,transcriber's ,note3 ,the ,author uses lines of spaced periods to mark the passing of time1 this has been preserved in this edition4 ,,the ,,alleged ,,haunting ,,of ,b---- ,,house ,illustration3 ,,attics ,illustration3 ,,second ,,floor ,illustration3 ,,ground ,,floor ,l4 ,lift4 ,a4 ,iron gate in ,area4 ,illustration3 ,,basement ,,the ,,alleged ,,haunting ,,of ,b---- ,,house ,,including ,a ,,journal ,,kept ,,during ,,the ,,tenancy ,,of ,,colonel ,,lemesurier ,,taylor ,,edited ,,by ,a4 ,,goodrich-,,freer 7,,miss ,x7 ,,and ,,john1 ,,marquess ,,of ,,bute1 ,k4,t4 ,,london ,,george ,,redway #ahii ,i visited ,b---- representing that ,society ,s4,p4,r41 444 and decided that there was no such evidence as could justify us in giving the results of the inquiry a place in our ,proceedings4--,the ,times1 ,june #aj1 #ahig4 ,,frederic ,w4,h4 ,,myers1 ,hon4 ,sec4 of the ,society for ,psychical ,research4 ,compare pages #ahi et seq4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,alleged ,,haunting ,,of ,b---- ,,house ,it was in #ahib that ,lord ,bute first heard of the matter4 ,it was not1 as stated by ,the ,times correspondent in that journal for ,june #h1 #ahig1 in or from ,london1 but at ,falkland1 in ,fifeshire1 and in the following manner3-- ,there is no public chapel at ,falkland1 and the private chapel in the house is attended by a variety of priests1 who usually come only from ,saturday to ,monday4 ,lord ,bute's diary for the second week in ,august #ahib contains the following entries3-- ,saturday1 ,august #fth4--,father ,h----1 ,s4,j41 came4 ,sunday1 ,august #gth4--,in afternoon with ,father ,h---- and ,john ,lord ,dumfries to ,palace1 and then with him to the ,gruoch's ,den4 ,he gives us a long account of the psychical disturbances at ,b----2 noises between his bed and the ceiling1 like continuous explosion of petards1 so that he could not hear himself speak1 c4 c4 ,mr4 ,huggins afterwards recommended the use of a phonograph for these noises1 in order to ascertain absolutely whether they are objective or subjective1 and ,i wrote so to ,s---- of ,b----4 ,monday1 ,august #hth4--,father ,h---- went away4 ,tuesday1 ,august #ith4--,mr4 ,huggins now ,sir ,william ,huggins1 outgoing ,president of the ,british ,association1 and ,mrs4 ,huggins came4 ,saturday1 ,august #acth4--,father ,h---- came4 ,sunday1 ,august #adth4--,in afternoon with the children1 c41 to the ,palace1 leaving ,mr4 ,huggins as much as possible alone with ,father ,h---- 7both being with us71 in order to interrogate him about the psychical noises he heard recently at ,b----1 when there1 to give a ,retreat to some nuns4 ,monday1 ,august #aeth4--,father ,h---- went away after luncheon4 ,lord ,bute recalls that ,father ,h---- told him that he had been at ,b---- for the purpose of giving a ,retreat a series of sermons and meditations to some nuns1 who were charitably allowed by ,mr4 ,s---- to take a sort of holiday1 at a house called ,b---- ,cottage1 which had been originally built and occupied by the late ,major ,s----1 when he first took up his residence at ,b----1 which at the time was let4 ,father ,h---- told ,lord ,bute that in consequence of the disturbance his room had been several times changed1 and he expressed surprise that the sounds did not appear to be heard by anybody except himself4 ,he also said that he had spoken of the matter to ,mr4 ,s----1 who expressed an idea that the disturbances might be caused by his uncle1 the late ,major ,s----1 who was trying to attract attention in order that prayers might be offered for the repose of his soul4 ,the sounds occurred during full daylight1 and in a clear open space between his bed and the ceiling4 ,he did not know to what to compare them1 but as he said they were explosive in sound1 ,lord ,bute suggested that they might be compared to the sounds made by petards1 which are commonly used in ,italy for firing feux de joie4 ,father ,h---- answered1 ,yes perhaps1 if they were continuous enough4 ,he said that the sound which alarmed him more than any other was as of a large animal throwing itself violently against the bottom of his door1 outside4 ,a third noise which he had heard was of ordinary raps1 of the kind called spirit-raps4 ,he mentioned a fourth sound1 the nature of which ,lord ,bute does not remember with the same certainty as the others1 but believes it was a shriek or scream4 ,such a sound is described by other witnesses during the subsequent occupation of the house by the ,h---- family4 ,the fact that the sounds appear to have been inaudible to every one except ,father ,h---- is a strong argument in favour of their subjective1 or hallucinatory1 character4 ,it will be found that this was very often the case with the peculiar sounds recorded at ,b----1 and even when they were heard by several persons at the same time1 there does not appear to be any ground for refusing to recognise them as collective hallucinations4 ,lord ,bute's diary and recollections have been here quoted1 not as differing from1 but only as being antecedent to1 the following account1 which has been furnished by ,father ,h---- himself3-- ,i went to ,b---- on ,thursday1 ,july #adth1 #ahib1 and ,i left it on ,saturday1 ,july #bcrd4 ,so ,i slept at ,b---- for nine nights1 or rather one night1 because ,i was disturbed by very queer and extraordinary noises every night except the last1 which ,i spent in ,mr4 ,s----'s dressing-room4 ,at first ,i occupied the room to the extreme right of the landing ,no4 #h1;,a then my things were removed to another room ,no4 #c 7it seems to me at this distance of time that this room faced the principal staircase1 or was a little to the left of it74 ,in both these rooms ,i heard the loud and inexplicable noises every night1 but on two or three nights1 in addition to these1 another noise affrighted me--a sound of somebody or something falling against the door outside4 ,it seemed1 at the time1 as if a calf or big dog would make such a noise4 ,why those particular animals came into my head ,i cannot tell4 ,but in attempting to describe these indescribable phenomena1 ,i notice now ,i always do say it was like a calf or big dog falling against the door4 ,why did ,i not hear the noises on the ninth night8 ,were there none where ,i was8 ,these are questions the answers to which are not apparent4 ,it may be there were noises1 but ,i slept too soundly to hear them4 ,one of the oddest things in my case1 in connection with the house1 is that it appeared to me somehow that 7#a7 ,somebody was relieved by my departure2 7#b7 that nothing could induce me to pass another night there1 at all events alone1 and in other respects ,i do not think ,i am a coward4 ,for the benefit of those who are not aware of the fact1 it may be as well to state that the class of people known as spiritualists1 hold that when raps are heard1 it is the best thing for the hearer to say aloud1 ,if you are intelligent1 will you please to rap three times8 and if this is done1 to ask the intelligence to rap three times for yes1 once for no1 and twice for doubtful4 ,it is obvious that considerable conversation can be carried on by such a code1 and where it is inadequate1 as1 for instance1 in obtaining proper names1 it is usual to propose to repeat the alphabet slowly1 asking the intelligence to rap once when the proper letter is reached4 ,this simple method was entirely unknown to ,father ,h----4 ,he had done nothing but throw holy water about his rooms1 and repeat the prayer ,visita qusumus1 which invokes the ,divine protection of a house and its inhabitants against all the snares of the ,enemy1 and which1 therefore1 in no way concerned any person or thing which is not associated with the powers of darkness4 ,it was natural that no result should be produced4 ,sir ,w4 ,huggins told ,lord ,bute1 as the result of his examination of ,father ,h----1 that he felt absolutely certain that what the latter had experienced was not the outcome of morbid hallucination1 but that it was possible that the sounds themselves might be hallucinatory or subjective4 ,to ascertain whether this were so1 or whether they had any physical cause1 he suggested the use of a phonograph1 as this would at least show whether the sounds were accompanied by atmospheric waves4 ,lord ,bute happened to know ,mr4 ,s---- slightly1 having met him accidentally while travelling abroad4 ,he accordingly wrote to him1 and communicated ,sir ,william ,huggins's suggestion4 ,mr4 ,s----1 after a delay of some days1 refused absolutely to allow any scientific investigation to be made1 a refusal remarkably coincident with the recent refusal of his son1 the present proprietor1 to allow any similar investigation with seismographical instruments4 ,it would seem a legitimate conclusion that neither father nor son doubted that the sounds are of a psychical character4 ,as regards the present proprietor1 such a conclusion renders it obvious that we must understand in some peculiar sense the letter published in ,the ,times1 dated ,june #aj1 #ahig1 in which he says1 ,as to the stories contained in the article i4e4 of the anonymous ,times correspondent1 they are without foundation4 ,these words must1 however1 be1 in any case1 accepted in a special sense1 considering the part taken by members of his own family1 as well as by tenants and agents1 in attesting the stories in question4 ,lord ,bute states that ,father ,h---- did not1 upon the occasion of his visit to ,falkland1 say anything as to having seen the brown wooden crucifix 7see pp4 #acb1 #adb1 #aed71 but after this apparition had been seen by two other persons separately1 ,lord ,bute wrote to ,father ,h---- to inquire whether he could remember anything of the sort4 ,his reply was as follows3-- ,when you mention the brown wooden crucifix1 you awaken a new memory in me4 ,i now seem to live some of those hours over again1 and ,i recollect that between waking and sleeping there appeared before my eyes--somewhere on the wall--a crucifix1 some eighteen inches1 ,i should say1 long1 and1 ,i think1 of brown wood4 ,my own crucifix is of black metal1 and just the length of this page 7seven inches72 and though ,i usually have it with me in my bag1 ,i cannot for certain say that it was in my bag at ,b----4 ,the following further communication from ,father ,h---- carries the record further back3-- ,in ,august #ahic it was that ,i met1 quite by accident1 a person who knew something about ,b---- ,house and its strange noises4 ,though1 on my leaving his house1 ,mr4 ,s---- begged me not 'to give the house a bad name1' ,i did not understand by this that1 as a point of honour1 ,i should refrain from ever mentioning the subject4 ,i respected his request to the extent of not alluding indiscriminately to the noises that disturbed my nights there4 ,but ,i did speak to several people about them1 and they had so impatiently and incredulously heard my statements1 that ,i at last refused to repeat them1 even when pressingly requested to do so4 ,it was1 therefore1 quite a surprise to find myself talking about ,b---- ,house1 or rather1 listening with rapt attention to another talking about the place4 ,miss ,y----1 ,i think her name was1 kept house for a priest at----4 ,one evening1 while on a visit there1 ,i found her knitting as ,i passed the kitchen door1 and bidding her the time of day1 ,i discovered from a remark she made that she had in former days filled more important posts4 ,she soon settled down when she found me an attentive listener to a somewhat detailed account of by no means a short life4 ',had she been in ,scotland8' ',yes1 sir2 and in a very beautiful part of ,scotland1 in ,p----shire4' ',indeed6' ,in short she told me that she had been1 twelve years ago1 governess in the ,s---- family at ,b---- ,house4 7,i need not say that ,i was now intensely interested47 ',why did she leave8' ',well1 sir1 so many people complained of queer noises in the house1 that ,i got alarmed and left4' ,i asked her had she seen anything8 ,she said ,no1 and the noises were only heard in certain rooms1 and the servants inhabited quite a different part of the house4 ,when ,i closely questioned her she located the queer noises precisely in the two rooms ,i had successively occupied4 ,she did not learn from me that ,i had ever been there4 ,pressed for a concrete case of fright and abrupt leavetaking 7,i think71 she told me two military officers had 'left next morning4' ,in conclusion1 as against all the above1 my own1 and this good woman's account1 ,i must set it down that1 before ,i left the house1 two young ladies1 relatives of the family1 occupied the rooms in question1 and certainly1 to my surprise1 did not seem at breakfast as if they had spent an unquiet night4 ,inquiry shows that ,miss ,y----'s residence at ,b---- must have been about the years #ahgh-hj4 ,the earliest witnesses in chronological sequence would be the ,s---- family themselves2 but though much information has been contributed by them to various persons interested in ,b---- ,house during the tenancy both of ,mr4 ,h---- and ,colonel ,taylor1 the present ,editors are unwilling to make use of it without permission4 ,a statement in ,the ,times article1 of the character of which the reader can here judge for himself1 elicited the following letter from ,mrs4 ,s----1 which is to be found in the issue of that journal for ,june #ah1 #ahig3-- ,may ,i ask of your courtesy to insert this in the next issue of your paper4 ,seeing myself dragged into publicity in ,the ,times of ,june #h1 as 'having made admissions under pressure of cross-examination1' ,i beg to state that ,i as well as the rest of my family had not the remotest idea that our home was let to other than ordinary tenants4 ,in my intercourse with them ,i spoke as one lady to another1 never imagining that my private conversations were going to be used for purposes carefully concealed from me--a deceit which ,i deeply resent4 ,it will be observed that ,mrs4 ,s---- here leaves no doubt as to the nature of the information with which she was so good as to favour ,miss ,freer1 but1 notwithstanding this fact1 and the language which ,mrs4 ,s---- has considered it right to use--or1 at least1 to sign--with regard to ,miss ,freer1 ,miss ,freer prefers to continue to treat ,mrs4 ,s----'s statements as confidential1 and blanks will accordingly be found in the ,journal under the dates on which such conversations occurred4 ,miss ,freer extends the same regard for a privacy1 which the ,s---- family have themselves violated1 to communications made by other members4 ,there have1 however1 been several witnesses unconnected with them1 some of whom are referred to in the ,journal4 ,not only the villagers and persons in the immediate neighbourhood1 but many accidentally met with in visits to show-places and in excursions for twenty miles round ,b----1 were ready to pour out traditions and experiences which are not here quoted1 as1 though often suggestive1 not always evidential4 ,the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h----1 already referred to1 quotes a witness who testifies to processions of monks or nuns having been seen by ,mr4 ,s---- from a window1 and of a married couple who1 relating the events of the night1 declared they could not hear each other's voices for the noise overhead between them and the ceiling1 which was especially interesting to him1 as corroborative of his own experience4 ,a former servant at ,b---- has voluntarily related1 at great length1 the story of the alleged hauntings1 which shows that they have occurred at intervals during the past twenty years4 ,he is of opinion that as the earlier hauntings were ascribed to the late ,major ,s----1 so their revival may be referred to the late proprietor2 but his reasons1 as well as his narrative1 are of a nature which might cause annoyance to the ,s---- family1 and are therefore withheld4 ,dr4 ,menzies1 a correspondent of ,the ,times1 ,june #ajth1 who speaks of himself as an old friend of ,major ,s----1 refers to a still earlier haunting--a tradition current at the time of the ,major's succession in #ahdd4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in ,august #ahif1 ,b---- ,house1 with the shooting attached1 was let by ,captain ,s----1 the present proprietor1 for a year to a wealthy family of ,spanish origin4 ,their experience was of such a nature that they abandoned the house at the end of seven weeks1 thus forfeiting the greater part of their rent1 which had been paid in advance4 ,the evidence of ,mr4 ,h---- himself1 of his butler1 and of several guests1 will be found in due chronological sequence4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,colonel ,taylor1 one of the fundamental members of the ,london ,spiritualist ,alliance1 a distinguished member of the ,s4,p4,r41 whose name is associated both in this country and in ,america with the investigation of haunted houses1 offered to take a lease of ,b---- ,house1 after the lease had been resigned by ,mr4 ,h----1 the proprietor made no objection whatever4 ,indeed1 the only allusion made to the haunting was the expression of a hope on the part of ,captain ,s----'s agents in ,edinburgh1 that ,colonel ,taylor would not make it a subject of complaint1 as had been done by ,mr4 ,h----1 in reply to which they were informed that ,colonel ,taylor was thoroughly well aware of what had happened during ,mr4 ,h----'s tenancy1 and would undertake to make no complaint on the subject4 ,captain ,s---- having thus thrown the house into the open market1 and let it to the well-known expert1 with no reference whatever to the subject of haunting1 except that it should not be made a ground of complaint1 it is obvious that he deprived himself of any right to complain as to observations upon the subject of local hallucination1 any more than of observation upon the habits of squirrels or other local features4 ,nor had he any more right to complain upon this ground1 as vendor of the lease1 than any other vendor of articles exposed for public sale1 such as a hatter1 who after selling a hat to ,lord ,salisbury1 might complain that he had been induced to provide headgear for a ,conservative4 ,at the same time1 both ,colonel ,taylor and his friends were well aware1 from a vexatious experience1 that phenomena of the kind found at ,b---- are very often associated with private matters1 which the members of a family concerned might object to see published1 just as they might object to the publication of the results of an examination of some object--say1 old medicine-bottles--found in the house let by them to a strange tenant4 ,acting upon this knowledge1 it has been the general rule of the ,society for ,psychical ,research to publish the cases investigated by it under avowedly false names1 as private cases are published in medical and other scientific journals4 ,out of a courteous anxiety that nothing should occur which could in any way annoy any member of the ,s---- family1 no one was admitted to the house for the purpose of observing the phenomena1 except on the definite understanding that they were to regard everything as confidential1 and it was always intended that any publication on the subject was to be made with all names and geographical indications avowedly fictitious4 ,as certain points of ,gaelic orthography were found to be involved1 it was decided to mention the house as standing in a bi-lingual district upon the borders of ,wales1 and ,lord ,bute arranged with ,sir ,william ,lewis to have these linguistic points represented by ,welsh instead of ,gaelic4 ,the affairs of the inquiry1 and of any phenomena which might occur1 were thus protected1 it was believed1 by a confidence even more absolute than that usually observed in such affairs of a household as to which honour dictates that a guest should be silent4 ,the appreciation with which the ,s---- family responded to this courteous and careful consideration for their possible feelings1 was made manifest to the world by the tone which they adopted when1 immediately on the appearance of the anonymous article in ,the ,times1 they rushed into the newspapers1 and published everything concerning themselves1 their family property1 predecessors1 and tenants1 with all the proper names at full length4 ,after that outburst it has1 of course1 been rendered impossible to keep the identity of the place and people any longer secret4 ,out of deference to other members of the family who did not take part in this1 the matter in the present volume remains in as private a form as the newspaper correspondence now leaves possible4 ,the names given in full are those mostly very indirectly concerned2 other names1 including that of the house1 are given under the real initials1 with the exception of a few of the less prominent1 when the real initials would create confusion2 and in these latter cases they are taken from letters of the alphabet not already used1 and are placed in inverted commas2 e4g4 the real initial of a ,mr4 ,s---- is changed1 in order to avoid confusion with the name of the ,s---- family themselves1 the proprietors of ,b----4 ,the contents of the book are1 except in one respect1 arranged upon the simple chronological system4 ,they commence with a short sketch of the history of the ,s---- family1 based in its earlier part upon ,douglas's ,baronage of ,scotland2 and all information which the writers possess as to the phenomena which have occurred since the death of ,major ,s---- in #ahgf1 except that supplied by the ,s---- family1 is set forth in succession4 ,the family of ,s---- date from the earlier part of the middle of the fifteenth century1 and were settled upon the river ,t---- within that century1 while they have possessed ,b---- at least since the earlier half of the century following4 ,a stone1 carved with their arms1 belonging to the old mansion-house1 is built into the wall1 and dated #aegi4 ,the present house is modern1 and does not even occupy the site of the older one4 ,the particular proprietor whose arms are so represented1 ,patrick ,s----1 married ,elizabeth ,b----1 who survived him and married a second time4 ,james ,s----1 his son1 in #aehf1 married ,mary ,c----1 and after her death1 in #aeig1 ,elizabeth ,r----4 ,robert ,s----1 his son by his first marriage1 married ,margaret ,c----4 ,john ,s----1 son of ,robert1 was killed by the ,cromwellians1 leaving no issue1 and was succeeded by his brother1 ,patrick ,s----1 who married ,elizabeth ,l----4 ,it is not obvious when they adopted the principles of the ,reformation1 but it is to be remarked that this ,patrick stood high in the favour of ,james ,,ii4 7and ,,vii474 ,charles ,s----1 son of the foregoing1 married ,anne ,d----1 and was succeeded by his third son1 another ,charles1 who married ,grizell ,m----1 and died in #agfd4 ,robert ,s----1 his son1 married ,isabel ,h----4 ,charles ,s----1 his eldest son1 died unmarried in #aghc4 ,h---- ,s----1 second son of ,r---- ,s----1 married ,louisa ,m----1 died in #ahcd1 and had issue--,robert1 two other sons1 and six daughters4 ,robert ,s----1 born ,january #ahjf1 in #ahbe entered the military service of the ,east ,india ,company1 from which he retired with the rank of ,major in #ahej1 i4e4 sixteen years after succeeding to the property4 ,he died in ,april #ahgf4 ,his two brothers both died unmarried1 and of his six sisters1 three married1 and a fourth1 ,isabella1 entered a nunnery4 ,she there professed under the name of ,frances ,helen in #ahej1 the year of her brother's return from ,india1 and died ,february #bc1 #ahhj1 aged sixty-six4 ,major ,s----1 by his will dated ,june #h1 #ahec1 bequeathed ,b---- to the representatives of his married sister ,mary1 and on his death was accordingly succeeded by her second 7but eldest surviving7 son1 ,john1 who on succeeding assumed the name of ,s----4 ,major ,s---- was a ,protestant1 but this ,john was a ,roman ,catholic1 like his aunt ,isabella4 ,his eldest brother died without issue in #ahfg1 but he had a younger brother1 married1 with issue1 and two sisters1 ,louisa and ,mary1 whom ,major ,s----1 by a codicil of ,december #ad1 #ahfh1 carefully excluded from all benefit under his will4 ,the register of the parish of ,l----1 in which ,b---- ,house is situated1 mentions under the date ,july #ad1 #ahgc1 the death of ,sarah ,n----1 housekeeper of ,b---- ,house 7single71 aged twenty-seven years1 daughter of ,john ,n----1 farmer1 and ,helen ,r----4 7,in ,scottish legal documents married women are described by their maiden name47 ,it is said that her last illness was very short1 lasting only three days4 ,mrs4 ,s---- had the great charity to attend her on her deathbed4 ,it is mentioned in the register1 that the official intimation of ,sarah ,n----'s death was given1 not by her parents nor by ,major ,s----1 but by her uncle1 ,neil ,n----4 ,major ,s---- seems to have been somewhat eccentric1 and was very fond of dogs1 of which he kept a considerable number4 ,he had very strong views upon psychical subjects4 ,he was a believer in spirit-return1 and many witnesses have attested that he frequently spoke of his own return after death4 ,among these psychic beliefs were two relating to animals2 and as they are of a kind not very commonly discussed even among spiritualists1 and enter1 to some extent1 into the following narrative1 it is convenient here to state them at length4 ,it is very commonly held that the soul or living personality of man1 which will survive the change called by us death1 is capable of entering living bodies and making use of their organs4 ,the form in which this belief is most commonly met with1 is that of the alleged inspiration of trance mediums by the souls of the dead4 ,such a case is that of ,mrs4 ,piper1 said to have been animated by the soul of ,dr4 ,phinuit and other personalities now disincarnated4 ,it has naturally been argued that if it is possible for the disembodied spirit to occupy and animate the body of a human being1 it would1 a fortiori1 be easy for it to do the same with the body of a beast1 where the resistance of will would presumably be less4 ,this idea1 coupled with the belief that the soul can be separated from the body during life1 so producing a kind of temporary death1 while leaving the body in such a state that it is capable of being again inhabited and animated1 lies at the bottom of the numerous statements as to sorcerers and sorceresses changing themselves into hares1 wolves1 or cats1 which are to be found in the records of witch trials4 ,that this was possible1 at least after death1 was evidently a strong belief upon the part of ,major ,s----4 ,we are informed that he frequently intimated his intention of entering the body of a particular black spaniel which he possessed1 and so strong a belief was attached to his words1 that after his death all his dogs1 including the spaniel in question1 were shot1 apparently in order to render impossible any such action upon his part4 ,the policy of the measure adopted was short-sighted4 ,if the ,major had thoroughly succeeded in animating the body of the living spaniel1 the physical resources at his disposal would have been too limited to have enabled him to give much trouble4 ,as it is1 a series of witnesses attest apparitions of this spaniel1 and of at least one other dog1 which may naturally be regarded as much more disturbing4 ,the second point is possibly the same as the last1 but it appears to be more probably based upon the belief held by ,major ,s----1 in common with a large number of those who have made a serious study of apparitions--and certainly a large number of the members of the ,s4,p4,r4--that such apparitions are really hallucinations or false impressions upon the senses1 created1 so far as originated by any external cause1 by other minds either in the body or out of the body1 which are themselves invisible in the ordinary and physical sense of the term1 and really acting through some means at present very imperfectly known4 ,such an opinion of course reserves the question of the possible action of unseen forces upon what is commonly called matter involved in 'spirit'-photography1 materialisation1 levitation1 the passage of matter through matter1 and other forms of apport1 although such a distinction1 if logically carried out1 becomes somewhat tenuous in face of the generally accepted fact that all mental processes are accompanied by physical processes in the brain4 ,in the following pages will be found instances of the phenomenon of the apparent removal of bed-clothing1 which raise a question as to the propriety of regarding as exhaustive an explanation based solely upon the hypothesis of subjective hallucination which otherwise would appear to be generally applicable4 ,it would stand to reason that if such an intelligence can produce an hallucination of the appearance of the human figure1 it would be at least equally easy for it to produce an hallucination of the appearance of a beast4 ,a belief to this effect seems to be the explanation of the fact mentioned in a letter to ,the ,times of ,june #aj1 #ahig1 by ,dr4 ,menzies1 who refers to ,major ,s---- as an old and dear friend4 ,he writes1 ,i have no doubt that he created much scandal by saying to his gardener that he had better take care to keep up the garden properly1 for when he was gone his soul would go into a mole and haunt the garden and him too4 ,this theory of the possibility of producing by mental force the hallucination audible or visual of a beast1 may also be the explanation1 not only of the apparition of the large dog which has been seen1 as well as that of a spaniel1 but also of the phenomenon1 attested by several witnesses1 of their having heard the sound as of a large dog throwing itself from the outside against the lower part of their doors4 ,major ,s---- died1 as already stated1 in #ahgf1 and was buried beside ,sarah ,n---- and1 it is said1 an old ,indian manservant4 ,the grave is in the middle of the parish churchyard4 ,no monument marks their resting-place1 but a high enclosure1 which surrounds it1 is a prominent object4 ,the whole of his dogs1 fourteen in number1 including the spaniel already mentioned1 were killed after his death4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,s4,p4,r4 some years ago published a census of hallucinations based upon the interrogation of seventeen thousand persons1 who were not only taken casually1 but from whom those were excluded whose replies were foreseen4 ,from the analysis of these statistics1 it appears that the great majority of these phantasms are figures of people who were living and continue to live1 although research seems to point to the fact that their bodies are either always1 or very often1 in a state of apparent unconsciousness at the moment of the phenomenon4 ,among the minority1 i4e4 of apparitions of the dead1 the frequency seems to be in inverse proportion to the time which has elapsed since death4 ,those which appear at the moment of death are very frequent1 whereas1 on the other hand1 those of persons who have been very long dead are almost unknown2 e4g4 the apparition seen by ,lady ,galway a few years ago at ,rufford ,abbey1 where the form represented a person who must have been dead for about three hundred years1 belongs to a class of which examples are very few4 ,a haunted house 7or any other locality7 is merely a place where experience shows that hallucinations are more or less localised1 and the only especially interesting question about it is1 why the hallucinations should be localised at a particular place1 and what causes them there4 ,such ,phantasms of the ,living have been discussed in the monumental work of ,mr4 ,myers and the late ,mr4 ,e4 ,gurney4 ,they need be no further remarked upon here1 than to observe that the following pages contain at least one example1 viz4 that of the apparition of the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h----4 7,see p4 #aai47 ,it is very difficult to judge of the forces which may act in the conditions of what we are accustomed to call another world1 but a plausible explanation might be found in the ,divine ,word1 ,where your treasure is1 there will your heart be also4 ,the thoughts and affections appear to dwell for a time where they have been already fixed during life1 but changes here1 including the gradual reunion on the other side1 of all those who are loved with those who love them1 the advancing dissociation of the mind with things here1 and1 no doubt1 the evolution of a different life under different conditions1 seem gradually to efface the ties of earthly memory1 connecting the feelings with particular spots on earth4 ,such thoughts not infrequently include repentance1 a desire for the remedy of acts of injustice1 and an eagerness for the compassion and sympathetic prayers of those whom we call the living4 ,it is natural1 therefore1 to suppose that haunting1 such as that met with at ,b----1 would be connected with persons who had died within some such period as a century at the outside4 ,now the number of the members of the ,s---- family and others1 whose thoughts1 memories1 feelings1 and affections may presumably have dwelt largely at ,b----1 and who have died within the last hundred years1 is very considerable2 but--saving the tradition referred to by ,dr4 ,menzies 7see p4 #bb71 only to be dismissed--there seems to have been no idea of the place being haunted before the deaths of ,sarah ,n---- and of ,major ,s----1 whereas since that time the peculiar phenomena have been constantly attested4 ,john ,s----1 his successor1 was1 as stated1 the second son of ,major ,s----'s sister ,mary1 and assumed the name of ,s---- upon succeeding to the property4 ,he was a ,roman ,catholic2 he was married1 and had several children1 of whom the eldest son is the present proprietor4 ,one of the younger sons is a ,jesuit1 but not yet a priest4 ,in ,january #ahie ,mr4 ,s---- went to ,london on family business1 and was there killed by being run over by a cab in the street4 ,it was stated on the authority of three persons1 not counting members of his own family1 that on the morning on which he left ,b---- for the last time1 while he was talking to the agent in his business-room1 there were raps so violent as to interfere with conversation4 ,the earliest written notice of this circumstance1 so far as can be discovered1 is the following entry in ,lord ,bute's journal for ,january #ag1 #ahif3-- ,i hear that the morning the late ,s---- of ,b---- left home for the last time1 spirits came and rapped to him in his room--doubtless to warn him--so that his death was really owing to the cruel superstition which had prevented him allowing them to be communicated with4 ,lord ,bute's informant appears to have been the ,rev4 ,sir ,david ,hunter ,blair1 as the journal mentions his arrival at ,falkland on that day1 and none of the other guests in the house were people who were likely to have heard anything about it4 ,mr4 ,s---- was succeeded by his eldest son1 ,captain ,s----1 who showed no hesitation in throwing the house into the public market1 with its #ddjj acres of shooting4 ,the alleged haunting was not mentioned beforehand to the first tenant1 as it afterwards was to ,colonel ,taylor4 ,this tenant was ,mr4 ,j4,r4 ,h---- of ,k---- ,court1 ,c----1 in ,g----shire1 and the following is the account of experiences during his visit1 as given by his butler3-- ,,on ,,the ,,trail ,,of ,a ,,ghost ,to the ,editor of ,the ,times ,,sir1--,in your issue of the #hth1 under the above heading1 ',a ,correspondent' tries at some length to describe what he calls a most impudent imposture4 ,i having lived at ,b---- for three months in the autumn of last year as butler to the house1 ,i thought perhaps my experience of the ghost of ,b---- might be of interest to many of your readers1 and as the story has now become public property1 ,i shall not be doing any one an injury by telling what ,i know of the mystery4 ,on ,july #ae1 #ahif1 ,i was sent by ,mr4 ,h----1 with two maidservants1 to take charge of ,b---- from ,mr4 ,s----'s agents4 ,i was there three days before the arrival of any one of the family1 and during that time ,i heard nothing to disturb me in any way2 but on the morning after the arrival of two of the family1 ,master and ,miss ,h----1 they came down with long faces1 giving accounts of ghostly noises they had heard during the night1 but ,i tried to dissuade them from such nonsense1 as ,i then considered it to be2 but on the following two or three nights the same kind of noises were heard by them1 and also by the maidservants1 who slept in the rooms above1 and they all became positively frightened4 ,i heard nothing whatever1 though the noises1 as they described them1 would have been enough to wake any one much farther away than where ,i slept1 for the noises they heard were made immediately over my room4 ,i suggested the hot-water pipes or the twigs of ivy knocking against the windows1 but no--nothing would persuade them but that the house was haunted2 but as the noises continued to be heard nightly1 ,i suggested that ,i should sit up alone1 and without a light1 outside their bedroom doors1 where the footsteps and other rustling noises were heard4 ,i think one other member of the family1 or two young gentlemen1 had arrived at this time1 and they had also heard the noises4 ,i told them of my intention to sit up alone1 for as one of them had a revolver ,i did not want to run the risk of being shot for a ghost4 ,however1 ,i took my post on the landing at #aa4cj and kept watch1 ,i am certain1 until half-past one2 then ,i must have fallen asleep1 for about two o'clock ,master ,h----1 hearing the knocking as usual1 came out of his room to hear if ,i had seen or heard anything1 but