Also reported as ‘Ballytricking’.
Curious Occurrence in Waterford.
A house alleged to be haunted.
(From our correspondent). Waterford, Monday night.
An occurrence of a curious nature, and one which is the all-absorbing topic of city gossip, is reported from a portion of Ballybricken known as Costelloe’s lane. It appears that some three weeks ago a pensioner of the Royal Irish Constabulary, named Kingworth, with his family, took up his residence there prior to coming to Waterford. He held the position of caretaker on an evicted farm in the Passage East district. While in occupation he reported to Sergeant Murphy, of Passage East, that he and his family were disturbed at night by unearthly sounds. The sergeant, who is no believer in ghosts, commanded an escort party to the house, the approaches of which were taken possession of, and one of his men stationed in the interior.
While there the sergeant and his men heard unmistakably unearthly sounds. The man on duty inside saw furniture dashed about by some invisible agency. Sergt. Murphy reported the result of his experience to his superior officer in Waterford, and Head-Constable Waters was sent out to investigate the allegation that ghosts were haunting Kingworth’s house, but despite all entreaties the caretaker and his family left in a state of terror, turning up, as has been stated, at Costelloe’s lane, in the city, where he seems to have lived in peace until Saturday night last, when he created quite a panic by raising the alarm that the ghosts who had hunted him from his Passage East home had tracked him there.
Some of his neighbours entered the house and found his family in a state of the greatest possilbe nervous excitement. They saw articles of furniture thrown about, crockery smashed, and heard a voice quite audibly. They fled out of the house in terror and raised the alarm, with the result that the police authorities visited the house yesterday and again to-day, as did hundreds of citizens, including several Roman Catholic clergymen.
All the approaches to the house have been to-day closely guarded, but unearthly voices are still heard. At the time of telegraphing some hundreds of people are in the vicinity waiting for the latest news regarding the action of the ghosts at work in Kingworth’s house.
Irish Times, 26th January 1892.
The Bogie-man in Waterford.
A ghost in Costelloe’s Lane.
That portion of the inhabitants of Waterford who invariably hunger after the curious have had plenty to satisfy their cravings during the last few days. The story goes that the emergency man, Kinloch, who was troubled with a ghost at Passage recently, has since that time taken up his residence at Thomastown. There, however, he was again not allowed to live in peace, as the premises were broken into, and he was literally turned out “neck and crop.”
Waterford was next chosen by him as a fit place of residence, possibly under the idea that in the middle of a town the “spiritual visitor” would cease to trouble him. Even this seems to have been a delusion, however, and on Sunday last his house in Costelloe’s Lane was the place-de-guerre of some curious scenes. Kinloch reported to the police that during the night delft, furniture, and other articles had been thrown about the house, and that the place had practically been turned upside down.
The police went to his rescue, and discovered that considerable damage had been done to articles of small value, while doors were minus hinges, and bore other marks of violence. They made no discovery, however, beyond finding a hatchet, of a particularly material kind, which might or might not have caused the various injuries.
During the day great crowds of people visited the locality, but their longings for a sight of the ghost do not appear to have been satisfied. The police remained on duty there during the day, and County-Inspectors Hayes and Seymour paid Kinloch a visit, but their presence seems to have had as much effect upon the shadowy visitor as upon sterner mortals, and he or she kept discreetly out of the way.
Again on Monday and yesterday thousands of people congregated in the lane but little appears to have happened since. It is said that someone who is anxious to get Kinloch to live in another part of the country has had a hand in these performances, but of this we cannot of course speak with certainty. Whatever the explanation may be, it is at least certain that the impositions have been very smartly carried out. The effect of the masquerading of the people has been very marked, and even pervaded the Police Court yesterday morning when a man charged with drunkenness made as an excuse that he had been up to see the ghost. He was sent to gaol for 48 hours, however, Mr Ryan remarking that he would get over the ghost by the time he came out.
Waterford Standard, 27th January 1892.
A Waterford Ghost.
A Haunted Man Interviewed.
He talks of destruction by unseen hands.
Invisible agents brea up two homes, defy the police, and throw the kitchen furniture about!
