The True Story Of The Fanny Scratching Ghost Of Cock Lane

1800s Illustration of where 'Scratching Fanny' was heard in Cock Lane

The story of the Cock Lane Ghost began back in 1760, in a house near to London's famous Smithfield market and just along from St Paul's Cathedral. Cock Lane still exists today.

William Kent, a stockbroker, rented a house from the parish clerk, Richard Parsons. The arrangement was fine until 1762 when Kent's wife died and he began to court her sister, Fanny, who soon became his 'housekeeper'.

Miss Fanny and Mr Kent sealed their love by making wills and naming each other as beneficiaries. Shortly following this Kent and Parsons fell out following a disagreement over money, so Kent moved out of the property and began legal proceedings against Parsons. As this turmoil was happening Fanny fell sick and died of smallpox.

With Fanny dead Parsons hatched a cunning plan. He concocted a story saying that Kent had murdered Fanny to get his hands on the inheritance.

Now comes the ghostly bit, which became known as Scratching Fanny.

Parsons made claims that Fanny was now haunting the house in Cock Lane. He alleged that Fanny had come back as a ghost. What's more he said that she had contacted his 12 year old daughter, Elizabeth. Fanny told her that Kent had poisoned her.

The room where Scratching Fanny was heard

The story spread like wildfire and seance's were held in the house. At one time Parsons invited a committee of 20 men to witness Fanny's ghost possessing his young daughter. Elizabeth, under the influence of Fanny, declared once again that she had been poisoned and that the only way she could rest would be if Kent were hanged.

This got the house more publicity and curious people wanted to hear Fanny Scratching. So much so, that Parsons began charging people to come inside to hear the ghostly sounds of knocking and scratching.

Cock Lane sign today

Of course there are always doubters about anything psychic, even back in the 1760s, so an investigation was started. One member of the investigative team being none other than Dr Samuel Johnson. He wrote the following about his experience of a seance held in the Cock Lane house (it's quite long and in the language of the time.)

Dr.Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

"On the night of the 1st of February many gentlemen, eminent for their rank and character were, by the invitation of the Reverend Mr. Aldrich, of Clerkenwell, assembled at his house, for the examination of the noises supposed to be made by a departed spirit, for the detection of some enormous crime.

About ten at night the gentlemen met in the chamber in which the girl, supposed to be disturbed by a spirit, had, with proper caution, been put to bed by several ladies. They sat rather more than an hour, and hearing nothing, went down stairs, when they interrogated the father of the girl, who denied, in the strongest terms, any knowledge or belief of fraud.

The supposed spirit had before publicly promised, by an affirmative knock, that it would attend one of the gentlemen into the vault under the Church of St. John, Clerkenwell, where the body is deposited, and give a token of her presence there, by a knock upon her coffin; it was therefore determined to make this trial of the existence or veracity of the supposed spirit.

While they were enquiring and deliberating, they were summoned into the girl's chamber by some ladies who were near her bed, and who had heard knocks and scratches. When the gentlemen entered, the girl declared that she felt the spirit like a mouse upon her back, and was required to hold her hands out of bed. From that time, though the spirit was very solemnly required to manifest its existence by appearance, by impression on the hand or body of any present, by scratches, knocks, or any other agency, no evidence of any preter-natural power was exhibited.

The spirit was then very seriously advertised that the person to whom the promise was made of striking the coffin, was then about to visit the vault, and that the performance of the promise was then claimed. The company at one o'clock went into the church, and the gentleman to whom the promise was made, went with another into the vault. The spirit was solemnly required to perform its promise, but nothing more than silence ensued: the person supposed to be accused by the spirit, then went down with several others, but no effect was perceived.

Upon their return they examined the girl, but could draw no confession from her. Between two and three she desired and was permitted to go home with her father. It is, therefore, the opinion of the whole assembly, that the child has some art of making or counterfeiting a particular noise, and that there is no agency of any higher cause."

~ Samuel Johnson (1762)

The findings of the investigation meant that Parsons was put on trial for fraud - remember he had been charging people to visit the house and attend seances there. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison.

Maureen Saw A Ghost Wearing A Shirt And Nothing Else

A true, scary, ghostly experience from Maureen

My family, that's me, husband and five year old child, were going on holiday and flying from London's Heathrow Airport, which is about a 200 mile journey from where we live. 

