Henley-in-Arden.
Spirit Rapping.
The quiet village of Wootton Wawen, near this place, was the theatre of considerable excitement during the last week, owing to a reported visitation from the land of spirits. A Mrs Aldington, a widow living in a cottage in the Alcester Road, at the above place, sent for Mr Davies, the under-agent of Sir E.J. Smythe, Bart., to complain that her adjoining neighbours had, from malignant motives, kept rapping the wall at the head of her bed three or four consecutive hours for two nights past, and had thrown missiles through and broken her bedroom window. Mr Davies directed her to keep watch.
The rapping still continuing several more nights, Mr Davies went to question and remonstrate with the old lady’s neighbours for such conduct towards her, but they positively denied any such proceedings, and said that other neighbours, whom they had called in when such rappings had been going on, could clear them thereof.
Several neighbours who had been present on the occasions, came forward, and after testifying to the innocence of the accused, declared the noises to be so mysterious that nothing less than a spirit or the Devil could make them proceed from several places at the same time.
Mr Davies was invited to be a witness of these spiritual rappings, and accordingly, on Friday night, the 15th inst., he attended to have a little conversation, if agreeable, with this malignant window-breaking spirit. A little after eight o’clock, the old lady, with her servant girl, having previously retired to bed, its spiritship commenced operations with a tremendous rat-a-tat-tat, which appeared to be in the old lady’s bed-chamber. Numerous neighbours, who had assembled to hear these spiritual manifestations, exclaimed, “There, he’s come;” the general impression being that the widow’s late husband was the mysterious being who was paying these unamorous nocturnal visits.
The rapping having continued at intervals for some time, Mr Davies thought he would try what effect a little powder and ball would have on his spiritship; he accordingly, in the midst of a tremendous rapping, discharged a pistol close under the bedroom window. This instantaneously put a stop to the rapping, which plainly showed the spirit did not like the smell of powder or the whistling of ball in the vicinity of its operations.
The spirit seemed to be a little dispirited by this, as a considerable time elapsed before there were any more manifestations; but at length another rat-a-tat-tat announced that the spirit was again moving, but evidently with more trepidation, as though a little nervous. Mr Davies hereupon called upon the widow to let the girl come down and open the door, in order that he might have a more direct communication with this spiritual being. After a little hesitation from fear, or pretended fear, on the part of the girl, the door was opened, the girl retired to bed, and Mr Davies went up stairs into an outer room to await the further operations of this mysterious visitor; but whether from a too close proximity to the scene of operations or otherwise is not known, but it was evident that its spiritship was not at all pleased with the proceedings, as no more proof of its musical manifestations was made that night.
Birmingham Journal, 23rd September 1854.