found me fast asleep on the floor1 which gave him a greater fright than the knocking1 for he supposed for the moment that ,i had been slain by the ghost4 ,this kind of thing went on nightly1 and for three weeks ,i heard nothing1 although nearly every one in the house heard these noises except myself2 but my turn had yet to come1 although ,i firmly held the opinion during that time that it was the hot-water pipes1 and ,i only laughed at the others for their absurd nonsense1 as ,i then considered it to be2 but my first experience was that of being awakened three successive nights1 or rather mornings1 at about #c4cj4 ,i heard nothing1 but seemed to be wide awake in an instant1 as though some one had touched me4 ,i would stay awake for some little time and then go to sleep again2 but on the fourth night1 on being awakened as before1 and lying awake for perhaps two minutes1 ,i heard tremendous thumping just outside my door4 ,i jumped out of bed quickly1 and opened my door1 and called out in a loud voice1 ',who is there8' but got no answer4 ,i ascended the stairs and listened for a few minutes1 but heard no further knocking4 ,i then went back to my room1 but did not sleep again that morning4 ,i may mention that my room was the one described by ',a ,correspondent' as the butler's room under ,no4 #c1 the room where most noises were heard1 and the staircase was the service one1 and as there is a door at the top1 if any one had come there to make the noise ,i should certainly have heard them beating a retreat4 ,the same thing happened with variations almost nightly for the succeeding two months that ,i was there1 and every visitor that came to the house was disturbed in the same manner4 ,one gentleman 7a colonel7 told me he was awakened on several occasions with the feeling that some one was pulling the bedclothes off him2 sometimes heavy footsteps were heard1 at others like the rustling of a lady's dress2 and sometimes groans were heard1 but nearly always accompanied with heavy knocking2 sometimes the whole house would be aroused4 ,one night ,i remember five gentlemen meeting at the top of the stairs in their night-suits1 some with sticks or pokers1 one had a revolver1 vowing vengeance on the disturbers of their sleep4 ,during the two months after ,i first heard the noises ,i kept watch altogether about twelve times in various parts of the house1 mostly unknown to others 7at the time71 and have heard the noises in the wing as well as other parts4 ,when watching ,i always experienced a peculiar sensation a few minutes before hearing any noise4 ,i can only describe it as like suddenly entering an ice-house1 and a feeling that some one was present and about to speak to me4 ,on three different nights ,i was awakened by my bedclothes being pulled off my feet4 ,but the worst night ,i had at ,b---- was one night about the second week in ,september1 and ,i shall never forget it as long as ,i live4 ,i had been keeping watch with two gentlemen--one a visitor1 the other one of the house4 ,we were sitting in room ,no4 #b1 and heard the noises that ,i have described about half-past two4 ,both gentlemen were very much alarmed2 but we searched everywhere1 but could not find any trace of the ghost or cause of the noises1 although they came this time from an unoccupied room4 7,i may mention that the noises were never heard in the daytime1 as stated by ',a ,correspondent1' but always between twelve1 midnight1 and four in the morning1 generally between two and four o'clock47 ,after a thorough search the two gentlemen went to bed sadder1 but not wiser men1 for we had discovered nothing4 ,i then went to my room1 but not to bed1 for ,i was not satisfied1 and decided to continue the watch alone4 ,so ,i seated myself on the service stairs1 close to where the water-pipes passed up the wall1 so as to decide once and for all if the sounds came in any way from the water-pipes4 ,i had not long to wait 7about twenty minutes7 when the knocking recommenced from the same direction as before1 but much louder than before1 followed1 after a very short interval1 by two distinct groans1 which certainly made me feel very uncomfortable1 for it sounded like some one being stabbed and then falling to the floor4 ,that was enough for me4 ,i went and asked the two gentlemen who had just gone to bed if they had heard anything4 ,one said he had heard five knocks and two groans1 the same as ,i had2 while the other 7whose room was much nearer to where the sounds came from7 said he had heard nothing4 ,i then retired to my bed1 but not to sleep1 for ,i had not been in bed three minutes before ,i experienced the sensation as before1 but instead of being followed by knocking1 my bedclothes were lifted up and let fall again--first at the foot of my bed1 but gradually coming towards my head4 ,i held the clothes around my neck with my hands1 but they were gently lifted in spite of my efforts to hold them4 ,i then reached around me with my hand1 but could feel nothing4 ,this was immediately followed by my being fanned as though some bird was flying around my head1 and ,i could distinctly hear and feel something breathing on me4 ,i then tried to reach some matches that were on a chair by my bedside1 but my hand was held back as if by some invisible power4 ,then the thing seemed to retire to the foot of my bed4 ,then ,i suddenly found the foot of my bed lifted up and carried around towards the window for about three or four feet1 then replaced to its former position4 ,all this did not take1 ,i should think1 more than two or three minutes1 although at the time it seemed hours to me4 ,just then the clock struck four1 and1 being tired out with my long night's watching1 ,i fell asleep4 ,this1 ,mr4 ,editor1 is some of my experiences while at ,b----4 ,as to ',a ,correspondent's' interviews with local people3-- ,as to the old caretaker1 she is an old woman1 very deaf1 and she always occupied a room on the ground floor1 where1 during the three months that ,i was there1 nothing whatever was heard1 as my two footmen slept there1 and they did not hear any noises4 ,as to the intelligent gardener1 if it is the same one that was there when ,i was there1 he1 surely1 has not forgotten the night he spent with me in my room2 he was nearly frightened out of his wits1 and declared he would not spend another night in my room for any money--a fact that the factor or steward and others well know4 ,there are many other incidents in my experience with the mystery of ,b----1 but ,i hope this is sufficient for the purpose ,i intend it--namely1 for the truth to be known1 for ,i have no other motive in writing this letter2 for ,i have left the service of the house some months now4 ,but as to your correspondent's statement that some of the house were doing it1 it is simply absurd2 for in turn they were all away from ,b---- for a week or fortnight1 and still these noises were heard4 ,another thing2 is it possible for any one to keep up a joke like that for three months8 or1 if any one had been doing it1 ,i should certainly have caught them2 and ,i can assure you that the house were very much annoyed with it1 not only for themselves1 but for their visitors1 for ,i have sat up all night with some of them1 who were afraid to go to their beds3 and ,i think that if ',a ,correspondent' had stayed as long in ,b---- as ,i did1 and had had some of my experiences1 he would have a very different tale to tell1 although up to my going to ,b---- ,i would laugh at any one who told me there were such things as ghosts2 and even now ,i am not quite convinced2 but of one thing ,i am certain--that is1 that there is something supernatural in the noises and things that ,i heard and experienced at ,b----4 ,thanking you1 dear sir1 in anticipation of your inserting this letter1 ,i remain your obedient servant1 ,,harold ,,sanders4 ,,chidcock1 ,,near ,,bridport1 ,,dorset4 ,the passage in ,the ,times article is as follows3-- ,an intelligent gardener whom ,i questioned told me that he had kept watch in the house on two separate occasions1 abstaining from sleep until daylight appeared at seven o'clock1 but without hearing a sound4 ,a caretaker1 who had spent months in the house1 and who had to keep a stove alight all night1 never heard a sound1 probably because there was no one to make any4 ,the gardener's evidence on this point will be found on p4 #bah4 ,without admitting1 for one moment1 the theory that a servant's evidence may not be of equal value with that of the so-called educated classes1 it was thought desirable1 before admitting that of ,sanders1 to make some inquiries as to his character1 intelligence1 and capacity for observation4 ,his employer spoke well of him1 and ,colonel ,taylor had the advantage of a personal interview with him1 which he thus describes3-- ,july #ahth1 #ahig4--;,i went to ,coventry yesterday1 and saw ,sanders the butler4 ,he is a slight1 dark young man1 and1 as far as ,i could judge1 quite honest and serious over the ,b---- affair4 ,he assured me that he had written the letter to ,the ,times without any advice or assistance1 and that all he wrote was absolutely true4 ,i gathered from him1 indirectly1 that before his ,b---- experience he knew nothing of ghosts1 spiritualism1 or any occult matter1 and does not now4 ,he was much astonished when ,i told him that the feeling which he describes as like walking into an ice-house was a common one under the circumstances4 ,he said he omitted in his letter many small personal matters1 such as the following3-- ,during the manifestation in his room1 when his bed was shifted1 and when he felt as if some one was making 'passes' over him1 and breathing in his face1 he made the sign of the ,cross1 on which the 'influence' receded from him1 but approached again almost at once4 ,after repeating this a few times with the same result1 he crossed his arms over his chest1 and holding the bedclothes close up to his chin1 went to sleep4 ,he was at no time afraid4 ,he said things were more active during the stay of ,father ',i4' than at any other time1 and that one of the young ,h----s had seen a veiled lady pass through his room4 ,the following paragraph in the letter of ,the ,times correspondent called forth the subjoined letter from ,mr4 ,h---- himself1 the tenant of ,b----3-- ,the only mystery in the matter seems to be the mode in which a prosaic and ordinary dwelling was endowed with so evil a reputation4 ,i was assured in ,london that it had had this reputation for twenty or thirty years4 ,the family lawyer in ,p---- asserted most positively that there had never been a whisper of such a thing until the house was let for last year's shooting season to a family1 whom ,i may call the ,h----s4 ,i was told the same thing in equally positive terms by the minister of the parish1 a level-headed man from ,b----shire1 who has lived in the place for twenty years4 ,he told me that some of the younger members of the ,h---- family had indulged in practical jokes1 and boasted of them4 ,one of their pranks was to drop or throw a weight upon the floor1 and to draw it back by means of a string4 ,another seems to have been to thump on bedroom doors with a boot-heel1 the unmistakable marks of which remain to this day1 and were pointed out to me by our hostess4 ,if there are really any noises not referable to ordinary domestic causes1 it is not improbable that these practical jokers made a confidant of some one about the estate1 who amuses himself by occasionally--it is only occasionally that the more remarkable noises are said to be heard--repeating their tricks4 ,the steward or factor on the estate concurs with the lawyer and the minister in denying that the house had any reputation for being haunted before the advent of the ,h---- family4 ,yet he is a ,highlander1 and not without superstition2 for he gave it as his opinion that if there was anything in these noises1 they must be due to ,black ,art4 ,asked what ,black ,art might be1 he said he could not tell1 but he had often heard about it1 and had been told that when once set going it would go on without the assistance of its authors4 ,he was quite clear1 however that if there is ,black ,art1 it came in with the ,h---- family4 ,mr4 ,h----'s rejoinder1 which appeared in ,the ,times1 was dated ,june #ajth3-- ,to the ,editor of ,the ,times ,,sir1--,i must ask you to be good enough to publish1 on behalf of the tenant of ,b----1 a few remarks on the article that appeared in your paper of the #hth inst4 with the heading ',on the ,trail of a ,ghost4' ,the writer of that article finds a very easy solution to the mystery by attacking a private family who happened to be tenants of ,b---- for a short time1 and making them a 'scapegoat' for his argument4 ,i do not quite understand if your correspondent pretends to assert that the place had not the reputation of being haunted previous to my tenancy for three months last year2 probably he does not charge me with originating such reports1 as he mentions a story of the visit of a ,catholic ,archbishop to the house to exorcise the ghost4 ,this must have happened some time ago1 and proves that the house was then supposed to be haunted4 ,what your correspondent does state as a fact is1 that the younger members of my family played practical jokes1 which have given rise to ,lord ,bute's investigations4 ,my object in writing to you is to deny most emphatically this statement4 ,the principal proof that is brought forward to corroborate this slander is1 that the doors are marked by the blows struck to produce the noises heard4 ,surely no one could be frightened after the cause and reason of the noises were once ascertained by the boot-marks6 ,but there were no such marks on the doors when we left ,b----4 ,some of our guests were with us until very shortly before my family left1 and can testify to this1 for the good reason that in the endeavour to localise the extraordinary noises1 all doors and other parts of the house were constantly examined up to the very last4 ,when ,i went to ,b---- at the beginning of ,august1 my family had already been there a few days1 and at once they told me they had found out the house was supposed to be haunted1 and that they had heard most unaccountable noises4 ,i had the greatest difficulty to persuade all my people to stay in the place1 and after all1 we left ,scotland about the end of ,september1 two months earlier than usual4 ,i personally did not give any importance to the rumours that ,b---- ,house is haunted1 and attributed the very remarkable noises heard to the hot-water pipes and the peculiar way in which the house is built4 ,in fact1 ,i have to confess ,i cannot believe in ghosts1 and1 consequently1 ,i did my best to persuade everybody that ,b---- was not haunted1 but ,i am afraid ,i was not always successful4 ,i hope you will forgive me for taking up so much valuable space in your paper1 but ,i had to do so in self-defence against a false accusation4--,yours faithfully1 ,h----4 ,it is believed that1 in consequence of this letter1 ,mr4 ,h---- was threatened with legal proceedings1 which1 however1 have not yet been initiated4 ,the following is the account given of the same period by ,miss ,b41 a lady of some position in the literary world3-- 444 ,we arrived there on ,wednesday the #beth ,august1 the house being then tenanted by ,mr4 ,j4,r4 ,h---- of ,k---- ,court1 ,c----1 ,g----shire4 ,the household consisted of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,h----1 three sons1 ,miss ,h----1 my sister and ,i1 and two other guests1 ,colonel ,a---- and ,major ,b----4 ,we had rooms in the wing on the ground floor of the house1 opening off the main hall1 divided from the rest of the house by a long passage1 and shut off by a swing-door4 ,our rooms opened off each other1 and the inner room opened off a little sitting-room1 which had a door with glass panels leading into the passage4 ,the only other person who slept in that wing of the house was ,mr4 ,willie ,h----1 whose room was exactly opposite the door of our room4 ,we heard a great deal of discussion about the 'ghost' when we arrived1 and so that night my sister made me sleep in the inner room with her4 ,we heard nothing that night4 ,the next night ,i slept in the outer room1 and neither of us heard anything4 ,the third night1 my sister being still a little nervous1 ,i slept in the inner room with her4 ,the door of the outer room was locked1 the door between the rooms was locked1 and there was a wardrobe placed against the door leading into the sitting-room4 ,we both1 having taken these precautions1 fell sound asleep4 ,i wakened suddenly in the middle of the night1 and noticed how quiet the house was4 ,then ,i heard the clock strike two1 and a few minutes later there came a crashing1 vibrating batter against the door of the outer room4 ,my sister was sleeping very soundly1 but she started up in a moment at the noise1 wide awake4 ',some one must have done that1' she said2 'such a noise could never have been made by a ghost6' ,but neither of us had the courage to go out into the passage6 ,the noise lasted1 ,i should say1 for only two or three seconds1 and ceased as suddenly as it had begun4 ,we lay awake till the light came in1 but the house was quite quiet4 ,i may mention1 as against the 'supernatural' origin of the sound1 that it came against the outer door1 did not pass in to the inner one1 and avoided the glass-panelled door of the sitting-room1 which would certainly have been shivered by the application of force sufficient to produce such noise4 ,another very curious thing was1 that on the nights when it came to our door 7we only heard it once1 but other visitors heard it often7 ,willie ,h---- heard nothing2 whereas on the nights when he was disturbed1 we heard nothing1 yet the rooms were close together4 ,the following night my sister and ,miss ,h---- and two of her brothers sat up all night in the morning-room1 which opened off the main hall4 ,we sat with the door open and in the dark1 but neither heard or saw anything2 the house was absolutely still4 ,the next night my sister and ,i stayed in ,miss ,h----'s room1 watching with her4 ,it was on the third storey of the house1 and on a line with the specially haunted room1 then occupied by ,colonel ,a----4 ,two of the men sat up downstairs4 ,after #b4cj ,mr4 ,eustace ,h---- came and told his sister we need not sit up later1 as everything was so quiet1 and the noises seldom came after that hour4 ,he went to his room then1 but his door was scarcely closed when we all heard a loud knocking at ,colonel ,a----'s door4 ,we ran out1 without waiting a moment1 into the passage1 where the lamps were still burning brightly1 but it was absolutely empty and quiet4 ,we heard it several times that night in distant parts of the house1 and once we heard a scream1 which seemed to come from overhead4 ,we stayed six days in the house after this1 but heard nothing more ourselves1 though every one else in the house was disturbed nightly4 ,the ,major ,b---- mentioned in the above statement has been good enough to furnish the following note as to his personal impressions3-- ,on #bbnd ,august #ahif ,i arrived at ,b----1 and remained there until the #bnd ,september4 ,during this period ,i slept in the room on the first floor1 which is at the end of a short corridor running from the top of the back stairs to my room ,no4 #a4 ,colonel ,a---- occupied the room next to me ,no4 #c4 ,it was a double room1 connected by a door1 and was situated just at the top of the back stair4 ,august #bdth1 about #c4cj ,a4,m41 ,i heard very loud knocking1 apparently on ,colonel ,a----'s door1 about nine raps in all--three raps quickly1 one after the other1 then three more the same1 and three more the same4 ,it was as if some one was hitting the door with his fist as hard as he could hit4 ,i left my room at once1 but could find nothing to account for the noise4 ,it was broad daylight at the time4 ,i heard the same noises on the #bhth and #cjth ,august at about the same hour1 viz4 between #c and #d ,a4,m4 ,the following1 which adds somewhat to the above1 was contained in a private letter written in ,january #ahig from ,major ,b---- to the ,hon4 ,e---- ,f----3-- ,between two and four in the morning there used to be noises on the door 7of ,colonel ,a----'s room71 as if a very strong man were hitting the panels as hard as ever he could hit1 three times in quick succession--a pause1 and then three times again in quick succession1 and perhaps another go4 ,it was so loud that ,i thought it was on the door of his dressing-room1 but he said he thought it was on his bedroom door4 ,one theory is1 that it was the hot water in the pipes getting cold1 which1 ,i am told1 would make a loud throbbing noise4 ,i tripped out pretty quick the first time ,i heard it1 but could see nothing4 ,of course it is broad daylight in ,scotland then4 ,the same banging was1 ,i believe1 heard on one of the bedroom doors down the passage1 in the wing on the ground floor1 and on investigation ,i found there were hot-water pipes just outside that door as well4 ,there were yarns innumerable while ,i was there about shrieks and footsteps heard1 and bedclothes torn off4 ,but ,i did not experience these4444 ,i don't think the noises were done by a practical joker1 as there were too many people on the alert4444 ,the ,hon4 ,e---- ,f---- wrote to ,miss ,freer on ,march #dth3-- 444 ,major ,b---- is now in ,london1 and ,i have seen him twice4 ,he says 7#a7 the hot-water pipe theory is not his own1 but was suggested by an engineer friend4 ,he should not himself have thought that hot-water pipes could make so big a noise4 ,besides1 ,colonel ,a---- described the noise as a banging either against the door itself1 or against the door of the wardrobe inside the room4444 7#b7 ,he1 ,b----1 heard the noise himself several times and bolted out into the passage at once1 but saw nothing4 ,the noise sounded like a very loud banging at ,a----'s door4444 7#c7 ,he confirms the story about ,a---- being unable to sleep1 and says he used to go to sleep on the moor in consequence4 ,during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy similar noises were heard1 both when the water was totally cut off and when1 from some defect in the apparatus1 it never reached a high temperature4 ,the ,colonel ,a---- referred to1 corroborates this account1 as follows1 in a letter to ,major ,b----3 ,,my ,,dear ,b----1 ,you write asking me about ,b---- ,house and its spook4 ,well1 ,i never saw anything1 and what ,i heard was what you heard1 a terrific banging at one's bedroom door1 generally about from #b to #c ,a4,m41 about two nights out of three4 ,of course there were other yarns of things heard1 c41 but ,i personally never heard or experienced anything else than this banging at the door1 which ,i never could account for4444 ,before passing from the subject of ,colonel ,a----1 it is as well to mention that after leaving ,b---- he went to stay at another country house1 and the butler there spoke to him of the haunting of ,b----1 where he himself was a servant some years before4 ,this butler was asked for further information1 but sent only the following reply3-- ,your note to hand regarding ,b----4 ,i am afraid what ,i saw or heard would be of little value to your book1 therefore ,i would rather say nothing4 ,it will be observed that1 so far from denying the facts1 he admits that he saw and heard certain things1 which he refuses to describe2 but as this evidence is circumstantial rather than direct1 it is inserted here rather than in the place to which1 chronologically1 it would1 if fuller1 properly have belonged4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,g4 were also guests at ,b---- during the occupation of the ,h----s4 ,mrs4 ,g4 published an account of her experiences in a magazine article1 of course with fictitious names2 but she affirms that she has in no sense written up the story1 which1 indeed1 is entirely corroborated by other evidence3-- ,october #ith1 #ahif4--,some friends of mine took the place this year for the shooting1 and1 relying on the glowing description they had received1 took it on trust1 and in ,july last took possession of it without having previously seen it4 ,for a few days all went well2 the family established themselves in the old part of the house1 leaving a new wing for their guests4 ,the haunted room 7for so ,i may justly call it7 was inhabited by two or three persons in succession1 who were so alarmed and disturbed by the violent knockings1 shrieks1 and groans which they heard every night1 and which were also heard by many others along the same corridor1 that they refused to sleep there after the first few nights4 ,those who serve under her ,majesty's colours are proverbially brave2 they will gladly die for their country1 with sword in hand and face to the foe4 ,for this reason a distinguished officer ,colonel ,a----1 above quoted was the next occupant of the haunted chamber1 and was told nothing of its antecedents4 ,the morning after his arrival he came down refreshed1 and keen for the day's sport4 ,i may here mention1 no one is ever disturbed the first night of their stay4 ,during the succeeding nights1 however1 he was continually roused from his slumbers by the most terrific noises1 and want of sleep would cause him to become drowsy when out shooting on the moor1 and would tempt him to make a bed of the purple heather and fragrant myrtle4 ,a friend of mine1 a man of great nerve and courage1 next inhabited the room1 and went through the same experiences4 ,he took every possible means to discover the cause of the sounds1 and failed in accounting for them in any way4 ,he said the blows on the door were so violent he often looked1 expecting to see it shattered to atoms4 ,since he left no one has been put into this room1 but the noises continue1 and are heard throughout the house4 ,even the dogs cannot be coaxed into this room1 and if forced into it1 they crouch with marked signs of fear4 ,the disturbances take place between #ab and #d4cj1 and never at any other time4 ,a young lady1 of by no means timid disposition1 and possessed of great presence of mind1 has often heard the swing-door pushed open and footsteps coming along the corridor1 pausing at the door4 ,she has frequently looked out and seen nothing4 ,the footsteps she has also heard in her room1 and going round her bed4 ,many persons have had the same experiences1 and many have heard the wild unearthly shriek which has rung through the house in the stillness of the night4 ,i will now give my own experience4 ,i arrived with my husband and daughter on ,september #ag1 having been duly warned by my friends of the nocturnal disturbances4 ,we were put in rooms adjoining1 at the end of the new wing4 ,i kept a light in my room1 but the first night all was still4 ,next night1 about #b ,a4,m41 a succession of thundering knocks came from the end of our passage1 re-echoing through the house1 where it was heard by many others4 ,about half-an-hour afterwards my husband heard a piercing shriek2 then all was still1 save for the hooting of the owls in the neighbouring trees4 ,when the grey dawn stole in it was welcome2 so was the cheery sound of the bagpipes1 as the kilted piper took his daily round in the early morning4 ,the next night and succeeding ones we heard loud single knocks at different doors along our passage4 ,the last night but one before we left ,i was roused from sleep by hearing the clock strike one1 and immediately it had ceased six violent blows shook our own door on its hinges1 and came with frightful rapidity1 followed by deep groans4 ,after this sleep was impossible4 ,the next night1 our last in ,scotland1 my husband and others watched in our passage all night1 and though the sounds were again heard in different directions1 nothing was to be seen4 ,as ,i write1 at the commencement of ,october1 the house on the lonely hillside is deserted2 the tenants have gone southwards2 an old caretaker 7too deaf to hear the weird sounds which nightly awaken the echoes7 is the sole occupant4 ,even she closes up all before dusk1 and retires into her quarters below2 though she hears not1 her sight is unimpaired1 and she perhaps dreads to meet the hunchback figure which is said to glide up the stairs1 or the shadowy form of a grey lady who paces with noiseless footfall the lonely corridor1 and has been seen to pass through the door of one of the rooms4 ,within the last two months a man with bronzed complexion and bent figure has been seen by two gentlemen1 friends of mine4 ,they both describe him as having come through the door and passed through the room in which they were about three in the morning4 ,i have tried to give a faithful and accurate account of these strange events4 ,i leave it to each and all to form their own opinion on the matter4 ,some passages in private letters to ,miss ,freer and ,lord ,bute written by ,mrs4 ,g41 should be quoted as bearing upon some points in the above3-- ,february #ith4--,i am going to ask you if you do go there ,b---- ,house if you would let me know if you see or hear anything4 ,i am immensely interested in it1 as we stayed there in the autumn with some friends who took it1 and anything more horribly haunted could not be4 ,i never should have believed it if ,i had not been there4 ,after the appearance of ,the ,times correspondent's accusation against the ,h---- family1 ,mrs4 ,g4 wrote as follows to ,lord ,bute3-- ,june #ajth4--,if the noises complained of by nearly all who have stayed at ,b---- were the result of practical jokes perpetrated by the ,h----s1 how is it that not only were they heard by guests who stayed there years ago1 but are admitted by members of the ,s---- family to have been heard by themselves8 ,miss ,freer also has told me1 that the same noises were heard at all hours day and night by herself and her guests for months after the ,h---- family and their servants had left ,scotland4 ,this so completely exonerates them from the absurd charge1 that ,i should hardly have mentioned it1 had not ,miss ,freer seemed quite under the impression that practical jokes had been played during the tenancy of the ,h----s2 and as a proof of this1 she told me that the doors1 especially of two of the rooms1 were marked with nailed boots1 and the panels even split through1 and this damage was attributed by her to the younger members of the ,h---- family4 ,i am happy to say ,i was able to disabuse her mind of this idea1 as we were staying at ,b---- within a few days of their leaving ,scotland1 and ,i had most carefully examined the doors especially of the two rooms specified1 one of which was our own room4 ,there was not a scratch1 nor the smallest mark or indentation2 others can also vouch for this fact4 ,the ,h----s had all left ,b---- for good at that time1 except the eldest son1 and ,miss ,freer agreed with me that whatever damage was done to the doors1 must therefore have been done after the ,h----s left1 and before her party came in4444 ,the hot-water pipe theory revived by the writer of the article in ,the ,times is disproved by ,miss ,freer1 who told me that the hot-water apparatus was not used for some time1 and that the disturbances continued just the same4444 ,the stories told in connection with ,b---- were not circulated or started by the ,h---- family4 ,they were told to them by persons living around ,b----4 ,in a letter to ,miss ,freer1 dated ,june #abth1 ,mrs4 ,g4 writes1 in reference to the charge of practical joking3-- ,they are the most unlikely family to do such a thing2 and besides1 if further proof were wanted1 the young men of the family were away from ,b---- when we stayed there ten days1 and there was only one night when we did not hear the noises4 ,miss ,freer of course entirely accepts ,mrs4 ,g4's statement1 and that of ,mr4 ,h---- as published in ,the ,times4 ,she had been led to her earlier conclusions as to the marks of a boot-heel on the upper panels of the doors by the statements of interested persons4 ,a suggestive point in this connection is the fact1 to which ,miss ,g4 has herself testified1 that while ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,g4 were disturbed to the utmost degree1 their daughter1 who slept in a room communicating with that of her mother1 heard nothing whatever2 from which it would appear that the noises heard by them were subjective1 and that the alleged evidence of the boot-heel1 even were it credible1 would be1 in fact1 irrelevant4 ,the mention of the hallucinatory nature of such phenomena suggests attention to the intellectual acumen displayed by ,the ,times correspondent in saying that ,lord ,bute ought to have employed a couple of intelligent detectives for the purpose of catching subjective hallucinations4 ,on the same principle1 he ought to offer to his learned friend1 ,sir ,james ,crichton-,browne1 well known as an alienist1 some advice as to the best mode of securing morbid hallucinations in strait-waistcoats4 ,is he prepared to propose to take photographs of a dream1 to put thoughts under lock and key1 or to advocate the supply of hot and cold water on every floor of a castle in the air8 ,one of the guests at ,b---- during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy wrote after his return to ,london to ,miss ,freer as follows3-- ,march #bdth4--,i went to call the other day on the ',g4's' who chanced to be still in town4444 ,i begin chronologically1 and give you what ,i was told in all seriousness4444 ,the ,h----s knew nothing about any stories of haunting when they took the place1 and ,miss ,h---- and one of the sons went up1 most innocently1 to prepare for the arrival of the others4 ,as soon as they entered it the son said to his sister that he couldn't explain why1 but he had a conviction that the house was haunted4 ,that night1 however1 nothing happened4 ,but the second night the bangings began4 ,an old ,spanish nurse was in the haunted room1 and was greatly disturbed by the noise upon her door1 which seemed as if it were going to be burst open4 ,she didn't seem to be alarmed in the least however1 and later took steps to secure its remaining shut by stuffing a towel under the chink 7why this should secure it ,i rather fail to see1 still that was her view74 ,apparently the ghost resented this1 and one night did actually burst the door open1 with such violence that the towel was precipitated into the middle of the room4 ,the longer they stayed in the house1 the worse things got4 ,the noises were all over the house more or less1 and were by no means confined to bangings4 ,miss ,h---- slept in room ,no4 #h1 where the ghost limped round her bed4 ,she was so alarmed that she fetched her brother in1 and he slept on the sofa4 ,the limping began again1 and she asked him if he heard anything1 and he at once agreed that somebody was walking round the bed4 ,in his own room--,i forget which--he twice saw the ghost1 once in the shape of an indeterminate mist1 once in the shape of a man1 who came in by the door and vanished in the wall4 ,mrs4 ',g4',b now appears on the scene1 and slept in ,no4 #a 7,i think74 ,she heard only the bangings1 which she declares were indescribably loud4 ,they were mostly at the door of the haunted room4 ,traps were laid to catch unwary jesters2 the door1 or the surrounding floor1 ,i forget which1 was covered with flour1 and wires were stretched across the door2 and if ,i had the proper mind of a ghost-story narrator1 ,i should say that the bangings were as bad as ever1 and the flour and the wires were found undisturbed4 ,but as a matter of fact she didn't say that1 though doubtless she intended to1 but jumped on to something else4 ,mr4 ,g41 who was there some weeks after his wife1 was put down in the wing--,i don't know which room--and had visitations4 ,he heard steps approach down the passage1 followed by a heavy body flinging itself against his door4 ,he also heard screams1 which seemed to him to recede as though the screamer was passing through the walls4 7,i couldn't quite understand this effect1 but that was how he described it47 ,their chaplain1 who was put into the haunted room1 was also greatly worried1 and both he and the ,spanish nurse and ,colonel ,a---- all had the sensation that their bedclothes were being pulled off1 and they had to hold on to them to prevent their departure4 ,the most interesting part of the story is that ,mrs4 ,s---- later admitted to ,mrs4 ,g4 that it was quite true the house was supposed to be haunted1 that she had lived there for twenty years1 and at various times there had been outbreaks of this kind of thing of greater or less duration1 but that the outbreaks had not been often enough for them to think it worth while mentioning the fact to incoming tenants4 ,it appears also that the story of the bangings on the table in the daylight on the occasion of the last interview between the late ,mr4 ,s---- and the land-steward1 came from one of the young ,s----s4 ,it was also said that one of the young ,s----s used to sleep in the dressing-room between ,no4 #a and the haunted room1 and used to complain that somebody kept pulling his bedclothes off4 ,i may add that it is quite clear that the people about the place--some of whom1 on my leaving1 ,i vainly tried to draw--have been threatened not to talk about the ghost4 ,there was no mystery about it whatever last year1 the station officials being exceedingly loquacious and full of information4444 ,the above are the circumstances which ,the ,times correspondent thus describes3-- ,lord ,bute's confidence has been grossly abused by some one4 ,it was represented to him by some one that he was taking the 'most haunted house in ,scotland1' a