Uncanny Happenings in Old Caistor Hotel.
Wraith hates electric lights.
Considerable uneasiness has been felt in recent weeks by Mrs Carwithen, of the two-century-old George Hotel. She states that she has seen a wraith in a bright red skirt, with a white cap on its head. Dressed in a costume of 150 years ago, the figure appeared to be of medium height, and rather stout. “This mischievous spirit – and I believe it really exists,” said Mrs Carwithen, “has a strange partiality for small objects such as handkerchiefs, which it will hide in the most peculiar places.” It has also a rooted dislike of electric lights, the bulbs of which are frequently thrown about in confusion. “There are so many things that add up, and although I have an open mind, I am firmly convinced that there is some sinister influence at work. The light fitting of the chandelier, Jacobean design, fell down about a month ago, and the electrician said that there was no evidence of wear on the wires. A bulb flew out of a wall fitting, and crackers were thrown off the mantelpiece.”
When asked for corroborative evidence, Mrs Carwithen said that Mrs Dickinson, an employee, had become very frightened. She left the light sweitched on in the kitchen, and when she returned it was switched off, but no one had been near it. Moreover, the animals – two cats and a dog – sense trouble, and often become alarmed. Doors mysteriously open when no-one is around, and a guest said recently that he did not sleep a wink as someone was walking up and down outside his room all night.
This appears to be a matter for investigation by someone interested in poltergeistic phenomena.
Hull Times, 9th February 1952.