An Uxbridge “Ghost” and its antics.
The alleged presence of a “ghost” in a house and its vicinity in the Cowley-road has aroused a good deal of interest and controversy in the town during the past few days, and despite the fact that several attempts have been made by amateur devotees to the art of spiritualism, to “lay” it, efforts have so far proved futile, and it is stated that this week-end the aid of more experienced persons in occult science is being obtained with a view to accounting for the presence of this mysterious spirit, which, while it is providing the town with a nine days’ wonder, threatens to play havoc with the nerves of those who experience its periodical visits.
Although many distorted and highly imaginative tales are going the rounds, there appears to be some foundation that something, as yet unexplainable, is in operation. It is difficult to obtain actual facts concerning the affair, because the occupants are naturally reticent in publishing their experiences, presumably in order to prevent public attention being centred upon the premises, but others who have been in close touch with the house, vouch that mysterious and unexplainable things have recently happened within its walls and outbuildings.
Apparently, the house, which is an old one, has been subject to these visits periodically for some time past, but during more recent times “he” has given his almost undivided attention to the scene of what is presumed to have once been his earthly abode. The apparition – for it is vouched that such has been seen – is not in the usual form of a shrouded figure in white, but that of an ordinary man wearing a cap. Neither are his visits confined to the witching hour of midnight, in fact, he is most erratic, appearing any time after dusk.
It was within a few days of Christmas – the season which custom usually associates with the appearance of these characters – that he again thrust his unwelcome presence upon an unthankful host and his family, and the operations which he has since “entertained” them with have aroused hopes that his stay may not be of long duration.
Although the “spirit” appears in divers quarters, its customary entrance is by way of the scullery. A noise as of several tin baths in commotion, it is alleged, usually heralds the hour of his approach, and simultaneously a cold blast passes through the house. Its antics, however, are not confined to this sphere which are so closely in accord with the old-time Christmas story. In one instance horses in an adjoining stable created such discordant noises as to give evidence of something untoward having happened, and although prompt action was taken to ascertain the cause of their restlessness, for some time the stable door would not yield to pressure, but when access was gained the horses were found to be in so nervous a condition that they could not be worked for several days!
It is said that the apparition has been seen by at least three members of the family. It appears to be attracted to one upstairs room in particular, and his attentions to this spot have been so persistent as to render it uninhabitable for a few days.
The fact that the appearance of the apparition was mostly from the scullery, raised the question as to whether the removal of the floor might yield some clue to the cause: either hidden wealth which he was jealously guarding or part of his remains when he was mortal. This procedure (quite in accordance with legendary lore) was adopted, but needless to add, nothing was discovered.
Rumour, of course, is current upon the subject, and allowances have to be made for imaginative details that have been supplied. In another instance, it is asserted, the fire-tongs suddenly changed places without human aid, and shortly afterwards the sound of heavy treading was heard on the stairs above, which had but a short time before been ascended by two females. In proceeding to ascertain the cause of the noise, the man found a door handle on the mat at the foot of the stairs. Prosecuting his enquirings further, he ascended and proceeded to open the door from which the handle was missing. There, it is alleged, he found the two females in a highly excited condition, who stated that the apparition had made its appearance and in quitting the room pulled the handle from the door.
It is asserted (and here rumour cannot be disregarded) that an attempt was made to lay the spirit. It was first located in an outbuilding, but the flash from an electric torch caused it to immediately disappear. It was subsequently traced to an upper chamber of the house and was persuaded to descend to more convenient and comfortable quarters downstairs. It obeyed, but apparently tired of the cross-examination which it was subjected to, disappeared, not before it had been persuaded, by occult means, to record its former Christian name! Gentle and persistent enquiry resulted in its spelling letters G-E-O-Z. Logical reasoning ascribes the meaning of these characters to be none other than George, explaining that the wrong spelling is probably due to ignorance of the fundamental rules of phonetic pronunciation. He, however, could not be persuaded to give a surname, and thus little of importance was gained as a result of the “interview.”
The truth of this story is not vouched for, but exaggerated as some of the other facts probably are, there is little doubt that the uncanny incidents which have happened require an explanation that has as yet not been forthcoming. The result of this week-end’s conference will, therefore, be awaited with interest.
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 6th January 1922.
The Uninvited Ghost.
Chills and thrills in haunted dwelling.
Sleepers driven from their beds.
An uninvited and ghostly guest has been causing considerable annoyance to his host, an Uxbridge man. Most uninvited guests are liable at times to get rather a chilly reception, but apparently this one minds that so little he carries his own cold atmosphere about with him. His appearances are said to be heralded by a wave of cold air.
The ghost is described as resembling an elderly man with a close-fitting cap., and though he has no set time for performance, seems to have the knack of making himself felt. Mr Gilbert Burrows, his unwilling host, his wife, daughter, and three sons, have all found him rather upsetting. Mr Burrows is a jobmaster, and formerly drove the fire engine before the horses were replaced by a motor. He is a practical, common-sense man, hale and hearty, and the last person to be troubled by imagination. With his family he has lived for fifteen years in their present house, but though from time to time they have heard strange noises they have paid little attention to them. During the last few weeks however, it is declared, things have changed. The sounds have become distinctly those of a man climbing the stairs deliberately, the bedrooms have been invaded by a chilly presence, and more than once sleepers have been disturbed and driven from their beds.
