nothing did happen. Later on she
was told that a colonel had cut his throat in that very room.
Another military station, Charles Fort, near Kinsale, has long had the
reputation of being haunted. An account of this was sent to the _Wide
World Magazine_ (Jan. 1908), by Major H. L. Ruck Keene, D.S.O.; he
states that he took it from a manuscript written by a Captain Marvell
Hull about the year 1880. Further information on the subject of the
haunting is to be found in Dr. Craig's _Real Pictures of Clerical Life in
Ireland_.
Charles Fort was erected in 1667 by the Duke of Ormonde. It is said to be
haunted by a ghost known as the "White Lady," and the traditional account
of the reason for this haunting is briefly as follows: Shortly after the
erection of the fort, a Colonel Warrender, a severe disciplinarian, was
appointed its governor. He had a daughter, who bore the quaint Christian
name of "Wilful"; she became engaged to a Sir Trevor Ashurst, and
subsequently married him. On the evening of their wedding-day the bride
and bridegroom were walking on the battlements, when she espied some
flowers growing on the rocks beneath. She expressed a wish for them, and
a sentry posted close by volunteered to climb down for them, provided Sir
Trevor took his place during his absence. He assented, and took the
soldier's coat and musket while he went in search of a rope. Having
obtained one, he commenced his descent; but the task proving longer than
he expected, Sir Trevor fell asleep. Meantime the governor visited the
sentries, as was his custom, and in the course of his rounds came to
where Sir Trevor was asleep. He challenged him, and on receiving no
answer perceived that he was asleep, whereupon he drew a pistol and shot
him through the heart. The body was brought in, and it was only then the
governor realised what had happened. The bride, who appears to have gone
indoors before the tragedy occurred, then learned the fate that befell
her husband, and in her distraction, rushed from the house and flung
herself over the battlements. In despair at the double tragedy, her
father shot himself during the night.
The above is from Dr. Craig's book already alluded to. In the _Wide World
Magazine_ the legend differs slightly in details. According to this the
governor's name was Browne, and it was his own son, not his son-in-law,
that he shot; while the incident is said to have occurred about a hundred
and fifty years ago.
The "White Lady" is the ghost of the young bride. Let us see what
accounts there are of her appearance. A good many years ago Fort-Major
Black, who had served in the Peninsular War, gave his own personal
experience to Dr. Craig. He stated that he had gone to the hall door one
summer evening, and saw a lady entering the door and going up the stairs.
At first he thought she was an officer's wife, but as he looked, he
observed she was dressed in white, and in a very old-fashioned style.
Impelled by curiosity, he hastened upstairs after her, and followed her
closely into one of the rooms, but on entering it he could not find the
slightest trace of anyone there. On another occasion he stated that two
sergeants were packing some cast stores. One of them had his little
daughter with him, and the child suddenly exclaimed, "Who is that white
lady who is bending over the banisters, and looking down at us?" The two
men looked up, but could see nothing, but the child insisted that she had
seen a lady in white looking down and smiling at her.
On another occasion a staff officer, a married man, was residing in the
"Governor's House." One night as the nurse lay awake--she and the
children were in a room which opened into what was known as the White
Lady's apartment--she suddenly saw a lady clothed in white glide to the
bedside of the youngest child, and after a little place her hand upon its
wrist. At this the child started in its sleep, and cried out, "Oh! take
that cold hand from my wrist!" the next moment the lady disappeared.
One night, about the year 1880, Captain Marvell Hull and Lieutenant
Hartland were going to the rooms occupied by the former officer. As they
reached a small landing they saw distinctly in front of them a woman in a
white dress. As they stood there in awestruck silence she turned and
looked towards them, showing a face beautiful enough, but colourless as a
corpse, and then passed on through a locked door.
But it appears that this presence did not always manifest itself in as
harmless a manner. Some years ago Surgeon L---- was quartered at the
fort. One day he had been out snipe-shooting, and as he entered the fort
the mess-bugle rang out. He hastened to his rooms to dress, but as he
failed to put in an appearance at mess, one of the officers went in
search of him, and found him lying senseless on the floor. When he
recovered consciousness he related his experience. He said he had stooped
down for the key of his door, which he had placed for safety under the
mat; when in this position he felt himself violently dragged across the
hall, and flung down a flight of steps. With this agrees somewhat the
experience of a Captain Jarves, as related by him to Captain Marvell
Hull. Attracted by a strange rattling noise in his bedroom, he
endeavoured to open the door of it, but found it seemingly locked.
Suspecting a hoax, he called out, whereupon a gust of wind passed him,
and some unseen power flung him down the stairs, and laid him senseless
at the bottom.
