A Girl Medium
Mysterious Rappings and Noises
A Boroughbridge Spiritualistic Sensation
The residents in the old market town of Boroughbridge are at the present moment greatly perturbed by spiritualistic visitations, which have been in evidence for some little time. The medium is a young girl named Florrie Horsman, 13 years of age, who resides with her parents in New Row. Every evening when the girl retires to rest peculiar noises and rappings are heard in the room, which have been heard by many people who have visited the house for the purpose of endeavouring to solve the mystery.
A few days ago the girl was sent to visit some friends at Knaresborough, when the tappings were again heard, and she was sent back home. Great interest is being taken in the strange case, and yesterday the girl was taken to London, at the instigation of a well-known London editor, who is interested in Spiritualism, and who, it is understood, is defraying the whole of the expense of the journey.
The girl and her mother were accompanied to London by a gentleman who has interested himself in the case. The result of the visit to town is awaited with much interest in the Boroughbridge district, where the extraordinary case is practically the sole topic of conversation.
Yorkshire Evening Post, 14th January 1909.
Boroughbridge ghost story.
Uncanny “rappings” in a carter’s cottage.
Little girl supposed to be a medium.
Case under consideration of Mr W.T. Stead.
The “Yorkshire Herald” of Tuesday contains a special article under the above headings; also sketches of the girl and cottage. The article is as follows:-
During the afternoon of Sunday week Mr A Moore, the headmaster of Boroughbridge School, was stopped in the street by a woman named Mrs Horsman, the parent of one of his girl pupils. The mother, who seemed flurried, informed him that her daughter would not be able to be at school during the next week or so. “Oh,” said the schoolmaster, “I hope nothing serious is the matter,” whereupon the mother, after some obvious hesitation, returned this curious reply: “Well, it’s something very mysterious,” she said, and walked away hurriedly.
This forms one incident in an uncanny “ghost story” which was fully investigated on Monday by a representative of the “Yorkshire Herald,” – a history of weird happenings which provide at present a most mysterious problem which has been taken up by no less a person than Mr W T Stead, the well known editor of the “Review of Reviews.” The circumstances are so unusual that if they do not go far to confirm the belief of spiritualists and others who have faith in occultism, at least they have proved inexplicable on other than psychological grounds.
Is Florrie Horsman a medium? For three or four months past, little Florrie Horsman, a school girl of 13 years old, the youngest child of a Boroughbridge coal carter, has seemed to possess powers akinto those of a spiritualist medium. Her parents’ cottage (of which an illustration is given) stands beside a narrow lane that leads from New Row towards the church, and the few rooms it contains have been the scene of remarkable manifestations of late. In whichever part of the house the little girl was, uncanny rappings, and noises as of scratching have been heard. At first these phenomena were the merest incidents, and disregarded, but about ten days ago the girl’s mother became so distressed by them that she ran out of the cottage one evenign and called at a house near by where lives the Rev John Henshall, a retired Wesleyan minister, who calmed her fears with words of comfort, and promised to do all in his power to dissipate her trouble.
But for some weeks the occurrences had been known to Mrs Horsman’s other neighbours. The cottage has only two rooms of any size. Both are on the ground floor, and above them is a garret, reached by a ladder, where the son of the house, a lad nearly twenty years old, sleeps. The “house place” is divided by a partition of wood, which runs to the back wall from a point nearly opposite and a yard or so away from the slate step of the front door. Upon one side of this is the living room, and upon the other a very narrow bedroom used by Florrie and her sister, who is her senior by a couple of years.
Our representative had an interview with several of the nearest neighbours, and secured a photograph of the little girl. She is a pretty child, palid, and of staid, reserved manners. He hair is almost black, and her face, with its immobile features, narrows from a broad and prominent brow to a delicately chiselled chin, surmounted by a tiny mouth. But by far the most striking part of the features are the eyes. They are of very dark hue, set deep and rather wide apart beneath level, densely pencilled brows, and even in a photograph they seem to dominate the whole face. So much for the appearance of this youthful “medium.”
The good housewives who live close to Mr and Mrs Horsman speak of the sensations they have experienced in the cottage with some reluctance. Evidently at the times when they have visited the house and heard the strange noises referred to they have been deeply impressed, and have had feelings of the most “creepy” kind. But in the bold light of day they speak of those impressions smilingly, as though they almost doubted the evidence of their own senses. The tappings have actually been heard however, by their menfolk as well, whose nerves are plainly of the strongest, and even the local police sergeant has been in the cottage when Florrie was asleep, and has convinced himself by auricular demonstration that this was no “cock and bull” story.
