Eerie vigil at manor house.
Family forced to leave haunted home.
Noises off.
From our special correspondent, Brighton, Friday.
Ghost-hunting parties motored to-night to the Downland village of Denton, near Newhaven Harbour, to join villagers in an eerie vigil outside the old Manor House, where, ’tis said, there have been strange doings. This is not a ghost which keeps to the witching hour, or any other kind of hour. It appears at any odd time it likes, heralded by four loud knocks. And the good folks of Denton are all of a doo-dah about it.
Its first appearance took place a week ago in the 200-year-old Manor House, which stands between a graveyard and a bone factory. Daily, since then, there have been so many strange happenings within the manor that the occupants, Mr Sidney King and his family, have been forced to move into another house on the outskirts of the village. They have not slept in the manor since Monday night and have taken away the furniture.
Here are some of the things which have, so ’tis said, happened:
Bolted doors have suddenly been found standing wide open.
Loud bangs have gone off all over the place – and there is no sign of fireworks.
Strange rustlings have been heard – and bats haven’t caused them.
The actual ghost has been seen by only three people – and they were all women. But the noises have been heard by many villagers, including the rector’s wife (Mrs Pinnix), the local policeman and the landlord of the local inn.
Mrs Pinnix told me that she went to the Manor House to see Mrs Heasman, an elderly lady, the mother of Mr King, to try to appease her fears. “There were six of us in the house, ” she said. “I heard a series of loud bangs on a door. We searched but found nothing. No one could have gained admittance to the house from outside. The windows are all barred and all the doors bolted. “
The rector, who has taken part in a hunt, and who has spent an all-night vigil outside the manor, said: “It is impossible to give an opinion on the matter yet. The happenings may have some perfectly simple explanation or they may be the work of some supernatural agent.”
Local gossip says the Manor House is haunted. The ghost is stated to be that of a former occupant of the house. Over a hundred years ago he planted some trees in the front garden. He said (so the story goes) that if ever they were cut down he would haunt the manor. Mr King a week ago cut down the trees – and the next day his wife first saw and heard the apparition.
Daily Mirror, 25th November 1933.
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