“The ghost fairly put me through it,” remarked Mr Bert Burrows, one of the sons, who fought with the Middlesex Regiment during the war. “He bent over me and mesmerised me. I lay there as if paralysed. If you had said anything about ghosts to me two years ago I would have laughed. Now I don’t.” He added that he is quite certain that there is “something there” which prevents him from getting his night’s rest.
With a view to probing the mystery, three friends of the Burrows, interested in matters psychic, arranged to sit up and investigate. The first time they tried was on Christmas Eve. They sat in the stable at the back of the house, which the ghost has frequently visited, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m, but nothing happened, though all well-conducted ghosts walk on Christmas Eve. Their next effort was made the other night. Again they met in the stable, and waited, one of them perched on a large bin. This time they were not to be disappointed, for suddenly the man sitting on the bin felt a lifting movement, as if someone was trying to raise the lid, and the table began to play pranks. They resorted to table-tapping to try to get a message from the ghost, and after a while they got the letters G E O R G. Then silence.Perhaps that is the way they spell George where the spirits come from, or perhaps the ghost got tired.
A further attempt to probe the mystery is to be made at another sitting, at which it is hoped, the services of an experienced medium will be available. Meanwhile local authorities identify the chilly visitant as one George Barnett, who lived in the house a generation ago, and carrie don the trade of hurdle-making. He was described as a man of sharp temper and eccentric habits.
Dundee Courier, 9th January 1922.
The Uxbridge “Ghost.”
Prolongs its stay.
The Uxbridge “ghost” appears in no wise to have been disturbed by the large crowd of children who have nightly congregated without the entrance gates of the Cowley-road residence where he appears to have taken up his abode. There seems to have been a keen desire to watch and discuss events on the spot, on the off-chance of seeing this interesting visitor, about which so many weird incidents and exaggerated and imaginary tales have recently been in circulation. The crowd has on occasions been so numerous that a couple of policemen have had to be stationed in the vicinity. Latterly, however, the interest has waned again, as is the way with “nine days’ wonders.”
Many people interested in occult science have at various times during the past few weeks assembled within the house, with the grim determination of elucidating the mystery, which is playing havoc with the nerves of the occupants. Up to the present, however, there has been no success in enterprises of this kind, and the “ghost” continues his pranks unmolested, and, despite frequent seances, refuses to account for his return to what is presumed to be the scene of his earthly activities.
To spiritualists, the doors of the house appear to be readily open, the occupants being naturally desirous of adopting any means that will free them from the unwelcome attentions that have been manifested; but those seeking to fathom the mystery for the benefit of a curious and interested public have not met with so ready a reception; in fact, strong measures appear to have been taken to prevent publicity being given to the unexplainable incidents that have undoubtedly happened. This led to a rather interesting experience by a London journalist, who sought information on the subject. Warned of the antipathy in which newspaper reporters and similar curious people were held, and informed of the fact that devotees to the occult science were welcomed, he naturally adopted the role, and by adroit questioning was able to obtain the complete “story” from the unsuspecting occupier. The incident was not discovered until some days later, when, after a period of freedom of “expression”, the person in question saw the humour of the situation.
The facts disclosed in this way seem to show that the apparition is the figure of an elderly man with a close-fitting cap, so far as could be made out, but the “presence” is felt rather than seen. He arrives, as a rule, on a wave of cold air, calculated to freeze the blood and to make even well-brillantined hair emulate the porcupine’s quills.
The present tenants have occupied the house for some fifteen years, and during most of that period strange noises have been heard. But during the past few weeks the sounds have become distinctly those of footsteps, as of a man climbing the stairs with a deliberate tread. The “ghost” also haunts the bedrooms, and on one occasion tried to shake a mattress, causing the occupant to precipitously retreat. One of the members of the family gives an account of a most uncanny happening which he experienced as he lay in bed. The “ghost” is said to have bent over him and mesmerised him, with the result that he laid as if paralysed!
The story is given of a seance that was held in the stable on Christmas Eve, from 9 p.m. until one o’clock in the morning. The long vigil was unrewarded, the “ghost” apparently having chosen to spend the festive season with his relations elsewhere. A similar sitting held on New Year’s Eve was more fruitful. The three enthusiasts in the psychic art sat round a table, one of them mounted on a large bin. Very soon this man felt a lifting movement beneath him, as though something was inside the bin, trying to raise the lid. By means of the table rapping, the circle tried to obtain a message from the “ghost”. Persistent efforts were successful in getting him to spell his Christian name – George, but beyond this he would not go. This caused efforts to be made with a view to tracing whether former occupants of the house bore a similar Christian name, and enquiries have so far been successful that it has been found to have been associated with the name of Barnett, who resided there some fifty or sixty years ago. Older residents recall him as being an experienced hurdle-maker, and they yet retain pleasant memories of how in their youthful days it was their custom to visit his presmises to purchase half-penny fishing rods to catch unsuspecting tiddlers from the stream below.