Peter Kinlough called at the Herald Office a few days ago and said that he was haunted. It was a startling statement, and seemed, on the face of it, to demand further inquiry. It is not every man who can truthfully remark that he is followed by an unseen presence, and that too, without showing anything like undue pride in the fact. There was nothing proud or overbearing in the demeanour of Peter Kinlough. He held his hat in his hand, and, though the expression of his eyes betokened candour, there was something in them that showed an impulse to glance now and then over his shoulder, like one who fears attack. His black whiskers, with here and there a lighter streak; his appearance of healthy middle-age; his thin, determined lips and square-cut forehead, with its abrupt ridge over the eyes, bespoke a man not given to the free play of imagination – a man to whom a fact is a stern thing – a man not devoid of the courage to face facts, though only the effects be felt and the cause is not seen.
Mrs Kinlough came with her husband. It was easy to note that she had given up trying to grapple with an oppressive, overwhelming problem. Mrs Kinlough, one felt, placed more reliance in unseen help against the invisible danger than in any merely humanly-devised scheme of resistance.
Kinlough told a terrible tale. It is here given as he told it, and we are unable to vouch in any particular for its accuracy.
He served a number of years in the Royal Irish Constabulary, and saw much duty by day and night. When he left the force he went as caretaker on the farm of Carriglee, county Waterford. The farm is the property of the Marquis of Waterford, and the former tenant had left it and gone to America. “The neighbours,” said Kinlough, “were always very kind and civil.” They had always treated him well, and he never had any trouble in getting the necessaries of life from them, besides such small luxurires as his condition afforded.
Nothing strange took place about the farm until the evening of the 6th of January. Kinlough had been out about the lands, and had counted the cattle. He returned to the house, and had only entered when three loud knocks sounded on the door. He immediately challenged the stranger, but, getting no reply, he went out. He searched all around the house and the yards, and returned indoors. The knocking was then repeated, and continued for a long time.
On the following evening, about half-past five, the same thing occurred, and Kinlough went to the house of a neighbour. With his friend he returned home, and when the neighbour heard the noises he invited Kinlough to bring his family up to his house and spend the night there.
Next day Sergeant Murphy, RIC, of Passage East, was communicated with. He came to Carriglee that night, and brought a constable with him. They searched all about the house and farm, but found no person. At five minutes past six Sergeant Murphy posted himself at the door, the latch of which he held in his hand. “The ghost won’t come to-night, Peter, ” he said. Scarcely had he spoken when three loud raps were heard on the door. Sergeant Murphy flung open the door, and rushed out. There was nobody there. The constable stood with the family at the fire-place in the room. The knocking continued, and the family left with the police for the neighbouring house, where they remained for the night.
Next evening the same thing occurred, and on the following Monday Kinlough and his family left the farm and went to Waterford city.
The most extraordinary part of the story remains to be told. Kinlough and his family had been a fortnight in the city of Waterford, and on Saturday evening he retired to bed at 10 o’clock. Half-an-hour later he was awakened by a repetition of the knocking that had caused him to quit Carriglee. It occurred at the front and back doors of the house. Believing the noises were caused by some person who wished to trick him, he concealed himself in an outhouse, from which he was able to see the dwelling-house. He could see no person about, and the knocking was continued at the back door, two panels of which were broken in. Several panes of glass were also broken in the window. No stones were found about the place, and it was obvious from the nature of the cracks in the door that the damage was done rom the outside.
The neighbours heard the noises and came to the house, and then, says Kinlough, a voice under the bed said: – “I am the ghost of Carriglee. I will follow you wherever you go. I will break everything in your house. Remember Sergeant Murphy; remember Pat Hanlon.” They searched everywhere, but found nobody.
Next morning some policemen were sent to the house, and Kinlough related what had occurred. One of the constables said – “He won’t come again.” Immediately the voice said – “I will come again, and again, too.” The policeman struck a light, and looked under the bed, but there was nothing there. The kitchen delph was strewn about and broken, and some of the furniture was smashed, apparently without cause, before the eyes of the people in the room. A large rack was thrown from the wall. A man picked it up, and placed it in a corner when it was again thrown down. Nearly every article in the kitchen suffered. Even a large pair of shears was knocked off a nail high up on the wall.
Next morning a similar series of occurrences took place, and a hammer flew over the room with great violence and grazed Kinlough’s ear. Affairs became so serious that Kinlough had to sell his furniture and leave the place. Being in Dublin for a few hours he called at the Herald office to tell the story for the benefit of our readers. He can suggest no solution of the mystery. No one, so far as he knows, bears him any ill will.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 29th January 1892.
The “Ghost” in Costelloe’s-Lane.