By coincidence a friend told us his father had died and we could use his now empty flat [apartment] to stay overnight. It was only about 10 minutes from the airport. What's more we could also leave our car there as well.

We thought this was great as the flight was early in the morning and it would save us on parking fees and getting up very early to travel to Heathrow

The flat was quite small but perfect for a night's sleep. In the evening we put our son to bed and, after watching a little television, decided to have an early night. I used the bathroom first and settled into bed with my book. The bedroom was virtually opposite the bathroom and I left the door open while my husband showered.

I was reading away and glanced up and saw what I took to be my husband walking down the hall-way. It looked like he was just wearing his shirt and nothing else, which was a bit odd, but I thought no more about it. I imagined he was going to the kitchen for a drink of water or something.

I got back to my book and then heard a noise from the bathroom. This puzzled me and then my husband came out of the bathroom door, wearing a towel around his waist, a shiver went down my spine, "Where's your shirt?" I asked.

He looked strangely at me (nothing unusual there) and said, "Why?"

"Well you were wearing it a few minutes ago when you went to the kitchen."

"What are you talking about? I've been in the bathroom, not the kitchen," he snapped.

Another shiver went down my spine as I explained what I'd seen: the man in a shirt. My husband went and searched the flat but everything was secure, all the doors and windows locked. "Your imagination," he said.

Then we heard our son cry out, "Mum, there's an orange floating in my room."

We both rushed to his room, next to ours, and he was standing on the bed pointing at what appeared to be an orange globe. This travelled along the wall and then suddenly disappeared.

"The man in his nightshirt left it here," said our son. He was trembling with fear.

Again my husband searched the flat but, as before, all was secure. I think even he was a bit spooked by now. The three of us got into bed, leaving the hall light on, and tried to sleep. In the morning we were glad when our taxi arrived to take us to our flight terminal.

We were going to stop at the flat overnight again after our holiday but, instead, we picked up our car from the car park and made our way home. No way was I going inside that flat again.

We told our friend about the incident but he just laughed and joked that it was probably his dad wondering what we were doing there. As for the globe, maybe a reflection from passing traffic.

I don't know what or who it was but I know what I saw.

~ Maureen

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The Ghost Who Averted A Baby Disaster

A short but interesting story. Did a 'ghost' come to the rescue? The writer wishes to withhold their name.

"My sister had given birth to the first grandchild in our family, and had come home from hospital.

She wasn't used to carrying the baby around the house, and tripped over a rug and fell forwards with the baby in her arms.

Her husband saw her stumble and fall, rushed to catch her, but before he could reach her from a distance she was propelled back to standing. He was as shocked as anyone.

My sister said that she smelled our late grandfather's familiar aftershave and knew it was he who had caught her and saved the baby."

The Ghostly Brown Lady on the Stairs

The Brown Lady is one of the most famous ghosts in England - and yes I know in the photo she's black and white!

Many claim to have seen the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, Norfolk, England. Even royalty have seen this upmarket ghost.

King George IV, for example, while staying at the Hall, is said to have woken during the night to see a woman in brown. He was so shaken - though not stirred - that he refused to stay another hour in the house.

So who is this ghost? It is believed to be Lady Dorothy Townsend, sister to England's prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and wife of the second Marquess of Townshend.

The story goes that at the age of 26 Dorothy married Lord Charles Townshend. But not all was good within the marriage as Charles discovered that Dorothy had in fact been the mistress of Lord Wharton.

As punishment Dorothy was locked in her apartment until she died from a broken heart, though some say the cause of death was smallpox.

Until 1904 there was a portrait of Lady Dorothy dressed in brown in the hall - thus the ghosts name.

In the portrait Dorothy had large sparkling eyes. It was said that the portrait looked normal during the day, but at night the face would become evil looking.

Now we come to the photo. In 1936 Lord Townshend hired a professional photographer to take photos of the Hall.

The photographer noticed a shadowy figure, dressed in white, on the stairs. On an impulse a photo was taken and when developed was seen to be the outline of a ghostly lady wearing a wedding style dress.

The photo was published in Country Life magazine on December 1st, 1936 and caused quite a sensation. The photo was said to be genuine at the time.

Over the years several people have seen the Brown Lady including a Colonel Loftus and Captain Frederick Marryat who encountered the ghost grinning at him. He was so scared he shot at the figure. The bullet went right through the ghost and lodged in a door behind where the Brown Lady appeared.

Other Ghostly Stories:
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The Ugly Ghostly Man Who inadvertently Saved Lord Dufferin's Life

Lord Dufferin

There is an old tale about Lord Dufferin, full title, Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava  (21 June 1826 – 12 February 1902)  and how he saw an ugly ghostly figure who went on to save his life.

The Lord was on holiday at a friend's country home in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. During the night he suddenly woke from a deep sleep. Feeling apprehensive he looked out of the window where he saw a hunched figure who appeared to be carrying a heavy coffin on his shoulder.

Dufferin went downstairs to see who the man was and what he was doing.  He called out, "What have you got there?"

The man looked up startled and the Lord was shocked by the wizened, ugly, old face of the man. He shouted to him, "Where are you going?" To his astonishment the man disappeared without trace.

In the morning he told his host what he had seen. He was at a loss to explain the strange apparition.

Moving on, several years later, in the 1880s. Lord Dufferin was in Paris at the Grand Hotel for a diplomatic reception.

With his private secretary they made their way to the lift. The doors opened and Dufferin recoiled at what he saw. The lift operator was the wizened, ugly, old man he had seen carrying a coffin in Ireland.

Dufferin refused to get into the lift and went to the hotel's reception desk to find out the identity of the strange man.

Meanwhile, as the lift reached the fifth floor, the cable snapped and the lift crashed downwards killing all of the occupants.

The accident was duly reported to the Press and the happening was recorded by the British Society for Psychical Research.

Neither the investigation or the management of the Hotel had any record of the wizened, ugly old man.

Ghosts and White Feathers Seen While Self Isolating

Over the last week or two my wife has felt what she describes as a shadow behind her, when in our kitchen. It doesn't scare her in any way. So whatever, or whoever, it is isn't in any way evil or nasty - she just feels that something is watching her.

I hadn't thought too much about this until I was flicking through an old copy of the Daily Mail's You magazine. In an article it mentions how some people are experiencing visitations of ghosts and spirits during this time of problems with the coronavirus.

They give a few experiences of what people have seen. A woman, for example, sees a ghost who she describes as Top Hat Man. He is like a shadow at the periphery of her vision. 

There's also a pub full of differing spirits - the non alcoholic sort - which includes Harold who scares guests by grabbing their necks - and so the stories go on.

A spiritualist medium You magazine consulted, is quoted as saying, "It's not surprising that people may be more aware at this time of being in lockdown … now many of us are at home all day we have more time for reflection. There are fewer distractions so we're more responsive to energies around us."

A while back I wrote about how three important people in our lives died within a short period of time. Two of the deaths were completely unexpected.

I mention this as my wife, at that difficult time, sensed someone touching her gently and saw the shape of one of the deceased in the kitchen window. Again, this wasn't scary. 

This all happened around the time I first began to see white feathers following the loss of loved ones. This started when my mother died. The feathers seemed to be everywhere and these continued following our two other losses as well. 

See my post White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved. There are also dozens and dozens of other white feather posts on this blog.

The coronavirus has had an effect on us in so many ways. Our lives could well be altered forever. 

P.S. My wife had another creepy happening last night. She went up to bed before me. After a while she heard footsteps in the bedroom, we have a wooden floor. Thinking it was me she never looked up. If she had done so she would have realised that I was still downstairs!

Grandfather's Ghost Averted A Baby Disaster

A short but interesting experience where a ghost averts a baby disaster. The writer's name has been withheld.

"My sister had given birth to the first grandchild in our family, and had come home from the hospital.

She wasn't used to carrying the baby around the house, and tripped over a rug and fell forwards with the baby in her arms.

Her husband saw her stumble and fall, rushed to catch her, but before he could reach her from a distance she was propelled back to standing. He was as shocked as anyone!

My sister said that she smelled our late grandfather's familiar aftershave and knew it was he who had caught her and saved the baby."

Doppelgangers On The Loose!

The question is: is the following story, from Ann Woodward, about a doppelganger, a ghost or is it just one big coincidence?

