A spine-chilling tale of a mysterious haunting 239 years ago which made a grown man ