Ghost got into bed with me, says Lincoln woman.
Ghostly sounds of wood being chopped in the back garden late at night, coupled with the frequent phantom appearance of a young fair-haired woman in her home have terrified a Lincoln mother. Mrs Mary Connelly, mother of three children, has lived at her present home in Monks-road, Lincoln, since November 1961. Her arrival at the house was surrounded by an air of mystery. She had been told that the sound of a baby crying had been heard in the house when there was no baby there, but says the occupant of the house at that time denied it.
Soon after she and her husband, Mr Timothy Connelly, moved in, the trouble started. For Mrs Connelly the experiences were more intense than for the others. Now she fears the nights. Last night she was lying in bed as she heard the mysterious fair-haired young woman come into the room and lie on the bed with her. Mrs Connelly felt something touch her thigh and the experience, together with a sinus infection, gave her a sleepless night. Nights are always the worst, says Mrs Connelly, but the young woman appears at any time in any room of the house. The first time Mrs Connelly noticed it was in her bedroom. The phantom looked at her in fear, turned away and disappeared.
Mr Connelly has never seen the ghost, but has felt its presence. He has had the eerie experience of going to switch on a light at night and seeing it click on before his hand has touched the switch.
Mrs Connelly has three children – Mary (13), John (10) and Kathleen (3 1/2). They have been lying in bed at night when something has covered them up with the bedclothes. Sometimes too, they sense the presence of the ghost when they are playing in the house. “They know it’s there, but what can they do? They take no notice of it,” says Mr Connelly.
Living in a room at the rear of the house is Mr Martin Carthy, a lodger. He has lain awake at night to hear the sound of wood being chopped outside. In the morning members of the household have visited the coal shed and found nothing amiss.
Outlining her troubles to an Echo reporter today Mrs Connelly said: “The wind sometimes rushes through this room like a gale. It is enough to blow people off that couch you are sitting on now. If I had enough money I would go right away to Scotland or somewhere. I have been to see Lincoln Corporation but they did nothing to get me a new house. I don’t think they believed me.” She is determined to move, however, and is looking round for suitable accommodation.
A deeply religious woman and a Roman Catholic she has asked a parish priest to consecrate the house but claims Monseigneur Edward Atkinson says houses as not consecrated [sic]. A year ago Father O’Dowd, who has since left the district, visited the house and blessed it. “Things got better for several months,” says Mrs Connelly. She thought of inviting a spiritualist into her home to seek out the ghost, but has decided she will not quarrel with her Church. She wonders if the ghost has any link with any violent crime committed in the house years ago. She does not know a lot about the house’s history but says it was used as flats during World War II.
Lincolnshire Echo, 24th February 1965.