One of the partners in our firm died of cancer four years ago. She was dearly loved and sorely missed.

About six months ago I was in a department store and walking towards me was a lady who was the absolute double of her. In fact, so much so that it stopped me in my tracks, and made me take a deep breath.

I just wanted to run up to her and hug her.

When I related this to my work colleague the next day, she told me that it had been the late partner's birthday that day.

Coincidence or what?

~ Ann Woodward

The photo at the top of the post is Guy de Maupassant who claimed that towards the end of his life he often saw his own doppelganger and started to interact with 'him'. So much so, it is said the doppelganger dictated a short story to him, which was then published.

I have also written previously of how I was mistaken for someone else a couple of times while travelling see The Advantage Of Being Mistaken For Someone Else.

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The Ghost Or Spirit Of St Bernadette And Her Incorrupt Body

While looking through some photos, I came across the picture above, purported to be Saint Bernadette - after she had died. There are five images said to show her as spirit, gradually fading into a wall.

It's not known who the photographer was but is generally referred to as The Ghost of Bernadette Soubirous and was taken in 1890, eleven years following her death. And, yes, I realise there were many fake ghost and spirit photos in that era.

Bernadette Soubirous is the French farm girl from rural Lourdes who was canonised as a saint on December 13th 1933. Lourdes has since become a centre of healing for believers, mostly of the Catholic faith. Her full story can be found on Wikipedia, where it is says:

"In the 150 years since Bernadette dug up the spring (at Lourdes), 67 cures have been verified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as 'inexplicable', but only after what the Church claims are 'extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations' that failed to find any other explanation."

No doubt most people have probably heard of the Lourdes story but I didn't realise that Bernadette's body had been exhumed three times with bizarre results:

On the first occasion, in September 1909, witnesses claimed that, though a crucifix in her hand had oxidised, her body was declared 'incorrupt.' In other words there was no sign of decomposition.

On the second exhumation in April 1919 the doctor, who examined the body stated: "The body is practically mummified, covered with patches of mildew and quite a notable layer of salts, which appear to be calcium salts. The skin has disappeared in some places, but it is still present on most parts of the body."

Following a third exhumation in 1925 Doctor Comte published a report in the Bulletin de I'Association medicale de Notre-Dame de Lourdes:

"What struck me during this examination, of course, was the state of perfect preservation of the skeleton, the fibrous tissues of the muscles (still supple and firm), of the ligaments, and of the skin, and above all the totally unexpected state of the liver after 46 years. One would have thought that this organ, which is basically soft and inclined to crumble, would have decomposed very rapidly or would have hardened to a chalky consistency. Yet, when it was cut it was soft and almost normal in consistency. I pointed this out to those present, remarking that this did not seem to be a natural phenomenon."

As to whether Lourdes has supernatural powers of healing is a matter of opinion. What can be said is that belief can do many wondrous things - including returning people to health. Belief is at the centre of most miracles.

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The Secret Told To Samuel Wilberforce By A Ghost!

Samuel Wilberforce - English Bishop of the Church of England

Within the pages of the Times Daily, dated Jan 13, 1894 there is a report of A True Ghost Story featuring Samuel Wilberforce. This is what was said:

On a certain occasion the worthy bishop [Samuel Wilberforce] had accepted an invitation to stay at a country house not far from London. Entering the drawing room previous to dinner on the evening of his arrival, he noticed a priest - evidently of the Roman communion - sitting by the open fire and taking no part in the general conversation. The bishop was somewhat surprised at not being presented to the priest. To his further astonishment, a few minutes later, dinner being announced, the guests retired, leaving the priest by the fire.

The hostess assigned Bishop Wilberforce the seat of honour at her right hand, as soon as an opportunity offered he remarked:

"I beg your pardon, madam, but may I enquire who was the priest we left sitting apart in the drawing room?"

"Ah, you have seen him then?" replied the lady. "It is not everyone who has the privilege. I cannot tell you who he is or whence he comes. For many years this spectre has haunted the house and grounds. He seems to do no harm, and although he appears only occasionally we have become quite accustomed to our friendly ghost."

"How very singular!" remarked his lordship. "But have you never addressed your priestly spectre?"

"Indeed, I have had no opportunity, nor the desire, for that matter," responded the hostess, growing pale.

