Fifty Years Ago, Nov. 17, 1874.
Freaks of a Ghost.
A correspondent writes: “Emsworth has for the past nine or ten days been in quite a state of excitement on account of the nocturnal visits and strange freaks of a supposed resident of the spirit world. In the North Street, leading to the Railway Station, stands the Baptist Chapel with its patch of burial ground, in close proximity to which are two cottages known as “Peaceful Retreat,” but which for some time have been anything but peaceful.
During the night there have been heard dismal noises alternated with the shaking of doors, the removal of furniture and the breaking of windows. The neighbours, prompted either by sympathy or curiosity, have watched by turns, and each one has strange things to tell about the strange doings of the ghost. It is said that one of the elders of the adjoining chapel was called in to “lay” the spirit, but all in vain, and the services of our sturdy police man were at length sought for.
P.C. Woods took a thorough survey of the field, and after seeking the advice and assistance of Sergt. Boyles, he placed himself in the most likely place for spotting the ghost, but it continued to elude him; and at length, tired with watching, Woods abandoned the attempt, and the ghost was left to carry out its freaks unmolested. At last it spent itself, and then one of the neighbours children began to tell how it had frightened its mother, excited the neighbours, and above all, how it had done the policeman. Precocious youth!
Hampshire Telegraph, 21st November 1924.