Weird Cheshire “Ghost” Mystery.
Footsteps, taps and vivid lights.
Mysterious footsteps along corridors, doors opening and shutting of their own accord, shakings of beds, gleamings of peculiar lights… these are some of the weird things said to be going on at a house near Lymm, Cheshire. The occupants declare that similar happenings have been taking place for the last nine years, but recently they have increased in violence.
“They seem to centre round my youngest daughter,” the wife of the occupier of the house told the Daily Graphic. “None of us believed in Spiritualism or in spirits, or in anything of that sort. Sometimes while we sit reading, or are passing through the house, we receive sudden taps on our shoulders and arms. Recently I had a lady staying with me. One day she rushed out of the drawing-room and said she had distinctly seen a dark-haired woman sitting in a chair.
“A week ago I was lying down in the afternoon when I distinctly heard footsteps come along the passage, go down the stairs, and the door to the outside open and close. When I questioned my daughters, who were in the drawing-room, not one of them had seen visitors or had gone out.”
The youngest daughter in the house – she is aged 19 – states that she often feels “an icy coldness.” “It is a kind of numbness on my feet, my neck, or my arms,” she explained. “It is not the kind of coldness that comes from a draught. Two nights ago I was lying in bed when it started to shake violently. The coldness came over me again. Often I see a flame of yellow light standing upright in my bedroom, and gradually diffusing into darkness. It is about the height of a man. My sister once saw a vivid red light about a foot long in the corner of the room.”
On many occasions the house dog has got suddenly up and dashed at the door, snarling and showing its teeth as if someone it disliked had entered, and then backed away whimpering and showing every sign of fear, but always keeping its eyes on one place where, to the other onlookers there was nothing, or nobody standing.
The house is a very old one. Part of it is more than 130 years old.
Nottingham Evening Post, 14th September 1926.
Slim “spirits” of Lymm.
Old house haunted by intangible evil.
Persecuted family. From our own correspondent. Lymm (Cheshire), Monday.
For nine years the most amazing supernatural happenings have been going on in a house near Lymm, Cheshire. They have increased in violence so greatly during the past few weeks that people are becoming seriously alarmed. “They seem to centre on my youngest daughter,” the wife of the occupier of the house told me, “and I am becoming nervous in case they are a portent of some evil. When we came to the house first, nine years ago, none of us believed in Spiritualism or in spirits or in anything of that sort, but these strange happenings have caused me to believe that there is something happening all around us that we cannot understand. There is no other way to account for it. The first incident happened about two weeks after we came here. I was upstairs in a room we do not usually use. It was dusk, and suddenly I felt as if I was in th epresence of a dreadful, evil thing. There was nothing to be seen or heard – just that awful feeling of some intangible thing in the room. I was terrified, and before I could gather my thoughts together I had rushed from the room and slammed the door.
“Since then we have often heard mysterious footsteps going along the corridors up and down the hall, doors opening and shutting apparently of their own accord, our clothes jerked quickly while we sat reading or passing through the house, and sudden taps on our shoulders and arms. Some time ago I had a lady staying with me. One day she rushed out of the drawing-room and said she distinctly saw a dark-haired woman in the chair. She asked me if a woman such as she described had died in the house, and I knew that the wife of a previous occupant, who had died, was a woman such as my friend described.”
The majority of the experiences centre on the youngest daughter, who is 19 years old. “Sometimes it comes to me like an icy coldness – a kind of numbness on my feet, my neck, or my arms,” she said. “It is not a kind of coldness that comes from a draught. One evening I was sitting with my sister, and the coldness attacked my left arm. My sister felt my arm and it was quite cold an dnumb, while the other was normal. Two nights ago I was lying in bed when it started to shake violently. The coldness came over me again at my feet and crept up to my knees before it passed away. My bed is often shaken violently and suddenly, as if it were struck, and on one occasion it was struck like three loud knocks.
“Often I see a bar of yellow light standing upright in my bedroom – and gradually diffusing into the darkness. It is about the height of a man. My sister once saw a bar of vivid red light about a foot long in the corner of her room. As my bedroom window is heavily curtained, it is impossible for the glow to have come from outside.”
While this young lady was seted playing the piano a night or two ago the topmost notes were suddenly struck and a second later the bottom notes both sounded out loudly above the piece she was playing. “Aren’t you nervous?” I asked. “No, not very,” she replied. “I have got used to it during the past three or four years. One night I was very tired and I could feel its presence in the room and the coldness on my cheeks. I did not want to be bothered, and I said: ‘Go! Go away!’ and a few minutes afterwards the coldness had gone.”
Among other amazing manifestations that have occurred in the house was an incident when two of the daughteres went into the scullery and found a roller towel standing out parallel to the floor. The windows were closed and there was no draught to account for the strange freak.
