Ghosts on the Wolds.
For several days past the inhabitants of the wold village of Daggleby have been occupied by reports of mysterious noises having been heard in one of the farmhouses. That strange noises are heard seems indisputable, but by what means is a puzzle. The practical joking – for as such the matter is looked upon – has, however, become so annoying, that the occupants are said to have resolved to give up sleeping in the house. Some parties, more superstitious than others, do not hesitate to attribute the noises to the ghost of the former occupier, who was found dead. Many of the reports in circulation are absurd in the highest degree.
A similar excitement has also prevailed in the moor village of Egton, where a house, inhabited by a newly-married couple, has been pronounced “haunted.” The alarming sounds have induced the young wife to quit the house; and under the influence of an absurd rumour that the ghost returned to look after certain cash, the floor of the house has been dug up to ascertain if any valuables lay concealed.
In the first case the ghost, it is alleged, may be heard walking about, but in the second the intruder confines its attention to the disturbance of furniture, crockery, etc.
Both cases have given rise to an amount of ridiculous gossip, and, as is usual, a certain class of the population put faith in the verity of the ghosts.
Manchester Times, 23rd January 1864.