(Hamilton Place is now part of St Paul’s Road)
A Ghost.
A little girl, whose head reached little above the dock rail, was charged under the following circumstances: –
Mrs Stevens, a lady residing at 13, Hamilton-place had lately had the peace of her house disturbed by such strange noises, both by night and day, and by such breakages of windows, that a few days ago she called in the assistance of the police, and they had since paid frequent visits to the house. For some time their efforts to discover the source of the annoyance was fruitless.
No one lived with the lady complaining but this child of about thirteen years of age, whose parents live at Worcester, and who helped Mrs Stevens in the housework. Upon the child it was, of course, difficult even to breathe suspicion. Besides, it seemed impossible that she could have anything to do with the disturbance, for although the shaking of doors and the rattling of window frames occurred, it was afterwards noted, when she was out of sight, other and more unearthly noises were heard when she was close by, apparently coming from a direction the very opposite of that in which she stood.
Thus one of the head officials of the police, standing at the foot of the stairs, heard a sound as of some one loudly snoring coming from the centre of the stairs, and, both the child and her mistress being some distance from the spot, was puzzled to account for it. The constables were startled by noises which they say appeared to come from unseen tongues in the air around them.
Mrs Stevens on one or two occasions had been driven out of the house at night to take refuge with a neighbour, and the affair was beginning to cause some excitement in the neighbourhood, when, on Wednesday, Sergeant Wiggett visited the house. While he was talking to the mistress he heard a crash of glass down stairs, and going down found the little girl in the scullery, which has a outlet to the yard at the back, and two stones which he afterwards ascertained to have been recently wrenched from the pitching in the yard, and the little girl was the only person whom it was possible to suspect, the sergeant took her into custody, and removed her.
It was now stated that, whether the offender or not, the house had been perfectly quiet since she had left it. It was said that the child was gifted with great ventriloquial powers, and that she had very strange notions.
The Magistrates recommended the police to make inquiries concerning her parents, and to take charge of her until Saturday. No charge was formally taken against her. On Saturday she was sent to the Workhouse.
Cheltenham Examiner, 22nd January 1868.