Usually the rapping has been heard at night time, when the little girl was in bed and asleep. Asked by the mother to come in and hear, several of the neighbours whom our Press representative saw, and questioned careully about the matter, have been startled, almost frightened, by sharp successive “tap-tap-taps,” now on the level of the floor, now high above their heads, and usually followed or interspersed by a scratching sound, which at first was taken to be the noise made by gnawing mice or rats. Usually – though not always – the sounds have seemed to come from the wooden partition, and sometimes they have given the impression of being made about at the level of the bed on the other side of it. Of course, this gave rise to suspicions, and the little girl has been watched on several occasions from the end of the partition nearest the front door.
The results of such tests as have been made go to substantiate the theory that none but a psychological basis will explain the phenomena. One lady stood at the end of the bed and watched, actually while the tappings were taking place, and she saw nothing to indicate that the girl put her hand out from under the bedclothes, or rapped with her knuckles on the partition, which stands about a foot away from the side of the bed. The watcher placed her hand gently on the girl’s face, and absolutely convinced herself that the child was fast asleep. A moment later there was another succession of knocks and the watcher saw the little girl’s arm move under the clothes, but as it proved she was just waking up and was trying to raise her hands to her eyes in the attitude characteristic of a person suddenly roused from slumber.
Since the Rev. Mr Henshall has been taking an interest in the case, he has visited the house night after night so as to afford the mother and the relatives of the girl the comfort of his presence and advice. He tells a remarkable tale of how the family is terrorised by these weird occurrences. Florrie’s sister and brother, her mother, even her father, have been afraid to retire to rest, preferring to sit up chatting, so as to put off the time when they must seek repose.
One evening, Mr Henshall, who has entirely gained the confidence of Mr and Mrs Horsman by his quiet, kindly sympathy, asked Florrie to go to bed. She was plainly reluctant, but eventually went. A minute or so later she came running back, almost weeping and cried out that she dared not lie down to go to sleep: “Those noises” were so bad, and she had felt a hand stroking her face. This was not the same night that was referred to in the incident last described.
The noises have been observed in the day time as well as at night. A gentleman, Mr M—, who lives close by, was called in at a quarter past eight one morning lately. Mrs Horsman came and told him “the knockings are so bad this morning,” and he kindly went across with her. By way of a test he decided to satisfy himself, if possible, that the girl was not making the noises herself. He therefore stood clsoe against the partition on the opposite side to the bed, at a distance of about six feet from the end of it. Directly the first knocking occurred he darted to the end of the partition and peeped around it – but there was no disturbance at the edge of the bed, and the girl, who was lying about the middle of it, was to all appearances in deep sleep.
On another occasion – last Friday week, to be precise – Mrs M—, her young daughter and another girl went into the cottage. It was then between half past eight and nine o’clock. For twenty minutes they remained there, and the rappings occurred repeatedly at short intervals. Another neighbour who has heard the noises declared, when questioned, “Oh, it’s awful! I wouldn’t like it at our house.”
It is not only when Florrie is in bed that the knocking occurs, for on several occasions visitors to the house have heard them coming from a sofa upon which she and her sister have been sitting.
Several times Mr Henshall has put into practice his knowledge of occultism, which is considerable, and has ventured to tap the walls of the partition himself, say, three times in quick sequence, and invariably the mysterious rapping has responded with an equal number of strokes. One he clearly and deliberately asked a question of the spirit – as he firmly believes it to be. Leaning towards the spot from which the most recent tapping had sounded, he inquired, “Cannot you declare yourself in some way?” but he got no response at all.
The matter of fact people of Boroughbridge are for the most part inclined – perhaps naturally – to pooh-pooh the idea that the phenomena are produced by any means other than some human agency. They consider – in the words of several whom our representative saw – that “it’s all hanky-panky,” and those of our readers who have not read of or experienced any of the mysteries of the occult will doubtless agree that there must be some trickery. Nobody in the picturesque little town can doubt the overwhelming evidence of the noises having been heard, and their suggestion would seem to argue an extraordinary amount of clever duplicity in the girl herself. The principal mistress of the local school, however, declares that Florrie is rather dense than otherwise at her lessons, and that sometimes she will sit in class for almost an hour without speaking in answer to questions. How, then, should she know how to mimic psychological phenomena? Besides, when Miss H— (the schoolmistress) called at the Horsman’s cottage the other day to see how Florrie was, teh girl was looking positively ill, and the mother’s face naturally wore a very harassed expressed.