house with an old and established reputation for mysterious if not supernatural disturbances4 ,what he has got is a house with no reputation whatever of that kind1 with no history1 with nothing germane to his purpose beyond a cloud of baseless rumours produced during the last twelve-month4 ,who is responsible for the imposture it is not my business to know or to inquire1 but that it is an imposture of the most shallow and impudent kind there can be no manner of doubt4 ,i interviewed in ,p---- a man who has the district at his finger-tips1 and was ready to enumerate in order all the shooting properties in the valley4 ,he had never heard until the moment ,i spoke to him of ,b---- possessing any reputation1 ancient or modern1 for being haunted1 although he is familiar with the estate1 and has slept in the house4 ,it has no local reputation of the kind even now beyond the parish it stands in4 ,the whole thing has been fudged up in ,london upon the basis of some distorted account of the practical jokes of the ,h----s4 ,as the writer in question obtained his admission to the house as a guest by ,sir ,james ,crichton-,browne's solicitation through ,sir ,william ,huggins and ,lord ,bute1 it might naturally have been supposed that the real facts were known to him1 at least so far as they were concerned4 ,it appears1 however1 that he cherished a voluntary ignorance upon the subject1 to judge from the phrase1 it is not my business to know or to inquire4 ,of such a writer1 and of such statements1 the reader will now form his own opinion2 but that the correspondent in question should continue to cling to his journalistic anonymity1 is little to be wondered at4 ,colonel ,taylor served in the ,bedfordshire ,regiment4 ,he was afterwards ,professor of ,tactics at ,sandhurst1 and retired in #ahid4 ,possessed of means1 leisure1 and intelligence1 he chose to make the study of psychic subjects his particular occupation4 ,he is one of the seven fundamental members who1 in #ahie1 signed the ,articles of ,association of the ,london ,spiritualist ,alliance1 holds office in the ,society for ,psychical ,research1 and has rendered very valuable services in investigation of various kinds4 ,having made the investigation of houses alleged to be haunted his special province1 he may be fairly considered to be somewhat of an expert in this matter4 ,it may1 or may not1 be regarded as a drawback to his usefulness in this direction1 that he is so peculiarly insensitive to subjective impressions1 that a man who is colour-blind would be almost as useful a witness as to shades of colour as ,colonel ,taylor upon hallucinations1 local or otherwise2 but1 as will be seen1 he is fertile in expedients1 experienced in research1 and careful and observant of the phenomena experienced by others4 ,lord ,bute1 who takes some interest in scientific matters1 has been accustomed not infrequently to defray the cost of scientific work which he is unable to undertake himself1 and he offered to meet the expense of the lease of ,b---- if ,colonel ,taylor would take the house1 a proposal which he accepted4 ,this is what ,the ,times correspondent of ,june #h1 #ahig1 thought proper to describe in the words1 for reasons which are differently stated in ,london and in ,perth1 where the agent for the proprietor is to be found1 ,lord ,bute did not take the house in his own name1 but in that of ,colonel ,taylor4 ,it would have been equally true to say of the ,coptic texts1 published at ,lord ,bute's expense by ,mr4 ,budge of the ,british ,museum1 that ,lord ,bute wrote and published these books under the name of ,budge4 ,had ,colonel ,taylor been prevented by circumstances from becoming tenant of ,b---- ,house1 ,sir ,william ,crookes1 the present ,president of the ,british ,association and of the ,society for ,psychical ,research1 or ,mr4 ,arthur ,smith1 ,treasurer of the ,s4,p4,r41 was willing to take the lease4 ,having thus agreed to ,lord ,bute's proposal1 ,colonel ,taylor at once proceeded to make himself acquainted with the history of ,b---- ,house4 ,he naturally placed himself in communication with the late tenant1 assuming that that gentleman would be willing to assist in investigating the phenomena by which his family and guests had been annoyed4 ,but the only information which ,mr4 ,h---- seemed disposed to give was an admission that some members of his family had heard noises1 and that the house was locally reported to be haunted4 ,however1 other sources of information as to the experiences of the ,h---- establishment were fortunately available4 ,captain ,s----'s agents made no scruple about letting the house to the well-known expert4 ,the ,edinburgh agents1 ,messrs4 ,speedy1 indeed mentioned the haunting1 and expressed the hope that ,colonel ,taylor would not make it the subject of complaint1 as had been done by the ,h---- family1 and they received the assurance that this was not a score upon which he would give trouble4 ,in regard to the letters of ,messrs4 ,r4,h4 ,moncrieff ,co41 dated ,june #ab1 #ahig1 which appeared in ,the ,times1 it can only be said that the impression which they were likely to convey was1 that ,colonel ,taylor was an imaginary being like ,john ,doe or ,richard ,roe4 ,their scepticism must have been of recent origin1 since none was manifested on receiving his rent4 ,their position is in any case unfortunate1 since1 even if unclouded by doubt as to the ,colonel's personality1 they appear to wish the public to believe that they seriously thought that one well known as a ,spiritualist in ,england and ,america1 a retired ,professor of ,military ,tactics1 with a comfortable house at ,cheltenham1 a member of the ,junior ,united ,service ,club in ,london1 a man who neither shoots nor fishes1 had been suddenly seized in his mature years with a desire to hire an isolated country house in ,perthshire1 in the depths of winter1 for the purpose of trying his 'prentice hand upon rabbit-shooting on a small scale4 ,colonel ,taylor1 who is a widower without a daughter1 was at this time much occupied by the illness and death of a near relative1 and was unable for the moment to take up residence at ,b---- ,house4 ,lord ,bute accordingly expressed a hope that ,miss ,freer would undertake to conduct the investigation4 ,mr4 ,myers also wrote urgently to her1 saying1 ,if you don't get phenomena1 probably no one will4 ,she was abroad at the time1 but at considerable personal inconvenience consented to return1 and on ,december #bfth she wrote to ,lord ,bute1 stating that she could reach ,ballechin on ,february #bnd1 and adding-- ,i have been reflecting further on the question of the personality of investigators4 ,i think the names you suggest1 and some others which occur to me1 divide naturally into three classes 7assuming1 and ,i think you agree with me1 that it does not follow that every one can discover a ghost because it is there1 nor that their failure to discover it is any proof that it is not there74 7#a7 ,those who have personal experience of phenomena1 and may be expected to be susceptible to psychic influences2 7#b7 those who have no personal powers in that line1 but are open-minded and sympathetic2 and 7#c7 those who are passively open to conviction4 ,a fourth class1 those who come to look for evidence against the phenomena1 but will accept none for it1 should1 ,i think1 be left until we have some demonstrable evidence to show4444 ,mr4 ,myers proposes himself for ,april #ad-ba4444 ,i should suggest the keeping of a diary1 in which every one willing to do so should make entries1 negative or affirmative4 ,the ,times ,correspondent further criticised the method of inquiry employed at ,b----4 ,lord ,bute's original idea was a good one1 but it was never properly carried out4 ,observing that the ,s4,p4,r4 had made many investigations in a perfunctory and absurd manner by sending somebody to a haunted house for a couple of nights and then writing an utterly worthless report1 he desired in this case a continuous investigation extending over a considerable period4 ,he ought1 therefore1 to have employed a couple of intelligent detectives for the whole term1 and thus secured real continuity4 ,as things are1 the only continuity is to be found in the presence--itself not entirely continuous--of the lady just mentioned4 ,but simply because she is a lady1 and because she had her duties as hostess to attend to1 she is unfit to carry out the actual work of investigating the phenomena in question4 ,some of her assistants sat up all night1 with loaded guns1 in a condition of abject fright2 others1 there is reason to suspect1 manufactured phenomena for themselves2 and nearly all seem to have begun by assuming supernatural interference1 instead of leaving it for the final explanation of whatever might be clearly proved to be otherwise inexplicable4 ,it is hardly necessary to repudiate such a condition of mind on the part of the guests at ,b----1 but it may be well to remark that the writer of this sapient paragraph seems to be under the impression that every result of certain forces at present imperfectly understood is supernatural4 ,the assertion that any one who was in the house during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy believed in the possibility of the existence of anything supernatural is1 so far as the present editors are aware1 a pure fabrication1 having no foundation whatever4 ,in their own belief all things which exist1 or can exist1 are1 ipso facto1 natural1 although their nature may not belong to the plane of being in which we are normally accustomed to move4 ,in this connection may be usefully quoted the following passages from ,miss ,freer's article in ,the ,nineteenth ,century1 ,august #ahig3-- ,some of my friends asked me how ,i proposed to organise a haunted house research1 to which ,i could only reply that ,i didn't propose to do anything of the sort4 ,it seemed to me that among several things to be avoided was self-consciousness of any kind1 that the natural thing to do was to settle down to a country-house life1 make it as pleasant as possible1 and await events4444 ,the subject of the 'haunting' was never accentuated1 and we always tried to prevent talking it over with new-comers4444 ,as to the guests1 for the most part they came on no special principle of selection4444 ,several of our visitors had more or less special interest in the inquiry1 but others merely came for a country-house visit or for sport1 and some knew nothing whatever till after their arrival of any special interest alleged to attach to the house4444 ,analysing our list of guests1 ,i find that there were eleven ladies1 twenty-one gentlemen1 and ,the ,times ,correspondent4 ,of the gentlemen1 three were soldiers1 three lawyers1 two were men of letters1 one an artist1 two were in business1 four were clergy1 one a physician1 444 and five1 men of leisure4 ,it would be unnecessary to quote all the preliminary correspondence2 but the following passages from ,lord ,bute's letters to ,miss ,freer help to explain the situation1 and the relation of those concerned3-- ,december #bjth4-- 444 ,i am afraid ,i shall encroach even further upon your kindness4 ,myers has all the papers1 but ,i fancy you would rather know as little as possible1 so as not to be influenced by expectation4 ,it is no case of roughing it4 ,b---- ,house is1 ,i believe1 a luxurious country house1 ample1 though not too large1 in a beautiful neighbourhood4444 ,a letter of ,december #bbnd refers to a suggestion that the phenomena were produced by trickery1 a fact which is mentioned to show that the possibility was kept in view from the first4 ,on ,january #bcrd1 ,not a day should be lost in beginning the observation1 which ought to be continuous4 ,such a chance has never occurred before1 and may never occur again4 ,orders have been given to get the house ready for immediate occupation4 ,miss ,freer1 accompanied by her friend ,miss ,constance ,moore 7a daughter of the late ,rev4 ,daniel ,moore1 ,prebendary of ,st4 ,paul's and ,chaplain1 to the ,queen71 arrived at ,b---- ,house on ,february #c1 #ahig4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,here and in all references to rooms by their numbers1 see ,frontispiece4 ,b ,see her own account1 p4 #fd4 ,the account here given1 as will be seen1 is not quite accurate as to the precise rooms4 ,mrs4 ,g4 slept in the wing4 ,,journal ,,kept ,,during ,a ,,visit ,,to ,b---- ,,house ,,journal ,,kept ,,during ,a ,,visit ,,to ,b---- ,,house ,february #crd1 ,wednesday4--,constance ,moore and ,i arrived from ,edinburgh1 with ,mac41 the maid1 a little after #aj ,p4,m41 having sent on beforehand the following servants3--,robinson and ,mrs4 ,robinson1 butler and cook2 ,carter and ,hannah1 two housemaids4 ,i had engaged them on behalf of ,colonel ,taylor in ,edinburgh last evening4 ,they had all good characters1 and were well recommended4 ,we told them nothing1 of course1 of the reputation of the house1 and were careful to choose persons of mature age1 and not excitable girls4 ,i had seen no plans nor photographs of the house1 and merely desired that any rooms should be prepared for us that were near together--i4e4 bedroom1 dressing-room1 and maid's room4 ,mr4 ,c---- who met us in ,edinburgh1 and is a lawyer1 mentioned hereafter1 who had seen plans1 asked what orders we had given1 and remarked that1 as far as he knew1 we should secure one quiet night1 as the haunted part contained1 apparently1 no dressing-rooms4 ,the house looked very gloomy4 ,it was not cold out of doors1 though thick snow lay on the ground4 ,inside it felt like a vault1 having been empty for months4 ,none of the stores ordered had arrived4 ,we had no linen1 knives1 plate1 wine1 food1 and very little fuel or oil4 ,candles and bread and milk and a tin of meat had been got for us in the village4 ,we ate and went to bed4 ,the room was so cold that we had to cover our faces1 and we had no bed-linen4 ,we had been very busy all day in ,edinburgh1 and soon fell asleep4 ,february #dth1 ,thursday4--,i awoke suddenly1 just before #c ,a4,m4 ,miss ,moore1 who had been lying awake over two hours1 said1 ,i want you to stay awake and listen4 ,almost immediately ,i was startled by a loud clanging sound1 which seemed to resound through the house4 ,the mental image it brought to my mind was as of a long metal bar1 such as ,i have seen near iron-foundries1 being struck at intervals with a wooden mallet4 ,the noise was distinctly as of metal struck with wood2 it seemed to come diagonally across the house4 ,it sounded so loud1 though distant1 that the idea that any inmate of the house should not hear it seems ludicrous4 ,it was repeated with varying degrees of intensity at frequent intervals during the next two hours1 sometimes in single blows1 sometimes double1 sometimes treble1 latterly continuous4 ,we did not get up1 though not alarmed4 ,we had been very seriously cautioned as to the possibilities of practical joking2 and as we were alone on that floor in a large house1 of which we did not even know the geography1 we thought it wiser to await developments4 ,we knew the servants' staircase was distant1 though not exactly where4 ,about #d4cj we heard voices1 apparently in the maid's room1 undoubtedly on the same floor4 ,we had for some time heard the housemaids overhead coughing1 occasionally speaking1 and we thought they had got up and had come down to her room4 ,after five o'clock the noises seemed to have ceased1 and ,miss ,moore fell asleep4 ,about #e4cj ,i heard them again1 apparently more distant4 ,i continued awake1 but heard no more4 ,about #h ,a4,m4 the maid brought us some tea4 ,she said she had slept very badly1 had worried over our apparent restlessness1 as she had heard voices and footsteps and the sound of things dragged about1 but that the maids had not been downstairs4 ,we had never risen1 and had spoken seldom1 and in low tones1 and an empty room 7the dressing-room7 intervened between ,mac4's room and ours4 ,in order1 as we supposed1 to follow up the noises we1 later1 in the day moved our rooms to the other side of the house1 especially choosing those from which the sounds seemed to proceed--,nos4 #f and #g--leaving ,mac41 the maid1 in ,no4 #c4 ,the whole day has been occupied with exploring the house1 sending for food and supplies1 trying to thaw the rooms1 moving furniture to make things homelike1 and trying to arrive at a little comfort4 ,the house will soon be very pleasant1 and only needs living in1 but it feels like a vault4 ,it is very roomy and very light4 ,nothing less like the conventional haunted house could be conceived4 ,the main body of the house was built in #ahjf1 the wing about #ahhc1 with the apparent object of providing the children of the family with rooms outside the haunted area4 ,it is cheerful1 sunny1 convenient1 healthy1 and built on a very simple plan1 which admits of no dark corners or mysteries of any kind4 ,a pleasanter house to live in ,i would not desire1 but it is constructed for summer rather than for winter use4 ,it has been added to at least twice1 and there is much waste space4 ,the original mansion1 which was1 ,i understand1 upon a different site1 was dated #aegi2 the new wing was built about fourteen years ago1 and consists of four rooms and offices1 adapted for schoolroom or nursery use4 ,but the older walls are of great thickness4 ,after dusk we sat down to rest1 and for the first time read the papers relating to the house1,c breaking open the envelope in which ,mr4 ,myers had given them to me4 ,i had done this for my own satisfaction1 as ,i wanted1 if only for a few hours1 to have as unprejudiced a presentation of the place as was possible under the circumstances4 ,miss ,moore had heard some of the rumours about the house in ,edinburgh from ,mr4 ,mac,p---- and ,mr4 ,c----1 but ,i had avoided all information as far as ,i could4 ,we now learnt1 to our chagrin1 that we had done the wrong thing1 and had left rooms alleged to be haunted1 and taken two apparently innocent4 ,we1 however1 consoled ourselves by the reflection that we can offer the others to our guests1 and that we are at all events next to ,no4 #h1 which has an evil reputation4 ,it is the room in which ,sarah ,n---- died1 and in which ,miss ,h---- heard the limping footsteps walking round her bed4 ,as we had been told that the avenue is shunned by the whole neighbourhood after dark1 we went out for a stroll up and down about six o'clock4 ,we saw nothing1 but our dog ,scamp growled at the fir plantation beside the road4 ,mr4 ,l4 ,f---- eminent as an electrical engineer1 arrived about #aj ,p4,m4 ,we thought it polite to give him a quiet night after so long a journey1 and he is sleeping in ,no4 #e4 ,february #eth1 ,friday4--,miss ,moore and ,i slept well4 ,we were both desperately tired4 ,mr4 ,l4 ,f---- awoke suddenly at #b4cj4 ,no phenomena4 ,he has an excellent little apparatus1 an electric flashlight1 which he is able to keep under his pillow and turn on at a second's notice1 very convenient for ghost hunting--no delay1 and no possibility of blowing it out4 ,the maids tell mine that they heard the sounds below them of continuous speaking or reading1 and supposed the young ladies were reading to one another4 ,this is the first occasion on which there has been mention of the sound of continuous reading aloud1 which afterwards became extremely familiar4 ,the sound was always that well known to ,roman ,catholics as that of a priest saying his office4 ,it may be as well to remind the reader that ,clerks in ,holy ,orders of that ,church are1 like those of the ,anglican1 strictly bound to read through the whole of the ,daily ,service every day1 and it is not permitted to do this merely by the eye1 the lips must utter the words4 ,in practice some are accustomed to move the lips with hardly any sound1 and such1 we have ascertained1 is the custom of the ,rev4 ,p---- ,h----2 others read it absolutely aloud1 and will retire to their own rooms or other places1 where they may be alone for the purpose4 ,this1 we heard1 was the invariable practice of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,i41 the chaplain of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,g4 ,as a matter of fact1 we were sleeping on the other side of the house1 and the rooms under the maids' rooms were empty4444 ,in the evening1 about six o'clock1 we strolled down the avenue again1 and ,scamp1 who never does bark except under strong excitement1 again barked and growled at the copse4 ,the ,hon4 ,e4 ,f----1 a fellow-member of an ,s4,p4,r4 committee1 arrives to-night4 ,hospitality constrains us to put him in ,no4 #d1 which is not haunted4 ,i asked after the success of the new kitchenmaid1 a local importation1 who arrived yesterday4 ,i was told she had already gone4 ,the cook told me she talked all sorts of nonsense about the house1 and the things that had happened in it1 and had been seen in it1 all day2 and then at night refused to sleep here1 and the butler had to walk home with her at eleven o'clock4 ,the ,factor anglic3 bailiff came this morning1 and ,i fancied a special intention in his manner4 ,he was much annoyed about the kitchenmaid1 said such talk was all havers anglic3 drivel1 begged me not to employ her again1 and undertook to get another1 lending me a girl in his own service meanwhile4 ,i went with him into the wing to get him to see to things there4 ,we have been too busy in getting the rest of the house into order to look after it yet2 but ,i find the pipes are out of order1 the cisterns frozen1 and the set-basins in the three bedrooms and bath-room out of working order4 ,he promised attention1 but discouraged the use of the wing4 ,had we not room enough without8 and so on4 ,i suggested that1 any way1 for the sake of the rest of the house it must be aired and thawed1 and he insisted that the kitchen fire below did that sufficiently4 ,i cannot help remembering that this is the scene of the phenomena recorded by ,miss ,b----1 as ,duncan ,r----1 the factor1 is well aware4 ,also1 he was persistent about keeping out the natives1 and their chatter1 if ,i wanted to keep the servants1 but did not specify the nature of the chatter1 and ,i asked no questions4 ,february #fth1 ,saturday4--,no phenomena last night4 ,the house perfectly still4 ,during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy a good many experiments of different kinds were made in hypnotism1 crystal gazing1 and automatic writing4 ,these1 however1 belong to a class of matter quite different from that of spontaneous phenomena1 and are therefore not referred to1 with the exception of a single instance of crystal gazing1 which1 though relating to ,b----1 was made elsewhere1 and one or two occasions of automatic writing4 ,this latter method of inquiry displayed all the weakness to which it is usually1 and apparently1 inherently liable1 and is only mentioned here as explaining other matters4 ,its chief interest was that it supplied a name marked by a certain peculiarity which afterwards became familiar1 and that it led to a hypothesis as to at least one of the personalities by whom certain phenomena were professedly caused4 ,in the afternoon an experiment was made with the apparatus known as a ,ouija board1 and this1 as is very often the case1 resolved itself1 after a time1 into automatic writing4 ,there is in the library a portrait of a very handsome woman1 to which no name is attached1 but which shows the costume of the last century4 ,her name was asked1 and the word ,ishbel was given several times4 ,it is not certain whether this word was meant as an answer to the question1 or whether1 as often happens in such cases1 it was intended merely as an announcement of the name of the informant supposed to communicate4 ,the word1 as given1 possesses the following peculiarity4 ,in the ,gaelic language the vowels e and i have the effect of aspirating an s immediately preceding them1 in the same way in which they effect the c in ,italian1 or the g in ,spanish1 so that1 as in ,italian ce and ci are pronounced chay and chee1 so in ,gaelic se and si are pronounced shay and shee4 ,the name ,isabel is written in ,gaelic ,iseabal1 but the e is absorbed in its effect upon the s 7like the i in the ,italian co7 and the first a is so slurred as to be almost inaudible1 so that the word is pronounced ,ish-bel4 ,it was obvious1 therefore1 that the intelligence from which the writing proceeded 7if such existed7 could write in ,english1 and was familiar with the colloquial ,gaelic pronunciation of the name1 but was unacquainted with the ,gaelic orthography4 ,on this occasion also the name ,margaret was given in its ,gaelic form of ,marghearad 7somewhat similarly misspelt as ,marget71 without any special connection either with the questions asked1 or1 so far as could be discovered1 with anything in the mind of any present1 none of whom had interested themselves at that time in the ,s---- ancestry4 ,in reply to questions as to what could be done that was of use or interest1 the writers were told to go at dusk1 and in silence1 to the glen in the avenue1 and this1 rightly or wrongly1 some of those present identified with what had been called ,scamp's ,copse4 ,they were1 however1 perplexed by being told to go up by the burn1 for though ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,moore had twice explored the spot1 they had not observed the presence of water4 ,the journal continues-- ,we decided to walk in the avenue1 and to explore ,scamp's ,copse before dinner1 in spite of the fact that we were expecting ,mr4 ,mac,p---- a barrister1 ,mr4 ,c---- a solicitor1 and ,mr4 ,w---- an accountant just about the time that we should be absent4 ,miss ,moore took the dog off in the opposite direction1 and we walked in silence to the plantation1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,f----1 ,mr4 ,f----1 and ,i4 ,it was quite dark1 but the snow gleamed so white1 that we could see our way to the plantation4 ,we went up among the trees1 young firs2 the snow was deep and untrodden2 and when we got well off the road1 we found that a burn comes down the brae side4 ,it is frozen hard1 and we found it out only by the shining of the ice4 ,we walked on in silence to the left of the burn1 up the little valley1 along a small opening between the trees and the railing which encloses them1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,f---- first1 then ,i1 then ,mr4 ,f----4 ,in a few minutes ,i saw what made me stop4 ,the men stopped too1 and we all stood leaning over the railings1 and looking in silence across the burn to the steep bank opposite4 ,this was white with snow1 except to the left1 where the boughs of a large oak-tree had protected the ground4 ,against the snow ,i saw a slight black figure1 a woman1 moving slowly up the glen4 ,she stopped1 and turned and looked at me4 ,she was dressed as a nun4 ,her face looked pale4 ,i saw her hand in the folds of her habit4 ,then she moved on1 as it seemed1 on a slope too steep for walking4 ,when she came under the tree she disappeared--perhaps because there was no snow to show her outline4 ,beyond the tree she reappeared for a moment1 where there was again a white background1 close by the burn4 ,then ,i saw no more4 ,i waited1 and then1 still in silence1 we returned to the avenue4 ,i described what ,i had seen4 ,the others saw nothing4 7,this did not surprise me1 for though both have been for many years concerned in psychical investigation1 and have had unusual opportunities1 neither has ever had any experience1 so that one may conclude that they are not by temperament likely to experience either subjective phenomena or even thought-transference47 ,it was proposed that we should ascend the glen in her track on the other side of the burn4 ,it was very difficult walking1 the snow very deep1 and after two or three efforts to descend the side of the bank we gave it up1 and followed to nearly her point of disappearance1 keeping above the tree1 not below as she had done4 ,we saw no more1 and returned to the house1 agreeing not to describe what had occurred1 merely to say that as the factor 7who looks about eighteen stone7 is said not to like the avenue at dark1 we had been setting him and others a good example4 ,in a letter to ,lord ,bute under date ,february #beth1 ,miss ,freer describes this figure with some detail3-- ,as you know1 these figures do not appear before #f4cj at earliest1 therefore there is little light upon their surface4 ,like other phantasms seen at dark1 they show 'by their own light1' i4e4 they appear to be outlined by a thread of light4 ,it is therefore only when the face appears in profile that one can describe the features1 and this is somewhat prevented by the nun's veil4 ',ishbel' appears to me to be slight1 and of fair height4 ,i am unable1 of course1 to see the colour of her hair1 but ,i should describe her as dark4 ,there is an intensity in her gaze which is rare in light-coloured eyes4 ,the face1 as ,i see it1 is in mental pain1 so that it is perhaps hardly fair to say that it seems lacking in that repose and gentleness that one looks for in the religious life4 ,her dress presents no peculiarities4 ,the habit is black1 with the usual white about the face1 and ,i have thought that when walking she showed a lighter under-dress4 ,she speaks upon rather a high note1 with a quality of youth in her voice4 ,her weeping seemed to me passionate and unrestrained4 ,the appearance of a nun was entirely unexpected1 as the name ,ishbel had been associated rather with the portrait of the beautiful woman in an eighteenth-century dress in the library1 and it was she whom the witnesses1 had they expected anything at all1 would have expected to see4 ,miss ,freer1 moreover1 the first witness1 had regarded the statements of ,ouija with her habitual scepticism as to induced phenomena1 more particularly those of automatic writing1 in which1 as in dreams1 it is almost always difficult to disentangle the operations of the normal from those of the subconscious personality4 ,if the name ,ishbel were really intended to apply to the nun1 it becomes a very curious question who is the person meant4 ,a ,robert ,s---- of ,b---- married1 as has been already mentioned1 ,isabella ,h----1 who died in #aghd1 but we know of no reason for supposing that she ever became a nun4 ,the portrait may possibly have represented her1 but it shows a much older woman than the phantom so often seen2 on the other hand1 the dates are not inconsistent1 and a considerable distance of time is suggested by certain phrases which occurred in the automatic writing4 ,the person to whom the mind more naturally reverts is ,miss ,isabella ,s----1 the sister1 and apparently the favourite sister1 of ,major ,s----4 ,as already mentioned1 she professed as a nun under the name of ,frances ,helen in #ahej1 and died in #ahhj1 aged sixty-six4 ,she did not1 therefore1 enter her convent till the age of thirty-five1 an age much greater than that shown by the phantom4 ,it is1 moreover1 interesting to note that this lady's name was ,isabella ,margaret1 so that both names1 as given automatically1 may have really referred to her4 ,in the seventh edition of ,burke's ,landed ,gentry1 #ahhf1 there appears for the first time this entry-- ,,iv4 ,isabella ,margaret1 a nun1 regular ,canoness of the ,order of the ,holy ,sepulchre1 d4 #bc ,feb4 #ahhj4 ,the editors have obtained from the ,nunnery1 where she lived and died1 a photograph1 representing the dress of the ,community1 and a description of herself1 which is as follows3-- ,she died #bcrd ,february #ahhj1 quickly1 of an attack of pneumonia or acute bronchitis4 ,she died a most edifying death1 in perfect consciousness1 assisted by the ,confessor 444 and the ,community around her1 and having received the last ,sacraments only a few hours before she expired4 ,as to her appearance1 she was short1 rather fair1 not at all stout1 but not extraordinarily thin4 ,she entered the ,community in ,april #ahdh1 was clothed in ,may #ahdi1 and professed ,may #ahej4 ,we do not know whether she could speak ,gaelic4 ,she was very fond of ,scotland1 and very particular about the pronunciation of ,scotch names4 ,she was a most entertaining companion1 being full of natural wit4 ,the dress1 which is dignified1 is very peculiar and striking1 and not the least like the very ordinary nun's attire in which the phantom appeared1 while it would be difficult to imagine a greater contrast than that between the merry old lady of the description and the weeping girl so often seen4 ,there was1 however1 at least one very peculiar reason1 which will be noticed presently1 for supposing that this phantom was really intended to represent the late ,rev4 ,mother ,frances ,helen1 and that its inaccuracy was owing to the stupid1 and rather melodramatic misconception in the mind which originally imagined it and transferred it to the witnesses at ,b----4 ,this is our arrangement for to-night3-- ,room #a 7where we heard noises74 ,mr4 ,f----4 #b4 ,dressing-room communicating with ,nos4 #a and #c2 doors opened between4 #c4 ,mr4 ,l4 ,f---- 7specially haunted74 #d4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 #e4 ,mr4 ,w----4 #f4 ,dressing-room1 ,miss ,moore4 #g4 ,myself4 #h4 ,mr4 ,c----4 7,sounds alleged1 see evidence47 ,n4,b4--,nothing is alleged against #d and #e4 ,february #gth1 ,sunday4--,miss ,moore was awakened this morning soon after one o'clock by a loud reverberating bang1 which seemed close to her bed4 ,she lay awake for a long time afterwards1 but the sound was not repeated4 ,the men heard nothing4 ,they report that they went to bed soon after eleven1 and very quietly4 ,my maid1 who has had to give up her room1 slept downstairs last night4 ,she was kept awake nearly all night by noises and footsteps4 ,the wing is not yet fit for use1 as all the pipes are frozen1 and the only downstairs bedroom was insufficiently aired2 so ,i told her to use that for dressing1 and make herself up a bed on one of the sitting-room sofas1 and she slept 7or rather1 lay awake7 in the drawing-room4 ,she was not frightened1 as she thought all the noises were made by the gentlemen2 but they declare they made no noise4 ,i asked her as to the other servants4 ,she says the maids are still very nervous4 ,i spoke to them for the first time about the noises to-day4 ,the butler's wife has heard sounds1 but her husband only scoffs4 ,the upper housemaid thinks ghosts the proper thing1 and tolerates them along with the high families to which she is accustomed4 ,the under housemaid is very shy1 is ,highland1 and knows little ,english1 and won't talk1 but owns to discomfort1 and is scoffed at by the other servants1 who think it all part of her having been only a general till she came here4 ,the kitchenmaid goes home to sleep1 but ,i believe some one fetches her4 ,i have had a girl out of the village to make up the linen1 and she1 we notice1 is careful to go home before dark4 ,this morning we all went to churches of various sorts4 ,when the men came in to tea they reported that they had had a conversation with an outdoor servant1 who proved to have been in the service of ,mr4 ,f----'s father ,lord ,d----1 and was consequently the more communicative4 ,i know him1 and have found him extremely intelligent4 ,he says that having heard from the ,h----s' butler 7who slept on the dining-room floor1 in the room my maid is to occupy to-night7 that it was impossible to sleep in a room so noisy1 he induced him to allow him to share his room1 that they heard much1 but they dared not show a light for fear of his admission being discovered 7the ,h----s being much on the alert71 and they saw nothing cf4 p4 #dj for evidence of the ,h----s' butler4 ,we did not like to send for him on a ,sunday1 but decided to have him in on ,monday1 and test him as to the intensity of the noise4 ,in the evening1 while we were all chatting in the drawing-room1 ,miss ,moore came out into the hall1 where she had been looking after the dog4 ,in spite of the noise we were all making1 she distinctly heard the clang noise upstairs4 ,she had said the same thing1 though with less certainty1 once before1 and we agreed that one night some one must sit up in the hall4 7,this was afterwards done without result47 ,february #hth1 ,monday4--,last night my maid heard footsteps and the sound of hands fumbling on her door2 this she told us when she came in with our early tea4 ,miss ,moore in the early morning1 between one and two1 heard again the sharp1 reverberating bang as before4 ,we speculated at breakfast as to whether the sound could have been made by the men after we had gone upstairs1 though they were all sure of having been quite still before midnight4 ,we made them rehearse every sound they had in fact made1 but nothing was in the least like it1 either in quality or quantity4 ,i had been disturbed about #e4cj ,a4,m4 by the sound 7which we had not heard hitherto7 described by former witnesses as explosive4 ,i know of nothing quite like it4 ,i have heard the ,portsmouth guns when at a place eight miles away2 the sound was like that1 but did not convey the same impression of distance4 ,i heard it1 at intervals1 during half-an-hour4 ,miss ,moore is a very light sleeper1 but she did not awake4 ,at six ,i got up and went through my room to the dressing-room door 7,no4 #f71 after a sound that seemed especially near4 ,it was so near1 that though ,i thought it quite unlikely under the circumstances1 ,i wanted to satisfy myself that no one was playing jokes on ,mr4 ,c----1 whose room was close by4 ,the house was deadly still4 ,i could hear the clocks ticking on the stairs4 ,as ,i stood1 the sound came again4 ,it might have been