Mistaken Identity Conclusion
Scary Books: True Irish Ghost Stories: St John D Seymour
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 ordinary. Though more often
than not such incidents are of a very trivial or self-explanatory
nature (_e.g._ where a sheep in a churchyard almost paralysed a midnight
wayfare
which have an interest of their own and which often throw into prominence
the extraordinary superstitions and beliefs which exist in a country.
Our first story, which is sent us by Mr. De Lacy of Dublin, deals with an
incident that occurred in the early part of last century. An epidemic
which was then rife in the city was each day taking its toll of the
unhappy citizens. The wife of a man living in Merrion Square was stricken
down and hastily buried in a churchyard in Donnybrook which is now
closed. On the night after the funeral one of the city police, or
"Charlies" as they were then called, passed through the churchyard on his
rounds. When nearing the centre he was alarmed to hear a sound coming
from a grave close at hand, and turning, saw a white apparition sit up
and address him. This was all he waited for; with a shriek he dropped his
lantern and staff and made off as fast as his legs would carry him. The
apparition thereupon took up the lamp and staff, and walked to Merrion
Square to the house of mourning, was admitted by the servants, and to the
joy of the whole household was found to be the object of their grief
returned, Alcestis-like, from the grave. It seems that the epidemic was
so bad that the bodies of the victims were interred hastily and without
much care: the unfortunate lady had really been in a state of coma or
trance, and as the grave was lightly covered, when she came to she was
able to force her way up, and seeing the "Charlie" passing, she called
for assistance.
An occurrence which at first had all the appearance of partaking of the
supernormal, and which was afterwards found to have a curious
explanation, is related by Dean Ovenden of St. Patrick's Cathedral,
Dublin. "At Dunluce Rectory, Co. Antrim," he writes, "I had a strange
experience. There was a force-pump attached to the back wall of the
house, and many people drew water from it, as it was better than any
obtained at that time in Bushmills. We used to notice, when going to bed,
the sound of someone working the pump. All the servants denied that they
ever used the pump between 11 P.M. and 12 midnight. I often looked out
of the back window when I heard the pump going, but could not see anyone.
I tied threads to the handle, but although they were found unbroken in
the morning the pumping continued, sometimes only for three or four moves
of the handle. On many nights no pumping was heard. The man-servant sat
up with a gun and the dog, but he neither saw nor heard anything. We gave
it up as a bad job, and still the pumping went on. After about two years
of this experience, I was one night alone in the house. It was a calm and
frosty night and I went to bed about 11.30 P.M. and lay awake; suddenly
the pump began to work with great clearness, and mechanically I counted
the strokes: they were exactly twelve. I exclaimed, 'The dining-room
clock!' I sprang from bed and went down, and found that the clock was
fast, as it showed two minutes past twelve o'clock. I set back the hands
to 11.55 and lay in bed again, and soon the pumper began as usual. The
explanation was that the vibration of the rising and falling hammer was
carried up to the bedroom by the wall, but the sound of the bell was
never heard. I found afterwards that the nights when there was no pumping
were always windy."
A man was walking along a country lane at night and as he was coming
round a bend he saw a coffin on the road in front of him. At first he
thought it was a warning to him that he was soon to leave this world; but
after some hesitation, he finally summoned up courage to give the thing a
poke with his stick, when he found that the coffin was merely an outline
of sea-weed which some passer-by had made. Whereupon he went on his way
much relieved.
The unbeliever will state that rats or mice are more often than not the
cause of so-called ghostly noises in a house. That, at any rate,
instances have happened where one or other of these rodents has given
rise to fear and trepidation in the inmates of a house or bedroom is
proved by the following story from a Dublin lady. She tells how she was
awakened by a most mysterious noise for which she could give no
explanation. Overcome by fear, she was quite unable to get out of bed,
and lay awake the rest of the night. When light came she got up: there
was a big bath in the room, and in it she found a mouse which had been
drowned in its efforts to get out. So her haunting was caused by what we
may perhaps call a ghost in the making.
The devil is very real to the average countryman in Ireland. He has given
his name to many spots which for some reason or other have gained some
ill-repute--the Devil's Elbow, a very nasty bit of road down in Kerry, is
an instance in point. The following story shows how prevalent the idea is
that the devil is an active agent in the affairs of this world.
A family living at Ardee, Co. Louth, were one night sitting reading in
the parlour. The two maids were amusing themselves at some card game in
the kitchen. Suddenly there was a great commotion and the two girls--both
from the country--burst into the sitting-room, pale with fright, and
almost speechless. When they had recovered a certain amount, they were
asked what was the matter; the cook immediately exclaimed, "Oh, sir! the
devil, the devil, he knocked three times at the window and frightened us
dreadfully, and we had just time to throw the cards into the fire and run
in here before he got us." One of the family, on hearing this,
immediately went out to see what had caused all this trepidation, and
found a swallow with a broken neck lying on the kitchen window-sill. The
poor bird had evidently seen the light in the room, and in its efforts to
get near it had broken its neck against the glass of the window.