On many occasions the house dog has got up suddenly and dashed at the door, snarling and showing its teeth as if someone it disliked had entered, and then backed away whimpering and showing every sign of fear, but always keeping its eyes on one place where, to the onlookers there was nothing or nobody standing.
The house is a very old one. Part of it is more than 130 years old, and it is surrounded by trees. Its occupiers are people of good social standing, who do not care to be associated with the publicity that generally follows psychic phenomena of this kind.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle, 14th September 1926.
A house full of “spooks”.
Piano plays by itself.
Knocks on the bed.
And bars of vivid light in the night.
For nine years an old house near Lymm, in Cheshire, is said to have been haunted by the weirdest of happenings which are now stated to be increasing in violence. Although thye have tolerated the supernatural happenings for so long, the occupants of the house are now getting alarmed.
“The happenings seem to centre round my youngest daughter, who is 19,” the wife of the occupier told me (says the correspondent of the “Daily Sketch”), “and I am becoming nervous in case they are a portent of evil.” Among the astounding manifestations are: Mysterious footsteps going along the corridors; The opening and shutting of the hall doors apparently of their own accord; Sudden jerks at clothing while being worn, and sudden taps on the shoulders and arms.
And on one occasion, so I am informed, while a young woman was playing the piano the top notes were suddenly struck and a second later the bottom notes sounded out loudly above the piece she was playing. “One day a woman who was staying with us,” continued my informant, “rushed out of the drawing room and said she distinctly saw a dark-haired woman sitting in a chair. The description of the woman corresponded with the wife of a previous occupant who had died. One night five of us were hanging over the bannisters upstairs listening to the footsteps, but we could see nothing. Sometimes these manifestations cause me to come over an icy coldness. A kind of numbness comes to my feet, my neck, or my arms – not the kind of coldness that comes from a draught. Two nights ago I was lying in bed when it started to shake violently. The coldness came over me again at my feet, and crept up to my knees before it passed away.
“My bed is often shaken violently and suddenly, as if it was struck, and on one occasion it was struck with three loud knocks. Often I see a bar of yellow light standing upright in my bedroom and gradually diffusing into the darkness. It is about the height of a man. My sister once saw a bar of vivid red light about a foot long in the corner of her room. As my bedroom window is heavily curtained it is impossible for the glow to have come from outside. So used has my daughter got to the attentions of the ‘spirit’ that she will sometimes call for it to come to her. It was after one of these calls that her arms became cold and numb.”
“Aren’t you nervous,” I asked. “No, not very,” she replied. “I have got used to it during the past three or four years.”
Amongst the other amazing manifestations that have occurred in the house was an incident when two of the daughters went into the scullery and found a roller towel standing out parallel with the floor. The windows were closed and there was no draught to account for the strange freak. “On many occasions the house dog has got up suddenly and dashed at the door snarling and showing its teeth as if someone it disliked had entered and then backed away whimpering and showing every sign of fear, but always keeping his eyes on one place where to the other onlookers there was nothing or nobody standing.”
Part of the house is more than 130 years old, and it is surrounded by trees. Its occupiers are people of good social standing, who do not care to be associated with the publicity that generally follows psychic phenomena of this kind. “We have always regarded spiritualism as more or less a fake,” they told me, “but these things have been so persistent and so obvious that we must come to the conclusion that there is some queer force at work that we do not understand.”
Evening Despatch, 14th September 1926.
Eerie Happenings in a “Haunted” House.
Amazing happenings attributed to supernatural force are alarming the occupiers of a house near Lymm, Cheshire. Interviewed by a reporter, the householder’s wife said: “The first incident happened about two weeks after we came here. I went upstairs at dusk to a room we do not usually use, and suddenly felt I was in the presence of a dreadful thing. I was terrified and rushed from the room. Since then we have often heard mysterious footsteps going along the corridors, doors opening and shutting, felt our clothes jerked as we sat reading, and had taps on the shoulders as we passed through the house. A friend staying with me saw a dark-haired woman sitting in a chair, and her description fitted a woman who had previously lived in the house and died here.”
The youngest daughter of the family, aged 19, said: “Sometimes the manifestation comes to me like an icy coldness – a kind of numbness in my feet, neck or arms. It is not the coldness that comes from a draught. My bed is often shaken violently. Often I see a bar of yellow light standing upright in my room about the height of a man. Gradually it diffuses into the darkness. A few nights ago I was playing the piano, and was on the topmost note when above the tune I was playing the lowest notes sounded loudly. I have become so used to the ‘spirit’ that I sometimes call for it to come to me.”
On one occasion two of the daughters went into the scullery and found a roller towel standing out parallel with the floor. There was nothing to account for the freak. Frequently the dog snarls at the door, and at corners where human eyes can see nothing, only to recoil in a minute or so showing every sign of fear.
The house is a very old one, part of it being more than 130 years old and it is surrounded by trees.
Beeston Gazette and Echo, 18th September 1926.