caused by a very heavy fall of snow from a high roof--not sliding1 but percussive4 ,miss ,moore had wakened up and heard it too4 7,n4,b4--,we afterwards found that1 as the roof is flat1 the snow is cleared away daily47 ,mr4 ,w----1 an utter sceptic1 he declares1 left early2 then we all went for a walk4 ,we spent the whole afternoon making experiments4 ,miss ,moore or my maid or ,i1 as having heard the noises1 shut ourselves up in the room whence they were heard1 or stood in the right places on hall or staircase4 ,the experimental noises made were as follows3-- #a4 ,banging with poker or shovel as hard as possible on every part of the big iron stove in the hall2 kicking it1 hitting it with sticks 7as ,miss ,moore and ,i persisted that the first noise was as of metal on wood1 or vice vers74 #b4 ,trampling and banging in every part of the house1 obvious and obscure1 in cupboards and cistern holes4 #c4 7,on the hypothesis of tricks from outside47 ,beating on outside doors with shovels and pokers and wooden things1 on the walls and windows accessible2 banging and clattering in outside coal-cellars and in the sunk area round the house4 7,n4,b4--,beating on the front door handle with a wooden racket1 was right in kind1 but not nearly enough in degree47 ,miss ,moore1 who was familiar with the noise1 did it rather well by going into a coal-cellar 7always locked at night1 however7 outside and throwing big lumps of coal1 from a distance1 into a big pail1 but it wasn't nearly loud enough4 #d4 ,finally the men climbed on to the roof1 outside1 while ,miss ,moore and ,i shut ourselves into the proper places4 ,they clattered and walked and stamped and kicked and struck the slates1 but they couldn't make noise enough4 ,then we had in the gardener they saw yesterday1 and put him in the butler's room1 and the four men made hideous rows as before4 ,he was grateful and respectful1 but contemptuous4 ,they couldn't make noise enough4 ,we went out at dusk1 having sent ,mr4 ,mac,p---- and ,mr4 ,c---- to pay a visit 7as they had not been told of the brook scene71 intending that the same trio as before should go to the copse4 ,mr4 ,l---- ,f---- couldn't come1 and as ,mr4 ,f---- and ,i went on alone1 we met ,mr4 ,mac,p---- and ,mr4 ,c---- returning before they were expected4 ,on the spur of the moment ,i asked ,mr4 ,c---- to come with me1 leaving ,mr4 ,f---- and ,mr4 ,mac,p---- in the avenue4 ,the snow had gone1 and ,i saw less distinctly2 but ,i saw the nun again1 and an older woman in grey1 who talked earnestly with her1 she answering at intervals4 ,i could hear no words2 the ice was giving1 and the burn had begun to murmur4 7,i tried to persuade myself that the murmur accounted for the voices1 but the sounds were entirely distinct1 and different in quality and amount47 ,this older woman in grey afterwards became familiar4 ,the name ,marget was given to her at first half in fun and simply because this was one of the two names given by ,ouija 7cf4 p4 #ih74 ,she is apparently the grey woman referred to in the paper published by ,mrs4 ,g---- 7cf4 p4 #fd74 ,the fact of voices being heard by two persons1 while one alone saw the figures1 seems a clear proof that the figures were hallucinatory4 ,it seems probable that the sounds also were hallucinatory1 but were what is called in the vocabulary of the ,s4,p4,r4 the collective hallucination of two persons4 ,this seems to render it highly probable that in the case of each the hallucination had a cause external to both1 although common to both2 moreover1 hallucinations are often contagious4 ,the ,times correspondent states1 that the lady admitted that the apparition was purely subjective1 but in regard to other matters was not willing to suppose that she might be the victim of hallucinations of hearing as well as of sight4 ,on the contrary1 as all readers of ,miss ,freer's published works are aware1 she is entirely of opinion that such sights and sounds are pure sense-hallucinations1 whatever may be their ultimate origin4 ,we rejoined the others in silence4 ,then ,mr4 ,mac,p---- said to ,mr4 ,c----1 ,did you see anything8 ,nothing2 ,i only heard voices4 ,what sort of voices8 ,two women4 ,the older voice talked most1 almost continuously4 ,i heard a younger voice1 a higher one1 now and then4 ,note by ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 ,i knew previously1 though ,mr4 ,c---- did not1 that ,miss ,freer had seen something up the burn2 and when waiting for her and ,mr4 ,c----1 ,mr4 ,f---- told me the whole story4 ,february #ith1 ,tuesday4--,last night we--,miss ,moore and ,i--heard the explosive noises about #aa4cj ,p4,m41 and speculated as to the possibility of their being caused by the wind in the chimney4 ,there was a little wind last night--very little4 ,it is worth mentioning1 that ever since we have been here the air has been phenomenally still4 ,one can go outside1 as we do frequently1 to feed the birds and squirrels without hats and not feel a hair stirred4 ,even when the snow was on the ground we never felt the cold1 owing to the absence of wind1 and the thaw has been imperceptible4 ,snow is still on the hills4 ,i have several times thrown open my bedroom window about dawn for an hour to familiarise myself with the outside noises4 ,there is nothing human within a quarter of a mile4 7,n4,b4--,the others1 who are much more likely to be accurate as to distance than ,i1 say the lodges are farther off47 ,the servants' houses are in a group of buildings on the hill above the house1 but are1 ,i believe1 all empty4 ,we found1 and adopted1 a deserted cat1 whose condition certainly testified to the nakedness of the land4 ,there are two inhabited lodges far out of hearing4 ,a gardener comes round to the houses about #aj or #aj4cj ,p4,m41 but we have watched him1 and know exactly what sounds he creates4 ,february #ajth1 ,wednesday4--,mrs4 ,w---- arrived this morning from ,london2 also ,miss ,langton1 who is sensitive1 but wholly inexperienced4 ,in the evening1 at #f ,p4,m41 ,colonel ,taylor arrived4 ,he is in ,no4 #h4 ,miss ,moore and ,i moved back into ,no4 #a1 and moved ,mr4 ,f---- into ,no4 #c1 the room reported 7by the ,h----s7 as specially haunted1 where ,colonel ,a---- and ,major ,b---- had slept1 and in our time ,mr4 ,l---- ,f----1 who left last night4 ,the wing is now ready for habitation1 except that the pipes are out of order1 and the set-basins useless1 also the bath4 7,n4,b4--,the fact that the pipes are all out of working order1 and not a drop of hot water is to be had except in the kitchen1 does away with a theory1 which has been rather emphatically put forward1 that it is all the hot-water pipes47 ,we are anxious to test the wing4 ,only one story1 ,miss ,b----'s1 is connected with it1 and if there has been any practical joking anywhere1 ,i personally incline to think that was the occasion4 ,the wing is new1 built1 they say1 in #ahhc1 and the ghost showed human intelligence in selection of doors and victims4 7,after my return to ,london ,i had a conversation with ,mrs4 ,g----1 which convinced me that ,i was mistaken in supposing that tricks had been played upon ,miss ,b----4 ,see p4 #ga47 ,an old woman in the village asked ,miss ,moore to-day with interest1 ,hoo'll ye be liking ,b----8 ,she spoke of the hauntings1 and her husband insisted 7the ,highlander always begins that way7 that there were not any1 and so on1 and the old woman explained that it was just the young gentlemen last year that was having a lark4 ,later she admitted1 ,there's nae ghaists at ,b----1 but the old ,major 7who died about twenty years ago72 he'd just be saying to ,gracie if she didn't do as she was told1 that he'd be coming back and belay the decks 7cf4 p4 #acf74 ,p4,s4--,monday #aeth4--,in the kirkyard to-day at ,l---- we were shown the ,major's grave4 ,it is one of three1 inclosed by a rough stone wall4 ,they have no headstones1 and seem quite uncared for4 ,one is1 we are informed1 that of his housekeeper1 ,sarah ,n----4 ,the other is said to be that of a black man-servant4 ,last night we slept as follows3-- ,room #a and #b4 ,myself and ,miss ,moore4 #c4 ,mr4 ,f----4 #d4 ,miss ,langton4 #e4 ,mrs4 ,w----4 #f and #g4 ,empty4 #h4 ,colonel ,taylor4 ,miss ,moore lay awake nearly the whole night4 ,she heard1 though in less degree1 the old noises2 and in the early morning 7compare our first night7 heard the sound of women's voices talking4 ,when ,i awoke1 about #f ,a4,m41 she told me she had been disturbed1 and said she feared that the others had also1 as she had heard ,mrs4 ,w---- talking in ,miss ,langton's room4 ,at breakfast ,mrs4 ,w---- reported that she had been awakened by knockings1 but had never moved4 ,miss ,langton had heard nothing4 ,the ,colonel reported that about1 or just before1 six he had heard footsteps over his head4 ,there is no room over ,no4 #h1 which is mostly a built-out bow1 and the servants had not moved before #f4cj4 7,if they moved then1 it was contrary to their habits67 ,we heard later that ,hannah had gone1 about #f4cj1 in her stocking-feet1 only without her stockings1 to ask the time at the cook's door4 ,the ,colonel 7before our inquiries7 had imitated the noise by stamping heavily with striding steps across the library4 ,february #aath1 ,thursday4--,the ,colonel moved down into ,miss ,b----'s room in the wing1 and ,mr4 ,f---- into the room next to him4 ,february #abth1 ,friday4--,no phenomena4 ,the great business to-day1 which we had specially reserved for the ,colonel's arrival1 was the making of sketches and measurements for the plan of the house4 ,we found no mysteries4 ,the walls are immensely thick1 but all the space is accounted for4 ,february #acth1 ,saturday4--,miss ,moore slept very badly again last night4 ,she heard the noises at intervals between three and five2 she was awake before and after4 ,they were loudest and most frequent after four4 ,at #e4cj ,i was awakened by a loud crash as of something falling very heavily on the floor above4 ,the maids sleep there1 but can give no account of any fall4 ,miss ,moore1 of course1 heard it as1 and when1 ,i did4 ,mrs4 ,w---- reports having heard loud raps4 ,she thinks the noise may have wakened her1 but after she was awake enough to get a light and look at her watch 7#c4dj7 she heard what she describes as a double knock4 ,february #adth1 ,sunday4--,our first wet day4 ,the weather so far has been perfect4 ,we all got very wet coming from church4 ,in the evening we did various experiments--thought-transference1 crystal gazing1 c4--but nothing came of it in regard to the house4 ,february #aeth1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,f---- left early4 ,we all walked to the ,parish ,church1 and had some talk with the sexton1 and ,i had to listen to long yarns about the ,major 7see under date ,february #ith74 ,i was tired1 and could not go to the copse4 ,in the evening we played games1 and were very lively4 ,miss ,langton came into my room for a few minutes1 and was certainly not in any nervous condition1 nor did we speak of the hauntings4 ,but this morning 7,tuesday7 at breakfast she reported having heard a loud crash almost directly after getting to her room4 ,we considered possible causes1 but could not discover that any one was moving in the house4 ,the servants had gone to bed some time earlier1 and we had put out the lights ourselves in the hall and on the stairs4 ,february #afth1 ,tuesday4--,i had an experience this morning which may have been purely subjective1 but which should be recorded4 ,about #aj ,a4,m4 ,i was writing in the library1 face to light1 back to fire4 ,mrs4 ,w---- was in the room1 and addressed me once or twice2 but ,i was aware of not being responsive1 as ,i was much occupied4 ,i wrote on1 and presently felt a distinct1 but gentle1 push against my chair4 ,i thought it was the dog and looked down1 but he was not there4 ,i went on writing1 and in a few minutes felt a push1 firm and decided1 against myself which moved me on my chair4 ,i thought it was ,mrs4 ,w----1 who1 having spoken and obtained no answer1 was reminding me of her presence4 ,i looked backward with an exclamation--the room was empty4 ,she came in directly1 and called my attention to the dog1 who was gazing intently from the hearthrug at the place where ,i had expected 7before7 to see him4 ,as the day began with the above1 and ,i had had a quiet rest1 ,i went to the copse at dusk4 ,the moon was bright1 and the twilight lingered4 ,we waited about in the avenue to let it get darker1 but it was still far from dark when we made our way up the glen--,miss ,moore1 ,miss ,langton1 and myself4 ,i saw ,ishbel and ,marget in the old spot across the burn4 ,ishbel was on her knees in the attitude of weeping1 ,marget apparently reasoning with her in a low voice1 to which ,ishbel replied very occasionally4 ,i could not hear what was said for the noise of the burn4 ,we waited for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes4 ,they had appeared when ,i had been there perhaps three or four4 ,when we regained the avenue 7in silence7 ,miss ,moore asked ,miss ,langton1 ,what did you see8 7,she had been told nothing1 except that the ,colonel1 who did not know details then1 had said in her presence something about a couple of nuns47 ,she said1 ,i saw nothing1 but ,i heard a low talking4 ,questioned further1 she said it seemed close behind4 ,the glen is so narrow1 that this might be quite consistent with what ,i saw and heard4 ,miss ,moore heard a murmuring voice1 and is quite certain it was not the burn4 ,she is less suggestible than almost any one ,i know4 ,the dog ran up while we were there1 pointed1 and ran straight for the two women4 ,he afterwards left us1 and we found him barking in the glen4 ,he is a dog who hardly ever barks4 ,we went up among the trees where he was1 and could find no cause4 ,miss ,moore and ,i moved into ,no4 #h 7dressing-room ,no4 #f74 ,it is a suspect room1 which ,i had not tried1 and ,miss ,moore had scarcely slept all the week in ,no4 #a1 and was looking so worn out1 that ,i decided to move4 ,february #agth1 ,wednesday4--,a most glorious day1 still1 bright1 and sunny4 ,nothing happened till evening4 ,the ,colonel1 ,mrs4 ,w----1 ,miss ,langton1 ,miss ,moore1 and ,i were in the drawing-room after dinner4 ,some of us1 certainly the last four1 heard footsteps overhead in ,no4 #a1 which is just now disused4 ,i was lying on the sofa1 and could not get up quickly3 but ,mrs4 ,w---- and ,miss ,langton ran up at once1 and found it empty and dark1 and no one about4 ,later1 about #aj4cj1 we all five heard the clang noise with which some of us are so familiar4 ,the servants had gone to bed--or so we presumed1 as all lights were out1 except on the upper floor4 ,it occurred four times4 ,it is of course conceivable they may have made it1 but we do not hear it when we know them to be about1 and we do hear it when we know them not to be about4 ,the following quotation is from ,miss ,langton's private diary3-- ,on the night of ,wednesday1 ,february #agth1 ,i had a curious dream or vision4 ,i seemed to be standing outside the door of ,no4 #d1 looking up the corridor to ,no4 #b1 when suddenly ,i saw a figure with his back to the door of ,no4 #b1 and quite close to the door which leads to ,no4 #c4 ,his face was quite distinct1 and what struck me most was the curious way in which his hair grew on his temples4 ,his eyes were very dark1 keen1 and deep-set2 his face was pale1 and with a drawn1 haggard expression4 ,he looked about thirty-nine years of age4 ,his hair was dark and thick1 and waved back from his forehead1 where it was slightly grey4 ,it was a most interesting and clever face1 and one that would always1 ,i should think1 attract attention4 ,he was dressed in a long black gown like a cassock1 only with a short cape1 barely reaching to the elbows4 ,a further reference to this vision1 which at the time seemed irrelevant1 will be found on page #bbe4 ,february #ahth1 ,thursday4--,this morning's phenomenon is the most incomprehensible ,i have yet known4 ,i heard the banging sounds after we were in bed last night4 ,early this morning1 about #e4cj1 ,i was awakened by them4 ,they continued for nearly an hour4 ,then another sound began in the room4 ,it might have been made by a very lively kitten jumping and pouncing1 or even by a very large bird2 there was a fluttering noise too4 ,it was close1 exactly opposite the bed4 ,miss ,moore woke up1 and we heard it going on till nearly eight o'clock4 ,i drew up the blinds and opened the window wide4 ,i sought all over the room1 looking into cupboards and under furniture4 ,we cannot guess at any possible explanation4 ,further experience of these curious hallucinatory sounds1 combined with visual hallucination in the same room1 taking also into consideration the interest which our own dogs always displayed in these phenomena1 led us to the conclusion that our first deductions had been wrong1 and that the sounds were those of a dog gambolling4 7,the ,rev47 ,mr4 ,q4 7an ,english vicar71 arrived4 ,in the evening1 at #f4cj1 ,miss ,langton and ,i took him down to the glen4 ,it was a very light evening4 ,i saw the figure of ,ishbel1 not very distinctly1 in conversation with the second figure1 which was barely defined4 ,we remained in perfect silence as usual4 ,on regaining the avenue ,miss ,l---- said she had heard voices1 and thought she had seen what might be the white parts of the nun's dress4 ,mr4 ,q4 said he had seen a light under the big tree4 ,the figures were nearer the tree than usual4 ,miss ,langton went up a second time with the ,colonel1 and again heard voices4 ,it is worth remarking that ,mr4 ,q4 has1 doubtless from some idiosyncrasy1 since developed a faculty of seeing lights where other people see phantasms4 ,february #aith1 ,friday4--,no phenomena last night4 ,we have spent the day in ,a----1 the neighbouring town1 where ,i had a fall and hurt my foot1 so that ,i was obliged to drive home1 and could not go to the glen4 ,miss ,langton and ,mr4 ,q4 went down about seven o'clock4 ,mr4 ,q4 saw the outline of a figure of which he has written the description4 ,miss ,langton heard the usual voices on the other side of the burn2 they seemed to her to be interrupted by a third voice1 in deeper tones2 and she also heard the footsteps of a man passing behind her1 a heavy tread1 not like a gentleman4 ,the following1 the account referred to1 was contained in a private letter from ,mr4 ,q4 to ,lord ,bute4 ,the description of ,ishbel in the ,journal of ,february #bfth1 was1 it will be observed1 of later date1 although before ,miss ,freer had seen the following3-- ,february #aith and #bjth1 #ahig4--;,i had heard only that ,miss ,freer had seen two figures by the burn1 one of which was that of a nun1 the other a woman1 before whom1 on one occasion1 the nun appeared to be kneeling4 ,i had always pictured the nun as standing or kneeling with her back to the spectator4 ,on ,february #aith1 at about #f4de ,p4,m41 ,i visited the burn with ,miss ,langton 7and not ,miss ,freer74 ,after looking a little ,i saw 7a72 the white was very plain1 and the head clearly outlined1 but the vision was for the fraction of a second4 ,i was conscious of it indistinctly for a few minutes1 and there seemed a good deal of movement4 ,suddenly ,i was again conscious of the figure as shown in 7b71 full-face1 as though gazing at me2 again the white part was very distinct1 but ,i could distinguish no features4 ,illustration3 a ,illustration3 b ,february #bjth1 ,saturday4--,this morning we went down to ---- and had a little talk with the old servant who told us stories the other day about the ,major1 and she repeated the story of his threatened return4 ,the same story was repeated independently this afternoon by a local tradesman1 who opened conversation by inquiring whether we had seen the ,major yet4 ,miss ,moore and ,i again this morning heard noises in ,no4 #h1 more especially those of the pattering footsteps1 just after daylight1 and a violent jump and scramble1 which we thought was our dog1 until we found that he was sleeping peacefully as usual on his rug at our feet4 ,in a letter to ,lord ,bute1 dated ,february #ba1 #ahig1 ,mr ,q4 gives the following account3-- ,on ,february #bjth1 at about #f4de ,p4,m41 ,i visited the burn with ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton4 ,i was very briefly conscious of the figure 7a7 on the bank of the burn1 but saw no more till ,miss ,freer pointed to the hollow of a large tree1 when ,i again saw 7b74 ,on each occasion of seeing 7b7 a curious sensation was noticeable1 and ,i felt ,i was being looked at4 ,on speaking afterwards to ,miss ,freer1 ,i found her vision of the nun under the tree to be the same as mine at 7b71 i4e4 full face1 as indeed ,miss ,freer had seen it on previous occasions4 ,this is the second sketch ,i have drawn of the full face 7b74 ,the first ,i showed to ,miss ,freer1 remarking to her1 ',i have made the figure too broad' 7being unaccustomed to drawing74 ',yes1' said ,miss ,freer1 'for the nun is very slight4' ,it was seen at the same moment also by ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton4 ,february #bast1 ,sunday4--,again this morning we heard noises of pattering in ,no4 #h1 and ,scamp got up and sat apparently watching something invisible to us1 turning his head slowly as if following the movements of some person or thing across the room from west to east4 ,during the night ,miss ,moore had heard footsteps crossing the room1 as of an old or invalid man shuffling in slippers4 ,we both heard a bang at the side of the room about #f4bj1 some time before any sounds of moving were heard from the servants above4 ,the noise was muffled in quality1 and had no resonance1 and seemed to come from behind a small wardrobe on the east wall4 ,the room 7,no4 #g7 on that side was unoccupied4 ,this bang was heard at other times in the same spot4 ,experiment showed that no noise made in ,no4 #g was audible in ,no4 #h1 not even hammering with a poker on the wall1 which is curved at this point4 ,this morning1 on coming out of church1 ,i received a letter from ,mr4 ,f----1 in which was the following passage3-- 444 ,miss ,h----1 who slept1 ,i believe1 in the room occupied by you when ,i left1 heard sounds of footsteps going round her room1 footsteps with the most unmistakable limp in them4 ,shortly after she heard stories connected with the former owner1 who used to go by the name of ,b----1 an aged man the ,major4 ,she asked if he could be described4 ',no1' said her informant2 'the only thing he could remember about him was that he had a most peculiar limp1' and he forthwith gave an exhibition1 which tallied exactly with the limp around the bed4 ,in discussing this1 ,miss ,moore and ,i agreed that1 had ,miss ,h---- slept in ,no4 #h instead of in ,no4 #a1 as ,mr4 ,f---- supposed1 we should have considered these limping sounds as probably identical with those we ourselves had heard4 ,after ,i had closed my reply to ,mr4 ,f----1 ,miss ,moore discovered ,miss ,b----'s plan of the house 7in the packet of evidence of the ,h----s' tenancy1 see p4 #if71 which showed that in fact ,no4 #h was the room referred to4 ,hence it appears that the room in which ,miss ,h---- heard the footsteps was the same as that in which we heard them4 ,we had been misled by ,mr4 ,f---- speaking of the room you occupied when ,i left1 a mistake on his part1 as1 though the change had been spoken of1 we had not left ,no4 #a4 ,this afternoon ,miss ,langton experimented with ,ouija at ,mr4 ,q4's request4 ,lord ,bute had suggested various test-questions in relation to the phantasm of the nun1 to be asked the next time the ,ouija board was in operation1 and answers to these were attempted at various times1 with the usual result of showing the influence1 conscious or sub-conscious1 of the sitters1 almost all statements as to matters not actually known to them being worthless4 ,on this occasion1 however1 in reply to the question1 ,how old was ,ishbel when she died8 answers were spelt out to the effect that she was still living1 and that her age was fifty-nine4 ,this may perhaps be taken as throwing light upon the intended personality of ,ishbel1 and supplying a possible clue to the identity of the mind of which she seems to be an imaginary creation4 ,fifty-nine was the age of the late ,rev4 ,mother ,frances ,helen in the year #ahgc1 when ,sarah ,n---- died4 ,they are not people who are at all likely to have met each other upon the other side any more than upon this4 ,it is a generally recognised fact that the conditions which we call time and space exist on in the world beyond in a form so very different from those in which they are conceived of by us1 that from our point of view they can hardly be said to exist at all4 ,it is natural1 therefore1 to seek the utterer of this remarkable statement in some person connected with ,b---- who did not know the late ,mother ,frances ,helen 7supposing her to be the person for whom ,ishbel was intended71 but had heard of her4 ,february #bbnd1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,z---- came4 ,the whole matter of the inquiry had been made known to ,mr4 ,z----1 the proprietor of a prominent ,scottish newspaper1 of course in the strictest confidence1 which was carefully made a condition of the admission of any one to the house1 a confidence which he most honourably observed4 ,it was arranged that if anything occurred within the observation of himself or his son1 the scientific value of which rendered it1 in their judgment1 desirable to publish a notice of it in ,the ----1 the notice should be published under avowedly false names and geographical indications4 ,mr4 ,z---- was unable to come himself1 but his son arrived this day4 ,mr4 ,endell 7a ,member of the ,s4,p4,r47 arrived while we were out1 and made a tour of inspection alone of the outside of the house and the ground-floor rooms4 ,he intuitively fixed on the window of ,no4 #c as that of a haunted room1 and has since1 equally by intuition1 diagnosed the drawing-room and library as creepy1 and the dining-room as definitely cheerful4 7,this coincides with our experience47 ,my own experiences to-day were confined to ejection from a high waggonette1 while waiting at the station for ,mr4 ,z----1 the horse having bolted at the appearance of the train4 ,no phenomena4 ,we are putting ,mr4 ,z----1 at his own request1 in ,no4 #c1 the ghost-room4 ,february #bcrd1 ,tuesday4--,pouring wet4 ,no phenomena4 ,visit to glen impossible4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,r---- 7local residents7 came to lunch4 ,though in great pain ,i was able to see them for a few minutes1 and both inquired whether we had had any experience of the reported hauntings1 of which1 however1 they could give us no details4 ,february #bdth1 ,wednesday4--,mr4 ,z---- left early4 7,n4,b4--,no phenomena reported by any one during his visit2 he himself slept soundly in the haunted room1 but does it the justice to acknowledge that he could sleep through an earthquake47 ,miss ,n4 7the daughter of a landowner of the district7 arrived4 ,mr4 ,garford 7an old friend and excellent observer7 came from ,london4 ,we sleep to-night as follows3-- ,in the wing1 in the two rooms alleged by guests of the ,h----s to be haunted1 the ,colonel and ,mr4 ,endell4 ,no4 #a4 ,mr4 ,garford4 #c4 ,mr4 ,q4 7ghost-room2 he has just asked to be removed from his former room in the wing74 #d4 ,miss ,langton4 #e4 ,mrs4 ,w----4 #g4 ,miss ,n4 #h4 ,miss ,moore1 myself1 and dog4 ,february #beth1 ,thursday4--,mr4 ,endell reported this morning having heard a sound he could in no way account for1 which seems to us to correspond with the clanging noise4 ,we asked how he would imitate it as to volume and quality1 and he said that a large iron kettle1 about the size of the dinner-table 7we are dining eight71 boiling violently1 so that the lid was constantly wobbling1 might produce it4 7,n4,b4--,mr4 ,endell's opinion later is that a pavior's crowbar heavily dropped1 so as to produce a prolonged reverberation1 is a better illustration47 ,mr4 ,garford1 who was not told that any sounds might be expected in ,no4 #a1 says he was awakened by a violent banging at the door of communication between ,nos4 #a and #b 7,no4 #b is empty74 ,mr4 ,endell1 ,mr4 ,q41 and ,miss ,moore went up later in the day to experiment on the door1 and found that it would open with the slightest push4 ,mr4 ,garford had closed it on going to bed1 and found it closed in the morning4 ,he had not been alarmed1 and had almost called out to his supposed visitors1 before he remembered supernormal possibilities4 ,he described the sound as a muffled bang1 and in order to reproduce it to his satisfaction one of the party held a thick rug on the inner side while another hammered on the panels without4 ,mr4 ,q4's experiences in ,no4 #c will be reported by himself4 ,the groans which he heard coming from ,no4 #b some of our party suggested might have been made in sleep by the occupant of ,no4 #a1 but on trying experiments it was found that no sounds of the kind which he could make in his room were audible in ,no4 #c4 ,mr4 ,q4 left4 ,miss ,langton went up the glen with ,mr4 ,garford1 and was perplexed by seeing the grey figure when looking for the nun2 she saw it but dimly1 but later in the evening recovered it in the crystal1 more clearly and in greater detail4 ,the following is ,mr4 ,q4's account of his experience1 written on ,february #bdth and ,march #dth1 in private letters to ,lord ,bute1 but1 in order to avoid the possibility of suggestion to others1 not contributed at the time to this journal4 ,the ,editors have been permitted also to read another account written by ,mr4 ,q4 of this and of his subsequent experience1 written immediately after the occasion1 which agrees with his letters to ,lord ,bute in every particular4 ,february #bdth1 #ahig4--;,i slept in room ,no4 #c4 ,i knew it had a 'bad' reputation1 also ,i had heard through ,ouija of probable appearances and noises at #c ,a4,m4 and #d4cj ,a4,m4 ,i noted the time of retiring in passing the clock on the staircase1 i4e4 #ab4aj4 ,before going to bed ,i sat in a chair with my back to a small mahogany cupboard1 placed against the wall of the dressing-room1 into which my room 7,no4 #c7 opens4 ,about #a ,a4,m4 ,i was much startled at hearing behind me very distinctly a loud groan1 coming1 apparently1 from the dressing-room1 in the direction of the mahogany cupboard4 ,the sound was very distinct1 and but for the fact of there being no one visible1 ,i should have estimated its origin as in the room1 its distinctness being such that1 coming from the next room1 with the door closed1 it would have sounded slightly muffled4 ,so distinct was it that ,i heard what ,i can only describe as the throat vibration in the tone4 ,i tried to ascribe it to the bubbling of the hot-water pipe of a washing basin fixed in the dressing-room1 as ,i supposed1 against the wall of the bedroom1 but saw next day that the basin in question was fixed against the opposite wall of the dressing-room4 ,illustration3 ,a1 ,cupboard4 ,b1 ,chair4 ,c1 ,washing-stand 7fixed74 ,the sound was a greatly magnified and humanised edition of what ,i have several times heard in the drawing-room below the dressing-room1 and which has been heard by several of the party together4 ,and in a letter dated ,march #d4--;,i went upstairs at #ab4aj4 ,on shutting the door of my room ,i experienced a curiously cold sensation4 ,i stood by the fire1 which was burning brightly1 and shivered to an extent that was quite phenomenal2 the fire did not in the least remove the cold shudderings which ran from head to feet4 ,i threw the feeling off as best ,i could1 but not entirely4 ,i read a little and then prayed4 ,i read the office of compline and my private prayers1 and praying according to my custom for all faithful departed1 and especially for those who had previously lived in the house or been connected with it4 ,after this ,i looked at my watch2 it was just upon one o'clock1 and ,i sat for a few minutes in the chair by the fire1 when ,i heard the noise described1 behind me4 ,i changed my position and placed the chair with its back to a table and facing the door1 the candle on the table1 and took a book and read2 my shuddering sensations had been worse than ever4 ,suddenly ,i looked up1 and above the bed1 apparently on the wall1 ,i got just a glimpse 7like a flash7 of a brown wood crucifix3 the wall was quite bare1 not a picture1 nothing to make it explainable by imperfect light or reflection4 ,from that time the sensation of cold and shuddering went away3 ,i don't say immediately1 but ,i was quite conscious of being reassured4 ,about half-an-hour afterwards all feeling of distress of any sort had gone4 ,i went to bed and to sleep4 ,my own idea now is1 that the sound ,i heard was an inarticulate cry for help1 probably by means of prayer4 ,the influence ,i feel was bad1 but something overcame it4 ,it is desirable to add1 as a question of evidence1 for comparison of the dates of this and ,miss ,freer's subsequent account of the same phenomenon1 that a letter from ,mr4 ,q4 in ,lord ,bute's possession1 dated ,march #afth1 begins1 ,i have no objection to ,miss ,freer seeing my letter on the subject of the crucifix4444 ,mr4 ,q4 also states that his delay in writing to ,lord ,bute about the crucifix was1 that he thought it might be a mental reproduction of one which he sometimes sees in his own home1 but that he found on examining the latter that it has a white figure1 whereas that of the apparition has the figure of the same brown wood as the cross4 ,in the private account above referred to ,mr4 ,q writes1 ,i found that the crucifix at home in no way resembles what ,i saw at ,b----4 ,it will be remarked that this peculiar apparition was seen in the same room by the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h---- in ,august #ahib 7see p4 #ag71 and it was again seen on ,march #fth by ,miss ,freer1 who had not heard at all of his experiences1 and only a bare mention1 without detail or description1 of that of ,mr4 ,q4 ,a fourth vision in this connection--that of ,miss ,langton1 who had heard of none of the other three1 is described under date ,march #ai4 ,february #bfth1 ,friday4--,nothing happened till ,i was in the drawing-room in the evening1 when ,i was1 as usual since my accident1 taking my meal alone4 ,a screen stood between my sofa and the door1 so that it was impossible to see who entered4 ,i saw the shadow of a woman on the wall1 and supposed it to be a maid come to see after the fire4 ,next1 the figure of an old woman emerged from behind the screen2 she was of average height1 and stout2 she wore a woollen cap1 and her dress was that of a superior servant indoors4 ,supposing her to be some servant's visitor come to have a look at the drawing-room while the party were at dinner1 ,i moved to attract her attention1 with no result4 ,she walked a few steps towards the middle of the room1 then disappeared4 ,her countenance was not pleasing1 but expressed no personal malevolence2 her face may have been coarsely handsome4 ,her dress was dark1 and made in the fashion which was worn in my childhood4 ,when the dog came in later he seemed to sight something from behind the screen and followed it across the room1 when he lay down under my couch1 instead of on the hearth as usual4 ,he had done the same thing yesterday morning1 looking much frightened1 and had then taken refuge under ,miss ,langton's chair4 ,in connection with this it will be seen elsewhere that footsteps were constantly heard in the drawing-room1 both at night and in daylight4 ,mr4 ,garford1 in ,no4 #a1 heard last night what seemed like the detonating noise1 which he describes as like a wheelbarrow on a hard road1 a sharp1 rapidly repeated knocking1 at a distance4 ,february #bgth1 ,saturday4--,colonel ,c---- and ,mr4 ,mac,p---- arrived4 ,to-night we sleep as follows3-- ,no4 #a4 ,mr4 ,garford4 ,no4 #b4 ,miss ,langton4 ,no4 #c4 ,colonel ,c---- 7,i had planned for him to go in the wing1 but the butler1 an old soldier with two medals1 seemed to think it due to such a distinguished officer to put him in the haunted room74 ,no4 #d4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 ,nos4 #e1 #g1 and #h as before4 ,the ,colonel and ,mr4 ,endell unchanged4 ,the glen was visited by ,colonel ,c---- and ,mr4 ,mac,p----1 escorted by ,miss ,langton4 ,february #bhth1 ,sunday4--,all slept well4 ,i assisted ,miss ,langton with some ,ouija experiments in the presence of1 first1 ,mr4 ,endell1 then ,mr4 ,mac,p----1 then of ,colonel ,c---- and ,miss ,n4 ,march #ast1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,mac,p---- reported at breakfast that he had awakened at #e4de1 and almost immediately heard a loud clanging sound in the north-west corner of his room2 he was fully awake1 struck a light1 saw nothing1 and looked at his watch4 ,we tried later to reproduce this noise1 which he described as resembling a loud blow upon a washhand basin4 ,i shut myself into ,no4 #a1 and found this a fair1 but too faint1 imitation of the sounds ,miss ,moore and ,i had heard there4 ,colonel ,c---- and ,mr4 ,mac,p---- left4 ,miss ,m---- and the ,colonel have to-day had some talk with ---- who had an intimate knowledge of the ,s---- family4 ,see under dates ,feb4 #ith and #bjth4 ,she repeated her former story of the ,major's promised return1 especially a statement made to an old woman who worked in the garden1 who had told him that at least he'd no get in there1 she'd keep the gate locked1 that he would come in below the deck 7cf4 p4 #aad74 ,he was described as a short1 broad man1 with white hair and beard1 a'ful fond