Laying a Ghost.
Extraordinary explanation of Ilford mystery.
For six weeks or more Ilford has been the scene of a mystery which at one time bade fair to rival that of the famous Cock-lane ghost.
About a mile from Ilford Station, in a well-wooded park, stands a large mansion, near which are several cottages occupied by labourers who work on the home farm. Of one of these cottages the occupants were a middle-aged couple and a girl about eleven years of age, who had been boarded out with them from the local workhouse.
For several weeks the man and his wife were scared by ghostly sounds. Weird cries of “Joey! Joey!” came from all parts of the house, but most frequently from the staircase. Diligent search revealed no explanation of the mystery, and exhaustive inquiries only left the cottagers more terrified than before. The mysterious cries were sometimes heard at noon and again in the dead of night. No parrot or jackdaw was kept in the vicinity, nor was it possible for anyone to be concealed on the premises.
The steward who manages the estate was called in to investigate. When he entered an upper room the calls came from the foot of the stairs; when he descended they were repeated from the top of the house. Not prone to believe in the supernatural, the steward caused some fine flour to be sprinkled on the stairs when the family were retiring for the night. In the morning figures resembling a fleur-de-lis were found to have been traced in the flour, but there were no footsteps of man or bird to denote that the figures might be accounted for on the hypothesis of natural agency.
The story of the ghost was told with bated breath all over the neighbourhood, and there was talk of appointing a committee of investigation, when the owner of the estate made up her mind personally to solve the problem. Calling at the cottage a few days ago, she too heard the calls, and while the lady was upstairs the steward arrived. Simultaneously the little girl came running out of the house, and the steward at once associated the child with the mystery. He ascertained that the noises only occurred when she was at home. The day she attended a school treat, a Sabbath calm rested on her home. At the school, the steward asked to see the child’s drawing book, and found in it figures similar to those traced in the flour on the stairs. The drawing in both instances was excellent.
But absolutely damning evidence was found when the girl’s schoolmates volunteered the information that the culprit could, as they phrased it, “throw her voice about,” and in doing so for their amusement often used the identical cry of “Joey! Joey!”
Under a threat of being sent back to the workhouse the child ultimately confessed that, having accidentally discovered that she was a ventriloquist, she had utilised her power to mystify the neighbourhood. She had traced the figures in the flour from the landing above by means of a stick.
Daily Express, 13th October 1903.
Uncanny experiences in a cottage.
Mysterious sounds and ghostly visitations disturbed the peace of mind of the occupants of a cottage on the Valentines Estate at Ilford, and for a week or two there seemed to be a perfect difficulty in the way of unravelling the mystery.
A working man and his daughter occupy one of the farm cottages in that lonely locality, and also living at this cottage was a girl, nearly fifteen years of age, named May Lebert. She was boarded-out from the Romford Workhouse.
Strange sounds, during the past five or six weeks, had disturbed the peace of mind of the other occupants. A far-away cry of “Joey!” would be heard, but whence the sound emanated could not be discovered. Upstairs and downstairs was heard the strange cry, “Joey! Joey!” and the mystery could not be solved for a time.
There were also weird sounds of rapping, and occasionally a table would mysteriously move and a cup of cocoa would be upset. Two of the occupants of the house were greatly concerned by these queer occurrences, but the girl, Lebert, seemed to find them wonderfully amusing.
Sounds which were to be heard upstairs gave the impression that rats were in the house, or some other elusive animal running round at its own sweet will, and a trap was baited and set. One night the bait left the trap and found its way to the stairs. Then the trap moved about, and weights were placed upon it; but trap and bair, and weights together came downstairs on one occasion.
The inquiries made did not bring a solution of the mystery, but left the cottagers as terrified as before. At noon or midnight there was the same likelihood of hearing the cries. They kept no birds in the house, no jackdaw to croak or starling to squawk, nor could anything alive be concealed anywhere.
A gentleman who was approached on the subject heard such sounds as a ventriloquial guide might produce. But he was not at all inclined to believe in the supernatural, and determined to discover the meaning of the strange affair. Flour was sprinkled on the stairs, and in the morning there were finger-marked designs of strange hoofs, but no sound of footsteps were heard.
Meanwhile, the story of the ghost went round, and Mrs Ingleby decided that the mystery should be solved. As the sounds were heard only when the girl was at home, she was naturally associated with the annoyance, and it did not take long to prove the truth of the suspicion. It was found that at school the girl practiced ventriloquial sounds and had tried the effect of the word “Joey!” under various circumstances.
At first the girl denied that she had had anything to do with the noises of “the ghost,” but acknowledged that she had done something of the kind complained of, and ultimately confessed that she was the culprit. She said, moreover, that she did it for a lark. She thought of it one night in bed, was satisfied with the experiment, and enjoyed the continuance of mystifying her friends.
Tower Hamlets Independent and East End Local Advertiser, 24th October 1903.