A Ghost at Rose Villa.
During the early part of last week much alarm and excitement was caused to the inmates of Rose Villa, Almondbury, the residence of Mr Bayliss, contractor for the Kirkburton Railway. The alarm was occasioned by the extraordinary, unaccountable, and simultaneous ringing of all the bells in the house – 17 in number, – and this, too, in the middle of the night when the inmates had retired to rest. No one being able to give any explanation of the strange circumstance, it was at length attributed to the unwelcome visits of a ghost.
It seems that Mr and Mrs Bayliss with two children had gone to London leaving Mrs Bayliss – mother of the owner of the house – an elderly lady near eighty years of age, Miss Bayliss, a younger child, and three servants in charge of the house. The first announcement of his ghostship was at midnight on Monday week, when every one in the house was aroused and alarmed by the violent ringing of the bells. After the unwelcome peal had continued some time, the bells all ceased at the same moment, only to be set ringing again shortly afterwards. This continued till after two o’clock in the morning, when, tired of the sport, the ghost retired and all was quiet.
On Tuesday surprise and alarm was depicted on every countenance, but no explanation could be obtained of the singular occurrence. On Tuesday evening the family retired to bed as usual, but had not been there long before they had another visit from their nocturnal disturber, and the bells were rung more violently than on the previous night. After indulging in the noisy propensity for a couple of hours the ghost departed, leaving the house in quietness as on the previous night.
On Wednesday the inmates of the house were more terrified than ever, no one appearing more so than the cook, and the unaccountable occurrence acting on the weak nerves of Mrs Bayliss, the elder, rendered her very ill. During the day Miss Bayliss consulted her neighbour, Mr Charles Riley, of Thorpe-villa, the result being, a plan was devised to catch the “ghost” on its next visit. About ten o’clock at night the family again retired – but not to rest, for they had not been long in the darkness before the ghost was once more at work, and the bells again set in motion, with the same vehemence as on the two previous nights.
In order to detect any person going near the house, Mr Riley had planted a watch, Police-constable Wardle being in front of the house, and Mr Riley with Police-constable Coates at the back. After a time these parties were, by prior arrangement, let into the house, and all the servants assembled in the parlour, where they remained with Mr Riley and Miss Bayliss for nearly two hours, during which time there was no appearance of any ghost, and the bells were harmless.
The next night (Thursday) another scheme was hit upon. After the servants had retired to bed, Mr Riley and Police-constable Coates were secretly admitted into the house, leaving the other officer (Wardle) to watch outside. Having gained admittance, they pulled off their boots and silently gained the upper storey, and there listened at the servants doors. They had not long to wait before the old game was played, and the bells all set ringing at once. This time the “ghost” was trapped, as the listeners outside distinctly heard some one moving about in the cook’s chamber. Admittance was demanded, and ultimately obtained, when the mystery was explained.
The cook, whose name is Selina Bottom, of Greenside, Dalton, being under notice to leave, adopted this method of revenging herself. She had, unobserved by the other servants, fastened a piece of twine to the main bell wire, and taken it into her own room, where, by standing on a chair, she could at pleasure set all the bells in motion. Being charged with this, she reluctantly admitted the fact.
On Friday night Mr Bayliss returned home, and was informed of the occurrence. The following morning Police-constable Coates was sent for, the intention of Mr Bayliss being to give the woman into custody. She, however, made a full confession of the trick, and said she only did it for a “lark.” Ultimately Mr Bayliss paid her the wages due to her, and sent her about her business, first deducting a guinea from what she had to receive, by her consent, as a donation to the Huddersfield Infirmary from “a ghost.”
Huddersfield Chronicle, 1st December 1866.