Somerset “Ghost” Story.
Furniture and Pottery Thrown Downstairs.
Occupiers Mystified.
Uncanny disturbances are reported from Harter’s Hill, near Coxley, a small hamlet on the edge of the moorland between Wells and Glastonbury. The house where they are said to have occurred is that of Mr Watts, a well-known and respected farmer of the neighbourhood.
Annie Woods, a girl of 18, who is in service with Mrs Watts, told a newspaper representative that on Wednesday, February 28, she was in the kitchen with her mistress and the four children, about 6 o’clock in the evening. Suddenly they heard a loud rumbling upstairs, and then a series of bumps and crashes, as if something heavy were falling downstairs. Opening the kitchen door, they found a large tin trunk, which had been lying in one of the rooms above, at the bottom of the stairs.
Although naturally much started, Mrs Watts at once rushed upstairs to see what was the matter, but no trace of any intruder was to be seen, and there was nothing to account for the falling of the trunk.
On the following Wednesday, and at the same hour, there was another disturbance of a similar kind. Mrs Watts, the four children and the servant girl were again in the kitchen, busy as usual with the work of the household. Again a loud crash was heard. Rushing to the foot of the stairs, they found two articles of bedroom ware, which had come from separate bedrooms, lying in fragments about the floor. The girl ran to a neighbouring farm and came back with Mr White, the occupier, who made a thorough search of the upstairs rooms, but could find nothing unusual.
The next Friday, about 6 o’clock, another disturbance took place, this time in the pantry, which adjoins the kitchen. Some glass bottles, which had been lying on a shelf in the pantry, fell to the floor with a loud crash and were broken. This occurred while Mrs Watts and the others were in the kitchen. Needless to say, the family are very much disturbed at the strange happenings.
The girl, Annie Woods, declares that all the doors and windows were securely barred, and that it was impossible for anyone to gain entrance from outside without being seen by some member of the family. It is, of course, obvious that someone is playing a practical joke, but the question is, by what means do they carry out their plans without being caught?
Weston-super-Mare Gazette, 23rd March 1912.
an earlier article in the Central Somerset Gazette is virtually identically worded, but perhaps less sceptical:
… The girl Annie Woods, who told her story in a remarkably explicit and cogent manner, assures us that all the doors and windows were securely barred, and that it was impossible for anybody to gain entrance from outside without being seen by some member of the family. All sorts of theories are advanced in explanation of the occurrences, and some will have it that it is a ghostly visitation.
Central Somerset Gazette, 15th March 1912.