Near a seaside town in the south of Ireland a group of small cottages was
built by an old lady, in one of which she lived, while she let the others
to her relatives. In process of time all the occupants died, the cottages
fell into ruin, and were all pulled down (except the one in which the old
lady had lived), the materials being used by a farmer to build a large
house which he hoped to let to summer visitors. It was shortly afterwards
taken for three years by a gentleman for his family. It should be noted
that the house had very bare surroundings; there were no trees near, or
outhouses where people could be concealed. Soon after the family came to
the house they began to hear raps all over it, on doors, windows, and
walls; these raps varied in nature, sometimes being like a sledgehammer,
loud and dying away, and sometimes quick and sharp, two or three or five
in succession; and all heard them. One morning about 4 A.M., the mother
heard very loud knocking on the bedroom door; thinking it was the servant
wanting to go to early mass, she said, "Come in," but the knocking
continued till the father was awakened by it; he got up, searched the
house, but could find no one. The servant's door was slightly open, and
he saw that she was sound asleep. That morning a telegram came announcing
the death of a beloved uncle just about the hour of the knocking. Some
time previous to this the mother was in the kitchen, when a loud
explosion took place beside her, startling her very much, but no cause
for it could be found, nor were any traces left. This coincided with the
death of an aunt, wife to the uncle who died later.
One night the mother went to her bedroom. The blind was drawn, and the
shutters closed, when suddenly a great crash came, as if a branch was
thrown at the window, and there was a sound of broken glass. She opened
the shutters with the expectation of finding the window smashed, but
there was not even a crack in it. She entered the room next day at one
o'clock, and the same crash took place, being heard by all in the house:
she went in at 10 A.M. on another day, and the same thing happened,
after which she refused to enter that room again.
Another night, after 11 P.M., the servant was washing up in the kitchen,
when heavy footsteps were heard by the father and mother going upstairs,
and across a lobby to the servant's room; the father searched the house,
but could find no one. After that footsteps used to be heard regularly at
that hour, though no one could ever be seen walking about.
The two elder sisters slept together, and used to see flames shooting up
all over the floor, though there was no smell or heat; this used to be
seen two or three nights at a time, chiefly in the one room. The first
time the girls saw this one of them got up and went to her father in
alarm, naturally thinking the room underneath must be on fire.
The two boys were moved to the haunted room [which one?], where they
slept in one large bed with its head near the chimneypiece. The elder
boy, aged about thirteen, put his watch on the mantelpiece, awoke about
2 A.M., and wishing to ascertain the time, put his hand up for his watch;
he then felt a deathly cold hand laid on his. For the rest of that night
the two boys were terrified by noises, apparently caused by two people
rushing about the room fighting and knocking against the bed. About 6
A.M. they went to their father, almost in hysterics from terror, and
refused to sleep there again. The eldest sister, not being nervous, was
then given that room; she was, however, so disturbed by these noises that
she begged her father to let her leave it, but having no other room to
give her, he persuaded her to stay there, and at length she got
accustomed to the noise, and could sleep in spite of it. Finally the
family left the house before their time was up.[5]
[Footnote 5: _Journal of American S.P.R._ for September 1913.]
Mr. T.J. Westropp, to whom we are indebted for so much material, sends a
tale which used to be related by a relative of his, the Rev. Thomas
Westropp, concerning experiences in a house not very far from the city of
Limerick. When the latter was appointed to a certain parish he had some
difficulty in finding a suitable house, but finally fixed on one which
had been untenanted for many years, but had nevertheless been kept aired
and in good repair, as a caretaker who lived close by used to come and
look after it every day. The first night that the family settled there,
as the clergyman was going upstairs he heard a footstep and the rustle of
a dress, and as he stood aside a lady passed him, entered a door facing
the stairs, and closed it after her. It was only then he realised that
her dress was very old-fashioned, and that he had not been able to enter
that particular room. Next day he got assistance from a carpenter, who,
with another man, forced open the door. A mat of cobwebs fell as they did
so, and the floor and windows were thick with dust. The men went across
the room, and as the clergyman followed them he saw a small white bird
flying round the ceiling; at his exclamation the men looked back and also
saw it. It swooped, flew out of the door, and they did not see it again.
After that the family were alarmed by hearing noises under the floor of
that room every night. At length the clergyman had the boards taken up,
and the skeleton of a child was found underneath. So old did the remains
appear that the coroner did not deem it necessary to hold an inquest on
them, so the rector buried them in the churchyard. Strange noises
continued, as if some one were trying to force up the boards from
underneath. Also a heavy ball was heard rolling down the stairs and
striking against the study door. One night the two girls woke up
screaming, and on the nurse running up to them, the elder said she had
seen a great black dog with fiery eyes resting its paws on her bed. Her
father ordered the servants to sit constantly with them in the evenings,
but, notwithstanding the presence of two women in the nursery, the same
thing occurred. The younger daughter was so scared that she never quite
recovered. The family left the house immediately.
The same correspondent says: "An old ruined house in the hills of east
Co. Clare enjoyed the reputation of being 'desperately haunted' from, at
any rate, 1865 down to its dismantling. I will merely give the
experiences of my own relations, as told by them to me. My mother told
how one night she and my father heard creaking and grating, as if a door
were being forced open. The sound came from a passage in which was a door
nailed up and clamped with iron bands. A heavy footstep came down
the passage, and stopped at the bedroom door for a moment; no sound was
heard, and then the 'thing' came through the room to the foot of the bed.
