Spiritual Manifestations.
Upon a marvellous story, heard with variations wherever one has gone during the last ten days, and which now constitutes the theme of discussion at many a fire-side, we may perhaps be expected to bestow a passing notice – an expectation we shall not disappoint, because this narration will at least serve as an introduction to a few general remarks upon spiritual illusions, which may not be altogether inopportune at present.
The story then is, that for some days past a moderately intelligent girl of fourteen, the daughter of a small farmer who resides upon Oxley Island, has been constantly annoyed by the sound of a whistle which she hears as well by night as by day; in her bed-chamber and in the open fields; as well when she is in company as when left alone. Her sense of hearing, is not ordinarily more acute than other people’s, but in reference to this particular sound she seems to be gifted, or cursed, according to the view which the reader may be inclined to take of the matter, with extraordinary powers, for she hears the whistle when to her companions there seems to be profound silence, although the tension of their auditory nerves may be strained to the utmost in an effort to catch a sound which causes the girl to cry out in agony.
It seems to be the current opinion that this whistle – be it real or imaginary – is telling fearfully upon the nerves of the girl, and that her parents, alarmed as to its ultimate effect upon her reason, have used all the means within their control, first, to hear, and afterwards to discover the source from which this sound proceeds. Up to the present time, however, they have failed. But as much cannot be said of some of the neighbours.
We are informed that upon a recent occasion fourteen adults were present when the whistling began, two of whom distinctly heard the sound. One of these at once pronounced it supernatural, and, calling for a Bible, read a chapter, and then challenged the Evil One to appear. The challenge was accepted, for forthwith a man showed himself with a terrible wound, such as one as might be inflicted with an axe, upon one side, and two stabs apparently made with a knife, on the other. Blood was flowing freely from all these wounds, and a minute after making its appearance the ghost fainted upon the floor. So did the man who challenged the devil to show himself, and he has been ill ever since. Another of the fourteen saw something which frightened him very much, but he discreetly declines to say what he did see. The other twelve, although blessed with ordinary vision, saw nothing.
An attempt is made to connect this mangled corpse with a young man who is said to have disappeared mysteriously from the neighbourhood some time ago, and of whom it is now reported that he may have been murdered; but it does not clearly appear what whistling has to do with murder, nor how the appearance of a ghost all covered with blood, which fainted away without so much as making a “dying declaration,” is likely to advance the ends of justice.
Another version of this silly story is that the sound is confined to the house in which the family reside, and that all its inmates, as well as those who have occasion to call at the place, now and then hear the whistling which so distresses this nervous young woman; but that no one can discover the source from which it proceeds. It is stated that the police have been called upon, and that clerical aid has also been invoked, but all to no purpose. The sound is of course invisible, although audible enough; and the murdered man, if there be one in the case, positively refuses to make a second appearance; the first being admitted.
Some people say the girl sees visions, and that her father refuses to allow her to be questioned as to the nature of the revelations with which she is favoured from the spirit world; but this, like all the other details with which the public have been favoured, requires to be more fully vouched for before it will be entitled to the slightest credence.
There can be no doubt that, just now, some persons are endeavouring to connect the father’s name with that of a missing man, but without, so far as we can see, a shadow of a reason for such connection. Indeed, nothing is established except that some sort of mysterious sound, as yet unaccounted for, is heard about an humble dwelling on Oxley Island, and that a hysterical girl is supplying excitement to a gossiping district by giving way to her fears. Most probably when the discovery is made, it will turn out to be nothing more than the whistling of the wind through a crevice in the roof; whilst as to “the murdered man,” for aught the public yet know to the contrary, he may be still “alive and kicking” – easily to be found, if circumstances should render it desirable to produce him.
The Manning River News and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales, 23rd September 1871.
Spiritualism in the newspapers.
A Whistling Ghost.
It appears, that on Oxley Island, at Manning River, a farmer named Brown, resides with his family. For some time past his daughter, a girl of 12 or 13 years of age, has been accompanied by a curious whistling noise, which can be heard by persons at a distance from her, and which terrifies her so much that she frequently faints.
Strange noises have been heard in the house, and it is related that upon a person, who went there to discover the cause, reading a portion of Scripture and calling upon the spirit to appear, the apparition of a man on his hands and knees, with two stabs on his chest from which the blood was flowing freely, presented itself. The same apparition is said to have been seen by several persons, one person having swooned away, and been ill ever since.
This affair has caused a sensation in the district, and people go to the house to stay for a night to ascertain the facts of the case. One of these fainted twice during the night. The whistling was heard four times, commencing at first in a low tone, and increasing in force until it became almost unbearable. – Court Journal, January, 1872.
The Spiritual Magazine, February 1872.
It seems to originally come from the Manning Times, November 1871 and is repeated verbatim in many Australian newspapers.
It reminds me of the whistling noise in the St Neots case.