"May I have the liberty now?" inquired the dignitary.

"With all my heart, your lordship," replied the lady.

The bishop arose, and returning to the drawing room found the priest where he had left him a few minutes before, Having no fear, the bishop said kindly: "Who are you, my friend, and why are you here?"

"I am the spirit of a priest who left this world some 80 years ago, and I am here to impart to any one who will receive it a secret which died with me. I could not rest in my grave while a great wrong was being done which it was my power to right. I have been returning all these years in the hope that someone would address me, for it was not given to me to be the first to speak. All men have shunned me until now, and it is your mission to do my bidding.

"I was a priest of the church of Rome and was called to this house 80 years ago to receive the confession of a dying man. He was the sole possessor of a secret, the knowledge of which would alter materially the entail of a this vast estate, and in his death this man wished to repair the terrible wrong he had brought upon his kin.

"At his request I wrote down the confession word for word, as he gave it to me, and when finished had barely time to administer the final sacrament of the church before he expired in my arms,

"It was very important that I should return to London that night, and in passing through the library to leave the house, I concluded it would be better not to carry the paper on which was written the confession away with me, but to place it somewhere secure, unseen spot, where I could obtain it the following day and deliver the document to the person for whom it was intended.

"Mounting the steps to the book shelves, I took out a copy of Young's Night Thoughts, which was the first book upon the uppermost shelf nearest the last window, and inserted the paper carefully between its leaves. I replaced the book and departed.

"A horse was awaiting me at the door, but ere we reached the entrance of the grounds he took fright. I was thrown and instantly killed. Thus died the secret of my confessor with me.

"No one has disturbed that book in all the years, and no one has had the courage to address this messenger from the unknown. The paper will be found as I stated, and now remains for you to correct the injustice which has so long been upon this noble family. My mission is over, and I can rest in peace."

At the close of this remarkable speech the spectre faded gradually from sight, and the bishop was left gazing into space.

Recovering from his astonishment, Bishop Wilberforce went at once to the library as indicated by the specter. He found the document, just as described, but now faded and yellow.

The secret of the confession never became known to the world. The good bishop regarded it as a confidence from the spiritual world.

It is a fact, however, that about the time of this extraordinary occurrence the magnificent estate in question passed into the possession of a remote member of the family, who until then had lived in obscurity.

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The Haunted House Coincidences

In south-west Nebraska a family believe their house to be haunted. Donna and her husband bought their house in 1988 but it wasn't until 11 years later that they began to first notice strange, sometimes disturbing happenings.

For example, Donna's young son, Toby, refused to sleep in his own room. She said, "He just refused to go in there and kept saying 'There's someone in there.'"

Toby told his mother that on several occasions he would hear a gun cocking beside his head, followed by the sound of a horn across the room.

There were other creepy incidents, a CD player would switch itself off, voices were heard from the basement.

Donna began to investigate the history of her home. What she learned astonished her.

Around 1935, after a flood, her home was moved to town from the country. Apparently, several people died in the house: a pioneer boy in 1886, an older woman, and a man who spent his time in a mental hospital.

The man was 42 when he died ... but there were some remarkable coincidences. He bought the house in 1888, exactly 100 years before Donna and her family moved in. The man had a daughter who was born in 1881 - Donna's daughter was born in 1981. The man's daughter graduated in 1900 - Donna's graduated in 2000, from the same high school. Their daughters also shared the same first name of Sally.

Strange things continued to happen. A friend stayed overnight, but was reluctant to stay in the house because she could see someone standing by the bed.

When the friend awoke the next morning, the necklace she wore to bed was gone and she had red marks on her neck.

Sally woke one morning with a large scratch across her forehead.

Things, however, gradually calmed and Donna said, "Lately, if we tell them to stop whatever it is they're doing, they'll behave."

Photo for illustration purposes only.

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The Brief Sighting Of A Ghost

A brief sighting of a ghost is the theme for today's post.

I had often hoped to encounter a ghost or apparition, but until four years ago never experienced anything close to a paranormal event.

That changed one morning four years ago, shortly after I got out of bed. My wife had got up earlier and I walked into the bathroom that adjoins our bedroom.

As I turned to re-enter the bedroom, I saw a figure walking towards the doorway. With its last step it bounded toward the hallway.

