A Ghost at Etherley.
For some weeks past the inhabitants of the quiet villages of Etherley and West Auckland have been thrown into alarm and excitement by a statement that a ghost is to be seen or rather heard, in and about a farm house situate in a back lane between West Auckland and Etherley, inhabited by a family named Atkinson. The alleged ghost is said to have made its appearance one night about a fortnight ago, when a large stone was thrown by an invisible hand at the servant girl, injuring her so seriously that she was incapable of following her duties as milkmaid, &c.
For some days since then the ghost has been busy every night; at one time great noises would be heard about the house, and in the morning all the doors found taken off their hinges, while at others all the windows in the house would be broken.
Not only has the ghost been content with alarming the inmates of the house but the poor animals in the stables and fields came in for their share – gripes, forks, and other sharp instruments being place so that had they laid down they would pierce into them, while a favourite calf had been taken from the comfortable warm bed and placed in a damp cold outhouse.
All this and a great deal more has been done before the face of hundreds of people who have flocked to the scene every night from the surrounding neighbourhood, to try and capture the miscreant, yet, though they have been armed with fire-arms, &c., and policemen set to watch, he has hitherto evaded all attempts at detection.
Teesdale Mercury, 19th April 1865.