It appears that we have not yet heard the last of the “ghost” which is said to have appeared in Costelloe’s-lane recently, and the latest news is to the effect that the haunted man, after granting an interview to a representative of the Dublin Evening Herald, has returned to Waterford and is now living in the neighbourhood again. We hope there will not be a repetition of the foolery which gave the police so much trouble ten days ago.
Waterford Standard, 3rd February 1892.
Planters and Emergencymen, Beware!
An Extraordinary Story.
An Emergencyman Followed From House to House by a Ghost.
Last week the public was startled by the extraordinary story which emanated from Waterford of the haunted emergencyman there who was followed around from house to house by the ghost of one of the relatives of the person who owned the farm which he was minding. In the last issue of the Munster Express the story is given considerable prominence. Indeed, it is the most extraordinary ghost story, vouched for as it is by several witnesses, that we have heard for a long time. The paper we quote says:-
No little excitement and consternation has been created in the vicinity of Costelloe’s-lane and the Yellow-road in consequence of the statement of a man named Kinlough, his wife, and some members of his family, who recently came to reside in Costelloe’s-lane, to the effect that they have been subjected to great annoyance, and have had several articles of furniture broken by some unknown and invisible means. It will be remembered by our readers that Kinlough was in charge of an evicted farm at Carriglea, belonging to the Marquis of Waterford, and that in consequence of some “strange scenes” occurring in the house at Carriglea, three nights in succession, Kinlough, his wife, and family fled from the house in terror one night about three weeks ago, adn came into the city to seek shelter.
He took a house at Costelloe’s-lane- the one, by the way, which was used as a polling station at the recent election – and all went well until last Saturday night about 10 30, when Kinlough alleges he was startled by a loud knocking at both the front and back door of his dwelling simultaneously. Thinking it was some of the neighbours who were “playing tricks” on him (the story of his flight from Carriglea having gained currency in the locality), he opened the front door and protested against being annoyed in such a fashion, as, he said, he had enough to trouble him.
A man named Walsh, living at the opposite side of the lane, hearing Kinlough, came to his door and assured him that nobody had passed up or down the lane for some time previously, and that he must be making a mistake. Walsh entered the house, and it is said while there the knocking, accompanied by cries, was renewed with even more vigour than before. A close inspection of the premises was then made, but no persons beyond the members of the family could be observed around.
Kinlough alleges that during the night several articles of furniture were, by some supernatural means, broken in his kitchen, and after the crash of each article terrific yells could be heard by the now thoroughly frightened neighbours, and a voice saying, in rather sepulchral tones, “Ha, ha, Kinlough, what about Sergeant Murphy?” One of the young children in a frightened state ran to its mother, exclaiming “Oh, mother, I saw the man without the head, the same as I saw at Carriglea,” and immediately a voice issued from the room, saying, “Kinlough, I will haunt you to the death; remember Sergeant Murphy; remember our happy hearthstone.” Needless to say, Kinlough or his family slept very little that night, the neighbours around sleeping less.
Early on Sunday morning two men living in the lane, named O’Neill and Moran, pork butchers, and a man named Walsh, visited Kinlough’s house, where they saw several articles of furniture strewn about the house and heard – not “A shriek that echoed from the joisted roof, And further still and further, Till in some ringing chamber far aloof, It told its tale of murther.” – but the same yarn about Sergeant Murphy and the hearthstones repeated over and over again. It is stated that in their presence glasses, bowls, bottles, cups &c., were in some manner dashed to the ground and smashed.
When this extraordinary story became known in the city large crowds visited Costello’s lane, and in wonder gazed on the haggard appearance of the unfortunate emergencyman, and several constables had to be placed on duty outside his house to prevent the people from entering and searching for the “ghost” on their own account.
When our representative visited the place on Monday evening, a large crowd had assembled there, and Constable Columby and another policeman were on special duty there. On Sunday Kinlough’s residence was visited by Father Hughes, O.P., and Father Roche, O.P., and on Monday by the Rev. E. Maher, C.C., but the matter is as much a mystery to them as to the public generally. We understand several persons have signified their willingness to stay in the house for a night, and see what the “ghost” is like. Should any person do so, and escape “to tell the tale,” we will publish an account of the adventure. Kinlough is an ex-policeman. Up to the present the affair is a mystery. As our representative was leaving he could plainly see that “O’er all there hung a shadow and a fear, A sense of mystery the spirit daunted; And said as plain as whisper in the ear, ‘This place is haunted.'”.
