A Ghost Story.
The attention of the superstitious has been attracted to the phenomena which are declared ever and anon to manifest themselves in one of the Abingdon Alms houses, not indeed in “questionable shape,” for nothing supernatural has been made visible to human ken.
The visitations are declared to take the form of sundry rappings on all sides of the various apratments of the dwelling, and occasionally, indeed frequently, of an incubus upon the chests of would-be sleepers, while at other times the ghostly visitant displays an unwonted activity, and strips the bed clothes from those who are endeavouring to find rest beneath.
The manifestations are not confined to one particular “haunted chamber,” after the manner of the stereotyped ghost, but every room is made the scene of unearthly antics. The occupants of this troublous abode has been in possession about three years, during the whole of which period he has been periodically subjected to frights by those supernatural phenomena.
Prior to his occupancy, the tenement had the reputation of being haunted, but it is alleged that the poor man was unaware of this fact until he had commenced residence. For the first two nights his slumbers were uninterrupted and peaceful, and he congratulated himself upon having quitted his native village of Frilford to find such a comfortable house where-in to pass the winter of his old age. But the third day brought its “chilling frost,” which “nipped the root” of his contemplated happiness. He had scarcely stretched himself upon his bed on the evening of this fatal third day when strange noises, apparently proceeding from the foot of the bed, assailed his ears. He got out of bed, dressed, and made a thorough search of the apartment, but the result was nil, and he again sought his couch.
Presently he found an indescribable something creeping, creeping, creeping slowly along his legs, and up his body to the chest, where it commenced an almost unbearable pressure. He was much terrified, and declares that his hair, in the customary phrase, “stood on end.” The visitation lasted about ten minutes, and after it had ended, he was not again disturbed till morning. At day-dawn he related his adventure to the neighbours, who assured him that his narrative only corroborated the terstimony of the previous tenants. Since then the poor man’s son, and his wife have endeavoured on many occasions to sleep in the house, and both declare that they have experienced similar visitations.
A number of other persons, sceptical in the matter of ghost lore, who have gone to the house “to scoff,” have literally “remained to pray,” being quite overcome by paroxysms of fear and terror. This, and a great deal more of the same description, is not only told by the old man and his friends, but is actually believed by a large number of credulous persons, particularly in Ock-street. It will be remembered that the writer of the epistle to which reference has already been made, stated that “quite recently a party of four occupied the house for the night, and one of the valiant band was so frightened that he fainted.”
As a sequel to the story, it is stated that the members of this courageous quartette provided themselves, previous to entering the ghostly dwelling for the night, with jars of a stimulating and inebriating liquor, wherewith to fortify themselves against the attacks of the imp of darkness. Under these circumstances it will scarcely be credited that no “demon of the night” disturbed their dreams, and tat the only disquieting spirit in the apartment was contained in the beverage they had freely swallowed. Possibly, however, the ghost is a coward, and shrunk from an encounter with four men, under the inspiriting influence of John Barleycorn. Certain it is that after two of their number had departed in disgust shortly before daybreak, when The glow worm shows the matin to be near / And gins to pale his ineffectual fire, the ghost is declared to have seized one of the sceptics with a grip of iron, and to have thrown him with some violence to the floor.
There are not wanting those who attribute this seizure to a species of apoplectic fit, but the unfortunate sufferer endeavours to silence such detractors by inviting them to repeat the experiment which his rash but heroic spirit led him to undertake.
It may be mentioned that the ghost in question is proof even against the magic power of the horse shoe, which is popularly supposed to secure immunity from the attacks of the powers of darkness, if nailed to the door through which admission is gained to the dwelling. In this house, however, which, bye-the-bye, is the third from the street, on the left hand side, every door is ornamented, both inside and out, with this usually potent spell, but all to no purpose.
Anent the origin of this ghostly intruder, the following story is told: – About twelve or thirteen years ago the house was tenanted by a man named Gardener, who had one son, a wild and worthless fellow. In the neighbourhood of Abingdon lived two farmers, the one poor, the other rich, and the dogs of the latter continually worried the sheep of the former, thereby occasioning him great pecuniary loss. Finding expostulation to be of no avail, the poor farmer invoked the strong arm of the law, and endeavoured to obtain compensation. In this he would have been successful had not the young scapegrace, Gardener, taken a false oath to the effect that the rich man’s dogs had not worried the poor man’s sheep on the occasions mentioned in the compensation claim.
Subsequent to this episode, young Gardener is said to have received frequent money gifts from the farmer for whose cause he had perjured himself, and this money was spent in loose and riotous living. Although in the habit of sleeping under his father’s roof, he seldom came home at night until a late hour, and as the almshouse gates were closed at nine in the evening, he was invariably obliged to climb over them in order to reach the paternal residence. This fact becoming known to the authorities, he was prohibited from sleeping at the house any longer. Thereupon he swore a fearful oath, that if they would not allow him to reside in the domicile, no one should rest there after his father’s death, for he would bewitch it. A year or two later both father and son passed to their last “bourne,” and during the past ten years the house has been “troubled” in the manner above narrated.