He closed a life of hard work in the trade to which he had set his hands, in the house, leaving his wife to enjoy many years of widowhood in the same house, before she joined him in the local cemetery. Between that time and the present, the house has had three tenants, all of whom have carried on the business of a carrier. The immediate predecessors of the present occupant resided there for seven years. The old shed in which Barnett plied his handicraft was then, and is now, still in existence. In the time of the former occupier, the shed was in a dilapidated condition, and being open to the garden, as the back fo the house is, it experiences the full velocity of the wind when the direction is westerly. Beyond the noise consequent upon this, and its weird passage through the old and commodious cellars beneath, no special inconvenience was experienced by the former tenants.
The head of the family appears to be the only person within the house who has not seen or been troubled with the “ghost.” Since last week, various stories of the antics have gained currency, many of which are, of course, ridiculous. It was asserted, for instance, that during the week-end the occupants were preceded up the stairs on their way to bed by the “ghost” carrying a light; whilst the mysterious disappearance of ornaments from the mantelboard and their subsequent return have also been accredited to the apparition. On another occasion he is supposed to have fed and groomed the horses!
Generally, the presence of an apparition is not believed, although during the weekend an extraordinary experience was recorded in which an entirely independent witness figures. The person in question was a police-sergeant – whose veracity surely cannot be questioned! It was at two o’clock in the morning that he was passing the premises, when he saw the figure of a man hanging over the gate. He wished him good-night, but getting no reply, turned and found that the figure had vanished. The man, the sergeant said, was wearing a cap, and answered the description of the “ghost” as seen by members of the family!
Is it true that the local spiritualists who took part in the recent seance, at which the “ghost” was persuaded to spell his Christian name, and which, according to their reading, was G-E-O-R-Z, had not sufficiently mastered the difficulties of the psychic alphabet, and that the correct interpretation has since been found to have been D-A-V-E?
Asked his views upon the Uxbridge “ghost”, a local spiritualist said: “I don’t believe there is a ghost, but a spirit – yes.” He went on to express the opinion that this spirit had some grievance, or desired to bring some matter to light, and until he received a “hearing” he would continue to pay these visitations. The only way to get to the bottom of the matter, he maintained, was for a medium to get into communication with the spirit, and ascertain what is wrong. He added that one of the inmates of the house must be clairvoyant, otherwise he would not have had visual evidence of the spirit’s presence, though it was possible for anybody to see the results of such visits. He made the welcome statement that it was not likely the spirit would leave the premises which he had made his home.
Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette, 13th January 1922.
Our “Ghost.”
We learn that since a spiritualistic seance a fortnight ago the Cowley-road “ghost” has not been seen or heard of. One of the many latest rumours is that during the time of the occupancy of the premises by Mr George Barnett, a ghost frequently made its appearance. Mr Barnett was accustomed to stack his hurdles on the site where the stables now stand, and it is said that among other things “invisible hands” occasionally moved these hurdles to the other end of the yard! The question now asked is: “Has the ghost of George arrived to ‘lay’ the ghost of the one who used to cause him so much trouble?”
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 20th January 1922.
Uxbridge Ghost Returns.
and breaks a promise.
One was tempted to write at the beginning of this week of “The Passing of George,” for it was stated that the spirit which has for some years past disturbed the peace of residents in a house in Cowley-road, Uxbridge, had, in the course of a recent seance, been persuaded to cease from his earthly vissitations and devote his attention to the spirit world of which he now forms a part.
Recent activities by the spirit led to the suggestion by local spiritualists that the most effective means of removing the disturbance would be to obtain the services of an experienced medium, who would get into touch with the ghost and find from him the cause of his re-appearance, remove it, and allow “him” to return to his ethereal sphere. This suggestion appears to have been followed, for one day last week a lady devotee of the art visited the premises and engaged in conversation with the spirt, “who stood in the corner of the room during the interview.” It is said that not only one ghostly presence made itself felt, but that it was accompanied by a kindred spirit. The conversation, which was rather protracted, it is said, was effective in obtaining the cause of his return, and on the suggestion that the grievance would be removed, he gave his solemn word that he would trouble them no longer.
Various other spirits were called into service to lead their erring brother to the realms of perpetual peace. The seance, therefore, was considered to have been most satisfactory, adn the residents looked forward to a time of peace and quietness. But it would appear that their hopes had been early dispelled, for “George” has returned. Apparently, he broke away from his companions, or lost the way! and so returned to the place where he has now so long been associated.
And it sis further said that his re-appearance has this time taken an entirely different form. The details are, however, being jealously guarded by a party of three, and it has been impossible to glean any information.
One hitch, however, to previous investigations has occurred, and it is probable that another name will have to be provided for the local “ghost.” “One Who Knows” writes: “George Barnett never lived at th ehouse, but his brother James did, carrying on the business of a hurdle-maker and wood dealer, and earning an honest living, doing no one any harm. No ghost ever appeared there in his time.” Therefore it cannot be “George,” and as Dave declines the responsibility, a more exhaustive investigation will have to be made as to his real name, but the fact remains that those immediately concerned are convinced of the spirit’s presence.
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 27th January 1922.