o' dogs 7of which he had many71 and so noisy with them in the morning1 that when he and his housekeeper-body let them out1 his voice could be heard on the hill4 ,she also said that on ,major ,s----'s return from ,india to assume the property he found a tenant in possession1 and had built himself a small house beyond the grounds1 which he afterwards let with the shooting4 ,in the late ,mr4 ,s----'s time this house was used as a retreat during the summer for nuns 7a statement which interests us greatly1 as affording a possible clue to the apparition74 ,the ,major was greatly attached to the place1 and had a great dislike to the presence of strangers in it1 or to its going out of the old name4 ,the estate1 we hear1 was much encumbered when he succeeded to it1 but he cleared off all debts in a few years1 and appears to have lived a somewhat eccentric and recluse life1 in the society of his dogs and dependants4 ,this is the first mention of the fact that nuns had ever lived at ,b----4 ,miss ,freer had not been aware that the object of the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h----'s visit in #ahib had been to give what is called a ,spiritual ,retreat to those who had been occupying the cottage4 ,it is only fair to suggest that the phantasmal nun1 to whom the name ,ishbel had been given1 may really have been the phantasm of one of these visitors1 and that the dress of at least some of them was identical with or closely resembled hers1 while it was totally unlike that worn by the community to which the late ,mother ,frances ,helen belonged4 ,at the same time1 ,ishbel's dress was of a kind so very common among nuns1 that it would have been that with which she would1 most naturally1 have been clothed by the imagination of any one unacquainted with the very rare ,order to which ,mother ,frances ,helen belonged4 ,to make further investigation into the history of all the ,sisters who ever stayed at ,b---- through the kindness of the late ,mr4 ,s---- would have been a task impossible for its vastness1 and almost certainly futile through the natural reticence of their communities with regard to any matters likely to occasion haunting4 ,march #ast 7continued71 ,monday4--,i went up the burn for the first time since my accident on ,saturday1 ,february #bjth4 ,we had had a promise from ,ouija on ,sunday that if ,mr4 ,endell were to visit the copse with me after #f4cj he would be touched on the left shoulder4 ,he was told to go to the farther side of the burn1 and to stand under the sapling1 which is at some little distance from the spot where the phantasm usually appears4 ,this we accordingly did4 ,i was barely able in the dusk to distinguish the figure from my post on the west bank1 but the phantasm appeared very near him1 as ,i could distinguish the white pocket-handkerchief in his breast pocket4 ,i saw her hand approach this1 but could not positively say that it touched him4 ,mr4 ,endell saw nothing1 and could not positively say that he felt a touch1 though conscious of a sense of sudden chill1 and agreed with me that had he certainly felt one1 he would probably have considered it the effect of expectation4 ,we stood there for perhaps ten minutes1 and he was for a short time conscious of the subjective sensations which he commonly feels in the presence of phenomena4 ,we returned simultaneously to the avenue1 where we discussed the occurrence and the possibilities of making it evidential4 ,the only thing we could think of was to send for ,miss ,langton1 and without telling her anything of what we had seen or expected1 ascertain whether she saw the phantasm in its usual position 7high up on the bank71 or a good deal farther to the left1 and nearer the burn1 as ,i had done4 ,by the time she arrived it was much darker1 but she saw the figure under the tree by the brook1 and described it as kneeling4 ,she has better sight than ,i1 and believed it to be behind ,mr4 ,endell4 ,i should have judged her to be crouching or stooping in front of him1 but judging from comparison of our normal sight1 she is much more likely to be accurate than ,i4 ,mr4 ,endell's separately recorded account1 dated ,march #e1 exactly agrees with this1 but adds some additional touches to the latter part4 ,at ,miss ,freer's suggestion1 ,i fetched ,miss ,langton1 telling her nothing of what had occurred1 but merely that we were trying an experiment1 and she was to report what she saw4 ,i stood again under the sapling4 ,this time ,i began to shudder almost immediately4 ,it was so dark they told me that they could only see my collar though ,i was only ten yards from them4 ,miss ,langton said that thirty seconds after ,i had taken up my position1 the figure appeared behind me a little to my left1 and seemed to raise its arm4 ,miss ,freer said it was waiting for me1 and touched me as before4 ,i felt no touch throughout1 only shiverings that seemed to coincide with appearances4 ,to-night ,miss ,n4 wishes to sleep in ,no4 #c1 and ,miss ,langton will remain in ,no4 #b2 the door of communication can be opened between them4 ,march #bnd1 ,tuesday4--,this morning ,i was reading in bed by candlelight from #e4cj to #f o'clock1 and again heard the pattering sound which has become familiar to us in ,no4 #h4 ,miss ,moore was asleep1 but happened to awake while the sound was specially distinct1 and without speaking signified that she was giving it her attention4 ,shortly after six we heard the sound of a violent fall about the middle of the west wall1 between the fireplace and window4 ,our first thought was that one of the maids upstairs must have fallen1 till we remembered that there was no room above us4 ,we have since inquired1 and find that none of them moved till nearly seven o'clock1 nor was anything heard either by them or by ,mr4 ,garford1 whose room 7,no4 #a7 joins our west wall4,d ,miss ,n4 passed a very disturbed night4 ,she went to bed about twelve o'clock2 she is habitually an exceptionally good sleeper1 and1 moreover1 has slept in many rooms alleged to be haunted without the slightest inconvenience1 and has never had an experience of any sort4 ,she lay awake in discomfort till #c ,a4,m41 and then sought refuge with ,miss ,langton4 ,miss ,n4 left4 ,the following is the record of her impressions3-- ,march #dth4--,you ask me to write exactly what ,i felt in ,no4 #c when ,i slept there on ,march #ast4 ,well1 it is rather difficult to describe6 ,i never felt frightened out of my wits at nothing before1 if it was nothing4 ,i certainly saw no shadows or figures1 and the only noise ,i heard was the thud twice1 which sounded as if it came from the storey below4 ,if ,i shut my eyes for a minute ,i felt as if ,i was struggling with something invisible 7not indigestion1 as ,i never have it674 ,i was so paralysed that ,i dare not call out to ,miss ,langton1 and lay awake from twelve to three without moving6 ,in the morning1 of course1 ,i felt ,i had been a fool to be so silly1 and ,i would go and sleep there again to-night if ,i had the chance4 ,mrs4 ,b4 ,c---- came4 ,she is an ,associate ,s4,p4,r41 is a ,highlander1 has been all her life interested in psychical matters1 but has had no experience4 ,mr4 ,endell1 ,miss ,moore1 and ,i sat up in ,no4 #c till about #b4cj in the dark1 except for the firelight1 and in silence1 except when any one wished to draw the attention of the rest to sounds or sensations4 ,there were no sounds for which1 on reflection1 we found it impossible to account4 ,mr4 ,endell suffered1 as on previous occasions1 from the sensation known as cold-air1 and very visibly shivered1 though clearly not in the least nervous4 ,he is keenly interested in psychical inquiry1 but has never had any experience other than subjective sympathy with the psychic impressions of others1 or a consciousness1 such as he described on his arrival here1 of an atmosphere other than normal4 7,this last has been of frequent occurrence1 and seems to have been always veridical47 ,the sole experience of any kind on this occasion was my own4 ,mr4 ,endell1 by way of reproducing the conditions of former occupants of the room1 threw himself on the bed about twenty minutes to #b ,a4,m4 ,soon after he was seized by audible and visible shivers4 ,we did not speak till he uttered some forcible ejaculation of complaint1 when1 looking towards him1 ,i saw a hand holding a brown 7probably wooden7 crucifix1 as by a person standing at the foot of the bed4 ,he immediately said1 ,now ,i'm better1 or words to that effect4 ,we persisted in silence till perhaps #b4cj1 when we agreed to separate1 and while we were having some refreshment over the fire1 ,i told ,miss ,moore and ,mr4 ,endell what ,i had seen4 7,cf4 under date ,february #be1 p4 #acb47 ,march #crd1 ,wednesday4--,mrs4 ,w---- left4 ,this afternoon we had a call from ,mrs4 ,s---- and her daughter4 ,the ,colonel1 ,miss ,moore1 and ,i were in the room4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,march #dth1 ,thursday4--,mr4 ,endell left4 ,heavy snowstorm4 ,march #eth1 ,friday4--,last night ,i was in bed and asleep before ,miss ,moore came in from her dressing-room4 ,she did not light the candle for fear of waking me1 but1 while sitting by the fire reading1 she heard the pattering noise just behind her1 in the same place where we have heard it and the fall before1 though never till then at night4 ,it only lasted a few minutes1 but there was apparently nothing to account for it1 though of course she took every possible means to discover its cause4 ,mrs4 ,b4 ,c---- left to-day4 ,miss ,moore happened to mention at breakfast that the upper housemaid had told her that the maids had twice again on the last two nights heard the sound of monotonous reading1 once as late as #b ,a4,m4 ,the theoretical hour for ,mattins is midnight1 which1 however1 is only observed in practice in certain very rigid monasteries2 in others it begins at two4 ,but it is easily conceivable that a priest1 if wakeful at that time1 would select it in preference to another4 ,mrs4 ,b4 ,c---- at once said that she also had heard precisely that sound each night1 and had spoken of it to her maid1 and1 like the servants1 had concluded that ,miss ,moore was reading to me1 although it was as late as twelve o'clock4 ,she had also heard a bang on a door close to her own1 but had supposed it was a late comer1 possibly one of the gentlemen from the smoking-room1 and had not been disturbed4 ,she had been sleeping in ,no4 #a1 her maid in ,no4 #b1 and none of the gentlemen are on the same floor4 ,mr4 ,garford1 who is now in the wing1 remarked that he too had heard voices as of speaking or reading several times when sleeping in ,no4 #a1 but had assumed that they were normal4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,miss ,moore goes straight to her dressing-room on going upstairs1 and ,i am always too tired to read or speak4 ,no two persons sleep in any other room4 ,we tested this by getting ,colonel ,taylor to shut himself into ,no4 #a while ,i1 in ,no4 #h1 read aloud at the top of my voice1 ,miss ,langton remaining in the room with me4 ,the ,colonel could hear no sound less than direct banging on the wall with a poker4 ,the cook has been talking to-day of the various noises heard at night2 she is not nervous1 nor are the maids1 but all speak of voices and bangs for which they cannot account2 except the butler1 who has heard nothing1 but is obviously impressed with his wife's experience last night4 ,her story is that1 not feeling well1 she went up to bed early1 before the servants' supper1 the rest of the household being as usual in the drawing-room4 ,while in bed1 before ten o'clock1 she distinctly heard the sound of voices talking1 apparently below1 but not far distant 7her room is over ,no4 #g1 at present empty74 ,she wondered if it could be the servants in the servants' hall at supper--an obvious impossibility1 as their room is not underneath1 is two storeys away1 and has no connection with the upper part of the house4 ,she also heard bangs on the wall1 behind her bed and to the side2 there was no furniture there to crack1 and it was mostly on the outside wall1 so she finally became uncomfortable1 and buried her head in the clothes to deaden the sound4 ,she doesn't believe in ghosts1 but thinks the house very queer1 and says that far and wide in the country round it is spoken of as haunted1 though no one seems to know of any story1 as to the cause1 except that1 very improbable1 about the murder of a priest by the wife of a former proprietor4 ,it appears that a maid engaged in the village refused to sleep in the house1 because when in service here once before she had been frightened by bangs at the door of her bedroom 7in a room over ,no4 #a72 she had also heard the sounds of a rustling silk dress on the back-stairs1 and had seen the bedroom door pushed open and a lady come in4444 ,a maid1 who came after this one had left1 told the cook that she believed there was a story of a priest murdered somewhere at the ,reformation2 she had once been told it by ,mrs4 ,s---- in explanation of the noises1 but had not heard whether the said murder was in the house or the grounds1 and thought ,mrs4 ,s---- particularly did not wish the spot known4 ,this maid has only been an occasional help in the house1 but has lived for years in the district1 and knows the place well by reputation4 ,to-day as we passed through the churchyard1 a resident in the neighbourhood pointed out the desolate grave of the ,major1 with the remark that one could hardly be surprised at a man being said to walk who was expected to rest in such a place as that4 ,he said that there had been a great deal of talk all over the neighbourhood as to the excitement during the ,h----s' stay at ,b----1 and seemed to believe that practical joking might account in part for what had occurred4 ,he did not1 however1 deny that stories had been told long before their coming to the place4 ,this resident is the one as to whom the ,times correspondent dogmatically stated1 that having lived in the place for twenty years he asserted that there had never been a whisper of the haunting of ,b---- until the tenancy of the ,h----s4 ,march #fth1 ,saturday4--,mr4 ,garford left4 ,the ,colonel is to sleep to-night in ,no4 #c1 which has not been occupied since ,miss ,n4 left4 ,mr4 ,c---- arrived4 ,he sleeps1 by his own choice1 in ,no4 #b4 ,he has had a conversation with the butler1 whom he had been instrumental in engaging for us1 which began by his asking how he liked his situation8 ,he expressed himself satisfied with everything1 but added1 ,but there's something very queer about the house1 and then proceeded to tell his wife's experience4 ,march #gth1 ,sunday4--,mr4 ,c---- has written an account of his experiences last night4 ,robinson has this morning told him of his first experience6 ,he was awakened by the noise of a heavy body falling in the middle of the room2 he awoke his wife1 struck a match1 and looked at his watch--it was #c4cj2 no one else had been disturbed4 ,mr4 ,c----'s account follows3-- ,march #gth1 #ahig4--;,it was arranged that ,colonel ,taylor should occupy ,no4 #c1 and that ,i should sleep in ,no4 #b4 ,i went to bed about twelve1 but did not go to sleep at once4 ,i awoke suddenly with the distinct impression that there was some one in the room4 ,i lay still1 and tried to realise what was in the room1 but could not do so4 ,there was no idea of movement in my mind1 but still ,i felt convinced that some one was there4 ,the impression seemed gradually to fade out of my mind after about seven or ten minutes1 and then ,i got up and looked at my watch--the time was #d4dj ,a4,m4 ,i then went back to bed1 but did not go to sleep4 ,i heard the clock in the hall strike five4 ,shortly after ,i thought ,i heard some one moving about in ,no4 #a1 which ,i knew to be unoccupied4 ,i listened1 and it seemed to me that some one was moving round three sides of the room and then coming back4 ,the movement went on for about three or four minutes and then stopped1 but after a pause of some minutes it began again4 ,i tried to make out footsteps1 but could not do so4 ,the movement was that of a heavy body going round the room1 and the floor seemed to shake slightly1 after the way of old flooring when a heavy man moves about4 ,after going on for some time the movement stopped1 and again1 after a pause1 began again4 ,the movement1 whatever it was1 occurred four times1 with three pauses in between4 ,the durations of the movement and pauses were irregular4 ,after the noise ceased ,i got up and lit the candle4 ,the time was #e4be1 and ,i read for twenty-five minutes1 when ,i felt sleepy and blew out the candle4 ,i did not1 however1 go to sleep1 and ,i heard six strike4 ,the day was dawning4 ,the rooks ,i first heard about #e4ce1 when ,i was reading4 ,about ten minutes after the clock struck six ,i heard a noise like a light-footed person running downstairs1 which seemed to adjoin ,no4 #c1 where the ,colonel was sleeping1 and almost immediately after ,i heard a loud rapping at the door of ,no4 #a4 ,after a short pause this occurred again1 and ,i jumped out of bed4 ,as ,i opened the door of my room leading into the passage the rapping sounds occurred again1 but less loudly4 ,there was no one in the passage1 and ,i went back to bed1 not having quite shut my door4 ,no sooner had ,i done so than there was a knock at my door1 which ,i thought must be the ,colonel coming to speak to me about the rapping at ,no4 #a4 ,i called out ',come in1' but there was no answer1 and ,i accordingly again went to the door1 only to find no one4 ,i heard the servants begin to move about at #f4cj above me1 and as seven struck ,i heard them going through the house4 ,the ,colonel did not hear anything4 ,there are no stairs coming down to the bedroom storey where ,i thought ,i heard footsteps4 ,the rapping was not in any way an alarming noise4 ,on ,saturday night ',ouija' had said that ,i was not to be disturbed that night1 so ,i was 'not expecting4' ,it also stated that ,nos4 #c and #h were the rooms that 'the ,major' occupied4 99 99 99 99 99 ,march #hth1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,c---- left early4 ,he has promised to write of any experience last night1 as he was gone before we were up4 ,colonel ,taylor is still in ,no4 #c2 he has heard nothing1 but this is perhaps the less evidential1 that1 although a frequent visitor to haunted houses1 he has never had any experience4 ,we are still in ,no4 #h1 in which we have had a sufficient number of experiences to make us anxious to distribute responsibility by handing it over to another sensitive at the earliest possibility4 ,miss ,langton has hitherto slept in ,no4 #d1 in which she was put on her first arrival1 except for the three nights she was in ,no4 #b1 with companionship in the adjacent rooms4 ,there seems to be no object in the ,colonel remaining in ,no4 #c1 as he is unlikely to see or hear anything1 and as soon as that side of the house is quite emptied she proposes to go into ,no4 #a1 as we are anxious to discover whether her experience will corroborate that of ,miss ,moore1 myself1 ,mrs4 ,b4 ,c----1 ,mr4 ,garford1 and the maids1 as to the sound of voices4 ,march #ith1 ,tuesday4--,mr4 ,c---- writes this morning in regard to ,sunday night3 ,march #hth4--444 ,last night ,i was not so much disturbed1 but ,i awoke at #c4aj1 and did not sleep after that4 ,i had exactly the same sensation as on the previous night1 that whenever ,i was going to sleep something woke me4 ,at #e4bj ,i heard three noises very close together1 but they were very distant1 and sounded from the direction of your room 7,no4 #h74 ,march #ajth1 ,wednesday4--,i awoke about #e4cj1 and lay awake reading4 ,i had drawn the blinds up1 but kept the candle in as long as it was required4 ,at intervals between twenty minutes to six o'clock and ten minutes past ,i heard the sounds characteristic of ,no4 #h41 viz41 footsteps of a man1 and pattering of a dog4 ,miss ,moore awoke1 and heard the later sounds4 ,about #f4aj we both heard the thud1 which seems to occur generally beyond the wardrobe nearer the door4 ,in the afternoon ,miss ,moore and ,i called on ,mrs4 ,s----4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,march #aath1 ,thursday4--,very wet day1 no phenomena4 ,march #abth1 ,friday4--,another wet day4 ,i had had a headache all day1 and was unable to join the others in a walk when the rain cleared off1 but ,i went out1 alone1 about #f4cj to the copse4 ,standing in my usual place1 ,i saw the nun coming over the hill towards the burn2 she stood nearly opposite to me1 looking down to the water for a few minutes1 and then moved away towards the avenue4 ,i followed as quickly as possible1 but when ,i got to the drive she was still a few yards ahead of me1 and ,i failed to catch her up1 though ,i pursued her down to the lodge1 about two hundred yards2 she then1 passing through the gates1 turned to the left1 and ,i lost her in the obscurity of the road1 which is there darkened by heavy trees4 ,when ,i returned to the house ,i was still in so much pain that ,i took a sedative draught and went to bed1 and to sleep at once4 ,with regard to the above it may be remarked that the way she came led from ,b---- ,cottage1 where by the kindness of ,mr4 ,s---- some nuns had formerly spent their annual holiday1 and the road on which she disappeared was a way which would have led back to it4 ,march #acth1 ,saturday4--,at ten o'clock last night ,miss ,moore woke me to take some food4 ,i was still under the influence of the opiate1 and did not really rouse1 even when she came to bed half-an-hour later4 ,we did not speak till ,i was aroused by a loud banging noise1 when1 in answer to my startled exclamation1 ,miss ,moore suggested that it was probably the servants shutting up downstairs1 as we were early1 and they had very likely not yet gone to bed4 ,i was much annoyed1 as ,i knew they had been cautioned to keep quiet1 and even the maid had not been allowed to enter my room4 ,this morning1 when ,miss ,moore went to see the housekeeper1 the butler came in and asked if we had heard any noises last night1 about a quarter to eleven o'clock1 he thought1 after every one had gone up to bed2 adding1 ,it was two bangs like a fist on a door1 and ,i said1 ',if that isn't ,miss ,moore or ,miss ,langton1 ,i'll believe in the noises they all talk about1'--it's just like what the gentlemen told me4 ,his wife had also heard the bangs1 but had waited for him to speak to her of them1 and the maids on the other side of the house had been roused to come to their door and listen4 ,the footman1 who sleeps in the basement1 and the ,colonel1 who was in the smoking-room in the wing till #aa4cj1 heard nothing2 but ,miss ,langton1 in ,no4 #d1 to whom ,miss ,moore mentioned the servants' story1 had heard noises between #aj4cj and #aj4de1 but had not been disturbed1 thinking1 as we had done1 that they were probably made by the servants4 ,on inquiry we found that the cook had gone to bed directly after the servants' supper1 the two under maids were up by ten o'clock 7,miss ,moore heard their voices when she came to my room at ten o'clock71 and the upper housemaid had gone up a few minutes after the hall clock struck1 following ,miss ,moore up the stairs4 ,the butler had come up directly after1 only waiting to put out the hall lamp1 and all were in bed before #aj4cj4 ,we ourselves noticed the striking of the hall clock after we heard the noise--it had gone wrong1 and only struck nine instead of eleven o'clock--so there seems little doubt that we all heard the same sound1 and all describe it as coming from below4 ,in discussing the occurrence with the butler and his wife1 ,miss ,moore learned that they had lately heard a story from a local resident which was new to us4 ,a maid of ,mrs4 ,s----1 who1 though married to the butler1 still lived in the house1 and performed her duties as usual1 was one night coming up the back-stairs with a tray for ,mrs4 ,s----1 when1 on reaching the top1 by the door of ,no4 #c1 she met the figure of a nun1 which so frightened her that she dropped the tray and broke all the plates on it4 ,mrs4 ,s---- explained it away by saying it was only ---- 7they could not remember her name7 come to pray with her4 ,it was ,sunday night1 but they knew there was no one there who could in the least account for the appearance4 ,the only explanation offered by the narrator of the story was that there had been a ,miss ,s----1 a nun1 who had died4 ,march #adth1 ,sunday4--,i called on ,mrs4 ,s----1 and had a long talk with her4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,march #aeth1 ,monday4--,miss ,moore and ,i1 both awake at the time1 heard a loud1 vibrating noise about a quarter to six4 ,miss ,langton in ,no4 #d heard it also4 ,the ,colonel1 who sleeps downstairs1 heard it as from the hall1 and said he also felt the vibration4 ,except for about three nights he has always slept in the wing1 where1 during our tenancy1 there have been no phenomena4 ,march #afth1 ,tuesday4--,miss ,moore1 ,miss ,langton1 the ,colonel1 and ,i1 left ,b----4 ,miss ,moore1 ,miss ,langton1 and ,i returning on ,march #bjth4 ,after leaving ,b---- ,colonel ,taylor wrote as follows to ,lord ,bute3-- ,march #aith1 #ahig4--;,i arrived in ,london yesterday1 after having spent five weeks at ,b---- very pleasantly4 ,i feel sure that there is a ghostly influence pervading the house1 but ,i am a little disappointed at the way in which it manifests itself1 for1 up to the time ,i left1 the nature of the manifestations was such that1 though it is satisfactory to me1 it would not be so1 ,i think1 to those who do not look at such things from so favourable a position as ,i do4 ,i hope a change may yet come1 and things take place which one might think would justify people in evacuating and forfeiting their money as the ,h----s did2 certainly nothing of this sort happened while ,i was there4 ,it is very interesting to note ,miss ,freer's experiences1 but in regard to those of others who have something to relate1 it is perhaps difficult to determine how much these statements should be discounted for error of observation and self-suggestion4 ,i heard many noises in the night during my stay at ,b----1 but they were of much the same sort ,i have been accustomed to hear at a similar time in other houses4 ,i think that some of our witnesses may have given them undue prominence1 under the influence of their own expectancy4 ,the clairvoyant visions of ',ishbel' in the grounds are not of great evidential value for the scientific world in general1 and ,i think that any amount of 'voices' could be read into the noises of the running stream1 near where she is seen1 by those who 'wished to hear4' ,still1 there are some objective noises which cannot be easily accounted for in an ordinary way1 and the three almost independent visions of the brown cross are important4 ,i hope things will improve2 in any case1 you will have added considerably to psychical research when all has been recorded4444 ,it is difficult perhaps to see why ,colonel ,taylor should regard the independent visions of the crucifix as of more value than the equally independent and far more numerous hallucinations1 audible and visual1 of ,ishbel4 ,we have the statements of the failure of several persons who wished to hear voices in the sounds of the burn1 which was1 moreover1 frozen and silent when the voices were heard by the first two non-expectant and quite independent witnesses4 ,march #aith4--,a passage in ,miss ,langton's private journal under this date is as follows3-- ,st4 ,andrews1 ,march #aith4--,i looked into a water-bottle to-night to see if ,i could see anything of what was happening at ,b----4 ,i distinctly saw room ,no4 #c1 and gradually a figure came into view between the two doors 7i4e4 near the foot of the bed71 the figure of a tall woman1 dressed in a long clinging robe of grey1 and who seemed to be holding something in her hand1 against the wall at the foot of the bed4 ,this became more distinct1 and ,i saw that it was a cross of dark brown wood1 some #ab inches long 7,i should say74 ,the figure did not appear to move4 ,i seemed to be standing at the door of ,no4 #c1 which opens on to the landing 7cf4 pp4 #ag1 #acb1 #adb74 ,for the information of those not accustomed to the phenomena of crystal-gazing1 it may be as well to remark that it is quite possible that the image had been subconsciously seen by ,miss ,langton when sleeping in ,no4 #c1 as deferred impressions are often externalised for the first time in the crystal4 ,she may equally have received the impression by thought-transference from others4 ,certainly she had not been informed of earlier experiences4 ,march #bjth1 ,saturday4--,miss ,langton1 ,miss ,moore1 and ,i returned to ,b---- house4 ,four guests arrived in time for dinner4 ,rooms for to-night3-- #a4 ,miss ,moore and ,i4 #b4 ,miss ,langton4 #c4 ,miss ,duff1 a lady whose name is familiar to readers of recent records of crystal-gazing and other students of the literature of the ,psychical ,research ,society4 #d4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 #e4 ,mr4 ,w----4 #h4 ,colonel ,c----4 ,march #bast1 ,sunday4--,last night1 about #aa4ae1 after ,miss ,moore and ,i were in bed in ,no4 #a1 we heard a loud sound from the left-hand side of the fireplace 7south-west corner74 ,it might be imitated by the giving of a large tin box 7cf4 pp4 #agc1 #agi74 ,there was nothing but a footstool and a draped dressing-table there4 ,we called out to ,miss ,langton1 whom we could hear still moving about4 ,she said she had heard the noise1 but had made none herself4 ,her account is as follows3-- ,last night 7,sunday1 ,march #bast7 we retired to bed early1 as ,miss ,moore was leaving by an early train next morning1 and ,i was going to get up in order to see her off4 ,it was certainly not later than #aj4de1 when ,i went to my room1 having gone to ,no4 #a to say good-night to ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,moore1 who were sleeping that night in that room4 ,miss ',duff' was in ,no4 #c1 and ,i was occupying ,no4 #b4 ,i am not at all nervous1 and certainly ,i was not expecting to see anything1 as ,no4 #b is always supposed to be a 'quiet' room4 ,i was some time getting to bed1 but ,i put out my candle at twelve o'clock1 and1 after noticing that the moon was shining brightly1 ,i got into bed4 ,contrary to my usual custom ,i did not fall asleep for some time1 and ,i felt that the room was1 in some inexplicable way1 not as usual4 ,at last ,i fell asleep1 but not comfortably4 ,i kept waking1 and for some time after each awakening ,i could not get to sleep again4 ,i put this down1 however1 to the fact that ,i wanted to waken early the next morning1 and was restless in consequence4 ,at last ,i really fell asleep1 but at #d4cj ,i suddenly awakened with the feeling that ,i was not alone in the room4 ,i looked round2 the room was quite dark2 the moon was not shining1 but between the bed and the wardrobe there was a figure standing4 ,at first it was very indistinct and misty1 but gradually it formed itself into the figure of a woman--a slight1 tall woman1 with a pale face4 ,she was dressed in long robes1 but the upper part was the only part ,i could see clearly4 ,round her face and head was a white band1 like that worn by a nun1 and over her head was what might have been a black hood or small shawl1 but in the darkness it was very difficult to distinguish4 ,i could not see what her features were like1 but she looked as if she were in trouble1 and entreating some one to help her4 ,she stood for some few moments at the foot of my bed looking towards me1 and then she made a movement towards the door1 but before she reached it she had vanished4 ,i was not at all frightened1 as there was nothing at all alarming in her appearance4 ,i cannot write a better description of her1 as the vision was so short4 ,the figure was the same as that ,i had seen at the burn1 only very much clearer4 ,miss ,duff writes under this date ,march #bast3--,on my arrival yesterday ,i was shown to my room 7,no4 #c71 which ,i had selected1 with ,miss ,freer's permission1 as one said to have an evil reputation4 ,perhaps it was natural that a feeling 'as if ,i were not alone' should come over me1 and needless to say there was no apparent cause for this6 ,as a rule ,i am a very sound sleeper1 nothing ever disturbs me2 but last night ,i was suddenly wide awake1 as if roused by something unusual4 ,i sat up quickly in bed1 but suddenly remembering where ,i was1 ,i waited expectantly4 ,nothing occurred1 although ,i did not get to sleep again for about two hours4 ,march #bbnd1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,mac,p---- was awakened between four and five by heavy footsteps overhead4 ,we made many experiments to account for it1 and of course made inquiries among the servants1 but could find no cause4 ,we are the more interested that hitherto nothing has been heard by our party in his room1 ,no4 #d1 though there is a tradition of earlier disturbances there4 ,mr4 ,mac,p---- has furnished the following account of his experience3-- ,as usual ,i went to bed about #ab ,p4,m4 ,i had no desire to be disturbed1 and so my room was still ,no4 #d1 which ,i had originally selected as being reputed innocuous1 and which1 save in one slight instance1 ,i had hitherto found to deserve its reputation4 ,my repeated visits had eliminated any expectancy which may at first have1 perhaps1 existed4 ,my bed was alongside the south wall of my room1 and parallel to the corridor or passage1 my head towards ,no4 #e1 and my feet towards ,no4 #c4 ,as often happened at ,b----1 ,i awoke from a sound slumber1 not by degrees1 but in a moment4 ,there was no transition--no half-awakening1 but full and complete consciousness all at once4 ,i struck a light1 looked at my watch1 found it was #d4cj1 and went to sleep again immediately4 ,i then wakened slowly and gradually1 hearing more and more clearly a noise which appeared to me to be the cause of my awakening4 ,the noise was the kind of sound which is produced by a person walking rapidly with one foot longer than the other--i4e41 it was a succession of beats in rapid sequence1 each alternate beat being louder than the one immediately before it4 ,it appeared to me 7#a7 to be produced outside my room2 7#b7 to be on a higher level2 and 7#c7 to be moving in the direction of my bed--i4e41 going as from ,no4 #e past ,no4 #d1 in which ,i was1 towards ,no4 #c4 ,i at once jumped out of bed1 opened my door and looked out4 ,i saw nothing1 and the noise stopped4 ,i then struck a light1 and found that it was only #d4de4 ,i lay awake till ,i heard the servants obviously moving about1 and then went to sleep again4 ,at breakfast ,i asked1 ',has anybody ever heard this kind of noise8' reproducing it as well as ,i could by a series of thumps on the table4 ',oh yes1' was the answer1 'that is what we call the 'limping' or 'scuttering' noise4 ,of course ,i had heard the phrases used1 but thought they referred to two separate noises4 ,i had also formed quite distinct ideas as to the kind of noises these epithets were intended to describe--both entirely different from the kind of noise ,i had heard--and ,i showed what ,i meant4 ',oh no1' said ,miss ,freer1 'what you heard is what we have been calling indiscriminately the limping or scuttering noise1 and we have not heard the kinds of noise these words suggested to you4' ,i emphasise this as showing clearly that ,i cannot have been expecting to hear the particular noise in question4 ,the next thing was to account for the noise1 if possible1 and we spent some time experimenting4 ,first of all the servants were interrogated as to whether any of them had been moving about at #d4de4 ,answer1 ',no4' ,next we asked who got up first4 ,this was a maid who slept in ,x1 and went into ,y to call the kitchenmaid1 who slept there4 ,to do so she had1 of course1 to go through the narrow room which was over part of my bedroom4 ,this1 she said1 was a good bit later than #d4de4 ,but we thought it well to make her go from ,x to ,y while ,i lay down on my bed and listened4 ,we made her walk backwards and forwards1 both with her slippers on and also in her stocking soles4 ,i and some of the others who came into my room heard her quite distinctly4 ,but 7#a7 the noise of her steps was in a different place--near my window1 and exactly in the line of her progress2 7#b7 it was an entirely different kind of noise4 ,she walked now fast1 and now slowly1 but both footsteps seemed always of the same weight2 and 7#c71 and this1 to my mind1 was most important1 we heard her quite distinctly going from ,x to ,y1 and back again from ,y to ,x and could tell in which direction she was moving4 ,now1 the noise which ,i had heard only went in the one direction1 i4e41 parallel to the maid's outward progress4 ,i did not hear anything going in the other direction4 ,i was entirely wakened by the noise which ,i had heard1 and1 as ,i have said1 ,i continued to listen intently for some considerable time1 and yet ,i heard nothing4 ,in short1 alike from its apparent locus1 from its quality1 and from the direction of its movements1 ,i am convinced that the noise which ,i heard was not caused by any of the servants moving about upstairs4 ,anybody who knows the house will understand that where the noise seemed to me to be was in the neighbourhood of the dome4 ,for all ,i know1 the dome1 as somebody suggested1 may be a regular sounding-board2 but even so1 that does not help much towards an explanation4 ,wherever the noise may have been produced1 the question still remains1 ',what produced it8' and that we have