It moved round the bed, they not daring to stir. The horrible unseen
visitant stopped, and they _felt_ it watching them. At last it moved
away, they heard it going up the passage, the door crashed, and all was
silence. Lighting a candle, my father examined the room, and found the
door locked; he then went along the passage, but not a sound was to be
heard anywhere.
"Strange noises like footsteps, sobbing, whispering, grim laughter, and
shrieks were often heard about the house. On one occasion my eldest
sister and a girl cousin drove over to see the family and stayed the
night. They and my two younger sisters were all crowded into a huge,
old-fashioned bed, and carefully drew and tucked in the curtains all
round. My eldest sister awoke feeling a cold wind blowing on her face,
and putting out her hand found the curtains drawn back and, as they
subsequently discovered, wedged between the bed and the wall. She reached
for the match-box, and was about to light the candle when a horrible
mocking laugh rang out close to the bed, which awakened the other girls.
Being always a plucky woman, though then badly scared, she struck a
match, and searched the room, but nothing was to be seen. The closed room
was said to have been deserted after a murder, and its floor was supposed
to be stained with blood which no human power could wash out."
Another house in Co. Clare, nearer the estuary of the Shannon, which was
formerly the residence of the D---- family, but is now pulled down, had
some extraordinary tales told about it in which facts (if we may use the
word) were well supplemented by legend. To commence with the former.
A lady writes: "My father and old Mr. D---- were first cousins. Richard
D---- asked my father would he come and sit up with him one night, in
order to see what might be seen. Both were particularly sober men. The
annoyances in the house were becoming unbearable. Mrs. D----'s work-box
used to be thrown down, the table-cloth would be whisked off the table,
the fender and fireirons would be hurled about the room, and other
similar things would happen. Mr. D---- and my father went up to one of
the bedrooms, where a big fire was made up. They searched every part of
the room carefully, but nothing uncanny was to be seen or found. They
then placed two candles and a brace of pistols on a small table between
them, and waited. Nothing happened for some time, till all of a sudden a
large black dog walked out from under the bed. Both men fired, and the
dog disappeared. That is all! The family had to leave the house."
Now to the blending of fact with fiction, of which we have already
spoken: the intelligent reader can decide in his own mind which is which.
It was said that black magic had been practised in this house at one
time, and that in consequence terrible and weird occurrences were quite
the order of the day there. When being cooked, the hens used to scream
and the mutton used to bleat in the pot. Black dogs were seen frequently.
The beds used to be lifted up, and the occupants thereof used to be
beaten black and blue, by invisible hands. One particularly ghoulish tale
was told. It was said that a monk (!) was in love with one of the
daughters of the house, who was an exceedingly fat girl. She died
unmarried, and was buried in the family vault. Some time later the vault
was again opened for an interment, and those who entered it found that
Miss D----'s coffin had been disturbed, and the lid loosened. They
then saw that all the fat around her heart had been scooped away.
Apropos of ineradicable blood on a floor, which is a not infrequent item
in stories of haunted houses, it is said that a manifestation of this
nature forms the haunting in a farmhouse in Co. Limerick. According to
our informants, a light must be kept burning in this house all night; if
by any chance it is forgotten, or becomes quenched, in the morning the
floor is covered with blood. The story is evidently much older than the
house, but no traditional explanation is given.
Two stories of haunted schools have been sent to us, both on very good
authority; these establishments lie within the geographical limits of
this chapter, but for obvious reasons, we cannot indicate their locality
more precisely, though the names of both are known to us. The first of
these was told to our correspondent by the boy Brown, who was in the
room, but did _not_ see the ghost.
When Brown was about fifteen he was sent to ---- School. His brother told
him not to be frightened at anything he might see or hear, as the boys
were sure to play tricks on all new-comers. He was put to sleep in a room
with another new arrival, a boy named Smith, from England. In the middle
of the night Brown was roused from his sleep by Smith crying out in great
alarm, and asking who was in the room. Brown, who was very angry at being
waked up, told him not to be a fool--that there was no one there. The
second night Smith roused him again, this time in greater alarm than the
first night. He said he saw a man in cap and gown come into the room with
a lamp, and then pass right through the wall. Smith got out of his bed,
and fell on his knees beside Brown, beseeching him not to go to sleep. At
first Brown thought it was all done to frighten him, but he then saw that
Smith was in a state of abject terror. Next morning they spoke of the
occurrence, and the report reached the ears of the Head Master, who sent
for the two boys. Smith refused to spend another night in the room. Brown
said he had seen or heard nothing, and was quite willing to sleep there
if another fellow would sleep with him, but he would not care to remain
there alone. The Head Master then asked for volunteers from the class of
elder boys, but not one of them would sleep in the room. It had always
been looked upon as "haunted," but the Master thought that by putting in
new boys who had not heard the story they would sleep there all right.
Some years after, Brown revisited the place, and found that another
attempt had been made to occupy the room. A new Head Master who did not
know its history, thought it a pity to have the room idle, and put a
teacher, also new to the school, in possession. When this teacher came
down the first morning, he asked who had come into his room during the
night. He stated that a man in cap and gown, having books under his arm
and a lamp in his hand, came in, sat down at a table, and began to read.