It is asserted that the last occupant of the house became mad, and was taken to Littlemore Asylum. Strange to say his mental derangement is attributed to his pecuniary difficulties, and not to the Ock-street ghost.
Many of our readers who incline to the supernatural, will be pleased to hear that the mystery is in a fair way to be speedily elucidated. A tradesman of Abingdon (Mr Joseph Chivers), and two assistants of another grocery establishment, have determined to sleep in the house nightly for a month, and they accordingly commenced their daring experiment on Wednesday evening. The ghost, however, possibly acting upon the maxim learnt when in mortal flesh, that “Discretion is the better part of valour,” wisely kept in the background, and no manifestations whatever were made. Thursday night was equally barren of results, but it is alleged that strangers are never interfered with until the third night.
It may be mentioned that Mr Chivers had communicated with a “spirit medium,” and described to him the nature of the manifestations, as they have been detailed by former occupants of the house. The spirit medium states that undoubtedly a ghost is in possession and will continue to trouble all occupants until it has communicated some momentous message. This gentleman also declares that instances are known in which similar phenomena have continued for a period of twenty years, until, in fact, the “message” was obtained. He has given Mr Chivers full instructions as to the manner in which he is to proceed when the ghostly visitant makes its appearance, and we may, therefore, be able next week to publish that which will convince our sceptical readers that “There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in their philosophy.”
By way of caution to those who might desire to hoax the watchers in the haunted dwelling, it may be well to mention that loaded firearms are kept by the bedside, and will be used, should any such attempt be made.
Oxfordshire Weekly News, 26th February 1879.
The Ock-street Ghost.
Sir, – In the letter on the Ock street ghost, which appeared in last week’s paper, which had no signature, the writer says that it is stated that recently “a party of four occupied the house for the night, and before they entered the ghostly dwelling they provided themselves with jars of a stimulating and inebriating liquor,” which is utterly false, and it is certainly untrue that either of us was under the influence of John Barleycorn, in short, we were all of us quite sober. I leave it to your readers to judge what confidence can be placed in a man who is so reckless and untruthful in his statements. – I remain, Sir, One of the Four.
>It is scarcely necessary to add that the paragraph in question contained not the slightest imputation o f insobriety on the part of the four watchers in question, who admit that they did take with them a quantity of beer, though not in jars, but in some other vessel.
Oxfordshire Weekly News, 5th March 1879.
The good people of Abingdon and of the surrounding villages who are inclined to be superstitious have been greatly exercised of late, by reading lengthy descriptive accounts in the Abingdon Herald of an apparition in Ock street, Abingdon. This Ock street ghost ought to be interviewed by Mr Sergeant Cox, or some other spiritualist, since the chamber in the old almshouse is now regarded as quite phenomenal. For those who are unacquainted with the vagaries of this denizen of the other world, I may remark that the Ock street ghost was singularly quiet until a comparatively recent date, when he, she, or it – which am I to term the nonentity? – took to ill-using a poor almsman, who has been since then compelled to walk all the way to Fyfield in order to enjoy forty winks.
Not that the venerable almsman has suffered alone. On the contrary, the Abingdonians are adventurous, and it has transpired that a quartette of their number, headed by an Abingdon grocer, named Chivers, have tried to tackle this evil spirit, which by the bye is popularly supposed to appertain to a man called Gardener, who in this life did not enjoy a very brilliant reputation. The result of their audacity has not been re-assuring.
It has been gravely asserted, and believed by many, that one of the watchers was thrown from his bed to the floor with great violence, that he endeavoured to make his escape from the house, and took flight with great precipitation up Ock-street, sometimes followed, and sometimes preceded, by the ghost, whose ghostly outline was dimly visible in the darkness, and as a climax to this exciting story it is alleged that the spectre finally, with a terrific bound, disappeared through a second floor window at the residence of the Mayor (Mr. Ald. Ballard). For two nights Mr Ghost let them alone. He never meddles, so they say, until he has got used to his customers. On the third, however, he performed a la Maskelyne and Cooke, to such effect, that uncourteous critics have had the temerity to suspect the said quartette of a too vigorous application of John Barleycorn, in order to be provided with Dutch courage.
This soft impeachment they one and all loudly deny, and therefore, the simple folk of Abingdon, Radley, &c. are beginning to believe in the existence of an unquiet spirit, who appears in the old almshouse in the form of a ball of fire, gives detonating noises like a pistol, and otherwise makes matters uncomfortable for all who have the foolhardiness to court Morpheus in his particular chamber. And this, if you please, is the nineteenth century! Jack O’Lantern.
Oxford Times, 8th March 1879.
Our Abindon neighbours are still considerably exercised concerning the ghost which is declared to haunt the old almshouse, in Ock-street, and to whom I alluded on a previous occasion. Verily, it is a most mysterious and irrepressible monster, and cannot be laid by bell, book or candle. Several sober tradesmen of the town volunteered a fortnight ago, to watch for the antics of this evil spirit, and they have persistently maintained their vigils in small parties, in the haunted building, during each night of the past week; and, although they declare that the extraordinary manifestations have been as frequent as before, still they are unable to fathom the mystery.