entirely failed to answer4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the gist of this account was communicated by ,mr4 ,mac,p---- to the ,hon4 ,e---- ,f----1 who replied as follows on ,april #ai1 #ahig3 ,do you appreciate the fact that your ghost1 with the footsteps of alternate lowness and softness1 is absolutely correct1 and corresponds with ,miss ,h----'s ghost1 as ,i heard it from ,mrs4 ,g---- lately in town4 ,miss ,h---- slept1 ,i think1 in ,no4 #d this is wrong2 cf4 p4 #abd1 and was wakened by the sound of walking round her bed with a peculiar limp4 ,much alarmed1 she went and called her brother1 who came and slept on the sofa 7is there a sofa in ,no4 #d871 and shortly afterwards they both heard the same noise again4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----1 as already mentioned1 did not know that this noise had been heard by any one4 ,miss ,duff thus describes her next night3 ,having heard nothing unusual all day1 ,i went to bed quite disappointed4 ,however1 ,i was to be again awakened1 and this time by a loud crash at my door1 which resounded for some time4 ,i lit a candle1 but nothing had fallen in my room to account for the sound4 ,i began to think ,i might be mistaken as to the direction of the noise1 and that it might have been caused by a large piece of coal falling in the fender4 ,i went to look1 but there was no coal at all1 only the dying embers in the fire4 ,i soon fell asleep again1 only to be again awakened by a similar crash 7although not so loud71 and this time between the washstand and the window4 ,i kept awake till morning1 and heard nothing more4 ,we had carefully concealed from ,miss ,duff the nature of the usual phenomena of this room4 ,march #bcrd1 ,tuesday4--,mr4 ,l---- and his friend ,captain ,b---- arrived4 ,the proof of this portion of the ,journal was submitted to ,mr4 ,l----1 who returned it with1 inter alia1 the following note3-- ,i do not wish to suppress the fact of my visit to ,b----1 but object to the publication of any details about me or any of my writings4 ,in deference to ,mr4 ,l----'s wish1 therefore1 his contributions to the ,journal have been withdrawn1 and all further references to him deleted4 ,captain ,b---- had no experiences1 and by his desire some interesting suggestions made by him as to possible normal causes have been omitted4 ,we are now sleeping as follows3-- #a4 ,captain ,b----4 #b4 ,miss ,langton4 #c4 ,miss ,duff4 #d4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 #e4 ,myself4 #f4 ,mr4 ,l----4 #g4 ,colonel ,c----4 ,miss ,duff writes under this date3-- ,last night ,i sat late by my fire expecting1 but as nothing seemed to be going to happen ,i went to bed1 and soon to sleep4 ,however1 ,i was to have my most startling experience6 ,i was awakened as if by some one violently shaking my bed 7,i must mention there was a great wind blowing outside71 and at the same time ,i felt something press heavily upon me4 ,i struck out6 rather frightened1 but remembering again where ,i was1 refrained from striking a light1 in order to see the next development of this weird experience4 ,to my disappointment nothing happened1 although sleep was successfully banished till daylight4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on ,march #bhth ,miss ,duff wrote to me3 ,mr4 ---- suggested that ,i should describe to you more accurately the shaking of my bed1 as it was not at all such a vibration as might be caused by a high wind or any ordinary movement occurring in other parts of the ,house4 ,the bed seemed to heave in the centre1 as if there were some force under it1 which raised it in the centre and rocked it violently for a moment and then let it sink again4 ,i should also have added1 that on other nights quite as windy this phenomenon did not occur2 in fact1 no movement ,i have ever felt has given me quite the same sensation4 ,the highest point on the ',switchback' is the nearest to it in my experience4 ,i was wide awake at the time1 so it was no nightmare4 99 99 99 99 99 ,miss ,duff thus continues her account of ,tuesday1 ,march #bcrd3-- ,this morning1 as ,i sat in the drawing-room1 ,i heard the low1 monotonous voice of some one reading aloud4 ,knowing that ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton were writing in the next room1 ,i concluded that ,miss ,freer must be dictating while ,miss ,langton wrote for her1 although ,i must say ,i did not recognise ,miss ,freer's voice4 ,this went on for about an hour4 ,soon after ,miss ,langton came into the drawing-room1 and ,i said1 ',well1 you have been busy2 ,i suppose ,miss ,freer has been dictating to you8' ,she looked surprised and said1 ',no1 indeed she hasn't2 we have both been writing1 and if ,miss ,freer spoke at all1 it was only a few words now and again4' ,this low monotonous sound of a human voice ,i afterwards heard once or twice in ,room #c4 ,march #bdth1 ,wednesday4--,last night ,i heard a crash as of something falling from the dome into the hall1 about twenty minutes to twelve4 ,at breakfast ,colonel ,c---- said he had heard a loud thump on his door at an early hour--before six1 when wide awake4 ,mr4 ,w---- also had had an experience4 ,he heard sounds outside his room1 and went to investigate4 ,on returning he found the kitten in his room1 but1 sceptic as he is1 he acknowledged freely that the kitten1 a wee thing1 could not have produced the sounds he heard4 ,copy of letter from ,mr4 ,w---- to ,mr4 ,mac,p----4 ,march #bdth1 #ahig4-- 444 ,in case it may interest ,miss ,freer to know what ,i thought of the noises ,i heard in ,no4 #a prior to the kitten incident1 the following states my recollections shortly3 ,the first noise was about half-past four1 and resembled two small explosions1 such as a fire sometimes makes4 ,they followed one another closely1 and came from the direction of the fireplace or the south-west corner of the room4 ,i got up and looked at the fire1 and it was all but out2 but ,i would not like to swear that the noises did not come from it4 ,as to the other noise1 it occurred about a quarter to six1 and was quite loud4 ,it sounded as if one of the large1 deer heads on the staircase wall had fallen down and rolled a step or two4 ,i cannot understand how some of the others did not hear the noise1 but ,i heard and saw nothing when ,i went out of my room to see what it was4 ,i should add1 that in this case1 as well as in the former one1 ,i was awake when the noise occurred4 ,if ,i had heard these noises in any other house ,i would not have thought of noticing them1 but it might be curious to see if they are the same that have been heard in that room already4 ,after breakfast ,i heard of a great excitement among the servants1 and taking ,miss ,langton with me1 to serve as witness and to take notes1 ,i interviewed separately the three concerned1 as well as the cook1 to whom they had told the story also4 ,it is worth while to mention that ,i have several times heard the kitchenmaid complained of as lacking in respect for her betters--in scoffing at their reports of phenomena4 ,only yesterday ,mrs4 ,robinson told me she had not mentioned several things 7bell-ringing1 a knock at her door1 c47 because it upset her authority in the kitchen to exhibit interest in such things4 ,all the stories were consistent1 and no cross-questioning upset the evidence4 ,they were distinctly in earnest4 ,the three maids and a temporary servant1 ,m----1 belonging to the district1 went up to their rooms about #aj4cj4 ,the two housemaids sleep together in ,z1 ,lizzie1 the kitchenmaid1 separately1 in a room adjoining in ,y4 ,directly after getting into bed all heard knockings1 and they called out between the rooms to each other4 ,lizzie stayed awake1 and looking up towards the ceiling had what sounds like a hypna-gogic hallucination1 of a cloud which changed rapidly in colour1 shape1 and size1 and alarmed her greatly4 ,then she felt her clothes pulled off1 but thought this might be accidental1 and tucked them in4 ,then she was sure they were pulled off again1 and screamed to the other maids4 ,neither dared go to her1 her screams were so terrifying2 but they finally opened the door of communication between the rooms1 and ,carter went to fetch the temporary assistant from the other end of the corridor1 because she was such a good-living girl 7particular about fasting in ,lent1 ,i gather74 ,the three then returned for the kitchenmaid1 and all spent the night in the housemaid's room4 ,the upper housemaid went to ,miss ,langton's room this morning1 ,i hear1 much upset and crying1 and there can be no doubt of the conviction of all the maids4 ,for the future they wish to occupy one room4 ,the cook1 sleeping on the ground floor below ,no4 #c1 heard footsteps and knockings1 and awoke her husband1 but he heard nothing4 ,she diagnosed it as being about the door of ,miss ',duff's' room 7,no4 #c above74 ,she thought it was outside of her door1 but was not sure4 ,it was just after midnight4 ,miss ,duff writes on the same day3-- ,last night ,i had just got into bed1 when ,i heard footsteps1 so1 always on the alert for phenomena1 ,i listened and was relieved 78 disappointed would be better67 to hear ,mr4 ---- cough1 so ,i settled down to sleep4 ,a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes later 7about twelve o'clock7 ,i again heard steps1 but this time they came from the back-stair and shuffled past my room1 and then ,i heard a loud fall against what seemed to me the door of room ,no4 #a1 which is practically next door to mine4,e ,i went to listen1 but not a sound was to be heard1 and ,i saw no one4 ,it could not have been the gentleman who was occupying that room ,mr4 ,w----1 as ,i heard him 7with others7 come up a quarter of an hour later and go into his room4 ,although the fall seemed against the door of ,no4 #a1 ,i must add that the depth and quality of the noise was as if a large body had fallen far away1 of which we only1 as it were1 heard the echo1 but that quite distinctly on the door of ,no4 #a4 ,miss ,langton testifies to being disturbed by the same sounds in ,no4 #b1 the dressing-room between ,miss ,duff's room and ,mr4 ,w----'s4 ,miss ,duff continues3-- ,march #beth4--,last night ,i felt my bed shake1 as if some one had taken it in both hands1 but as there was a high wind1 ,i did not take much notice of this4 ,i have had my bed shaken violently in that room once before1 however1 when there was no wind at all4 ,mr4 ,mac,p---- and ,captain ,b---- left4 ,the only phenomenon to be noted under this date is the following record by ,miss ,langton3-- ,i heard a loud thump at the door of communication between ,nos4 #a and #b when dressing for dinner1 but on going into ,no4 #a found it quite empty4 ,a curious point about these noises is that the knocks on the door between ,nos4 #a and #b have been audible in this room1 ,no4 #b 7in my experience7 only when ,no4 #a is empty1 and in ,no4 #a only when ,no4 #b is empty4 ,march #bfth1 ,friday4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,miss ,duff writes on the same day3-- ,as ,i was talking to ,miss ,langton at the door of her room 7,no4 #b7 on my way to dress for dinner1 a double bang on the door came from the inside of room ,no4 #a1 which was the one ,captain ,b---- had occupied1 and where he had heard nothing4 ,at the same moment ,miss ,langton called out that there had been a bang on the door between her room and ,no4 #a4 ,for a moment ,i hesitated to go in1 but a housemaid came down the corridor at that moment to see what the noise was she had heard1 and we investigated together1 but to no purpose4 ,miss ,langton writes further under this date3-- ,i heard three distinct bangs at the lower part of the door of my room leading into the corridor4 ,i described it to myself as a person coming along the corridor towards ,no4 #b1 walking in an unsteady way1 and as if he could not see where he was going1 and then walking straight against the door of my room and banging his foot against it4 ,miss ',duff' this morning acted at our request as ,i have just described1 and the noise she made was an exact reproduction of what ,i heard last night4 ,the bang occurred at three intervals--at #aa4ce1 #aa4de1 and #aa4ej4 ,march #bgth1 ,saturday4--,mr4 ---- and ,miss ,duff left4 ,miss ,langton and ,i are now alone4 ,miss ,duff was undisturbed last night4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,there was very little wind last night1 as ,i happen to know in the following connection4 ,carter twice over1 about #aa4cj and again after midnight1 heard the sounds of reading1 which she imitated to me this morning--like the monotoning of a psalm4 ,she called out to two other maids to listen1 and all three heard it4 ,she felt sure it was not the wind or the pipes4 ,both the gardener and the gamekeeper say it was a very quiet night4 ,march #bhth1 ,sunday4--,as it had been suggested that practical joking or malicious mischief were in question1 we were a good deal on the qui vive to-night1 being alone4 ,i watched from behind the curtain at an open window from #aj4cj ,p4,m4 till after midnight1 and again from #d4cj ,a4,m4 to #f ,a4,m4 ,the night was windy and there was a good deal of noise1 but very different in kind from any of our usual phenomena4 ,we found that there were people moving about till after midnight1 but we did not attach much importance to this1 as the gardeners may have been to the stoves 7the night was frosty71 and there is a right-of-way through the grounds4 ,no phenomena4 ,the servants1 we find1 are alive to the fact that some one prowls about at night4 ,the footman1 who sleeps downstairs1 says they have tried to frighten him1 and things have been thrown at the kitchen windows4 ,i found it out by the fact that ,i was seized by the butler and footman when ,i went out prowling on ,sunday night1 fancying ,i had heard footsteps4 ,they were on the same errand1 and caught me in the dark6 ,march #bith1 ,monday4--,to-day ,miss ,langton and ,i have been very busy writing in the library1 both silent and occupied4 ,again and again have we heard footsteps overhead in ,no4 #h1 at intervals between ten ,a4,m4 and one1 and again in the evening between six and seven4 ,no rooms are in use on that side of the house--#f1 #g1 and #h are all empty4 ,the rooms below are locked up and shuttered4 ,at #aa4cj we both heard some one moving about outside on the gravel1 but it was too dark a night to see any one4 ,friday1 ,april #bnd--,an unpleasant light has 7possibly7 been thrown on these movements4 ,we find to-day that some one has killed a sheep in the garden1 in a retired spot1 taking away the skin and the meat4 ,march #cjth1 ,tuesday4--,no phenomena1 except the sound of steps overhead above the library4 ,for this reason1 ,miss ,langton is going to sleep in ,no4 #h1 where the steps occur4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,m---- came4 ,we were particularly glad to welcome ,mrs4 ,m---- for other reasons than the pleasure of her society4 ,she is of ,spanish origin1 and a ,roman ,catholic1 and according to previous evidence1 so were other persons upon whom specially interesting phenomena had been bestowed4 ,mr4 ,b4 ,s---- and ,miss ,v4 ,s----1 brother and sister of the owner1 dined with us4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,march #cast1 ,wednesday4--,mr4 and ,mrs ,m---- were put into ,no4 #a4 ,both complain of a very sleepless night4 ,miss ,langton in ,no4 #h heard sounds after daylight--footsteps shuffling round the bed1 and a knock near the wardrobe4 ,no one is overhead nor in ,no4 #g1 the next room4 ,mrs4 ,m---- spent two hours alone in the drawing-room4 ,she asked me just before lunch what guns those were she had heard4 ,i suggested ,the keeper8 and she said1 ,no1 it is like the gun you hear at ,edinburgh at one o'clock a long way off1 which is a good description of the familiar detonating sound 7cf4 under date1 ,february #h74 ,her own account of the day is as follows3-- ,b---- ,,house4 ,i arrived here last evening1 ,tuesday1 #cjth of ,march1 about six o'clock4 ,it was a nice bright evening1 but cold4 ,i was received by ,miss ,freer1 who gave me some tea1 and then ,i was taken to my bedroom by ,miss ,langton1 of whom ,i asked if my room was haunted4 ,she said it had 'a reputation'1 but somehow or another it did not seem to impress me much4 ,that night ,miss ,s---- and her brother dined here2 they were very pleasant1 and talked away hard1 and we played card games1 such as ',old ,maid' and ',muggins4' ,we went to bed feeling quite happy1 saying we had never been in such an unghostly house before4 ,the bed was quite comfortable1 and we lay talking quite happily1 but could not sleep1 and were not in the least bit restless4 ,about two o'clock we dozed off1 and a few minutes to four ,a4,m4 we were both suddenly awoke by a terrific noise1 which sounded to me like the lid of the coal-scuttle having caught in a woman's gown4 ,we then lay awake until about #f4cj1 and in that interval we heard a few noises1 what ,i cannot exactly describe1 as they were very ordinary sounds one might hear in any not very solidly built house4 ,we came down to breakfast feeling we had passed a sleepless night1 but otherwise quite happy4 ,after breakfast ,i went into the smoking-room in the new wing1 where my husband was writing letters4 ,i sat there a good time1 and he was in and out of the room4 ,all the time ,i heard tramping up above as if the housemaid was doing the room4 ,not knowing the geography of the house ,i took it for ,no4 #h4 and thought what very noisy servants these were4 ,i then went into the drawing-room to write my own letters1 and ,miss ,freer came and spoke to me there4 ,while she was with me there1 ,i heard a distant cannon1 exactly like the one o'clock gun in ,edinburgh1 and the whole morning a ceaseless chatter1 which ,i put down to ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton in the room next door 7cf4 under date1 ,march #bcrd74 ,april #ast1 ,thursday4--,this is ,mrs4 ,m----'s account of last night4 ,last evening we were late for dinner1 as ,mr4 ,m---- and ,i had been out to see the nun by the burn1 but had seen nothing4 ,the whole evening ,i had a sort of half consciously disagreeable feeling1 and when ,i went to my room it was some time before ,i could make up my mind to get into bed4 ,the servants very much annoyed me2 they were making such a needless amount of noise in running about the room overhead4 ,the room overhead was empty4 ,since their adventure of ,march #bcrd1 the servants had slept on the other side of the house4 ,at last ,i got into bed1 and ,i may say ,i hardly slept a wink the whole night4 ,i simply lay in terror1 of what ,i cannot say1 but ,i had the feeling of some very disagreeable sensation in the air1 but we did not hear a sound all night from the time we got into bed until we got up next morning at #h4cj4 ,i spent the whole of the morning in the drawing-room writing letters and reading1 and from time to time ,i went up to ,no4 #a to get books and different things1 and each time was a little surprised to find the room empty1 as there had been a ceaseless noise of housemaids1 and very noisy ones too4 ,i also heard what ,i had described before as the cannon4 ,after luncheon ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton and ,i went out walking1 and just as we were coming in to tea we all three heard the cannon1 and then ,i said that is the noise ,i heard every morning1 and sometimes in the evening1 in the drawing-room4 ,this afternoon we were having tea in the drawing-room at #d4cj1 ,mrs4 ,m----1 ,miss ,langton1 and myself4 ,we heard some one walking overhead in ,no4 #a1 a sound we have heard often before1 when we knew the room to be empty above4 ,mrs4 ,m---- remarked that it was just the sound she had heard1 again and again1 when sitting alone in the drawing-room4 ,it was so exactly the heavy1 heelless steps we had heard before1 that ,miss ,l---- ran upstairs softly to see if any one was there1 but found no one about4 ,next we heard a loud bang--not of a door--in the hall1 and she went out again to ascertain the cause1 and met the butler on the same errand4 ,we could find nothing to account for it4 ,it was like the noise before described1 of something dropped heavily into the hall from the gallery above4 ,there had been so much trouble of ascertaining whether the noises were caused by doors banging1 that since the warmer weather set in1 ever since our return on ,march #bjth1 in fact1 we have had every passage-door opening into the hall and into the gallery upstairs fixed open with wedges4 ,we had scarcely settled to our tea again before we again heard the footsteps overhead1 and again ,miss ,langton went up and found the room empty4 ,she walked across the room1 and we heard her do so1 but the sound was quite different4 ,she did it noisily on purpose1 but though she is very big and tall1 she didn't sound heavy enough4 ,mrs4 ,m---- remarks1 on hearing this read over1 that the sound was different in character as well as in volume--that the footsteps she 7and we7 heard were between a run and a walk4 ,my phrase was1 and has always been1 as of the quick1 heavy steps of a person whose foot-gear didn't match4 ,we called it1 when we first heard it in ,no4 #h1 a shuffling step4 ,after she came down the servants' tea-bell rang1 and we at once said1 ,now we shall know where they all are4 ,the hall is under the wing1 at the other end of the house1 and we knew that the room underneath us was empty1 and the shutters up1 and that all who were in the house were either in the drawing-room or the servants' hall4 ,in a few minutes we again heard the pacing footsteps1 up and down1 up and down2 we heard them at intervals during half-an-hour4 ,we also heard voices as of a man and woman talking4 ,i went to the foot of the stairs1 just below the door of ,no4 #a1 and heard them plain4 ,mrs4 ,m---- is not quick of hearing1 but she heard them distinctly several times4 ,at #e4bj we heard the maids go up the stone staircase1 coming away from their tea1 and though we listened till after six1 the other sounds did not occur again4 ,april #bnd1 ,friday4 ,mr4 ,m---- left early1 ,mrs4 ,m---- remaining till a later train4 ,at #aa4ae ,miss ,langton and ,i were in the library at two different tables writing4 ,the room was silent4 ,suddenly we heard a heavy blow struck on a third table1 ten feet at least away from either of us4 ,i instantly fetched ,mrs4 ,m----1 and in her hearing ,miss ,langton imitated the sound on the same table1 by hitting with her fist as heavily as possible4 ,there is a drawer in the table1 empty1 which added to the vibration1 and also pendent brass handles4 ,i tried1 but could not make noise enough4 ,we kept watch in the room till lunch1 ,mrs4 ,m---- keeping guard when we were obliged to leave1 but nothing happened till1 when we were sitting at luncheon 7there is only a single door and a curtain between the two rooms71 we heard it again as above described4 ,one of the informants1 who described the scene which occurred the day the late ,mr4 ,s---- left this house for the last time1 said a very heavy blow like a man's fist came on the table between them4 ,this is the same room4 ,the same sound occurred again while we were at lunch in the dining-room just now4 ,the first time ,miss ,langton rushed to the library and found a housemaid there at the stove1 so we agreed it should not count4 ,it occurred again in about five minutes1 and again she went into the room 7which is next the dining-room7 and found it empty and no one in the hall4 ,mrs4 ,m----1 whom ,i asked to locate the sound1 pointed to just that part of the wall by the table upon which the knock had struck4 ,signed 7as correct7 by ,mrs4 ,m---- and ,miss ,langton4 7,i have since asked the housemaid if she heard anything1 and she says no1 she was making too much noise herself4 ,we all heard it distinctly1 above the clatter of the fire-irons47 ,on ,april #ith ,mr4 ,m---- sent me the following account of his impressions3-- 444 ,you ask me to describe the noises ,i heard while staying with you at ,b----4 ,i should say1 in the first place1 that ,i am a good1 but light1 sleeper2 ,i seldom lie awake1 am generally asleep five minutes after going to bed1 but wake easily1 and awake at once to full consciousness4 ,i am not the least nervous1 and have often slept in so-called 'haunted' rooms ,mr4 ,m---- has had very exceptional opportunities in this direction2 and while ,i certainly cannot say that ,i altogether disbelieve in what are commonly called 'ghosts1' ,i do believe that in nine cases out of ten1 noises1 and even appearances1 may1 if investigated1 be traced to perfectly normal causes4 ,we spent three nights at ,b----3 ,march #cjth and #cast1 and ,april #ast4 ,the first two nights room ,no4 #a was our bedroom1 and the third night room ,no4 #h4 ,room ,no4 #b was my dressing-room4 ,when talking to you and ,miss ,langton at the top of the stairs1 just before going to bed1 we all of us heard noises--rappings--coming apparently from ,no4 #b4 ,the noises were very undoubted1 but as we were talking at the time ,i cannot define them more accurately4 ,when first going to bed1 both nights in ,no4 #a1 we heard footsteps and voices apparently in conversation above us4 ,the sounds seemed to come from a room which was over the bed1 but did not extend as far as the fireplace in ,no4 #a1 and also from the room which would be above the room next to ours behind the bed4 ,the rooms overhead were empty4 ,cf4 under date ,april #ast4 ,these noises ,i attributed at the time1 and still attribute1 to the maids going to bed4 ,i am bound to say1 however1 that they were heard both by ,mrs4 ,m---- and her maid1 who was in ,no4 #a with her1 during the daytime1 at an hour when it was said no servants were upstairs4 ,these voices and footsteps did not go on for long into the night4 ,for 7,i should say7 some hours during the night of the #cjth1 ,i frequently heard a sound which seemed to come from near the fireplace1 and which ,i can best describe as a gentle tap on a drum--like some one tuning the kettle-drum in an orchestra4 ,i do not think ,mrs4 ,m---- heard this noise1 for though she slept very badly1 she was dozing a good deal during the first half of the night4 ,at #c4ee ,a4,m4 ,i was in a state of semi-consciousness1 when both ,i and ,mrs4 ,m---- were fully roused by a noise so loud that ,i wonder it did not wake people sleeping in other parts of the house4 ,it seemed to come either from the door between ,no4 #a and #b1 or from between that door and the fireplace4 ,to me it sounded like a kind of treble rap on a hollow panel1 but far louder than any one could rap with their knuckles4 ,my wife described it as the sound of some one whose gown had caught the lid of a heavy coal-scuttle and let it fall4 ,this noise was not repeated1 and by a treble rap ,i mean the sound was like an arpeggio chord4 ,i feel certain it was not against the false window outside1 indeed it had the sound of being in the room4 ,the kettle-drum sounds might easily have been a trick of the wind1 though the night was still1 but the only natural explanation of this noise that ,i can give is practical joking1 as the noise might have come from my dressing-room4 ,the coal-scuttle was standing between the fireplace and door-post1 just where the sound seemed to come from4 ,the second night ,i moved the scuttle right away to between the head of the bed and the window1 and the noise was not repeated4 ,the second night the talking and footsteps were both heard when first we went up2 and once1 shortly after all was still1 early in the night4 ,nevertheless we again both of us slept very badly indeed--,i may say that except from about #f to #h ,a4,m4 ,i slept very little either night4 ,i should say that all through both nights ,i frequently heard the owls hooting--both the tawny owl and another1 which ,i think was the little owl2 the former on one occasion was very close to the window1 and any one with a vivid imagination or unacquainted with the cry of the owl 7and1 strange as it may seem1 a country-bred girl1 staying at ,l---- the other day1 did not know the owls' cry when she heard it71 might well take it for shrieks4 ,n4,b4--,no one ever heard shrieks during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy at ,b----4 ,the third night1 as ,i have said1 we were in ,no4 #h1 and both of us slept like tops1 and heard or saw nothing4 ,one morning1 in the smoking-room in the east wing1 ,i heard voices which seemed to come from above1 but which ,i am convinced were from the kitchen beneath4 ,as you know1 ',ishbel' was not kind enough to show herself to me4444 ,p4,s4--,i wrote the above without reading over my wife's account4 ,i have only to add that ,i had none of the uncomfortable sensations she talks of4 ,bodily and mentally ,i was comfortable all night4 ,nor was ,i in the least restless--only wakeful4 ,but for the noises1 ,b---- certainly strikes one as a very unghostly house4 ,april #crd1 ,saturday4--,miss ,langton and ,i heard footsteps walking up and down overhead at dinner-time last night1 in ,no4 #g1 a room which is not in use4 ,we looked at each other1 but did not at first say anything1 on account of the presence of the servants4 ,after it had gone on for at least ten minutes1 ,i asked the butler if he had heard them4 ,he at once said1 ,yes1 and might he go and see if any one were about8 ,we heard him go upstairs and open the door of the room1 and walk across it1 but his step was quite different from the sound we had heard4 ,he came back saying1 ,the housemaid had been in to draw the blind down since we had been at dinner4 ,i have questioned her since1 and she says she simply went in and out again--was not there half a minute4 ,about four o'clock this afternoon1 ,miss ,langton ran in from the garden where we were gathering fir-cones1 to fetch a basket out of the library1 and heard so much noise going on in the drawing-room that she went in to investigate4 ,it was empty and silent4 ,the noise was a violent hammering on the door between the two rooms on the drawing-room side4 ,the two rooms below the library and drawing-room were empty1 and shuttered 7the smoking-room and billiard-room71 ,no4 #a was disused 7over the drawing-room71 and ,miss ,langton found no one in ,no4 #h 7over the library74 ,she came back and told me at once4 ,i have now had the following rooms locked up and the keys taken away by the butler3-- ,ground floor3 ,all the wing and drawing-room4 ,above3 #b1 #c1 #d1 #f1 and #g4 7,i am sleeping in ,no4 #e1 ,miss ,langton in ,no4 #h47 ,basement3 ,smoking and billiard rooms4 ,mr4 ,t---- arrived in the afternoon4 ,we were all out till dinner-time4 ,while at dinner1 we all three1 as well as the butler1 heard steps walking overhead in ,no4 #g1 as we did last night4 ,april #dth1 ,sunday4--,i was wakened early this morning by the sound of a crash4 ,as it was mixed with my dreams ,i did not think it worth while to get up and investigate1 but looked at my watch4 ,it was twenty minutes to six4 ,five minutes later ,i heard another crash under the dome--of the kind so often described--and looked out1 but the house was perfectly still4 ,i heard the servants come down about seven o'clock4 ,miss ,langton1 sleeping in ,no4 #h1 describes the same sounds at the same moment4 ,mr4 ,b4 ,s---- and ,miss ,s----1 brother and sister of the proprietor1 called4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,mr4 ,t---- writes under this date3-- ,april #dth1 ,sunday4--,i heard footsteps overhead last evening while at dinner4 ,sleeping in ,no4 #a4 ,to bed about #aa ,p4,m4 ,to sleep in about half-an-hour4 ,meanwhile ,i heard sounds as of reading aloud in ,no4 #h4 ,woke at #f4bj4 ,heard voices in ,no4 #h again4 ,april #eth1 ,monday4--,mr4 ,t---- said at breakfast that he had heard sounds as of some one reading in ,miss ,langton's room1 ,no4 #h1 between #aa4j and #aa4cj ,p4,m41 and again the sound of voices from the same room in the morning4 ,miss ,langton was alone1 nor1 as we have proved--7see under date ,march #bnd7--could any sound of reading or speaking have been heard1 had any really existed4 ,april #fth1 ,tuesday4--,mr4 ,t---- writes under this date3-- ,to my room last night about #aa ,p4,m4 ,loud thuds on the floor above me1 and a heavy thud against the door dividing my room 7,no4 #a7 from the dressing-room beyond 7,no4 #b74 ,i went out and listened at the servants' staircase4 ,they were talking1 but not moving about4 ,i learnt on inquiry that they were all in bed by #aj4cj4--;,a4,g4,f4 ,i went to sleep immediately after ,i got to bed1 but woke up later with a violent start1 as if by a loud noise1 though ,i heard nothing4 ,i waited a few minutes and then looked at my watch4 ,it was #ab4cj4 ,i heard voices talking pretty loud4 ,i was awake over three-quarters of an hour1 then slept till #e4cj4 ,mr4 ,b4 ,s---- was out fishing with ,mr4 ,t---- in the morning1 and came in to lunch and again to dinner4 ,in the evening ,i had a good deal of talk with him4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,this afternoon ,mrs4 ----1 a lady well acquainted with the neighbourhood1 came to tea4 ,she asked me about the hauntings1 and said they were matter of common talk in the district4 ,she also told me that in the late ,mr4 ,s----'s time it had been alleged that the disturbances were intentional annoyances1 though she agreed it was rather a sustained effort4 ,i also called to say good-bye to ,mrs4 ,s4----1 to whom ,i remarked that1 though ,i could not doubt the existence of phenomena at ,b----1 we had been most comfortable1 and had greatly liked the place4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,early this morning 7,i am still sleeping in ,no4 #e7 ,i heard the familiar crash under the dome4 ,it was about #b4cj4 ,mr4 ,t---- said at breakfast that he had heard it too4 ,wednesday #gth4--,mr4 ,t---- writes under this date3-- ,to bed about eleven4 ,to sleep at once4 ,awakened at #b4cj by a terrific crash1 and the sound of voices4 ,a little later ,i heard light raps at the foot of my door1 as if a dog had wagged his tail against it4 ,looked out1 saw nothing2 very disturbed night4 ,april #hth1 ,thursday4--,mr4 ,t---- writes1 ,woke last night at #ab4cj4 ,heard nothing1 but slept very badly4 ,i may mention that ,i am1 as a rule1 a very sound sleeper1 and as ,i had taken a lot of exercise every day--fishing1 shooting1 cycling1 and walking1 from breakfast-time to dark--there was no reason why ,i should not sleep4 ,mr4 ,t---- had been out the whole of this day with the keepers--heather burning--and was obviously dead tired when he went to bed4 ,it is curious that even when not disturbed1 he should have slept so badly1 but sleepless and nameless discomfort has assailed most persons in ,no4 #a1 though the room is large and airy4 ,april #hth1 ,thursday4--,we had planned to leave yesterday1 but it was borne in upon me that to-day being the anniversary of the ,major's death1 it would be a pity--on the hypothesis of there being anything supernormal in these phenomena--that the house should not be under observation to-night4 ,in the morning the ,land-steward called1 having heard from ,mrs4 ,s---- that we had heard footsteps about the house at night1 and that ,i had several times observed a disreputable-looking man about the place1 whom ,i knew not to be one of the farm-servants4 ,the admissions hitherto made by him1 and by ---- and ----1 as to some of the phenomena1 carry the evidence back for over twenty years4 ,i don't know whether we have been specially on the qui vive to-day1 but we seem to have heard bangs and crashes and footsteps overhead all day1 though all the rooms1 except ,nos4 #a1 #e1 and #h are locked up--,mr4 ,t---- occupies ,no4 #a1 ,miss ,langton ,no4 #h1 ,i ,no4 #e4 ,acting upon the hints given us by ---- and ----1 ,i thought the downstairs smoking-room ought to be specially under observation to-day4 ,i was suffering from acute headache1 and was obliged to lie down in my own room from lunch-time to dinner1 and this smoking-room1 which is known as the ,major's room1 was the only sitting-room in use4 ,a few minutes before dinner1 ,i went down and busied myself in putting my camera to rights4 ,it was a delicate piece of work1 and when ,i saw a black dog1 which ,i supposed for the moment to be ,spooks 7my ,pomeranian71 run across the room towards my left1 ,i stopped1 fearing that she would shake the little table on which the camera stood4 ,i immediately saw another dog1 really ,spooks this time1 run towards it from my right1 with her ears pricked4 ,miss ,langton also observed this1 and said1 ,what is ,spooks after8 or something of that sort4 ,a piece of furniture prevented my seeing their meeting1 and ,spooks came back directly1 wagging her tail4 ,the other dog was larger than ,spooks1 though it also had long black hair1 and might have been a small spaniel4 ,it was not till after we had left ,b---- that we learned that the ,major's favourite dog was a black spaniel4 ,after dinner we returned to this room4 ,i had intended to try ,ouija and the crystal1 but was in too much pain to make this possible1 and ,miss ,langton felt she could not do it alone2 it was as much as ,i could do to sit up at all1 but1 by a strong effort of will1 ,i was able to remain downstairs till after midnight4 ,i was still occasionally suffering from the results of my accident4 ,we sat in front of the fire1 playing a round game4 ,about nine we all three heard footsteps coming from the south-west corner and going towards the door2 ,i held up my hand for silence1 but ,i could see1 from the direction of their eyes1 that they heard the sounds as ,i did--even the dog looked up and