He knew that he was not one of the masters, and did not recognise him as
one of the boys. The room had to be abandoned. The tradition is that many
years ago a master was murdered in that room by one of the students. The
few boys who ever had the courage to persist in sleeping in the room said
if they stayed more than two or three nights that the furniture was
moved, and they heard violent noises.
The second story was sent to us by the percipient herself, and is
therefore a firsthand experience. Considering that she was only a
schoolgirl at the time, it must be admitted that she made a most plucky
attempt to run the ghost to earth.
"A good many years ago, when I first went to school, I did not believe in
ghosts, but I then had an experience which caused me to alter my opinion.
I was ordered with two other girls to sleep in a small top room at the
back of the house which overlooked a garden which contained ancient
apple-trees.
"Suddenly in the dead of night I was awakened out of my sleep by the
sound of heavy footsteps, as of a man wearing big boots unlaced, pacing
ceaselessly up and down a long corridor which I knew was plainly visible
from the landing outside my door, as there was a large window at the
farther end of it, and there was sufficient moonlight to enable one to
see its full length. After listening for about twenty minutes, my
curiosity was aroused, so I got up and stood on the landing. The
footsteps still continued, but I could see nothing, although the sounds
actually reached the foot of the flight of stairs which led from the
corridor to the landing on which I was standing. Suddenly the footfall
ceased, pausing at my end of the corridor, and I then considered it was
high time for me to retire, which I accordingly did, carefully closing
the door behind me.
"To my horror the footsteps ascended the stairs, and the bedroom door was
violently dashed back against a washing-stand, beside which was a bed;
the contents of the ewer were spilled over the occupant, and the steps
advanced a few paces into the room in my direction. A cold perspiration
broke out all over me; I cannot describe the sensation. It was not actual
fear--it was more than that--I felt I had come into contact with the
Unknown.
"What was about to happen? All I could do was to speak; I cried out, "Who
are you? What do you want?" Suddenly the footsteps ceased; I felt
relieved, and lay awake till morning, but no further sound reached my
ears. How or when my ghostly visitant disappeared I never knew; suffice
it to say, my story was no nightmare, but an actual fact, of which there
was found sufficient proof in the morning; the floor was still saturated
with water, the door, which we always carefully closed at night, was wide
open, and last, but not least, the occupant of the wet bed had heard all
that had happened, but feared to speak, and lay awake till morning.
"Naturally, we related our weird experience to our schoolmates, and it
was only then I learned from one of the elder girls that this ghost had
manifested itself for many years in a similar fashion to the inhabitants
of that room. It was supposed to be the spirit of a man who, long years
before, had occupied this apartment (the house was then a private
residence), and had committed suicide by hanging himself from an old
apple tree opposite the window. Needless to say, the story was hushed up,
and we were sharply spoken to, and warned not to mention the occurrence
again.
"Some years afterwards a friend, who happened at the time to be a boarder
at this very school, came to spend a week-end with me. She related an
exactly similar incident which occurred a few nights previous to her
visit. My experience was quite unknown to her."
The following account of strange happenings at his glebe-house has been
sent by the rector of a parish in the diocese of Cashel: "Shortly after
my wife and I came to live here, some ten years ago, the servants
complained of hearing strange noises in the top storey of the Rectory
where they sleep. One girl ran away the day after she arrived, declaring
that the house was haunted, and that nothing would induce her to sleep
another night in it. So often had my wife to change servants on this
account that at last I had to speak to the parish priest, as I suspected
that the idea of 'ghosts' might have been suggested to the maids by
neighbours who might have some interest in getting rid of them. I
understand that my friend the parish priest spoke very forcibly from the
altar on the subject of spirits, saying that the only spirits he believed
ever did any harm to anyone were ----, mentioning a well-known brand of
the wine of the country. Whether this priestly admonition was the cause
or not, for some time we heard no more tales of ghostly manifestations.
"After a while, however, my wife and I began to hear a noise which, while
in no sense alarming, has proved to be both remarkable and inexplicable.
If we happen to be sitting in the dining-room after dinner, sometimes we
hear what sounds like the noise of a heavy coach rumbling up to the hall
door. We have both heard this noise hundreds of times between eight P.M.
and midnight. Sometimes we hear it several times the same night, and then
perhaps we won't hear it again for several months. We hear it best on
calm nights, and as we are nearly a quarter of a mile from the high
road, it is difficult to account for, especially as the noise appears to
be quite close to us--I mean not farther away than the hall-door. I may
mention that an Englishman was staying with us a few years ago. As we
were sitting in the dining-room one night after dinner he said, 'A
carriage has just driven up to the door'; but we knew it was only the
'phantom coach,' for we also heard it. Only once do I remember hearing it
while sitting in the drawing-room. So much for the 'sound' of the
'phantom coach,' but now I must tell you what I _saw_ with my own eyes as
clearly as I now see the paper on which I am writing. Some years ago in
the middle of the summer, on a scorching hot day, I was out cutting
some hay opposite the hall door just by the tennis court. It was between
twelve and one o'clock. I remember the time distinctly, as my man had
gone to his dinner shortly before. The spot on which I was commanded
a view of the avenue from the entrance gate for about four hundred yards.