An amusing account of a pseudo-haunting comes from County Tipperary, and
shows how extraordinarily strong is the countryman's belief in
supernatural phenomena. The incidents related occurred only a very short
time ago. A farmer in the vicinity of Thurles died leaving behind him a
young widow. The latter lived alone after her husband's death, and about
three months after the funeral she was startled one night by loud
knocking at the door. On opening the door she was shocked at seeing the
outline of a man dressed in a shroud. In a solemn voice he asked her did
she know who he was: on receiving a reply in the negative, he said that
he was her late husband and that he wanted £10 to get into heaven. The
terrified woman said she had not got the money, but promised to have it
ready if he would call again the next night. The "apparition" agreed,
then withdrew, and the distracted woman went to bed wondering how she was
to raise the money. When morning came she did not take long in telling
her friends of her experience, in the hope that they would be able to
help her. Their advice, however, was that she should tell the police,
and she did so. That night the "apparition" returned at the promised
hour, and asked for his money. The amount was handed to him, and in a low
sepulchral voice he said, "Now I leave this earth and go to heaven."
Unfortunately, as he was leaving, a sergeant and a constable of the
R.I. Constabulary stopped him, questioned him, and hauled him off to the
barracks to spend the remainder of the night in the cell, where no doubt
he decided that the haunting game has its trials.[14]
[Footnote 14: _Evening Telegraph_ for Dec. 10, 1913.]
An occurrence of very much the same description took place in County
Clare about three years ago. Again the departed husband returns to his
sorrowing wife, sits by the fire with her, chatting no doubt of old
times, and before he leaves for the other world is regaled with pig's
head and plenty of whisky. The visit is repeated the next night, and a
request made for money to play cards with down below: the wife willingly
gives him the money. Again he comes, and again he borrows on the plea
that he had lost the night before, but hoped to get better luck next
time. On the woman telling a neighbour a watch was kept for the dead
man's return, but he never came near the place again.
An account of a police-court trial which appeared in the _Irish Times_ of
31st December 1913 emphasizes in a very marked degree the extraordinary
grip that superstition has over some of the country people. A young woman
was on her trial for stealing £300 from the brother of her employer,
Patrick McFaul of Armagh. District Inspector Lowndes, in opening the case
for the Crown, told the bench that the money had been taken out of the
bank by McFaul to buy a holding, for the purchase of which negotiations
were going on. The money was carelessly thrown into a drawer in a
bedroom, and left there till it would be wanted. A short time afterwards
a fire broke out in the room, and a heap of ashes was all that was found
in the drawer, though little else in the room besides a few clothes was
injured. "The McFauls appeared to accept their loss with a complacency,
which could only be accounted for by the idea they entertained that the
money was destroyed through spiritual intervention--that there were
ghosts in the question, and that the destruction of the money was to be
taken as a warning directed against a matrimonial arrangement, into which
Michael McFaul was about to enter." The accused girl was servant to
the McFauls, who discharged her a few days after the fire: but before
this she had been into Derry and spent a night there; during her stay she
tried to change three £20 notes with the help of a friend. But change was
refused, and she had to abandon the attempt. "If some of the money was
burned, some of it was certainly in existence three days later, to the
amount of £60. One thing was manifest, and that was that an incredible
amount of superstition appeared to prevail amongst families in that
neighbourhood when the loss of such a sum as this could be attributed to
anything but larceny, and it could for a moment be suggested that it was
due to spiritual intervention to indicate that a certain course should
be abandoned."