It is seriously recorded in the Abingdon Herald of last week, that “in one notable instance a couple of sceptics occupied the apartment, together with the tenant, and to him one of these individuals, after yawning away the first two hours of the watch, expressed his regret that he had given himself the trouble to come, and called upon the ghost, if such there were, to give him some token of his presence. Thereupon he was seized by an invisible power, and received a shaking which more than convinced him of the existence of supernatural agency, and he, too, ‘remained to pray,’ after wildly imploring his terrified companions to save him from the horrible grasp.” This gentleman of an inquisitive turn of mind received, for his incredulity a very proper shaking – very much, indeed, as if he had been a medicine bottle requiring to be “well shaken before taken.”
Some of the neighbouring villagers are fearful lest the ghost “should take its walks abroad,” and one brave Radleian has gone so far as to declare that the animal has been suspected of prowling about his diggings. So firmly rooted is the belief of some of the more superstitious Abingdonians in the personality of this evil spirit, and so much has it disturbed the repose of nearly all Abingdon, that many are living in hopes, now the Incendiary seems to be abroad, that the old almshouses may be burnt down, so that the fire may frizzle the ghost to death. This, however, is the veriest illusion! Ghosts are not capable of being frizzled, as may be ascertained at the clever exhibition of Pepper’s Ghost now in Oxford Town Hall. On the contrary, they prefer, like Salamander, a warm corner, and if the almshouses were burnt this sportive goblin, depend upon it, would soon discover a convenient dwelling place. Of course, the ghost cannot be endowed with mortal flesh and blood, and, therefore how can its mysterious performances be of the nature of a practical joke?
Oxford Times, 22nd March 1879.
Abingdon.
A ghost scare.
Once more is the peace of mind of the poorer townsfolk disturbed by the supposed reappearance of the Ock Street ghost, which caused so much alarm a few years ago. This time the ghost is said to have quartered itself in West Saint Helen Street in a passage nearly opposite the old Wheat Sheaf Inn, and for the past fortnight the street at this spot has every evening been thronged with a crowd of excited men, women and boys. The occupants of the small tenements up the court in question declare they get no peace owing to the mysterious breaking of the windows. It is not a noisy ghost, but a most destructive and extravagant ghost, for it delights in throwing coal and coke and even young potatoes through the cottagers’ windows. Almost every tenant in the yard has suffered in this way.
We cannot but ridicule the idea that such damage is caused by a supernatural agency. It is, however, certainly strange that the missiles should come as they do from all directions and apparently from over the roofs of the houses and quite regardless of the presence of a numerous company of watchers. Ladders have been obtained and the roofs searched in the vicinity, on the supposition that some one was concealed, but with no result. The police, too, have kept watch, and they went so far as to arrest on suspicion the supposed ghost in the person of one of the tenants of the court, named Alfred Carter. He was, however, released foor want of evidence, and in consequence, perhaps, of the fact that whilst in the lock-up the window smashing had in no way abated.
Berks and Oxon Advertiser, 12th June 1891.
Abingdon.
A Ghost Story.
The annals of this ancient borough have been made interesting by the proceedings of a ghost. It has disturbed the population in and round about West St. Helen-street. It appears that a widow, who resides in Taylor’s-yard, in that street, seems to be the chief attraction of the “ghostly visitant,” and the ghost is supposed to be that of the late husband, who, it is stated, threatened to haunt her after his decease, which took place a long time ago.
The “visitation” has now been going on for more than a week, but nothing has been visible except brickbats, stones, and bad potatoes. These have not only been seen but felt by several, and windows in the yard have been broken. Each night persons, including some constables, have been watching, and one man was arrested at half-past ten on Tuesday night, but after he had been locked up the stone throwing still continued, and the police authorities, unable to charge the man with any offence, he was discharged. Each night the street has been crowded and vigorous watch kept, and it is hoped that the “ghostly visitant” will soon be hauled up before the Bench in flesh and blood.
Berkshire Chronicle, 13th June 1891.
A ghost scare is disturbing the peace of the residents in West St Helen-street, Abingdon, and for the last fortnight the street has every evening been thronged by a crowd of excited men, women and boys. The occupants of some small tenements declare they get no peace owing to the mysterious breaking of the windows. It is not a noisy ghost, but a most destructive and extravagant ghost, for it delights in throwing coal and coke and even young potatoes through the cottagers’ windows. Almost every tenant in the yard has suffered in this way.
Ladders have been obtained, and the roofs searched in the vicinity, on the supposition that some one was concealed, but with no result. The police, too, have kept watch, and one evening they went so far as to arrest on suspicion the supposed ghost, in the person of one of the tenants of the court, named Alfred Carter. He was, however, released for want of evidence, and in consequence, perhaps, of the fact that whilst in the lockup the window smashing had in no way abated.
Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser, 18th June 1891.