Seasonable Ghost Story.
Mysterious occurrence at a surgery.
A real ghost story for Hounslow has appropriately come to hand at the Christmas season, the details of which are vouched for by Messrs. Neil and Criger, the proprietors of the American Dental Surgery, 140, High-street. Hung on the west wall of the surgery waiting room have been two companion pictures, something over two feet square, depicting sailing boats in full sail. From the testimony given and from the observations of our own representatives, it would appear that for some occult reason there is someone on the other side who has conceived a special objection to the positions respectively occupied by the pictures, and as a consequence steps have been taken to demonstrate the ghostly wishes as to their placings.
About a week before Christmas Miss Wheeler, who is engaged as a nurse at the surgery, was startled during the loneliness of the evening by a crash, which she found was caused by the falling of the picture nearer the entrance door from the High-street. The cord had broken, but the strange feature about the incident was that the picture had not fallen to the floor directly beneath its hanging place, but, by some unseen power, had been borne diagonally across the wall and, passing in a small space between the wall and a table drawn close to it, had rested upright in the north-west corner of the room.
Strange indeed this, but still more remarkable the occurrence manifested on New Year’s Eve. The picture referred to had been restored to the position it occupied prior to its inexplicable feat shortly before Christmas. Miss Wheeler, again quietly seated in the surgery, was startled by a noise in the adjoining waiting room – “like something bouncing two or three times,” she told our representative. Proceeding to investigate, she was astounded to discover that this time the other picture had broken from its suspending cord, and in equally strange fashion had crossed diagonally and landed upright against the wall beneath its companion picture. In this position our representative saw the picture on Thursday morning, with Mr Criger and Miss Wheeler deep in amazement at the mysterious phenomenon.
Middlesex Chronicle, 3rd January 1920.
Ghosts that have appeared at an establishment at Hounslow display more activity than the Uxbridge variety, as they are said to be lifting pictures and making what looks like an attempt at spring-cleaning.
Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette, 9th January 1920.
Can ghosts move pictures?
Considerable excitement has been caused at Hounslow owing to the alleged presence of a ghost at premises in High-street. It is asserted that two large pictures hanging on the surgery wall have been, at varying intervals, removed from their places to the opposite side of the room. How the removal was effected has not been discovered, and in the absence of a human picture remover the transfer is attributed (according to a correspondent) to supernatural agents of some sort, by the more superstitious.
Ealing Gazette and West Middlesex Observer, 10th January 1920.