More
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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... Number 13
Among the towns of Jutland, Viborg justly holds a high place. It is the seat of a bishopric; it has a handsome but almost entirely new cathedral, a charming garden, a lake of great beauty, and many storks. Near it is Hald, accounted one of the prett... Of The God Bel,
... Of The God Bel,
... One Does Not Always Eat What Is On The Table
By the light of a tallow candle which had been placed on one end of a rough table a man was reading something written in a book. It was an old account book, greatly worn; and the writing was not, apparently, very legible, for the man sometimes held ... Patroklos
Then there came unto him the ghost of poor Patroklos, in all things like unto the very man, in stature, and fair eyes, and voice; and he was arrayed in vesture such as in life he wore. He stood above the hero's head and challenged him:-- "Th... Pearlin Jean
It was Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, the antiquary, who furnished this account of Pearlin Jean's hauntings at Allanbank. "In my youth," he says, "Pearlin Jean was the most remarkable ghost in Scotland, and my terror when a child. Our old nurse,... Peter's Ghost
A naval officer visited a friend in the country. Several men were sitting round the smoking-room fire when he arrived, and a fox-terrier was with them. Presently the heavy, shambling footsteps of an old dog, and the metallic shaking sound of his c... Peter's Ghost
A naval officer visited a friend in the country. Several men were sitting round the smoking-room fire when he arrived, and a fox-terrier was with them. Presently the heavy, shambling footsteps of an old dog, and the metallic shaking sound of his c... Poltergeists
Poltergeist is the term assigned to those apparently meaningless noises and movements of objects of which we from time to time hear accounts. The word is, of course, German, and may be translated "boisterous ghost." A poltergeist is seldom or neve... Pontifex Of The God Bel
... Pontifex Of The God Bel
... Powys Castle
It had been for some time reported in the neighbourhood that a poor unmarried woman, who was a member of the Methodist society; and had become serious under their ministry, had seen and conversed with the apparition of a gentleman, who had made... Present At A Hanging
An old man named Daniel Baker, living near Lebanon, Iowa, was suspected by his neighbors of having murdered a peddler who had obtained permission to pass the night at his house. This was in 1853, when peddling was more common in the Western cou... Queen Mary's Jewels
"I have had a strange dream about your ring" (a "medallion" of Anthony and Cleopatra); "it is very valuable." Major Buckley said it was worth 60 pounds, and put the ring into his friend's hand. "It belonged to royalty." "In what country?" ... Queen Mary's Jewels
"I have had a strange dream about your ring" (a "medallion" of Anthony and Cleopatra); "it is very valuable." Major Buckley said it was worth 60 pounds, and put the ring into his friend's hand. "It belonged to royalty." "In what country?" ... Queen Ulrica And The Countess Steenbock
When Queen Ulrica was dead, her corpse was placed in the usual way in an open coffin, in a room hung with black and lighted with numerous wax candles; a company of the king's guards did duty in the ante-room. One afternoon, the carriage of the ... Riding Home From Mess
In 1854, General Barter, C.B., was a subaltern in the 75th Regiment, and was doing duty at the hill station of Murree in the Punjaub. He lived in a house built recently by a Lieutenant B., who died, as researches at the War Office prove, at Peshawu... Riding Home From Mess
In 1854, General Barter, C.B., was a subaltern in the 75th Regiment, and was doing duty at the hill station of Murree in the Punjaub. He lived in a house built recently by a Lieutenant B., who died, as researches at the War Office prove, at Peshawu... Sarah Polgrain
A woman, who had lived in Ludgvan, was executed at Bodmin for the murder of her husband. There was but little doubt that she had been urged on to the diabolical deed by a horse-dealer, known as Yorkshire Jack, with whom, for a long period, she ... Sertorius And His Hind
So soone as Sertorius arriued from Africa, he straight leauied men of warre, and with them subdued the people of Spaine fronting upon his marches, of which the more part did willingly submit themselues, upon the bruit that ran of him to be merc... Sir A Turner's Psychic Experiences
General Sir Alfred Turner's psychic experiences, which he related to the London Spiritualist Alliance on May 7, in the salon of the Royal Society of British Artists, cover a very wide field, and they date from his early boyhood. ... Sir George Villiers' Ghost
The variations in the narratives of Sir George Villiers' appearance to an old servant of his, or old protege, and the warning communicated by this man to Villiers' son, the famous Duke of Buckingham, are curious and instructive. The tale is first t... Sir George Villiers' Ghost
The variations in the narratives of Sir George Villiers' appearance to an old servant of his, or old protege, and the warning communicated by this man to Villiers' son, the famous Duke of Buckingham, are curious and instructive. The tale is first t... Smith: An Episode In A Lodging-house
"When I was a medical student," began the doctor, half turning towards his circle of listeners in the firelight, "I came across one or two very curious human beings; but there was one fellow I remember particularly, for he caused me the most vivid... Some Famous Ghosts Of The National Capitol
(Philadelphia _Press_, Oct. 2, 1898) The Capitol at Washington is probably the most thoroughly haunted building in the world. Not less than fifteen well-authenticated ghosts infest it, and some of them are of a more than ordinarily alarming cha... Some Real American Ghosts The Giant Ghost
A case in point is the Benton, Indiana, ghost, which is attracting much attention. It has been seen and investigated by many people with reputations for intelligence and good sense, but so far no explanation of the strange appearance has been f... Stories Of Haunting
In a letter to Sura[30] the younger Pliny gives us what may be taken as a prototype of all later haunted-house stories. At one time in Athens there was a roomy old house where nobody could be induced to live. In the dead of night the sound of clan...