The Rev. John Henshall, who was first asked to see the girl a week or so ago, is, and has been for many years, a personal friend of Mr WT Stead. he realised at once that the highly respected editor of one of our foremost reviews would take a deep interest in the case of Florrie Horsman, as bearing upon his studies of occultism. Mr Henshall therefore wrote to Mr Stead, stating all he knew and could ascertain of the circumstances, and relating several of the incidents which we have briefly stated here. The next day he received lengthy telegram in reply, suggesting that Florrie and her mother should be taken up to London, there to get away from the worry of incessant visits by morbidly curious inquirers, and to have tests made of the phenomena, which it was clear, followed the little girl about.
About Christmas time, for instance, she was sent away to Knaresborough on a visit to some friends there, for it was feared the peculiar visitations would prejudice her health. She had only been in Knaresborough a couple of days when one night the rappings began again in her bedroom, and soon it was thought best that she should return to her home.
Last Wednesday the mother and the daughter set off for London, all their expenses being genearously defrayed by Mr Stead. They are now living at No. 14, Park Square, and there Mr Stead visits them each day, but up to Monday no further visitations of the mysterious knocking had occurred. Mr Henshall, who accompanied them to London and saw them comfortably settled in their temporary home, was firmly convinced – as a man of mature judgment and cultured knowledge – that Florrie Horsman will prove to be one of the most remarkable “media” of the present day, and he has been at considerable pains in the matter of correspondence with Mr Stead upon the subject. Mr Stead informs him in one of his long letters that such cases as those of little Miss Horsman are not rare, save for the point of her age. It seems that she is very young to possess such a power.
From the spiritualistic point of view, our representative was informed, the case is probably one in which some spirit, either “incarnate” or “discarnate,” is endeavouring to communicate with living friends, and is using the little girl as a means of doing so. The proper course to pursue, it is added, would be to ask the mysterious entity, during a period when the rappings are occurring, to respond to questions by one tap for “Yes,” two taps for “No,” and three for “Doubtful,” and indicate by taps the letters of the name of the person with whom communication is desired. The questions, it is added, should be asked courteously, and with clear distinctness. No doubt some such steps will be taken during Florrie Horsman’s stay in London, always provided, of course, that the phenomena manifest themselves again.
The “Cock Lane Ghost.”
The circumstances surrounding the bogus “Cock Lane ghost” correspond remarkably closely with those of the present case, but the fact that that rapping “spectre” was proved to be a fraud must not be taken as evidence against the genuineness of the manifestations in the case of Florrie Horsman. It is related that on Wednesday, January 13, 1762, between 11 and 12 o’clock at night, a certain gentleman was sent for to the house of William Parsons, the officiating parish clerk of St Sepulchre’s Church, Holborn, London, who resided in Cock Lane, off Snow Hill. This little thoroughfare, an old journal tells us, was rendered for ever memorable by the pretence that was then imposed upon not only common but celebrated and learned people even Dr Johnson bringing upon himself ridicule by paying serious attention to the report, which was to the effect that a ghost haunted the parish clerk’s house and its neighbourhood. But it was afterwards found that it was Parson’s eleven year old daughter who was amusing herself by making fools of philosophers.
Lying on her bed she contrived to answer questions in the affirmative by one knock, in the negative by two, and expressed displeasure by scratching. She did a very evil thing, for she brought charges against a gentleman of ruining his deceased wife’s sister, with the result that the latter also died. Matters had come to a crisis and Mr Aldrich, the clergyman of a neighbouring Clerkenwell church, decided with other gentlemen to examine the girl, and when they requested her to hold her hands from under the bedclothes, of course no answer was received to their questions. Her parents were found to be in collusion, and were prosecuted and condemned to be exposed on the pillory and afterwards imprisoned.
Ripon Observer, 21st January 1909.
Mysterious Knocking.
A Yorkshire Mystery. Schoolgirl Medium.
Considerable sensation has been created in the Ripon and Harrogate districts of Yorkshire, owing to certain uncanny manifestations in a cottage at Boroughbridge. These appear to have occurred only when a certain thirteen-year-old schoolgirl has been present, a fact which has led to the assumption that she possesses the mediumistic gift.