The morning light was quite dim, and I saw the figure only briefly. I assumed it was my wife, somewhat in a hurry because her last step was exaggerated.

When I walked into the bedroom and was even with the hall door, I was stunned.

The figure could not have been my wife. I could see for the first time that the person I had seen had leaped through a closed door.

I immediately found my wife in the kitchen and she confirmed she had been there for sometime. We were the only people in the house at the time.

In the past four years, there have been, regrettably, no recurrences of the shy, leaping apparition.

~ Bob Stansell

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A White Feather To Cilla From Bobby

Cilla Black in the 1960s

A little something I read recently about Cilla Black - a British pop star from the Beatles era.

When Cilla's husband, Bobby, died she was, needless to say, traumatised. She would spend hours sitting under a willow tree in her garden, in Denham, talking to Bobby, and praying for a sign from him. One day, a white feather floated through the air and landed at her feet.

This convinced Cilla that Bobby was in touch with her and she is quoted as telling her sons, "I know he is waiting for me. When the time comes, we will be together again."

I seem to be getting many white feather stories recently. Not perhaps ones suitable for publishing on the blog but nevertheless interesting as a whole. If you search for white feathers at the top of the page you will find dozens of such stories on this blog.

Cilla had also seen a ghost in her house - a pallid faced girl, in a long white dress with a ruffled collar. Cilla and Bobby had seen her in their bedroom and other visitors had glimpsed the girl in other parts of the house.

Research was done and it was found that 14 year old Lilian Redley, the daughter of the gardener, was recorded as having died in the house in 1912. A clairvoyant claimed that Lilian had died in childbirth and was 'earth bound' as she was looking for her baby,

Cilla Black died last year.

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A Very Strange Ghostly Happening

Lake Temiskaming

Mr William J McMillan tells of a strange thing that is alleged to have happened when he was working in the Klock Lumber Company's camp in the Quinze River district.

"Our camp known as the Douglas Farm was situated at Lake Expanse, about 53 miles in from Lake Temiskaming. It was an extremely isolated section of the north country, with only one other camp within miles of us. That was what was known as McLachlin's Ni**er Point Farm, at the mouth of the Lonely river.

"Well, one evening after supper, as was our usual custom, we all set out to feed our horses and bed them down for the night. One of the teamsters who was attending to this duty was Walter Mitchell, who, I think hailed from some little village in Glengarry county. The rest of us had finished our jobs and were just getting settled down in the bunk house for a gab feast before turning in for the night, when the door burst open and in rushed Mitchell, looking as white as a ghost and trembling from head to foot.

"When he had partially regained his composure he told us a story to the effect that while he was on his way to the granary he saw a figure approaching at a rapid rate of speed. When the figure drew even with him he saw that it was his mother. She passed by him without uttering a word and faded into the darkness. For a moment he was too dumfounded to do anything but stare after the receding apparition. Then he rushed back to the shanty to relate the strange story.

"But the strangest part of it all was that three days later, Mitchell received a telegram notifying him that his mother had died at precisely the same time as he claimed to have seen her appear on the path beside him."

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Saw A Ghost In A Vacant Store - Mystery Solved At Last

There's always an explanation some will say ... ghosts are only imaginary. The debate has rumbled on for hundreds of years. Here's a ghostly story I found from 1898 - where the mystery is solved.

The residents on and near Racine Street in the vicinity of Brady and Kenwaunee Streets, Milwaukee have had a ghost scare recently which culminated in alarming the whole neighbourhood.

Adjoining Greib's drug store at 851 Racine Street, there is a vacant store which a short time ago was occupied by an undertaker. In the front window there was formerly displayed a casket to show passers-by the nature of the business transacted within. As usual in all establishments of the kind many times corpses were brought to the place for embalming.

A few night ago [November 1898] a servant girl employed in the neighbourhood, ran to the house where she works and stated positively that there was a ghost in the window where the casket had been. She was terribly frightened and solemnly affirmed that she had seen the figure of an old man curled up as if lying in an imaginary coffin. His face was the face of death.

The man of the house called a friend and investigated the store. They saw nothing to arouse any curiosity or create any fear.