I happened to look up from my occupation--for scything is no easy
work--and I saw what I took to be a somewhat high dogcart, in which two
people were seated, turning in at the avenue gate. As I had my coat and
waistcoat off, and was not in a state to receive visitors, I got behind a
newly-made hay-cock and watched the vehicle until it came to a bend in
the avenue where there is a clump of trees which obscured it from my
view. As it did not, however, reappear, I concluded that the occupants
had either stopped for some reason or had taken by mistake a cart-way
leading to the back gate into the garden. Hastily putting on my coat, I
went down to the bend in the avenue, but to my surprise there was nothing
to be seen.
"Returning to the Rectory, I met my housekeeper, who has been with me for
nearly twenty years, and I told her what I had seen. She then told me
that about a month before, while I was away from home, my man had one day
gone with the trap to the station. She saw, just as I did, a trap coming
up the avenue until it was lost to sight owing to the intervention of the
clump of trees. As it did not come on, she went down to the bend, but
there was no trap to be seen. When the man came in some half-hour after,
my housekeeper asked him if he had come half-way up the avenue and turned
back, but he said he had only that minute come straight from the station.
My housekeeper said she did not like to tell me about it before, as she
thought I 'would have laughed at her.' Whether the 'spectral gig' which I
saw and the 'phantom coach' which my wife and I have often heard are one
and the same I know not, but I do know that what I saw in the full blaze
of the summer sun was not inspired by a dose of the spirits referred to
by my friend the parish priest.
"Some time during the winter of 1912, I was in the motor-house one dark
evening at about 6 P.M. I was working at the engine, and as the car was
'nose in' first, I was, of course, at the farthest point from the door.
I had sent my man down to the village with a message. He was gone about
ten minutes when I heard heavy footsteps enter the yard and come over to
the motor-house. I 'felt' that there was some one in the house quite
close to me, and I said, 'Hullo, ----, what brought you back so soon,' as
I knew he could not have been to the village and back. As I got no reply,
I took up my electric lamp and went to the back of the motor to see who
was there, but there was no one to be seen, and although I searched the
yard with my lamp, I could discover no one. About a week later I heard
the footsteps again under almost identical conditions, but I searched
with the same futile result.
"Before I stop, I must tell you about a curious 'presentiment' which
happened with regard to a man I got from the Queen's County. He arrived
on a Saturday evening, and on the following Monday morning I put him to
sweep the avenue. He was at his work when I went out in the motor car at
about 10:30 A.M. Shortly after I left he left his wheel-barrow and tools
on the avenue (just at the point where I saw the 'spectral gig'
disappear) and, coming up to the Rectory, he told my housekeeper in a
great state of agitation that he was quite sure that his brother, with
whom he had always lived, was dead. He said he must return home at once.
My housekeeper advised him to wait until I returned, but he changed his
clothes and packed his box, saying he must catch the next train. Just
before I returned home at 12 o'clock, a telegram came saying his brother
had died suddenly that morning, and that he was to return at once. On my
return I found him almost in a state of collapse. He left by the next
train, and I never heard of him again."
K---- Castle is a handsome blending of ancient castle and modern
dwelling-house, picturesquely situated among trees, while the steep glen
mentioned below runs close beside it. It has the reputation of being
haunted, but, as usual, it is difficult to get information. One
gentleman, to whom we wrote, stated that he never saw or heard anything
worse than a bat. On the other hand, a lady who resided there a good many
years ago, gives the following account of her extraordinary experiences
therein:
More
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Captain Wheatcroft
In the month of September 1857 Captain German Wheatcroft, of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, went out to India to join his regiment. His wife remained in England, residing at Cambridge. On the night between the 14th and 15th of November 1857... Casting The Runes
_April 15th, 190-_ Dear Sir, I am requested by the Council of the ---- Association to return to you the draft of a paper on _The Truth of Alchemy_, which you have been good enough to offer to read at our forthcoming meeting, and to inform you ... Cavalier Version {121}
"1627. Since William Lilly the Rebells Jugler and Mountebank in his malicious and blaspheamous discourse concerning our late Martyred Soveraigne of ever blessed memory (amongst other lyes and falsehoods) imprinted a relation concerning an Aparition... Cavalier Version {121}
"1627. Since William Lilly the Rebells Jugler and Mountebank in his malicious and blaspheamous discourse concerning our late Martyred Soveraigne of ever blessed memory (amongst other lyes and falsehoods) imprinted a relation concerning an Aparition... Charles Ashmore's Trail
The family of Christian Ashmore consisted of his wife, his mother, two grown daughters, and a son of sixteen years. They lived in Troy, New York, were well-to-do, respectable persons, and had many friends, some of whom, reading these lines, wil... Clerk Saunders
