“Haunted” House.
Uncanny story from Beaufort. Mysterious raps and falling pictures.
Extraordinary stories are related of mysterious happenings said to have been taking place recently in a house at Beaufort. The scene is a workman’s home above the village, on the bleak and lonely Llangynidr-road. It is a new building of the villa type, occupied by a family named Meyrick, consisting of seven males and two females. With them lives a Mr Tom Herne, known locally as “Tom the Gyp.”
On Friday night of last week, it is stated, all went to bed as usual. During the night, when the house was wrapt in the stillness of the mountain surroundings, there were three distinct raps. These were followed by a series of violent knocks. Nothing could be seen. Thinking it was the bathroom window rattling, they fastened it with a strap, and so next morning they laughed the matter away.
Nothing transpired the next night, but on the Sunday night, at a time when the incident of Friday had passed from their minds, again came the three knocks, this time louder and more persistent. Then there was a deafening crash. The thing had now passed beyond the pale of a joke, and there was an immediate search of the premises. Nothing could be found: every door, every window was securely fastened, and outside there was nothing but darkness and a ghostly stillness.
Inside the house the search revealed that certain pictures in different rooms had fallen. They had been hung on picture rails, held up by brass hooks. The hooks remained unmoved on the rails, and the pictures, unbroken, with the cords intact, were on the floor. While this search was proceeding, and everyone was downstairs, again came the three mysterious raps on a door, apparently upstairs, followed almost immediately by further raps of a more violent description.
The next night things did not improve.
“Tom the Gyp” related his story as follows: – “I am a man, who, as a gipsy, roamed the earth. I claim to be frightened at nothing, so long as it is alive, but what is happening here is uncanny. I sleep with the boys, six of us, in this room (a large bedroom which contained two large beds). I sleep near the door. I was just dozing off, when there was a crash. I asked one of the boys if they heard it, and he replied, ‘Yes.’ Then, suddenly and noiselessly, the door that I had closed and fastened securely was opened. I waited, but nothing happened. I called out, ‘Who’s there?’ There was no reply. I got up and looked, but nothing but darkness was outside, I closed the door, fastened it, and went back to bed. But, again without any sound, it was opened, and his time I saw through the open door a light, as if a candle was burning somewhere. Suddenly the light went. I felt convinced now that someone was in the house, so I called out, and, feeling that if it was anyone alive I would deal with him as he deserved, I got up and went out on to the landing. There was nothing.
“Soon, as I was searching, there was another crash, this time from the room in which the girl slept. She rushed out terrified, and by now the house was awakened. We all went in, and there, on the floor, was a large picture, unbroken, the cord intact, and the fastener, still undamaged, securely upon the rail. I can’t account for it, and, to say the least, the thing is uncanny.”
Stranger things were to follow the next night. More pictures fell. In the bedroom occupied by the daughter there was a state of confusion. Pictures had fallen from the walls, a small table was upside down, and a large swan china flower-pot, which had been on the chest of drawers, was on the floor, having fallen about four feet. Several other ornaments were all on the floor – and the strange part was that every article was the right way up and not one even splintered.
Western Mail, 23rd February 1924.
Gipsy gets the fright of his life.
Weird tapping and mystery lights.
Newport (Mon.), Saturday.
Uncanny happenings in a house on a lonely road on the borders of Monmouthshire, outside the mining village of Beaufort, have caused a profound sensation in the neighbourhood, and led many people to the belief that the place has become haunted.
There have been weird tappings indoors in the nighttime. In almost every case the doors, although having been securely fastened, were mysteriously opened. The start of the unfathomable events was three distinct taps on one occasion in the middle of the night, with a repetition a few nights later, succeeded this time by a startling crash.
Investigation showed that a number of pictures had fallen, but these were unbroken. Cords were still intact and books were unmoved. Since then a chest of drawers has been cast on the floor, a table upset, and ornaments scattered all round, while the ghostly tapping is persisted in.
The gipsy who is residing with his family in the neighbourhood declares he was never frightened in his life before until his bedroom door commenced opening noiselessly in the night, to reveal a light through the opening. But the light popped out as suddenly as it appeared, and when the gipsy rose to make investigations, there was nothing to indicate the presence of any ghostly visitant.
Sunday Post, 24th February 1924.
Haunted House?
Rappings and falling pictures disturb occupants.
A lonely house on the mountain side just above Beaufort, a suburb of Ebbw Vale, is said to be haunted. Rappings on the walls have been heard and during the week-end pictures have fallen and glass articles have been smashed. The occupants called in the police and have threatened to leave the house.
Nottingham Journal, 27th February 1924.