Spooks and spirit-rapping in Adelaide.
Under the pen name of “Prospect,” a well-known citizen writes: – In The Register of February 9 appeared a paragraph referring to spooks and spirit-rapping at Gawler. In 1868 I was living with my parents in Topham street, in a house attached to Brown and Thompson’s timberyard, and we had a similar experience, extending over two or three weeks. The knocking commenced one Saturday evening, about 7.30. My brothers, who very small boys, had been put to bed. My mother and sister were sitting with an infant sister, who was lying ill. I had gone out on a message. My father was at church.
When the knocking began my mother went to the back door of the house, but found no one there. The knocking was then repeated on the front door of the house. No sooner had my mother answered the door and found no one about than the knocking was repeated there. This continued about every 10 minutes until I came home, at about 8.30. Mother thought some boys were having a game, and asked me to watch the house. In spite of this, the knocking continued until my father came in at 9 o’clock. The knocking still went on, and ceased at 10 o’clock. My father and I could find no one, or any mechanical means for causing the knocks.
At 7.30 on Sunday morning the knocking commenced again, and continued at intervals of from five to 10 minutes. The knockings were on the inner as well as the outer doors of the house, and in most instances were so loud that people passing along the street thought it was caused by some member of the family. My little sister, who was ill, begged of my mother to “stop the boys from making such a noise.”
My father, on his return from morning service, brought several of his friends to hear these extraordinary sounds. A well-known Rundle street jeweller of that time lived next door, and his son, who was prominent in the scientific community of Adelaide in later years, examined the roof of both houses to see if there were any mechanical contrivances, but none could be found. Our neighbours were treated to the same experience, but in a lesser degree.
During the following week the knocking continued, but not with such force as on the Sunday. In the week my sister died. On the evening of the funeral we had all retired to rest, and after the lights were out we all heard the back door of the house distinctly open and close, although my father had locked and bolted it on retiring. He got up to see what the trouble was, but found the door locked and bolted as he had left it. We all had a very restless time after this. Knockings continued off and on for about three weeks – sometimes in the day, sometimes in the evening.
The farewell experience came one evening when my sister was putting my brother to bed. All at once the light went out, and my sister said she felt as if something whizzed past her through the bedroom window. Whatever it was, one thing was certain – the break came from inside the house, for the broken glass fell into the yard. Had the break come from the outside some of the glass would have fallen into the room.
These events caused quite a sensation in the city. Hundreds of people came to see the house, which became known as “The Ghost House.” To the day of his death my father would not believe that the noise was caused by spirits, but attributed it to human agency in some form that neither he or his friends could fathom. While these knockings were going on then Dr Carr was in Adelaide giving mesmeric performances and lectures having reference to “spirit-rapping” and “ghosts” at White’s Rooms, on the site of what is now the Majestic Theatre. However, with all these weird experiences, we were not frightened away from the house, for we lived there for 12 months afterwards.
The Register (Adelaide), 12th February 1918.