Clerk Saunders and May Margaret Walked owre yon garden green; And sad and heavy was the love That fell them twa between. And thro' the dark, and thro' the mirk, And thro' the leaves o' green, He cam that n... Concerning The Murder Of Sergeant Davies
There is at present living in the neighbourhood of --- an old lady, about seventy years of age. Her maiden name is ---, {140} and she is a native of Braemar, but left that district when about twenty years old, and has never been back to it even for... Concerning The Murder Of Sergeant Davies
There is at present living in the neighbourhood of --- an old lady, about seventy years of age. Her maiden name is ---, {140} and she is a native of Braemar, but left that district when about twenty years old, and has never been back to it even for... Count Magnus
By what means the papers out of which I have made a connected story came into my hands is the last point which the reader will learn from these pages. But it is necessary to prefix to my extracts from them a statement of the form in which I possess ... Croglin Grange
"Fisher," said the Captain, "may sound a very plebeian name, but this family is of very ancient lineage, and for many hundreds of years they have possessed a very curious old place in Cumberland, which bears the weird name of Croglin Grange. Th... Dear Mr Seymour,
I enclose some account of our experiences in K---- Castle. It would be better not to mention names, as the people occupying it have told me they are afraid of their servants hearing anything, and consequently giving notice. They themselves hear voic... Denis Misanger
On Friday, the first day of May 1705, about five o'clock in the evening, Denis Misanger de la Richardiere, eighteen years of age, was attacked with an extraordinary malady, which began by a sort of lethargy. They gave him every assistance that ... Door!"
As if in the superhuman energy of his utterance there had been found the potency of a spell--the huge antique panels to which the speaker pointed, threw slowly back, upon the instant, their ponderous and ebony jaws. It was the work of the rushing gu... Dorothy Durant
A schoolboy named Bligh, who went to Launceston Grammar School, of which the Rev. John Ruddle was headmaster, from being a lad of bright parts and no common attainments, became on a sudden moody, dejected, and melancholy. His friends, seeing th... Dr Duthoit's Vision
I knew a fine specimen of an English abbe when I was at school at Hereford. This was Dr Duthoit, Prebendary of _Consumpta per Sabulum_ in Hereford Cathedral, Rector of St Owen's, bookworm and, chiefly, rose-grower. He was a middle-aged man when... Dr Funk Sees The Spirit Of Beecher
(New York _Herald_, April 4, 1903) While he will not admit that he is a believer in spiritualism, the Rev. Dr. Isaac Funk, head of the publishing house of Funk & Wagnalls, is so impressed with manifestations he has received from the spirit of Henr... Drake's Drum
Sir Francis Drake--who appears to have been especially befriended by his demon--is said to drive at night a black hearse drawn by headless horses, and urged on by running devils and yelping, headless dogs, through Jump, on the road from Tavisto... Dream Of Mr Perceval's Murder
"SUNDHILL, December, 1832. "[Some account of a dream which occurred to John Williams, Esq., of Scorrier House, in the county of Cornwall, in the year 1812. Taken from his own mouth, and narrated by him at various times to several of his friends.... Dream Of Mr Perceval's Murder
"SUNDHILL, December, 1832. "[Some account of a dream which occurred to John Williams, Esq., of Scorrier House, in the county of Cornwall, in the year 1812. Taken from his own mouth, and narrated by him at various times to several of his friends.... Drummers See A Specter
(St Louis _Globe-Democrat_, Oct. 6, 1887) [The last man in the world to be accused of a belief in the supernatural would be your go-ahead, hard-headed American "drummer" or traveling-man. Yet here is a plain tale of how not one but two of the west... Erichtho
When Sextus sought Erichtho he chose his time in the depth of the night, when the sun is at its lowermost distance from the upper sky. He took for companions the associates of his crimes. Wandering among broken graves and crumbling sepulchres, ... Footnote:
[2] Since the publication of the first edition "Hasting House" has been converted into an Indian Rugby for the benefit of the cadets of the rich families in Bengal. ... Ghosts In Connecticut
(N.Y. _Sun_, Sept. 1, 1885) "There is as much superstition in New-England to-day as there was in those old times when they slashed Quakers and built bonfires for witches." It was a New York man who gave expression to this rather startling stateme... Gisli Olafsson
Notwithstanding this declaration, the troubles at Garpsdal were attributed by others to Magnus, and the name of the "Garpsdale Ghost" stuck to him throughout his life. He was alive in 1862, when Jon Arnason's volume was published. These mode... Gisli Olafsson
Notwithstanding this declaration, the troubles at Garpsdal were attributed by others to Magnus, and the name of the "Garpsdale Ghost" stuck to him throughout his life. He was alive in 1862, when Jon Arnason's volume was published. These mode... Glamis Castle
"The Castle of Glamis, a venerable and majestic pile of buildings," says an old Scots Gazetteer, "is situate about one mile north from the village, on the flat grounds at the confluence of the Glamis Burn and the Dean. There is a print of it gi... Group I
We commence this group with stories in which the phenomena connected with the respective deaths were not perceived as representations of the human form. In the first only sounds were heard. It is sent as a personal experience by the Archdeacon of Li... Group Ii