watched4 ,the steps were those of a rather heavy person in heelless shoes1 who walked to the door1 and came back again1 passed close behind ,mr4 ,t----'s chair1 crossed the hearth-rug just in front of me1 and stopped at or about the north-east corner1 but--it seemed--remained in the room1 behind ,miss ,langton's chair4 ,we heard them again about #aj4cj2 we also heard sounds several times during the evening of the talking of a man and woman4 ,three times over ,miss ,langton and ,mr4 ,t---- went out to listen1 but the house was perfectly quiet1 and though we were on the same floor with the servants1 there had been1 the whole time1 three closed doors between us and their quarters in the wing1 which also was in the direction opposite that from which the sounds came 7the present billiard-room74 ,about #aj4de1 ,miss ,langton and ,i went up to the dining-room in search of refreshment2 everything upstairs seemed perfectly still1 and the servants had long before gone to bed4 ,mr4 ,t---- followed us up1 and as we went back to the smoking-room1 the voices seemed to be in high argument just inside4 ,we could distinguish no words1 though the timbre of the voices is perfectly clear in my memory4 ,about #ab4bj we went to bed4 ,i had intended to sit up in ,no4 #h1 but found ,i was not equal to it1 and ,miss ,langton would not accept my offer of sleeping there with her4 ,she was therefore there alone1 ,i in ,no4 #e1 and ,mr4 ,t---- in ,no4 #a4 ,i had not been many minutes in my room when ,i heard the familiar loud crash as of something falling into the hall1 under the dome1 and rushed out immediately--the house was perfectly still4 ,we had left a small lamp burning in the corridor4 ,mr4 ,t---- said1 next morning1 that he had also came out at the sound1 but must have been later than ,i1 as he was just in time to see my door shut4 ,about twenty minutes after1 ,i heard the shuffling footsteps come up the stairs1 and pause near my door2 ,i opened it1 and saw nothing1 but was so definitely conscious of the presence of a personality1 that ,i addressed it in terms which need not be set down here1 but of which ,i may say that they were intended to be of the utmost seriousness1 while helpful and encouraging4 ,i may add1 that ,i knew from experience of the acoustic qualities of the house1 that ,i should not be audible to those in ,nos4 #a or #h4 ,absolutely1 while ,i was speaking1 the voices we had heard downstairs became audible again1 this time it seemed to me outside the door of ,no4 #h2 they were certainly the same voices1 but seemed to be consciously lowered4 7,miss ,langton's account will show that she heard voices and footsteps outside her door at about this time47 ,i was asleep before the clock struck two1 but was awakened again about #c4cj1 and was kept awake for more than an hour by various sounds in the house4 ,roughly speaking1 these were of two kinds3 one1 those of distant clangs and crashes which we have heard many times in varying intensity1 loudest of all on our first night and on this4 ,the other 7more human in association71 knocks at the door1 thuds on the lower panels within1 say1 two feet of the ground2 footsteps1 not as before1 but rapid and as of many feet1 and again the same voices4 ,the night was perfectly still1 and ,i could clearly differentiate the cries of the owl 7of two kinds1 ,i think71 the kestrel hawk1 and even of the rabbits on the lawn4 ,i went to the windows and looked out1 but the night was quite dark1 and the dawn was grey and misty4 ,about #e4de ,i fell asleep1 and did not wake till my tea came up at #g4cj1 when ,i asked the maid if she had been disturbed1 and she replied that the servants had been extra busy the day before1 had gone to bed early1 and had slept soundly4 ,miss ,langton and ,mr4 ,t---- attest the above as a correct account of our experience1 so far as they were concerned4 ,the following is from ,miss ,langton's private diary3-- ,miss ,freer1 ,mr4 ,t----1 and ,i all agreed that1 as it was the anniversary of the old ,major's death1 we would sit to-night in his own sitting-room1 which we always call 'the downstairs smoking-room4' ,just before dinner1 ,miss ,freer1 who was sitting between the writing-table and fireplace1 suddenly called out1 ',what is ,spooks running after8' and then she said that there were two black dogs in the room1 and that the other dog was larger than ,spooks she said1 'like a spaniel4' ,after dinner we three sat round the fire and played games2 suddenly one of us called out1 ',listen to those footsteps1' and then we distinctly heard a heavy man walking round the room1 coming apparently from the direction of the safe1 in the wall adjoining the billiard room1 and then walking towards the door1 passing between us and the fireplace in front of which we were sitting4 ,it was a very curious sensation1 for the steps came so very close1 and yet we saw nothing4 ,footsteps died away1 and we resumed our game4 ,three times over we distinctly heard outside the door the voices of a man and woman1 apparently in anger1 for their voices were loud and rough4 ,each time we jumped up at once and opened the door quietly--there was nothing to be seen2 the passage was in total darkness1 all the servants having gone to bed 7the last time was nearly eleven o'clock74 ,we certified this fact by making an expedition into the kitchen regions4 ,we then returned to the smoking-room1 and not long after the footsteps again began in exactly the same direction4 ,this time they lasted a longer time4 ,i slept in ,no4 #h1 and was so tired ,i slept pretty well1 but before going to sleep1 just before one o'clock1 ,i heard the sound of a heavy man in slippers come down the corridor and stop near my door1 and then the sound as of a long argument in subdued voices1 a man and a woman4 ,on ,april #ith ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton left ,b---- in order to pass ,easter elsewhere1 and ,mr4 ,t---- left with them4 ,during ,miss ,freer's absence the house was occupied for some days by the eminent classical scholar ,mr4 ,f4,w4,h4 ,myers1 late ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 one of her ,majesty's ,inspectors of ,schools1 and ,hon4 ,sec4 to the ,s4,p4,r4 ,it is well known that the ,s4,p4,r4 is very greatly indebted to ,mr4 ,myers for his most valuable services for many years as ,hon4 ,sec41 and for his many important contributions to its literature4 ,he has1 however1 of late years somewhat alienated the sympathies of many of its members1 by the extent to which he has introduced into its ,proceedings the reports of spiritualist phenomena1 and the lucubrations of mediums4 ,the original rules of the society would appear to exclude the employment of hired mediums1 and it is difficult to distinguish ,mrs4 ,piper1 and certain other subjects of experiment1 from this class4 ,the differences1 however1 between ,mr4 ,myers and some of the members do not stop at this point1 for his preference for the experiences of female mediums1 whether hired or gratuitous1 would appear to amount to an indifference to spontaneous phenomena1 an indifference that is distinctly and rapidly progressive4 ,mr4 ,myers1 however1 appeared to take considerable interest in the phenomena of ,b----1 and on ,march #ac1 #ahig1 after reading the journal for the first five weeks1 the only part of the evidence which has been submitted to him1 or indeed to any member of the ,council of the ,s4,p4,r41 he wrote to ,miss ,freer3-- ,it is plain that the ,b---- case is of great interest4 ,i hope we may have a discussion of it at ,s4,p4,r4 general meeting1 ,may #bhth1 #h4cj1 and perhaps ,july #bnd1 #d ,p4,m41 also4 ,till then1 ,i would suggest1 we will not put forth our experiences to the public1 unless you have any other view4444 ,i should particularly like to get ,mr4 ',q4' to go again in ,easter week i4e4 during the ,myers' tenancy4 ,i saw him last night1 and heard his account1 and next to yourself he seems the most sensitive of the group4 ,i am very glad that you secured him4444 ,i will send back the two note-books after showing them to the ,sidgwicks4 ,i am so very glad that you and others have been so well repaid for your trouble4444 ,you seem to have worked natural causes well4 ,on ,april #abth ,mr4 ,myers arrived at ,b----1 and remained until the #bbnd4 ,he was preceded a day or two earlier by ,dr4 ,oliver ,lodge1 ,professor of ,physics at ,victoria ,college1 ,liverpool1 ,mrs4 ,lodge1 and a ,mr4 ,campbell of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,the party also included a medium1 the only person to whom this term could be applied1 in the ordinary sense1 who visited ,b---- during ,col4 ,taylor's tenancy4 ,this person was a ,miss ,c----1 but in order to avoid confusion with other persons1 she is here called ,miss ,k4 ,miss ,k4 is not a professional medium1 in the same sense in which a gentleman rider is not a jockey4 ,she is the proprietress of a small nursing establishment in ,london1 and at the time of her visit to ,b---- was described as in weak health and partially paralysed4 ,she was accompanied by an attendant who was a ,roman ,catholic1 a circumstance which is interesting in view of the strongly sectarian character of the ensuing revelations4 ,mr4 ,myers recorded regularly1 and transmitted to ,lord ,bute1 the account of the phenomena which occurred during his visit1 and which were testified to by four members of his party4 ,he declines1 however1 to allow any use to be made of his notes of what occurred during this episode4 ,the regret with which his wish is deferred to is the less1 because the chief value of the notes in question seems to be that of a warning against the methods employed2 a fact of which ,mr4 ,myers seems later to have himself become aware1 as in regard to his journal letters to ,lord ,bute he wrote on ,march #ae1 #ahih1 a year later1 ,i am afraid that ,i must ask that my ,b---- letters be in no way used4 ,i greatly doubt whether there was anything supernormal4 ,however1 while actually staying at ,b----1 ,mr4 ,myers wrote to ,miss ,freer on ,april #aeth1 in much the same terms as on ,march #aath3-- ,what is your idea 7,i am asking ,lord ,bute also7 re speaking about ,b---- at ,s4,p4,r8 ,if this is not desirable on ,may #bhth1 should you have second-sight material ready then8 ,if it is desirable1 could we meet sometime1 444 and discuss what is to be said8 ,as many witnesses as possible4 ,noises have gone on4 ,i am writing bulletins to ,lord ,bute1 which ,i dare say he will send on to you4444 ,i am moving into ,no4 #e to be nearer to the noise4 ,i have heard nothing4 ,lodge hears mainly knocks4 ,on ,april #bast he wrote again to ,miss ,freer3-- ,if you come to ,s4,p4,r4 meeting1 we could talk in a quiet corner after it4 ,i dine with ,s4,p4,r4 council at seven o'clock1 so there would scarcely be time i4e4 to call on you between1 but ,i would call at---- at #i4cj ,saturday morning1 if that were more convenient to you than going to the meeting4 ,the interview took place1 and ,july #bnd was finally arranged as the date upon which the evidence was to be presented at a general meeting of the ,s4,p4,r4 ,in the meantime1 however1 the article of the anonymous ,times correspondent appeared in that journal on ,june #hth--an article which was practically an attack on certain methods of the ,s4,p4,r41 after which ,mr4 ,myers published the following letter3-- ,,on ,,the ,,trail ,,of ,a ,,ghost4 ,to the ,editor of ,the ,times4 ,,sir1--,a letter entitled ',on the ,trail of a ,ghost1' which you publish to-day1 appears to suggest throughout that some statement has been made on behalf of the ,society for ,psychical ,research with regard to the house which your correspondent visited4 ,this1 however1 is not the case2 and as a misleading impression may be created1 ,i must ask you to allow me space to state that ,i visited ,b----1 representing that society1 before your correspondent's visit1 and decided that there was no such evidence as could justify us in giving the results of the inquiry a place in our ,proceedings4 ,i had already communicated this judgment to ,lord ,bute1 to the council of the society1 and to ,professor ,sidgwick1 the editor of our ,proceedings1 and it had been agreed to act upon it4--,i am1 ,sir1 your obedient servant1 ,,frederick ,w4,h4 ,,myers1 ,hon4 ,sec4 of the ,society for ,psychical ,research4 ,,leckhampton ,,house1 ,,cambridge1 ,june #h4 ,one may gather from a comparison of this letter with the foregoing records that the standard of evidence is a somewhat variable quantity in the ,society for ,psychical ,research4 ,in attempting to explain the matter1 ,mr4 ,myers wrote to ,lord ,bute1 ,june #aa1 #ahig3-- ,as to haunted houses recorded at length in ,proceedings1 there have been several minor ones1 and one especially1 ',records of a ,haunted ,house1' where ,i was instrumental in getting the account written4 ,the great point there was the amount of coincidence of visions seen independently4444 ,in the ,b---- case there is some coincidence of vision1 but so far as ,i know1 not nearly so much as in the ,records of a ,haunted ,house1 which did appear in ,proceedings4 ,we want to keep our level approximately the same throughout4 ,another point of view in relation to the same matter1 is that taken by ,miss ,freer in an article in the ,nineteenth ,century1 ,august #ahig3-- ,that the ,s4,p4,r4 recognised that haunted houses were among the alleged facts of general interest1 was proved by their early appointment of a ,committee of ,inquiry1 on the management of which it is too late to reflect4 ,at the end of a few months only1 they practically dismissed a subject which1 if considered at all1 required years of patient research4 ,they had come across the surprising number of twenty-eight cases which they considered worth inquiry2 but these were presented to the public on the evidence of only forty witnesses--that is to say1 an average of less than one and a half to each6 ,the appearance of figures is recorded in twenty-four of these stories1 whilst four record noises only4 ,ten years later the ,proceedings take up the subject again1 and give us at some length an elaborate story on the evidence of two or three ladies1 two servants1 a charwoman1 and a little boy4 ',records of a ,haunted ,house4' ,no proper journal was kept1 and the ,society for ,psychical ,research came upon the scene when all was practically over4 ,in relation to the period of the visit of the ,myers party to ,b---- ,house1 ,lord ,bute received several journal letters from ,professor ,lodge1 as well as from ,mr4 ,myers1 which1 as he has made no request to the contrary1 might be quoted here in extenso1 were it not that they relate in considerable part to the proceedings of the medium1 as to which the present editors agree with ,mr4 ,myers1 that they greatly doubt if there was anything supernormal4 ,professor ,lodge was from the first much interested in the ,b---- inquiry1 and wrote to ,lord ,bute on ,april #adth1 two days after arrival3 ,i have not found anything here as yet at all suitable for physical experiments4 ,i have heard a noise or two1 and intelligent raps4 ,nothing whatever can be normally seen so far4 ,and on ,april #agth3 ,the noises and disturbances have been much quieter of late1 in fact have almost ceased pro tem4444 ,we have not heard the loud bang as yet4 ,knocks on the wall1 a sawing noise1 and a droning and a wailing are all we have heard4 ,the droning and the wailing1 some whistling1 and apparent attempts at a whisper1 all up in the attic1 may have been due either to the wind or birds4 ,they were not distinct enough to be evidential1 though they were just audible to all of us4 ,the sawing noise was more distinct4 ,i think ,i will go to the attic about #c ,a4,m4 to-night to see if anything more can be heard4 ,most of the noises occur then1 or else at #f ,a4,m4 ,mr4 ,campbell has heard a dragging along the floor in his bedroom1 ,no4 #c4 ,i have heard1 like many others1 the knocking on the wall1 but for the last two nights things have been quiet4 ,april #bjth4--,there has been nothing here for me to do as a physicist1 and ,i return home tomorrow1 but nevertheless the phenomena1 taken as a whole1 have been most interesting4444 ,i know that you are hearing from ,mr4 ,myers the details of our sittings4444 ,there is certainly an interregnum of noises1 the last three nights having been undisturbed4 ,after describing recent sances with ,miss ',k----4' ,i write just as if what we have been told were true4,f ,the cessation of the noises may of course be merely a temporary lull as before1 and they may break out again4444 ,on ,april #bbnd1 he wrote to ,miss ,freer ,the sounds are not very strong1 and latterly there has been one of your interregna in the noises1 but still we heard some of them2 only knocks1 however1 except once a low droning1 a sawing noise1 and a whistling whisper4 ,some of the raps seemed intelligent1 but there was nothing to investigate on the physical side4444 ,and in another note1 undated3-- ,there has been nothing capable of being photographed4 ,the sounds are objective though not impressive4444 ,i have seen nothing to suggest electricity or magnetism1 or any of the ordinary physical agents in connection with the disturbances2 but the noises are so momentary and infrequent1 that they give no real scope for continued examination4 ,professor ,lodge left on ,april #bast1 and ,mr4 ,myers on ,april #bbnd2 but ,miss ,k----1 with ,mr4 ,campbell1 remained alone till the morning of ,monday #bfth1 and on the afternoon of the same day ,lord and ,lady ,bute arrived1 and stayed till ,wednesday #bhth4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----1 who came with them1 was obliged by previous engagements to leave next morning4 ,they slept in the wing1 and nothing occurred during their visit so far as they were concerned4 ,lord ,bute records1 however1 that he twice read aloud the whole of the ,office for the dead in its five sections 7vespers1 nocturns1 and lauds7 in different places1 but neither he nor any one with him saw or heard anything1 unless it were a sound of women talking and laughing while he was reading the ,office about #aj4cj ,p4,m4 in ,no4 #h1 and this he supposed was simply the maids going to bed1 though in fact the room overhead was unoccupied4 ,he had1 however1 a most disagreeable impression1 not in the places where he expected it1 which were the glen1 ,no4 #c1 and ,no4 #h1 but in ,no4 #a4 ,the sensation was that of persons being present1 and on the second occasion that of violent hatred and hostility4 ,he recorded ,went to ,no4 #a a third time1 and again experienced the sensation of persons being present1 but on this last occasion as though they were only morosely unfriendly4 ,it is remarkable that this sensation of unseen presences is one which many other persons experienced in this room1 and in this room only2 but it is also remarkable that this was the first indication of the hostile or irreligious tone which was thenceforth apparent4 ,until the sojourn of the party of members of the ,s4,p4,r4 the tone had been plaintive and religious4 ,mr4 ,mac,p----1 who is a ,presbyterian1 made a remark which struck ,lord ,bute as interesting1 to the effect that the whole of the ,office for the dead1 with the frequent occurrence of the words ,requiam eternam1 c41 might be as irritating to ,intelligences which desired to communicate1 as would be the effect of saying merely keep still1 or be quiet1 to persons who wished to set forth their wrongs4 ,but this curious hypothesis would be insufficient to account for a sensation of absolute enmity4 ,a private letter1 written by ,lord ,bute on ,april #bith to a distinguished ecclesiastic1 repeats these statements1 and adds one or two additional touches which it is desirable to quote3-- ,we returned yesterday after spending forty-eight hours at ,b----1 where we heard and saw nothing1 but as my proceedings were mainly ecclesiastical1 your ,grace may like to know what happened4 ,on the way ,i was shown the inclosure in the churchyard wherein lie1 in unmarked graves1 the late ,major ,s----1 his 'housekeeper1' and his old ,indian servant4 ,i would have gone and prayed there1 but the place seemed to me too public4444 ,b---- is a remarkably beautiful place1 and the day was splendid2 were it not for the grandeur of the scenery1 ,i should have called the landscape laughing1 or at least smiling4 ,the house is remarkably bright and cheerful1 and indeed luxurious4 ,there is a really nice set of family pictures from about the time of ,charles ,,ii4444 ,the place is a perfect aviary1 and the sight of the innumerable birds1 evidently encouraged by long kindness1 building their nests was very pleasant1 and has some psychological interest1 since animals sometimes see these things when we do not1 and there was evidently nothing to scare the birds1 rabbits1 or squirrels4444 ,as her ladyship and ,i did not wish to be troubled at night1 we took rooms in the wing1 which the late ,mr4 ,s---- is said to have built in order to save his children from the haunting1 and which has been but little troubled2 and we slept there quite comfortably4 ,soon after #f ,p4,m4 ,i went to the place near the burn where apparitions have so often appeared1 and which was1 ,i think1 first indicated by ,ouija4 ,i read aloud the vespers for the dead1 but no phenomenon appeared1 nor had ,i any sensation4 ,about #g4cj ,i went to a room which ,i will call ,a ,no4 #a 444 and read aloud the first ,nocturn of the dirge2 there was nothing to be seen or heard1 but ,i felt some physical inconvenience in beginning1 like an impediment in speech1 and ,i had a very strong sensation that there were persons listening4444,g ,soon after #aj ,p4,m4 ,i went and read aloud the two next ,nocturns in room ,b #h4 ,as ,i finished the second1 ,mr4 ,mac,p---- and ,i heard two women speaking merrily outside the door1 and ,i doubt not they were the maids going to bed4 ,during the night1 although we slept well1 my servant who slept in ,no4 #d1 next to ,mr4 ,mac,p---- in ,no4 #e1 like other people in haunted rooms1 could not sleep after five1 and he tells me one of the maids saw the bust of a woman with short hair1 as though sitting at the foot of her bed4 ,in the morning ,i said ,lauds in room ,c ,library4 ,no phenomena or sensation4 ,soon after #e ,p4,m4 said ,placebo again in room ,b #h4 ,nothing4 ,then visited the haunted burn again for some time4 ,nothing4 ,about #g4cj read the first two ,nocturns again in room ,d ,no4 #c4 ,nothing4 ,soon after ten read the third ,nocturn in ,a #a4 ,made slips of pronunciation1 and felt the presence of others very strongly1 and that it was hostile or evil1 as though they were kept at arm's-length2 a disagreeable sensation continued until ,i threw some holy water on my bed before getting into it1 when it suddenly disappeared4 ,next morning ,i said ,lauds in ,a #a4 ,i had no difficulty in utterance2 the sense of other presences was not strong1 and ,i had no feeling of hostility on their part1 but rather of their having to put up with a slight nuisance which would soon be over4 ,these subjective feelings are in no way evidential1 nor would ,i mention them were they not confined to one place out of five1 and occurred whenever ,i went there1 at three most varying hours4444 ,my servant1 the second night1 could not sleep between #d4cj and #f4 99 99 99 99 99 ,miss ,freer returned alone to ,b---- on ,april #bhth4 ,the ,journal is now resumed4 ,april #bhth4--,i returned to ,b----1 arriving at #g ,p4,m4 ,slept in ,no4 #h4 ,quiet night4 ,this morning ,i inquired of the servants as to what occurred in my absence4 ,they have very definite views as to the nature and causes of the phenomena during the visit of ,mr4 ,myers's party 444 including much table-tilting at meals1 and so on4 ,when questioned as to any experiences of their own1 all answered to the same effect1 that they shouldn't have taken notice of anything that happened at that time1 but that something had occurred after the last two members of the party had left on the day of his ,lordship's arrival1 and that1 said the cook1 was quite another matter4 ,the experience was ,carter's1 the upper housemaid1 and she told it in a manner that it would be difficult to distrust4 ,she was not anxious to talk about it1 and seemed annoyed that it had been mentioned at all4 ,i wrote down her story verbatim4 ,it was about four o'clock1 or may be a little later1 but it was just getting light2 there is no blind to the skylight in my room1 and ,i woke up suddenly and ,i thought some one had come into the room1 and ,i called out1 ',is that you1 ,mrs4 ,robinson8' and when she didn't answer ,i called out ',hannah1' but no one spoke1 and then ,i looked up1 and at the foot of my bed there was a woman4 ,she was rather old1 and dressed in something dark1 and she had a little shawl on1 and her hair short4 ,it was hanging1 but it didn't reach nearly to her shoulders4 ,i was awful frightened1 and put my head down again4 ,i couldn't look any more4 ,i asked about the height of the woman1 wondering if it were like the figure seen in the drawing-room1 and ,carter said1 ,i didn't notice1 only the top part of her4 ,i said1 ,do you mean she had no legs8 and she said1 ,i didn't take notice of any4 ,she was genuinely concerned and alarmed4 ,this is probably the incident thus described by ,the ,times correspondent4 ,one of the maidservants described a sort of dull knocking which1 according to her1 goes on between two and six in the morning1 in the lath and plaster partition by the side of her bed1 which shuts off the angular space just inside the eaves of the house4 ,she likened it to the noise of gardeners nailing up ivy outside4 ,she seemed honest1 but as she had seen the ghost of half a woman sitting on her fellow-servant's bed1 one takes her evidence with a grain or two of salt4 ,any noises she has really heard may be due to the cooling of the hot-water pipes which pass along behind the partition just mentioned to the cistern4 ,the hot-water pipe theory has been already discussed4 ,before proceeding1 it had better be again mentioned that1 owing to the fact that several of the persons interested in ,b---- were ,roman ,catholics1 and the ,rev4 ,p---- ,h---- having been one of the principal witnesses1 as well as having himself appeared phantasmally in the house1 it was considered desirable to obtain the assistance of some clergy of that communion4 ,miss ,freer accordingly secured the services of three members of a famous society2 one of those was the ,rev4 ,p---- ,h---- himself1 one a well-known ,oxford man who takes much interest in such questions1 and the third a man of great experience at a place where miracles are said to be frequent4 ,however1 their ,superior refused to allow them to come1 and she then applied to a well-known monastery1 but was again refused help4 ,lastly1 she turned to the secular clergy1 and obtained the assistance of two priests and a bishop4 ,the priests are here designated ,mac,d---- and ,mac,l----4 ,all three were previously well known to her1 and she had especial reason to consider them not only worthy of her esteem and confidence1 but1 moreover1 as taking an instructed and intelligent interest in the subject4 ,april #bith1 ,friday4--,rooms for to-night3-- ,no4 #c4 ,rev4 ,a4 ,mac,d----4 #d4 ,rev4 ,a4 ,mac,l----4 #h4 ,myself4 ,the priests arrived late in the evening4 ,i put them in ,no4 #c and #d1 though ,i like to give ,no4 #a to new-comers4 ,however1 ,i had promised that to ,madame ,boisseaux1 whom we are expecting from ,paris1 with the dressing-room for her maid4 ,april #cjth4--,the priests both look very weary4 ,they were not frightened1 but the sounds have kept them awake all night4 ,young ,s---- called to-day2 he is going to help me to get up a dance for the servants4 ,his mother is away at ,s----4 ,may #ast4--,i shall have to move the priests4 ,they persist that they are not frightened1 but they are both looking shockingly ill and worn1 and the ,rev4 ,mac,d---- is not in a state of health to take liberties with4 ,the ,rev4 ,mac,l---- seems in the same mental state as was ,mr4 ,p----4 ,he sees nothing1 but is supernormally sensitive1 and without any hint from me1 declared that he felt the drawing-room1 wing1 and ,no4 #g to be innocent4 ,poor little ,spooks is the chief sufferer4 ,she sleeps on my bed now1 but even so1 wakes in the night growling and shivering1 and she refuses her food1 and is in a dreadfully nervous state4 ,perhaps ,i ought not to keep her in ,no4 #h1 where we have so often heard the patterings of dogs' feet1 and where ,miss ,moore was once pushed as by a dog1 in broad daylight4 ,may #bnd4--,nothing occurred4 ,we perhaps all slept the sounder last night1 having been kept up till two o'clock waiting for ,madame ,boisseaux1 who never turned up4 ,she and the ,m----s and ,mrs4 ,f4 arrived to-day4 ,madame ,boisseaux arrived1 and was put into ,no4 #a4 ,her maid #b4 ,father ,mac,d---- #c4 ,father ,mac,l---- #d4 ,mrs4 ,f4 #e4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,m---- #f and #g4 ,myself #h4 ,may #crd4--,the general tone of things is disquieting1 and new in our experience4 ,hitherto1 in our first occupation1 the phenomena affected one as melancholy1 depressing1 and perplexing1 but now all1 quite independently1 say the same thing1 that the influence is evil and horrible--even poor little ,spooks1 who was never terrified before1 as she has been since our return here4 ,the worn faces at breakfast were really a dismal sight4 ,in spite of her long journey1 ,madame ,boisseaux could not sleep4 ,she was so tired1 she dropped to sleep at once on going to bed1 but was awoke by the sound of a droning voice as if from ,no4 #c1 and1 at intervals1 more distant voices in high argument4 ,she said she dared not go to sleep2 she felt as if some evil-disposed persons were in the room1 and it would not be safe to lose consciousness4 ,but she saw nothing4 ,she looks so ill that her maid1 a very faithful old servant1 has been to beg me1 pour l'amour de ,dieu1 to give ,madame another room4 ,so to-night ,i will put her in ,no4 #e4 ,mrs4 ,f4 who was in ,no4 #e1 was disturbed by knocks at her door 7cf4 ,mrs4 ,w----'s experience in the same room71 and to-night is to sleep in my room1 ,no4 #h1 which last night was also somewhat noisy1 but she will not be alone4 ,the ,rev4 ,mac,d---- looks so ill from two nights' sleeplessness that the priests are to go into the wing to-night4 ,they were unwilling to move1 and made no complaints1 and now do not say they have seen anything1 merely that the evil influence about them was painful and disturbing4 ,mrs4 ,m----1 who1 it will be remembered1 was much disturbed during her last visit1 begged that she might be quiet1 and we gave her ,no4 #g4 ,she is the only person who has had a really good night1 except ,mr4 ,m----1 who had a fancy to sleep in the smoking-room1 in the hope of a visit from the ,major1 but nothing happened4 ,as he had been mountaineering all day1 he probably would have slept well under any conditions4 ,may #dth4--,i am thankful to say the priests slept well in the wing4 ,madame ,boisseaux1 in ,no4 #e1 was disturbed by knocks at her door1 but as she wisely remarked1 they had the advantage of being outside4 ,mr4 ,m---- had moved into ,no4 #a1 and slept fairly well1 but said he felt as before1 not alone1 but as he had felt that before1 expectation may count for something4 ,mrs4 ,f slept with me2 ,i was awoke early by my dog crying1 and ,i saw two black paws resting on the table beside the bed4 ,it gave me a sickening sensation1 and ,i longed to wake ,mrs4 ,f to see if she would see them1 but ,i remembered her bad night of yesterday1 and left her in peace4 ,the priests spend much time in devotions1 and are very decided in their views as to the malignity of the influence4 ,the bishop comes to-day1 and we hope he will have ,mass said in the house4 ,we shall then have ten ,roman ,catholics in the household--two visitors1 three clergy1 two visitors' maids1 and three of our own servants4 ,that should have an effect upon the ,major6 ,miss ,moore and ,scamp arrived4 ,may #eth4--,the bishop is in ,no4 #a4 ,he arrived to lunch to-day4 ,last night all was quiet after bedtime1 but sitting in the drawing-room about five o'clock1 having just come in from a drive1 five of us heard the detonating noise1 as it were in the empty room overhead4 ,madame ,b----1 ,mrs4 ,f1 ,mrs4 ,m----1 the ,rev4 ,mac,l----1 and myself4 ,mrs4 ,f left this morning4 ,the priests went with me to the copse4 ,they saw nothing1 but were in too anxious a state to be receptive4 ,i saw ,ishbel for one moment4 ,she looked agonised1 as never before4 ,mr4 ,b4 ,s---- dined with us1 and the servants1 indoor and out1 danced in the hall in the evening4 ,we had pipers1 and some supper for them in the billiard-room4 ,the gardener and the butler and cook say there was a great crash in the room just when the parish minister was saying grace1 and that many of the people from outside noticed it1 and they just looked at each other4 ,i was myself in the room1 but as we had just had a very physical and commonplace disturbance--the arrival of an uninvited and intoxicated guest1 of which the other people did not know as ,i did--,i was preoccupied at the moment4 ,mass this morning in the drawing-room4 ,may #fth4--,madame ,boisseaux has had to go suddenly2 there has been terrible news for her of this ,paris fire4 ,she came into my room very early with her telegram 7arrived too late for delivery last night74 ,i did not like to worry her with questions1 overwhelmed as she was1 but she said her room resounded with knocks4 ,there was ,mass said in the ground-floor sitting-room this morning1 and as ,i knelt facing the window ,i saw ,ishbel with the grey woman1 nearer the house than ever before4 ,she looked pensive1 but1 as compared with last time1 much relieved4 ,this is the last time the figures were seen4 ,the following details are quoted from a letter written by ,miss ,freer to ,lord ,bute on this day3 ,mass was said this morning in the downstairs room1 the altar arranged in front of the window1 so that1 as we knelt1 we faced the garden4 ,poor ,madame ,boisseaux was dressed for travelling1 and in much agitation4 ,as the carriage which was to take her to the station was expected at any moment1 ,i suggested that she and ,i should remain upstairs1 but she said she should like to be there1 if only for a few minutes1 the more that the 'intention' was to be partly for those who had suffered in the fire1 and for their sorrowing friends4 ,she and ,i1 therefore1 knelt close to the door1 keeping it slightly ajar1 so as to be able to obey a summons at any moment4 ,suddenly she touched my arm1 and directed my attention to the window4 ,there ,i saw a figure standing outside1 which--so slow-sighted am ,i--,i took for the moment for ,madame's maid1 and thought she had come to call our attention through the window--a long ',french' one1 opening out on to the lawn--as less likely to disturb the service4 ,i was starting up when ,i perceived that the figure was ',ishbel'--the black gown1 like that worn by the maid1 had misled me for the moment4 ',marget' seemed to hover in the background1 but she was much less distinct than the other4 ,a minute later we were called away4 ,the room had been selected by the priests themselves1 but it is the one ,i should myself1 for obvious reasons1 have chosen for the purpose4 ,when the bustle of ,madame's hasty departure was over1 and we had breakfasted1 the bishop blessed the house from top to bottom1 and especially visited rooms ,nos4 #a1 #c1 and #h1 and also the library4 ,he sprinkled the rooms with holy water1 and especially the doorway leading to the drawing-room1 where noises have so often been heard4 ,he and the priests had hardly gone when there was a loud bang upon a little table that stands there4 ,it is an old work-table1 a box on tall1 slender legs1 and the sound could easily be imitated by lifting the lid and letting it fall smartly1 but ,i saw no movement--not that ,i was watching it at the moment4 ,the bishop and priests returned1 and the ceremony was repeated1 after which the bang again occurred1 but much more faintly4 ,the three clergy left this afternoon4 ,miss ,moore and ,i are now alone4 ,this bang was the last phenomenon of an abnormal kind during this tenancy4 ,miss ,moore and ,miss ,freer stayed in the house another week without anything further occurring either to themselves1 their guests1 or the servants4 ,during that time1 they received six more guests3 ,miss ,c----1 ,miss ,etienne1 with her brother1 a lawyer1 and three other visitors1 with whom ,miss ,freer had no previous acquaintance1 but who received an invitation under the following special conditions1 not being1 as were other guests1 personal friends1 or1 in one or two instances1 accompanying personal friends by whom they were introduced1 and at whose request they were invited4 ,sir ,william ,huggins had some time before written to ,lord ,bute to beg him to obtain admission to the house for ,sir ,james ,crichton ,browne1 who is1 of course1 well known as a physician of great eminence1 and in especial as an expert in psychology1 and whom ,sir ,william stated to be deeply interested in phenomena such as those observed at ,b----4 ,lord ,bute accordingly wrote to ,miss ,freer1 who wrote to ,sir ,james4 ,he did not immediately reply1 which surprised her1 after so earnest a request1 and because admission to the house for the purpose of such observations was a mark of confidence1 which as a hostess she was very chary of giving1 and which would never have been extended to him1 notwithstanding his scientific eminence1 had