The excitement created by the mysterious occurrence in Kinlough’s house, at Costello’s-lane, had increased to an extraordinary extent on Monday night. Large crowds assembled in the vicinity of the house, and the special police force stationed there had their hands full in trying to keep the thoroughfare clear. as many and conflicting versions of the affair have been circulated, a representative of this journal called on the “haunted man” himself to hear what he had to say about the matter. Kinlough, who is apparently about 45 years of age, is an ex-policeman, and also an ex-emergencyman, the “ghost,” he stated, having routed him out of Carriglea, where he had been caring an evicted farm. Mrs Kinlough is a rather intelligent woman of about 40 years of age, and seemed to feel very much the position in which she and her family have ben placed, by what she described as an “imp of the devil.” The house presented a terribly confused appearance; a heap of broken delph was piled up in one corner, while all round the house, legs of chairs and tables could be seen, all of which Kinlough stated was the work of the “evil spirit,” who, for some unaccountable reason, was making his life miserable.
In answer to questions put to him by our representative, the “haunted man” – the name by which he is now generally known – made a statement to the following effect: – On Saturday night, between 10 and 11 o’clock, he retired to bed, but very soon after he was disturbed by a loud knocking at the front and back doors, adn in order to find out who was there, he sent his eldest son, John – a boy about 14 years of age – to the front door, while he, himself, went to the back, but, to their astonishment, there was nobody in sight. as the noise was shortly after renewed, Kinlough concealed himself in an outhouse at the rear of his dwelling, and, although he states the knocking was kept up continuously, he failed to discover the cause of it. He re-entered the house, but was no sooner inside than he and his family were startled by a voice crying out – “Ha, Kinlough; I’m not the ghost of Carriglea; I’ll hunt you wherever you go, and I’ll break everything you have in the house. Remember Sergeant Murphy and Pat Hanlon.”
Questioned as to who Sergeant Murphy was, he replied that he was a policeman stationed at Passage, who used to pay him a “professional” visit while he was caring the evicted farm there. He stated the “ghost” made use of other expression which he could not understand, but he could hear the word “Revenge” repeatedly. Unlike most visitors from the other side of the grave, Kinlough’s supernatural friend seems to have no fear of broad daylight, for on Sunday morning while Kinlough was expressing a hope that he might not be troubled further, he heard a voice, the very sound of which “almost harrowed up his soul,” cry out, “You are not done with me yet.”
Kinlough states he was about exclaiming, “Avaunt! fiend; they bones are marrowless,” but thinking it better not to “rise the dander” of his invisible friend by any impudent rejoinders, he cleared out and left the “ghost” in possession. The “sperrit,” he states, then commenced business in real earnest, and commenced to destroy Kinluogh’s little burlaune in wholesale fashion, with the result that he has now scarcely a chair to sit on or a cup to drink from.
Mrs Kinlough corroborated the statement of her husband in every detail, adding that the present “ghost” was of much more mischievous turn of mind than the Carriglea spectre, as their visitor at the evicted farm did not attempt to break up the furniture, but contented himself with “creating a row downstairs.”
Some of the stories told by persons residing in the locality as to the form the ghost “appears” in are really amusing. One person states it took the shape of a large greyhound, which, after jumping over Kinlough’s house three times, sat down before the door, and created a most unearthly noise.
Sergeant Cahane, who has been on duty at Costello’s-lane since the appearance of the “ghost,” states he doesn’t believe a single word of Kinlough’s yarn, and that the individual knows more about the cause of the strange noises than he has told. With this statement we are very much inclined to agree.
(Later.)
On Monday night the ghost again made itself heard, and Kinlough, thinking “discretion the better part of valour,” decided to quit. On Tuesday morning he disposed of what furniture the “ghost” had left uninjured to Mrs Fahey, furniture dealer, Patrick-street, for the sum of 30s. The family were escorted out of the city by a policeman, whose face wore as solemn an aspect as if he were marching to the music of the “Dead March,” instead of to that of “There is no luck about the house,” which was performed on a tin whistle in excellent tune by Kinlough, junr.
It is stated that on Tuesday Kinlough expressed a hope that the charitable people of Waterford would pay his passage to America, as he felt sure the “ghost” could not cross the water after him. Thiggin Thu?
Wexford People, 6th February 1892.
[Thiggin Thu? is an phoneticised version of the Gaelic for ‘Do you understand?’]