We now come to some stories of apparitions seen some time after the hour of death. Canon Ross-Lewin, of Limerick, furnishes the following incident in his own family. "My uncle, John Dillon Ross-Lewin, lieutenant in the 30th Regiment, was mortally wo... Group Iii
We now come to the third group of this chapter, in which we shall relate two first-hand experiences of tragedies being actually witnessed some time before they happened, as well as a reliable second-hand story of an apparition being seen two days be... Half-past One O'clock
In October, 1893, I was staying at a town which we shall call Rapingham. One night I and some kinsfolk dined with another old friend of all of us, a Dr. Ferrier. In the course of dinner he asked a propos de bottes:-- "Have you heard of the ghos... Half-past One O'clock
In October, 1893, I was staying at a town which we shall call Rapingham. One night I and some kinsfolk dined with another old friend of all of us, a Dr. Ferrier. In the course of dinner he asked a propos de bottes:-- "Have you heard of the ghos... Hands All Round
Nothing was more common, in the seances of Home, the "Medium," than the appearance of "Spirit hands". If these were made of white kid gloves, stuffed, the idea, at least, was borrowed from ghost stories, in which ghostly hands, with no visible bodi... Hands All Round
Nothing was more common, in the seances of Home, the "Medium," than the appearance of "Spirit hands". If these were made of white kid gloves, stuffed, the idea, at least, was borrowed from ghost stories, in which ghostly hands, with no visible bodi... Has Presented It
But, in the drawings, the fragments were of different colours, so that a student working on the drawings would not guess them to be parts of one cylinder. Professor Hilprecht, however, examined the two actual fragments in the Imperial Museum at Con... Has Presented It
But, in the drawings, the fragments were of different colours, so that a student working on the drawings would not guess them to be parts of one cylinder. Professor Hilprecht, however, examined the two actual fragments in the Imperial Museum at Con... Haunted Houses In Conn's Half
From a very early period a division of Ireland into two "halves" existed. This was traditionally believed to have been made by Conn the Hundred-fighter and Mogh Nuadat, in A.D. 166. The north was in consequence known as Conn's Half, the south as M... Haunted Houses In Mogh's Half
The northern half of Ireland has not proved as prolific in stories of haunted houses as the southern portion: the possible explanation of this is, not that the men of the north are less prone to hold, or talk about, such beliefs, but that, as rega... Haunted Houses In Or Near Dublin
Of all species of ghostly phenomena, that commonly known as "haunted houses" appeals most to the ordinary person. There is something very eerie in being shut up within the four walls of a house with a ghost. The poor human being is placed at such ... Haunted Mrs Chang
Mr. Chang, of that ilk (Chang Chang Tien-ts), was a man of fifty- seven, and a graduate in letters. The ladies of his family having accommodated a demon with a shrine in his house, Mr. Chang said he "would have none of that nonsense". The spirit t... Haunted Mrs Chang
Mr. Chang, of that ilk (Chang Chang Tien-ts), was a man of fifty- seven, and a graduate in letters. The ladies of his family having accommodated a demon with a shrine in his house, Mr. Chang said he "would have none of that nonsense". The spirit t... Haunted Places
That houses are haunted and apparitions frequently seen therein are pretty well established facts. The preceding chapters have dealt with this aspect of the subject, and, in view of the weight of evidence to prove the truth of the stories told in ... His Dead Wife's Photograph
This story created a sensation when it was first told. It appeared in the papers and many big Physicists and Natural Philosophers were, at least so they thought, able to explain the phenomenon. I shall narrate the event and also tell the reader wh... His Lord
... His Lord
... In Tavistock Place {93}
"In the latter part of the autumn of 1878, between half-past three and four in the morning, I was leisurely walking home from the house of a sick friend. A middle-aged woman, apparently a nurse, was slowly following, going in the same direction. W... In Tavistock Place {93}
"In the latter part of the autumn of 1878, between half-past three and four in the morning, I was leisurely walking home from the house of a sick friend. A middle-aged woman, apparently a nurse, was slowly following, going in the same direction. W... Jeanne D'arc
Upon her trial, as it is repeated by Chartier, she spoke with the utmost simplicity and firmness of her visions: "Que souvent alloit a une belle fontaine au pays de Lorraine, laquelle elle nommoit bonne fontaine aux Fees Nostre Seigneur, at en ... Keeping His Promise
It was eleven o'clock at night, and young Marriott was locked into his room, cramming as hard as he could cram. He was a "Fourth Year Man" at Edinburgh University and he had been ploughed for this particular examination so often that his parents h... Kotter's Red Circle
Kotter's first vision was detailed by him, on oath, before the magistrates of Sprottaw, in 1619. While he was travelling on foot, in open daylight, in June 1616, a man appeared to him, who ordered him to inform the civil and ecclesiastical auth... Kurigalzu,
... Kurigalzu,
... Legendary And Ancestral Ghosts