Mr W. T. Stead has interested himself in the case, and through his influence the girl is now in London, where tests of the phenomena are being made. Florrie Housman is the girl’s name, and she is the daughter of a Boroughbridge labourer. It is stated that in whatever part of the house the girl may be, mysterious noises and rappings are heard.
Mr Stead yesterday said after these knockings had been going on for some time in the cottage the little girl was sent to stay with relatives 12 miles away. The knockings began again at this house, and then it was suggested that the girl was the cause of the noises. Promptly she was sent back to her home, and immediately the tappings began again.
“So great was the interest created,” continued Mr Stead, “that the police were called in and made thorough investigation. They failed to find a solution. Then a minister friend of mine posted me particulars of the case, and he himself made investigation. He knocked four times on the wall, and immediately there were four replies. Then he gave eight knocks, and eight replies resulted.”
“This showed,” argued Mr Stead, “that there was intelligence behind the knocking. It is clearly established that no one in the house could have made those answering noises. The girl was fast developing into a serious condition, and was becoming nervous and hysterical. In order to save her life I telegraphed for her to be brought up to London. Since she has been here with her mother the knockings and tappings have not been repeated.”
Mr Stead’s view is that some spirit is trying to communicate with living friends through the girl, who, it seems, has always been more or less clairvoyant, seeing forms and shapes invisible to other people.
Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail, 22nd January 1909.
Yorkshire Girl and Ghostly Rappings.
“Why, this place is chock full of ghosts! If your eyes were open you would see them all around. As a rule they are perfectly quiet, but sometimes it happens that one of them is uneasy – perhaps he has only just ‘passed over,’ and has left behind wrongs unredressed or debts unpaid. Then he tries to make himself known.”
Mr W.T. Stead looked quite unconcerned as he conjured up these disturbing visions yesterday afternoon, in his office overlooking the Embankment. He had been telling a “Daily Chronicle” representative about a little Yorkshire girl, now in London, who is the object of much interest in the spiritualistic world. This little girl, Florrie Housman, is 13 years old, and she belongs to Boroughbridge, where her father is a labourer. About two months ago she was startled, it is said, by hearing mysterious rappings wherever she went in the cottage which the family occupy.
The manifestations continuing, the girl was sent to stay with a relative twelve miles away. Here, again, we are told, the rappings were heard, with the result that the child was imediately sent home. And she had been back only a short time when the noises broke out afresh.
As might be supposed, the town of Boroughbridge was greatly stirred by these happenings. The police were called in, but they failed to solve the mystery. Then a Congregational minister, having investigated the case, wrote to r Stead, who induced the girl and her mother to come to London. “There have been no rappings since the girl arrived here,” said Mr Stead, “and she returns home tomorrow.”
Hull Daily Mail, 23rd January 1909.
Mr Stead’s Ghosts.
Uneasy spirit which follows a child about.
“Why, this place is choke full of ghosts! If your eyes were open you would see them all around. As a rule, they are perfectly quiet, but sometimes it happens that one of them is uneasy – perhaps he has only just ‘passed over’ and has left behind wrongs unredressed or debts unpaid. Then he tried to make himself known.”
Mr W.T. Stead (says the “Daily Chronicle”) looked quite unconcerned as he conjured up these disturbing visions in his office overlooking the Embankment. He had been telling our representative about a little Yorkshire girl, now in London, who is the object of much interest in the spiritualistic world. This little girl, Florrie Housman, is 13 years old, and she belongs to Boroughbridge, where her father is a labourer. About two months ago she was startled, it is said, by hearing mysterious rappings wherever she went in the cottage which the family occupy. The manifestations continuing, the girl was sent to stay with a relative 12 miles away. Here again, we are told, the rappings were heard, with the result that the child was immediately sent home. And she had been back only a short time when the noises broke out afresh.
As might be supposed, the twon of Boroughbridge was greatly stirred by these happenings. The police were called in but they failed to solve the mystery. Then a Congregational minister having investigated the case, wrote to Mr Stead, who induced the girl and her mother to come to London. “There have been no rappings since the girl arrived here,” said Mr Stead, “and she is to return home. In my opinion she is undoubtedly possessed of what may be termed the element of physical mediumship. Apparently through her some uneasy spirit is endeavouring to make itself known”. According to Mr Stead, some ghosts “make a fearful row.” And he drew attention to a very objectionable variety – the “stone-throwing ghosts.” These, one is glad to know, are confined to tropical countries.
Belfast Telegraph, 2nd February 1909.