The report, however, that a ghost had been seen spread and on several occasions the figure was noticed by others. Young ladies have noticed the being and ran away with shrieks. Men and women have had creepy feelings as they felt the presence of some uncanny thing.

Noises were often heard in the store. The tramping of feet and heavy breathing as if of a dying man. Groans and, according to the tale of one frightened child, the rattling of chains.

Last night one of the young ladies who live in the neighbourhood saw the figure. She was certain that the little old man was there in the window curled up as if in a casket. She ran home and spread the alarm.

Later the young lady, with six of her friends, proposed that they all go around and see if the ghost was still in the window. The proposition was accepted and accordingly they passed the place. There it was as sure as they were themselves!

Finally one of them went close to the window and looked in. There was nothing there. The being had disappeared. But on a second look there was a figure of an old man in the dark corner of the store crouching as if in pain. He turned his head and looked straight at her. The girl ran away shrieking.

They found a police officer, but he thought they were fooling him and declined to return with them to the store. Upon their insistence, however, he approached the place and he too, started back, for there in the window was the ghostly figure again.

Pulling himself together and encouraged by the fact that even ghosts must respect the majesty of the law, he came close to the window and was more than astounded to see the figure turn and look straight at him. Then it arose and disappeared in to the darkness.

The officer tried the door and the being came from its hiding place and unlocked the door ...

... it was the janitor of the place. He sleeps in the window because there is no bed there. The neighbourhood had become quieted and the haunted store will no longer be a place of fear and trembling.

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Maureen Was Scared Of The Ghost Wearing Only A Shirt
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Maureen Was Scared Of The Ghost Wearing Only A Shirt

A ghostly tale today from Maureen, who sent me this after reading Best Of Friends: Daisy The Ghost And Jasper The Dog. The difference being that Maureen was frightened by her experience whereas Daisy was a gentle, almost loving ghost.

My family, that's me, husband and five year old child, were going on holiday and flying from London's Heathrow Airport, which is about a 200 mile journey from where we live.

By coincidence a friend told us his father had died and we could use his now empty flat [apartment] to stay overnight. It was only about 10 minutes from the airport. What's more we could also leave our car there as well.

We thought this was great as the flight was early in the morning and it would save us on parking fees and getting up very early to travel to Heathrow.

The flat was quite small but perfect for a night's sleep. In the evening we put our son to bed and, after watching a little television, decided to have an early night. I used the bathroom first and settled into bed with my book. The bedroom was virtually opposite the bathroom and I left the door open while my husband showered.

I was reading away and glanced up and saw what I took to be my husband walking down the hall-way. It looked like he was just wearing his shirt and nothing else, which was a bit odd, but I thought no more about it. I imagined he was going to the kitchen for a drink of water or something.

I got back to my book and then heard a noise from the bathroom. This puzzled me and then my husband came out of the bathroom door, wearing a towel around his waist, a shiver went down my spine, "Where's your shirt?" I asked.

He looked strangely at me (nothing unusual there) and said, "Why?"

"Well you were wearing it a few minutes ago when you went to the kitchen."

"What are you talking about? I've been in the bathroom, not the kitchen," he snapped.

Another shiver went down my spine as I explained what I'd seen: the man in a shirt. My husband went and searched the flat but everything was secure, all the doors and windows locked. "Your imagination," he said.

Then we heard our son cry out, "Mum, there's an orange floating in my room."

We both rushed to his room, next to ours, and he was standing on the bed pointing at what appeared to be an orange globe. This travelled along the wall and then suddenly disappeared.

"The man in his nightshirt left it here," said our son. He was trembling with fear.

Again my husband searched the flat but, as before, all was secure. I think even he was a bit spooked by now. The three of us got into bed, leaving the hall light on, and tried to sleep. In the morning we were glad when our taxi arrived to take us to our flight terminal.

We were going to stop at the flat overnight again after our holiday but, instead, we picked up our car from the car park and made our way home. No way was I going inside that flat again.

We told our friend about the incident but he just laughed and joked that it was probably his dad wondering what we were doing there. As for the globe, maybe a reflection from passing traffic.

I don't know what or who it was but I know what I saw.

~ Maureen

Other Random Posts:
The Ghost Sightings In London's Top Hotel
Write Home To Mother Coincidence
The Grey Ghost Who Walks Into A Doorway That Is No Longer There