Whatever explanations may be given of the various stories told in our previous chapters, the facts as stated therein are in almost every case vouched for on reliable authority. We now turn to stories of a different kind, most of which have no evid... Lord Lyttelton's Ghost
"Sir," said Dr. Johnson, "it is the most extraordinary thing that has happened in my day." The doctor's day included the rising of 1745 and of the Wesleyans, the seizure of Canada, the Seven Years' War, the American Rebellion, the Cock Lane ghost, ... Lord Lyttelton's Ghost
"Sir," said Dr. Johnson, "it is the most extraordinary thing that has happened in my day." The doctor's day included the rising of 1745 and of the Wesleyans, the seizure of Canada, the Seven Years' War, the American Rebellion, the Cock Lane ghost, ... Lord St Vincent's Ghost Story
Sir Walter Scott, writing about the disturbances in the house occupied by Mrs. Ricketts, sister of the great admiral, Lord St. Vincent, asks: "Who has seen Lord St. Vincent's letters?" He adds that the gallant admiral, after all, was a sailor, and ... Lord St Vincent's Ghost Story
Sir Walter Scott, writing about the disturbances in the house occupied by Mrs. Ricketts, sister of the great admiral, Lord St. Vincent, asks: "Who has seen Lord St. Vincent's letters?" He adds that the gallant admiral, after all, was a sailor, and ... Lord Strafford's Warning
In the Rev. John Mastin's _History of Naseby_ is cited a story of an apparition that was supposed to have appeared to Charles the First at Daintree, near Naseby, previous to the famous battle of that name. The army of Charles, says the histor... Lost Hearts
It was, as far as I can ascertain, in September of the year 1811 that a post-chaise drew up before the door of Aswarby Hall, in the heart of Lincolnshire. The little boy who was the only passenger in the chaise, and who jumped out as soon as it had ... Mark Twain's Story
Mark was smoking his cigar outside the door of his house when he saw a man, a stranger, approaching him. Suddenly he ceased to be visible! Mark, who had long desired to see a ghost, rushed into his house to record the phenomenon. There, seated on ... Mark Twain's Story
Mark was smoking his cigar outside the door of his house when he saw a man, a stranger, approaching him. Suddenly he ceased to be visible! Mark, who had long desired to see a ghost, rushed into his house to record the phenomenon. There, seated on ... Martin's Close
Some few years back I was staying with the rector of a parish in the West, where the society to which I belong owns property. I was to go over some of this land: and, on the first morning of my visit, soon after breakfast, the estate carpenter and g... Maryland Ghosts
(_Baltimore American_, May, 1886) For forty years the Rev. Dr. B. has been the rector of a prominent parish on the Eastern Shore. He had, when the scenes recorded below happened twenty-two years ago, a mission charge sixteen miles distant from th... Miscellaneous Supernormal Experiences
The matter in this chapter does not seem, strictly speaking, to come under the head of any of the preceding ones: it contains no account of houses or places permanently haunted, or of warnings of impending death. Rather we have gathered up in it a... Mistaken Identity Conclusion
We have given various instances of ghostly phenomena wherein the witnesses have failed at first to realise that what they saw partook in any way of the abnormal. There are also many cases where a so-called ghost has turned out to be something very... More Haunted Houses
A physician, as we have seen, got the better of the demon in Mrs. Shchapoff's case, at least while the lady was under his care. Really these disturbances appear to demand the attention of medical men. If the whole phenomena are caused by imposture... More Haunted Houses
A physician, as we have seen, got the better of the demon in Mrs. Shchapoff's case, at least while the lady was under his care. Really these disturbances appear to demand the attention of medical men. If the whole phenomena are caused by imposture... Mr Beecher Appeased
"When what seemed to be Mr. Beecher's embodied spirit appeared to me," Dr. Funk said, "I asked that very question. He smiled and replied that it was not a matter that concerned him especially, and that the whole thing was in the nature of a test, to... Mr Humphreys And His Inheritance
About fifteen years ago, on a date late in August or early in September, a train drew up at Wilsthorpe, a country station in Eastern England. Out of it stepped (with other passengers) a rather tall and reasonably good-looking young man, carrying a h... My Gillie's Father's Story
Fishing in Sutherland, I had a charming companion in the gillie. He was well educated, a great reader, the best of salmon fishers, and I never heard a man curse William, Duke of Cumberland, with more enthusiasm. His father, still alive, was second... My Gillie's Father's Story
Fishing in Sutherland, I had a charming companion in the gillie. He was well educated, a great reader, the best of salmon fishers, and I never heard a man curse William, Duke of Cumberland, with more enthusiasm. His father, still alive, was second... Mystery Of The Coins
Dr. Funk was especially anxious to have an opportunity to see and talk with Mr. Beecher, in the hope that light would be thrown on the mystery which surrounds a previous manifestation. Through the spirit of one "Jack" Rakestraw, who says he used to ... Necromancy
The belief that it was possible to call up the souls of the dead by means of spells was almost universal in antiquity. We know that even Saul, who had himself cut off those that had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land, disguised himse...