A Yorkshire Poltergeist.
As a pendant to my notes of Saturday on the Keighley Spiritualists, a correspondent sends the following account of a Yorkshire “poltergeist,” whose doings surpassed even those of the famous Cock Lane Ghost, otherwise “Scratching Fanny,” who puzzled Dr Johnson and various others.
In 1839, there was a girl, named Mary Jobson, living at Bishop Wearmouth, near Sunderland. Healthy and strong at the age of 13, she was suddenly stricken with a mysterious illness that left her blind, deaf, and dumb. Soon afterwards, the whole house in which she lived with her parents, and especially her bedroom, “resounded with unaccountable sounds, consisting of heavy poundings, pattering of feet, the ringing of bells, and the clashing of metallic substances.” That is how the demonstrations were described by witnesses, and, more remarkable still, it seemed sometimes “as if a vast crowd of people were ascending the stairs and thronging into the room.”
On several occasions, the glasses containing Mary’s medicine, together with the blisters and leeches that were being applied by doctors, “were snatched out of their hands, and thrown to distant parts of the room.”
About the sixth month of Mary Jobson’s illness, the most inexplicable of all the happenings is recorded, when, it is stated, “the ceiling of the room in which she lay was suddenly found adorned with a beautifully painted representation of the sun, moon, and stars.” And – equally odd – when Mary’s father tried to obliterate the paintings with a thick coat of whitewash, he failed completely, for, so the story goes, “the obnoxious paintings reappeared as soon as the whitewash was dry, only fading out when the child’s recovery was established.
Several eminent medical men, not to mention some clergymen, testified to the authenticity of these manifestations. One of these was Dr. W.Reid Clanny, of Sunderland, who, in 1813, invented the first safety lamp for use in mines. That, at least, is according to my correspondent, who points out that Humphry Davy did not produce his lamp till two years later – 1815. The doctor’s lamp was described at the time as giving “a steady light in coal mines without the danger of explosion,” but it had practical defects that made it less useful than its successor.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 27th June 1932
Sunderland Phenomena in 1839.
The Strange Case of Mary Jobson.
By Frederick J. Crawley (Chief Constable of Sunderland, 1915-1925).
Many people of my period in Sunderland will recollect my deep interest in psychical research, in company with the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others. My daily researches during the past 30 years, mainly engaged in reconciling Animism with Spiritualism – because the phenomena are definitely there – have satisfied me that life continues beyond the grave. The anxieties and sufferings which now surround us under the gross cloud of materialism tempt me to contribute a measure of hopefulness as the Christmas season approaches. This I do in all humility. In view of the highly complex nature of the inquiry this is best approached in simple form, with local colour.
In 1839, Mary Jobson, age 13, of Bishopwearmouth, became ill. Remarkable phenomena occurred in her presence. The case is excellently documented, and there is full corroboration by doctors Clanny, Drury, Beattie Embleton, Ward and Tarboch, all of Sunderland. Dr Clanny F.R.S., senior physician of Sunderland Infirmary, printed a pamphlet thereon. Clergy and persons of rank visited the home.
There were heavy poundings, pattering of feet, ringing of bells and clashing of metallic substances. At times the noises changed to soft and delightful music which centred in the invalid’s chamber, yet resounded through every part of the house. It seemed as if a vast crowd of people were ascending the stairs and thronging the room.
During the progress of these phenomena a human voice was frequently heard, protesting against the form of medical treatment and recommending herbs. In the presence of Drs Clanny and Embleton the voice said: “Your appliances will never benefit, but materially injure, the girl. She will recover but by no human means.”
The girl did recover and quickly regained her speech, hearing and sight. The phenomena still continued for several weeks, then ceased and did not return.
Here are some extracts from Dr Clanny’s pamphlet: […]
Dr Tarboch, who followed the case throughout, said: “I have had lengthy and serious conversations at different times with nearly all the persons who have borne testimony to this miraculous case, and I am well assured they are religious and trustworthy, and , moreover, that they have faithfully discharged their duty in this important affair between God and man.”
If such manifestations stood alone there would be room for doubt, or for some alternative explanation, but since the dawn of human history like phenomena have been recorded, the whole providing a cumulative edifice of corroboration.
Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, 22nd December 1950.
https://archive.org/details/afaithfulrecord00jobsgoog/page/n21/mode/1up