it not been for the intercession of ,sir ,william ,huggins and ,lord ,bute1 through whom he had sought it4 ,he wrote to her after some time1 apologising for the delay on the score of illness1 begging to know if it were still possible for him to be admitted1 and whether he might bring with him a scientific friend4 ,miss ,freer consented1 and he then wrote announcing his arrival and that of a nephew1 a student at ,oxford1 interested in science4 ,he then asked1 by telegram1 whether a third guest could be admitted1 to which she also consented1 and his two friends1 one of whom is believed to have been the anonymous ,times correspondent1 accordingly came1 four days after the phenomena had1 as has been stated1 apparently ceased4 ,the way in which this hospitality was repaid is a matter of common knowledge4 ,their hostess knew of no intention to make copy of their visit1 with full names1 geographical indications1 and repetition of private conversations1 until the publication of the ,times' article of ,june #hth4 ,they remained from ,saturday evening till ,monday morning1 and1 like others1 saw and heard nothing2 and much time was spent in repeating the already often repeated experiments as to possible sources of the sights and sounds observed at ,b----4 ,their observations appeared to be able to penetrate no further than the mark of the shoe which ,miss ,freer pointed out on the door in the wing1 made subsequently to the flight of the ,h---- family1 a passage under the roof1 with which the household had long been as familiar as with the hall-door1 and the suggestion that a certain stream might run under the house1 the which stream runs nowhere near the house at all1 as ,miss ,freer was already well aware1 a fact which she demonstrated for their benefit on a map of the estate4 ,this is perhaps a suitable point at which to add a letter from the head-gardener who has been referred to more than once1 more especially as an important witness to the phenomena of the ,h----s' tenancy4 ,he writes to ,miss ,freer in reference to a statement by ,the ,times correspondent3-- ,july #hth1 '#ig4-- 444 ,i might also mention to you1 while writing1 that 'the intelligent gardener' that was made mention of in ,the ,times was a journeyman1 and not myself1 as many have supposed4 ,i thought it proper to tell you1 madam1 because ,i told you and several others that ,i was in the house and had heard something4 ,the ,times correspondent's statement is as follows3-- ,an intelligent gardener whom ,i questioned told me that he had kept watch in the house on two separate occasions1 abstaining from sleep until daylight appeared at seven o'clock1 but without hearing a sound4 ,the under gardener's experience of two nights is as exhaustive of the subject as that of ,the ,times correspondent and his friends1 who also remained two nights1 but do not allege that they abstained from sleep4 ,mr4 ,etienne was the last guest at ,b----1 and arrived the evening before the house was vacated4 ,he afterwards told ,lord ,bute that he had brought1 without the knowledge of any one in the house1 two seismic instruments1 but that they recorded nothing1 and that during the night he heard a sound as of a gun being fired outside the house4 ,this he attributed to some poacher unknown1 an explanation which seems hardly probable1 as at this time of year there is nothing to shoot except rabbits4 ,one never hears of a poacher shooting rabbits1 and in any case1 he would hardly do so in the immediate neighbourhood of an inhabited house1 and discharging his gun once only4 ,mr4 ,etienne's experiments are the more interesting because that among many suggestions made by ,sir ,j4 ,crichton ,browne1 the only one which had not been already considered1 was the use of seismic instruments4 ,this--the house being within the seismic area--seemed so reasonable1 that ,miss ,freer at once entered into correspondence with the well-known ,professor ,milne1 with a view to experiment in this direction4 ,the following is from his reply3-- ,may #aeth1 #ahig4--;,i was much interested in your note of the #acth1 and fancy that the sounds with which you have to deal may be of seismic origin4 ,such sounds ,i have often heard1 and the air waves1 if not the earth waves1 can be mechanically recorded4 ,what you require to make the records is a seismograph with large but exceeding light indices1 or a ,perry tromometer4444 ,the reason ,i think that the sounds are seismic is1 first1 on account of their character1 and secondly1 because you are in one of the most unstable parts of ,great ,britain1 where between #aheb and #ahij1 #dfe shocks 7many with sounds7 were recorded4 ,lady ,moncrieff1 when living at ,comrie ,house in #ahdd1 often heard rumblings and moanings1 and such sounds1 possibly akin to the 'barisal guns',h of ,eastern ,england1 often occur without a shake4 ,the mechanism of this production may be due to slight movements on a fault face1 and they may be heard1 especially in rocky districts1 in very many countries4444 ,miss ,freer's reply was an urgent request that machinery and an operator might be at once sent up to ,b----4 ,professor ,milne replied that delicate instruments1 such as he himself employed1 could only be used by one other person1 but suggested that she should hire from a well-known ,london firm what are known as ,ewing's-type seismometers1 adding1 ,i doubt whether these will record anything but movements to which you are sensible4 ,miss ,freer's designs1 however1 were frustrated1 for on applying for an extension of tenancy for this purpose1 ,captain ,s----1 the proprietor1 peremptorily forbade the continuance of scientific observation--a remarkable parallel to his father's refusal to permit the use of the phonograph when suggested by ,sir ,william ,huggins4 ,in relation to his experiments at ,b---- ,mr4 ,etienne writes3-- ,lord ,bute has asked me to describe a seismographic instrument which ,i used during my short visit to ,b----4 ,the instrument consisted of a light wooden frame or platform which rested on three billiard-balls4 ,the balls in their turn rested on a horizontal plate of plate-glass4 ,through two wire rings in the centre of the platform already mentioned a needle stood perpendicularly1 resting on its point on the plate of glass4 ,the centre of the plate of glass 7and the area round it and within in the triangle describable with the balls at its angles7 was smoked4 ,you will see that the parts of such an instrument are held together by gravitation1 and a very little friction1 and that a tremor communicated to the plate will not simultaneously affect the platform4 ,the needle-point describes on the smoked surface which it moves across the converse of any movement of the plate which is not simultaneously a movement of the platform1 and the error between this and the description of the tremor drawn by an absolutely fixed point--say the earth itself--has been calculated on a replica of this instrument as equal to the error of a pendulum thirty feet long4 ,it will be noticed that the phenomena began1 so far as ,miss ,freer was concerned1 upon the night of her arrival in the house1 ,february #crd1 and ceased 7if we except the sound heard by ,mr4 ,etienne71 after the service performed by the ,bishop on the morning of ,may #fth4 ,this period comprises ninety-two days1 but from these must be subtracted the seventeen days between ,miss ,freer's leaving ,b---- on the morning of ,april #ith1 and that of the departure of ,mr4 ,myers's medium1 ,miss ,k41 on the morning of ,april #bfth4 ,of the remaining seventy-five days1 ,miss ,freer was absent from the house for four days1 from ,march #afth to ,march #bjth1 and for two nights after ,miss ,k4's leaving2 during this latter interval1 however1 ,lord ,bute was himself on the spot4 ,on the other hand1 she remained in the house for eight days after the service performed by the ,bishop1 during which time no phenomena occurred4 ,of the sixty-nine days of which a record is kept in the journal1 viz41 from ,february #crd to ,may #adth1 exclusive of twenty-three days for the reasons already indicated1 daytime phenomena occurred upon eighteen days1 and night phenomena upon thirty-five nights4 ,to these must be added the night of ,april #bgth1 the occasion of the vision seen by ,carter the housemaid during ,lord ,bute's visit4 ,thirty-four nights1 or almost exactly half the period1 were entirely without record of any phenomena whatever4 ,this is without counting the seven nights of the last week1 during which there were observers for longer or shorter periods in the house1 none of whom recorded any sight or sound of a supernormal kind1 unless it were the percussive or detonating noise heard by ,mr4 ,etienne4 ,the term night is here understood to cover the period between the hour of going to rest at night1 to that of leaving one's room next morning1 even if the phenomena occurred in the daylight hours of the early morning4 ,the term day is used to cover the hours of active1 waking life1 from breakfast to bedtime4 ,to sum up the character of the phenomena1 it may be well to begin with those that are visual4 #a4 ,the phantasm of the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h----4 ,this was seen once only1 and by ,miss ,langton1 on the night of ,february #agth4 ,of the identity no doubt can be felt1 since ,miss ,moore and ,miss ,freer afterwards recognised the accuracy of the description on meeting the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h---- for the first time1 in a crowded railway station on ,may #beth4 ,this is the only one of the apparitions which is undoubtedly that of a living person1 and like many such apparitions1 it occurred at an hour when it is probable that he was asleep4 ,b---- is a place to which ,father ,h----'s thoughts were naturally and disagreeably drawn1 and to which his attention had been called anew4 ,on awaking1 he would probably have no recollection of the circumstances1 or at the utmost would have an impression of having dreamt that he was there4 #b4 ,the woman once seen by ,miss ,freer in the drawing-room4 ,she was older than ,sarah ,n----1 who died at the age of twenty-seven1 but of whose haunting of ,b---- there is some tradition1 but assisted by the parish register of marriages and births it is not difficult to form a guess at the identity of the phantasm4 ,as there is some uncertainty as to whether the person in question is still living1 though it is probable that she is dead1 the vision is mentioned here before those as to which there is no reason to doubt that they represent the dead4 ,there is reason to believe that the same apparition has been seen by former occupants of the house1 and it is alleged to be that of a member of the ,s---- family4 #c4 ,the phantasm seen by ,carter the housemaid1 on the night of ,april #bgth1 who was described as rather old1 may possibly have been identical with the above4 #d4 ,the nun to whom was given the name of ,ishbel4 ,this subject has been already discussed1 and the suggestion thrown out that the phantasm was an erroneous mental picture of the late ,rev4 ,mother ,frances ,helen1 evolved from the imagination of a half-educated person who had never seen the lady in question1 and knew little about her4 ,this figure was seen many times by ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton1 twice by the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,q41 and probably by ,madame ,boisseaux1 who unhappily died suddenly before the editors had an opportunity of asking her for exact information4 ,there were also earlier witnesses4 ,she was never seen elsewhere than in the glen1 except once by ,miss ,langton1 and on the one occasion when a ,bishop was saying ,mass in the house1 and ,miss ,freer saw her outside the window just after the elevation of the chalice4 ,it was stated1 however1 by two separate witnesses1 that a figure1 probably the same1 had been seen inside the house on at least one occasion1 when1 some years before ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy1 ,mrs4 ,s---- was keeping her room1 and a maid who was bringing up a tray met the figure on the stairs1 and experienced such a start that she dropped the tray4 #e4 ,the lay-woman dressed in grey to whom was given the name of ,marget1 and who was sometimes seen in the company of ,ishbel1 usually as though upbraiding or reproving her4 ,she was seen by ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton1 and her voice in conversation with ,ishbel was heard not only by them1 but by ,mr4 ,c---- and ,miss ,moore1 ,mr4 ,q4 and ,miss ,duff 7cf4 ,mrs4 ,g4's evidence1 p4 #fh74 #f4 ,the appearance of the wooden crucifix seen in ,no4 #c4 ,it was about eighteen inches long1 and the figure was of the same wood as the cross4 ,its earliest appearance is to the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h----4 ,it afterwards appeared to the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,q41 and lastly to ,miss ,freer1 none of the witnesses knowing anything in detail of the experience of the others4 ,it was also seen in the crystal by ,miss ,langton--possibly by thought transference from others4 ,when the ,rev4 ,p4 ,h---- saw it he was always drowsy1 but when it appeared to ,mr4 ,q4 its appearance was immediately preceded by a sensation of acute chill on his part1 and its appearance to ,miss ,freer by a similar sensation on the part of ,endell4 ,it is perhaps worth while to remark1 that we are told that among spiritualists the sensation of cold is supposed to be an unfavourable indication as to the character of the spirits who are present1 and that in the cases of both ,mr4 ,q4 and ,mr4 ,endell the appearance of the crucifix seemed to put an end to the chill4 #g4 ,the dogs4 ,these were much more often heard than seen1 the sounds being those of their pattering footsteps1 sometimes as of their bounding about in play1 and sometimes of their throwing themselves against the lower part of doors4 ,it seemed1 however1 that they were visible to ,miss ,freer's living dog at times when they were not visible to her1 and indeed the abject terror which the ,pomeranian displayed in ,no4 #h was so distressing1 that she changed her room from ,no4 #h to ,no4 #e in consequence4 ,a dog was1 moreover1 seen by ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,langton in the smoking-room on ,april #hth2 ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,moore have described more than one occasion when they felt themselves pushed as by a dog2 and on the night of ,may #dth1 ,miss ,freer saw the two forepaws only1 of another and larger black dog resting on the edge of a table in ,no4 #h4 ,other apparitions seen in the house by former occupants were described to members of ,colonel ,taylor's party as well as to earlier tenants1 but here1 as elsewhere1 we have refrained from all quotation from the relatives of the present proprietor4 ,it is interesting to remark that one apparition which was constantly expected during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy was expected in vain4 ,this was that of the little old gentleman with stooping form and limping gait mentioned by earlier witnesses4 ,his peculiar step was heard very frequently1 and by a great number and variety of witnesses1 alone and collectively2 and his appearance1 naturally enough1 was constantly looked for1 but it never occurred4 ,in the same way there was one expected sound which never occurred1 though frequent in the experience of earlier witnesses--that of the rustling of a silk dress1 suggesting to the mind of the hearer the idea of some one who1 either in fact or in thought1 had worn such a garment4 ,tactile4 ,the most important of these were the experiences of ,miss ,n4 on the night of ,march #crd1 and of ,miss ,duff on the night of ,march #bbnd1 both in ,no4 #c2 and of a maid1 ,lizzie1 on the night of ,march #bcrd1 in the room above ,no4 #c1 on the attic storey1 who all testified to the sensation of the moving of the bed1 or the handling of the bed-clothes4 ,these were the only occasions during ,colonel ,taylor's tenancy1 but the phenomenon is one often testified to by earlier witnesses1 both during the ,h----s' tenancy and that of the family of the late ,mr4 ,s----4 ,it presents a peculiar difficulty in the way of the theory that all the phenomena at ,b---- were subjective hallucinations1 and this is especially the case with regard to the evidence of a witness who has not been brought forward in the preceding pages1 but whose account of a similar experience is reported by two first-hand witnesses4 ,on one occasion he had the whole of the upper bed-clothes lifted from off him and thrown upon the floor1 while a pile of wearing apparel1 which was laid on a chair beside the bed1 was thrown in his face4 ,it is of course conceivable that the whole of these experiences1 including the last1 were the result of an hallucination2 but on the other hand1 it would be very unwise1 in the present state of our ignorance on the subject1 to dogmatise as to the possible action of unseen forces upon what is commonly called matter4 ,it is interesting to note that this senseless and childish trick coincides with what was said by ,miss ,a---- as to the presence of mischievous elementals1 and also what she says as to apports4,i #a4 ,the sensation of the movement of the bed itself1 whether as being rocked1 as in the experience of ,miss ,duff on ,march #bbnd1 and of ,miss ,langton on several occasions1 and by guests of the ,h---- family1 or of being lifted up1 as in that of the maid ,lizzie1 is a phenomenon by no means uncommon1 and if objective is of the nature of levitation2 but we have unfortunately no evidence from a second person observing the phenomenon from outside4 ,whether it were actually moved it is impossible to say1 but the sensation seems to have been more than subjective4 #b4 ,the sensation of struggling with something unseen1 described by ,miss ,duff1 ,march #bbnd1 and of the sensation of an incumbent weight1 as described by ,miss ,duff 7same date7 and ,miss ,n4 on ,march #bnd4 ,this coincides with the arrest of his hand experienced by ,harold ,sanders4 ,these phenomena adapt themselves to the theory of subjectivity more easily than the foregoing1 because they more closely resemble those of nightmare 7familiar to most persons71 although they occurred while the witnesses were awake4 #c4 ,the sensation of being pushed by a dog was experienced in two different rooms by ,miss ,freer and ,miss ,moore respectively4 ,if ,mr4 ,endell were touched by ,ishbel on the evening of ,march #ast1 as appeared to ,miss ,freer to be the case1 he had no independent consciousness of the fact that might not have been referred to expectation1 so that this cannot be regarded as evidential4 ,for lack of other classification1 we mention under this heading of tactile the sensation of chill experienced by ,mr4 ,endell and ,mr4 ,q---- in ,no4 #c1 and which appears to be the same as that described by ,harold ,sanders as the sensation of entering an ice-house4 ,the audile phenomena were so frequent and so various1 that a conspectus of them is given in an appendix4 ,some of them appeared to be human in origin1 such as voices1 reading or speaking1 footsteps1 and1 according to earlier witnesses1 screams and moans4 ,others might have been caused by dogs1 such as pattering footsteps1 jumping and pouncing as in play1 the wagging of a dog's tail against the door1 and the sound as of a dog throwing itself against the lower panels4 ,other sounds have been differentiated1 as the detonating or explosive noise2 the clang sound1 as of the striking of metal upon wood2 the thud or heavy fall without resonance2 and the crash1 which was never better described than as if one of the beasts' heads on the staircase wall had fallen into the hall below4 ,it very often1 or almost always1 seemed to occur under the glass dome which lighted the body of the house1 and the falling object seemed to strike others in its descent1 so that it was not ineffectively imitated by rolling a bowl along the stone floor of the hall1 and allowing it to strike against the doors or pillars1 when the peculiar echoing quality was fairly reproduced by the hollow domed roof and surrounding galleries4 ,the editors offer no conclusions4 ,this volume has been put together1 as the house at ,b---- was taken1 not for the establishment of theories1 but for the record of facts4 ,,footnotes3 ,c ,they consisted of a small part of the evidence already quoted4 ,d ,we have since ascertained by experiment that no sound short of beating with a hammer on the wall itself is audible between the two rooms2 also1 that the upsetting of a metal candlestick on the bare boards in the nearer servants' room 7over ,no4 #a7 cannot be heard in ,no4 #h4 ,e ,cf4 ,mrs4 ,robinson's account ante4 ,f ,these remarkable disclosures included1 among other details1 the murder of a ,roman ,catholic family chaplain1 at a period when the ,s----s were and had long been ,presbyterian1 the suicide of one of the family who is still living1 and the throwing1 by persons in medival costume1 of the corpse of an infant1 over a bridge1 which is quite new1 into a stream which until lately ran underground4 ,professor ,lodge had not had the same opportunity of acquiring a critical standpoint as to such statements1 as those whose knowledge of the place was more intimate4 ,g ,the words1 in uttering which ,lord ,bute was thus affected1 were1 ,regem cui omnia vivunt venite adoremus1 an invitation in which he meant to include all intelligent beings4 ,miss ,freer1 ,miss ,langton1 and a third guest1 chatting one night about #aj4cj in this room1 were startled by one of the familiar crashes outside4 ,miss ,freer treated the matter lightly1 fearing lest the lady in question1 by no means a nervous person1 however1 should be alarmed2 and receiving no reply turned to look at her1 and observed that her lower jaw was convulsed1 and that she was painfully struggling to recover speech4 ,h ,see ,appendix ,,ii4 ,i ,see ,appendix ,i4 ,,appendix ,,appendix ,i ,a lady1 known to readers of ,proceedings ,s4,p4,r4 as ,miss ,a----1 who is an habitual automatic writer1 but whose social position removes her from the temptations and tendencies of the ordinary so-called medium1 was good enough on ,march #aj1 #ahig1 to contribute the following automatic script in reply to a request from ,lord ,bute3-- ,i do not much care for the influence of this house2 it is most decidedly haunted1 but not by any particularly good spirits1 the haunting being carried on by mischievous elementals1 and as far as ,i can make out there is some one who lives there through all the changes1 who supplies a great deal of force1 and who is not aware of the power4 ,i think that a great deal more is added to what really takes place1 as the hauntings appear to me to consist of disturbing noises1 with now and then a case of apport1 for the elementary forces are not sufficient to produce forms unless a great deal of outside force is given4 ,the forms that would appear would always be different1 as each mediumistic person would supply his own surroundings4 ,the only one ,i am not sure about is the shadowy figure of an old man whom ,i have twice seen in rather a dark passage1 and from his surrounding light ,i should say he may often be there4 ,i think the noises would stop of themselves1 at least the more disturbing part1 if a less attentive attitude were taken towards them4 ,these statements present certain interesting points as coming from one who had never seen the house1 and knew nothing of its phenomena4 ,the shadowy figure of an old man in a dark passage seems to point to the figure1 possibly1 of the ,major1 seen by earlier witnesses in the dark lobby--the only dark corner in the house--outside the door of the downstairs smoking-room1 and whose voice was heard there by ,miss ,freer1 ,miss ,langton1 and ,mr4 ,t---- during the tenancy of ,colonel ,taylor4 ,an occasion upon which the phenomena might be described as those of mischievous elementals1 and also of apports1 is referred to in the summing up of tactile phenomena1 though it did not occur during the tenancy of ,colonel ,taylor4 ,on the other hand1 the phenomena were often more active when least looked for1 and some of those most expected never occurred4 ,as there was not even a servant1 nor even a dumb animal1 common to the occupation of the ,s---- family and the tenancy of the ,h----s or ,colonel ,taylor1 we are at a loss to know who the person can be who lives at ,b---- through all the changes1 and supplies force during the past twenty years4 ,,appendix ,,ii ,,barisal ,,guns4 7,see page #bba47 ,readers not acquainted with this phenomenon may be referred to an interesting correspondence in the pages of ,nature 7,oct4 #ahie1 and ,seq471 opened by ,professor ,g4,h4 ,darwin-- ,in the delta of the ,ganges1 he says1 dull sounds1 more or less resembling distant artillery1 are often heard4 ,these are called ,barisal guns1 but ,i do not know the meaning of the term4 ,the same sounds have been recorded by ,m4 ,rutot of the ,geological ,survey along the ,belgian coast1 and are alleged to be pretty common in the ,north of ,france4 ,m4 van der ,broeck1 ,conservator of the ,museum of ,natural ,history of ,belgium1 says-- ,i have constantly noticed these sounds in the plain of ,limburg since #ahhj2--more than ten of my personal acquaintances have observed the fact4 ,the detonations are dull and distant1 and are repeated a dozen times or more at irregular intervals4 ,they are usually heard in the daytime1 when the sky is clear1 and especially towards evening after a very hot day4 ,the noise does not at all resemble artillery1 blasting in mines1 or the growling of distant thunder4 ,m4 van der ,broeck elsewhere refers to similar noises heard on ,dartmoor1 and in some parts of ,scotland4 ,readers of ,blackmore's story of ,lorna ,doone will remember1 among other valuable observations of out-door life1 his accounts of the hollow moaning sound during the intense cold of the winter1 of which he gives so graphic an account4 ,it was ever present in the air1 morning1 noon1 and night time1 and especially at night1 whether any wind was stirring or whether it were a perfect calm 7,chap4 xlvi474 ,another correspondent in ,nature refers to remarkable noises among the hills of ,cheshire3 ,when the wind is easterly1 and nearly calm on the flats1 a hollow moaning sound is heard1 popularly termed the ,soughing of the ,wind1 which ,sir ,walter ,scott1 in his glossary to ',guy ,mannering1' interprets as a hollow blast or whisper4 ,another writer quotes experiences in ,east ,anglia1 tending to show that such sounds may be reports arising from the process of faulting going on1 on a small scale1 at a great depth1 and not of sufficient intensity to produce a perceptible vibration at the earth's surface4 ,it would seem that in districts such as ,comrie in ,perthshire1 ,east ,hadden in ,connecticut1 ,pignerol in ,piedmont1 ,meleda in the ,adriatic1 c41 sounds without shocks are common during intervals1 which may last for several years4 ,remarkable sounds1 not apparently accounted for1 are reported to proceed from ,lough ,neagh in ,ireland4 ,see ,nature1 ,oct4 #ahie1 and following numbers2 articles by ,m4 van der ,broeck in ,ciel et ,terre 7,belgium71 ,dec4 #a1 #ahie1 and following numbers1 also ,geol4 ,mag41 vol4 ix4 #ahib1 pp4 #bjh-ah4 ,,conspectus ,,of ,,audile ,,phenomena ,,at ,b---- ,,house ,,recorded ,,in ,,journal ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recorded ,heard in ,room4 ,witness4 ,description of ,sound4 under ,date4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,feb4 #d ,no4 ,i4 ,miss ,freer ,loud clanging sound1 as of ,miss ,moore metal struck with wood ,voices in conversation ,no4 ,,iii4 ,mac1 the maid ,voices1 footsteps1 things dragged about #e ,attics ,two housemaids ,continuous reading #g ,no4 ,,vii4 ,miss ,moore ,reverberating bang close to bed ,drawing-room ,mac ,noises and footsteps ,hall ,miss ,moore ,clanging sound upstairs #h ,butler's room ,mac ,footsteps and sounds on door ,no4 ,,vii4 ,miss ,moore ,reverberating bang ,miss ,moore ,noises percussive ,miss ,freer or explosive ,the ,glen ,miss ,freer ,mr4 ,c---- ,voices in conversation #i ,no4 ,,vii4 ,miss ,moore ,noises percussive ,miss ,freer or explosive #aj ,no4 ,i4 ,miss ,moore ,clangs4 ,voices in conversation ,no4 ,v4 ,mr4 ,w---- ,knockings4 ,no4 ,,viii4 ,colonel ,taylor ,footsteps overhead #ac ,no4 ,i4 ,miss ,moore ,clanging noise ,miss ,moore ,miss ,freer ,crash ,no4 ,v4 ,mrs4 ,w---- ,knockings #ae ,no4 ,,iv4 ,miss ,langton ,a loud crash ,miss ,langton #af ,the ,glen ,miss ,freer ,miss ,moore ,voices in conversation ,mrs4 ,w---- ,miss ,langton #ag ,drawing-room ,miss ,moore ,footsteps overhead in disused ,miss ,freer room ,col4 ,taylor ,drawing-room ,mrs4 ,w---- ,clanging noise1 four times ,miss ,langton repeated ,miss ,moore ,miss ,freer #ah ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,freer ,banging sounds ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recorded ,heard in ,room4 ,witness4 ,description of ,sound4 under ,date4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,sounds as of an animal's ,feb4 #ah ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore movements in the room in ,miss ,freer daylight ,the ,glen ,miss ,langton ,voices in conversation ,miss ,freer ,the ,glen ,miss ,langton ,voices in conversation 7later7 #ai ,the ,glen ,miss ,langton ,voices in conversation and footsteps #bj ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,sounds of active movement of ,miss ,freer an animal in the room #ba ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,footsteps of an old man shuffling in slippers ,miss ,moore ,miss ,freer ,movements of animal ,dog ,miss ,moore ,miss ,freer ,bang on wall near ,no ,,vii4 #be ,wing ,mr4 ,endell ,clang noise like a pavior's hammer dropped ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,garford ,violent banging on door of ,nos4 ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,groans2 a greatly magnified ,no4 ,,iii4 ,mr4 ,q4 edition of sounds ,i have several times heard in the drawing-room ,detonating or percussive #bf ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,garford noise like a wheel-barrow on a hard road ,march #a ,no4 ,,iv4 ,mr4 ,mac,p---- ,loud clanging sound in the room #b ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,freer ,movements of animal in the ,miss ,moore room ,miss ,freer ,heavy fall ,miss ,moore ,no4 ,,iii4 ,miss ,n4 ,thud1 sounding from below #e ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,movements of animal in the room ,attics ,two maids ,monotonous reading ,monotonous reading 7also ,no4 ,i4 ,mrs4 ,b4,c4 mentioned by ,mr4 ,garford as occurring in ,no4 ,i47 ,mrs4 ,b4,c4 ,bang on door of room ,attics ,mrs4 ,robinson ,voices in conversation 7cook7 ,bangs on the wall of room #g ,attics ,robinson ,heavy body falling in the 7butler7 room ,movements of heavy body in the room ,no4 ,,ii4 ,mr4 ,c---- ,footsteps as if descending stairs ,loud rapping on doors of ,nos4 ,i4 and ,,ii4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recorded ,heard in ,room4 ,witness4 ,description of ,sound4 under ,date4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,march #h ,no4 ,,ii4 ,mr4 ,c---- ,noises in ,no4 ,i4 7empty room7 #aj ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,animal moving in the room ,miss ,freer ,heavy fall #ac ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,loud bangs ,miss ,freer ,robinson1 ,attics and ,mrs4 ,loud bangs ,robinson ,no4 ,,iv4 ,miss ,langton ,loud bangs #ae ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,moore ,vibrating bang ,miss ,freer ,no4 ,,iv4 ,miss ,langton ,vibrating bang ,wing ,colonel ,taylor ,vibrating bang ,miss ,freer was absent for four nights1 and no ,journal was kept4 ,miss ,moore ,metallic sound in room like #bj ,no4 ,i4 ,miss ,freer the 'giving' of a large ,miss ,langton tin box #bb ,no4 ,,iv4 ,mr4 ,mac,p---- ,heavy footsteps overhead ,no4 ,,iii4 ,miss ,duff ,resounding crash at door ,resounding crash in room ,monotonous reading 7also #bc ,drawing-room ,miss ,duff mentioned as occurring in ,no4 ,,iii47 #bd ,no4 ,v4 ,miss ,freer ,crash of something falling under dome ,no4 ,,viii4 ,colonel ,c---- ,loud thump on door of room ,explosive noises ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,w---- ,crash of something falling under dome ,two housemaids ,attics and ,loud knockings kitchen-maid ,butler's room ,mrs4 ,robinson ,footsteps and knocking on on ground door of ,no4 ,,iii4 floor ,no4 ,,iii4 ,miss ,duff ,shuffling foot steps outside room ,no4 ,,ii4 ,miss ,duff ,fall against door of ,no4 ,i4 ,miss ,langton #be ,no4 ,,ii4 ,miss ,langton ,loud thump on door between ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,carter 7housemaid7 #bg ,attics ,under- ,monotonous reading housemaid ,kitchen-maid #bi ,library ,miss ,freer ,footsteps in locked-up ,miss ,langton room overhead #cj ,library ,miss ,freer ,footsteps in locked-up ,miss ,langton room overhead ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,corridor ,m---- ,rappings in ,no4 ,,ii4 7empty74 ,miss ,langton 7,see ,mr4 ,m----'s account7 ,miss ,freer ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recorded ,heard in ,room4 ,witness4 ,description of ,sound4 under ,date4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,march #ca ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,langton ,shuffling footsteps in the room ,knock near the wardrobe ,metallic clangs in the room like tuning a kettle-drum2 ,mrs4 ,m---- later1 terrific noise1 ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,m---- like treble rap on a hollow panel1--like the lid of a heavy coal-scuttle let fall ,voices in library ,drawing-room ,mrs4 ,m---- ,detonating noise 7like a distant cannon7 ,april #a ,no4 ,,viii4 ,mr4 ,m---- ,voices and footsteps in ,mrs4 ,m---- room overhead 7empty7 ,drawing-room ,mrs4 ,m---- ,voices and footsteps overhead ,mrs4 ,m---- ,in the garden ,miss ,freer ,detonating noise ,miss ,langton ,mrs4 ,m---- ,limping footsteps overhead ,drawing-room ,miss ,freer ,voices of a man and woman ,miss ,langton #b ,library ,miss ,freer ,heavy blow on table ,miss ,langton ,mrs4 ,m---- ,heavy blow on table 7heard ,miss ,freer in dining-room7 ,miss ,langton ,miss ,freer ,footsteps overhead in ,dining-room ,miss ,langton empty room ,robinson 7butler7 #c ,library ,miss ,langton ,violent hammering on door in daylight ,miss ,freer ,footsteps overhead in ,miss ,langton empty room ,dining-room ,mr4 ,t---- ,robinson 7butler7 #d ,no4 ,v4 ,miss ,freer ,crash under dome ,miss ,langton #e ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,t---- ,monotonous reading #f ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,t---- ,thuds on floor above1 and on door of room ,voices in conversation #g ,no4 ,v4 ,miss ,freer ,crash under dome ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,t---- ,crash under dome ,voices in conversation ,raps at foot of door #h ,various parts ,household ,crashes and bangs and of the house generally footsteps heard during the day ,smoking-room ,miss ,freer ,shuffling footsteps in the ,miss ,langton room ,mr4 ,t---- ,voices outside door ,dog ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,recorded ,heard in ,room4 ,witness4 ,description of ,sound4 under ,date4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,april #h ,no4 ,,iv4 ,miss ,freer ,crash under dome ,no4 ,,viii4 ,miss ,langton ,shuffling footsteps ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,t---- ,voices ,thuds on lowest panels of door ,no4 ,,iv4 ,miss ,freer ,footsteps of many persons ,no ,journal kept between ,april #h and ,april #bi4 ,during this period ,professor ,lodge's notes testify to knocks on the wall1 a sawing noise1 a droning and a wailing1 444 some whistling1 and apparent attempts at a whisper1 all up in the attic4 ,monotonous voice from ,may #c ,no4 ,i4 ,mme4 ,boisseaux ,no4 ,,iii4 ,voices in argument ,no4 ,v4 ,mrs4 ,f4 ,knocks at door #d ,no4 ,v4 ,mme4 ,boisseaux ,knocks at door ,mme4 ,boisseaux ,mrs4 ,f4 ,detonating noise in empty #e ,drawing-room ,mrs4 ,m---- room overhead 7,no4 ,i47 in ,miss ,freer daylight ,rev4 ,mac,l---- ,billiard-room ,gardener1 butler1 cook ,crash in the room and others #f ,no4 ,v4 ,mme4 ,boisseaux ,room resounded with knocks ,library ,miss ,freer ,bangs on table ,miss ,moore #ac ,no4 ,i4 ,mr4 ,etienne 8 ,detonating noise ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,,notes ,compare ,plan of ,house4 #a4 ,the rooms spoken of in the text as the library1 and the upstairs1 or wing smoking-room1 are those marked in the ,plan as the morning-room1 and the bedroom to the extreme east in the wing4 #b4 ,most of the maid-servants slept in rooms ,y and ,z1 over #a and #b1 until the alarm of ,march #be1 when they moved to the rooms on the other side the house 7,x and ,w71 thus leaving those over ,nos4 #a and #b empty4 #c4 ,robinson and ,mrs4 ,robinson 7butler and cook7 occupied room ,w till ,march #ac1 when both moved into the butler's room off the hall1 which during the first month had been occupied by ,mac the maid1 who became ill and returned south4 #d4 ,opinions regarding the noises1 and experiments as to their origin1 will be found on the under-mentioned pages of the ,journal4 ,opinions1 pp4 #ib1 #aaa1 #aac1 #abj1 #abd1 #abh1 #acc1 #adc1 #add1 #adg1 #aec1 #aed1 #aei1 #afb1 #aff1 #afh1 #agc1 #agi1 #ahg1 #aih1 #bja1 #bjg1 #bae1 #bai1 #bcd1 #bdb4 ,experiments1 pp4 #aji1 #abi1 #adj1 #afj1 #age1 #ahj1 #bah1 #bbj4 ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,,co4 ,edinburgh ,london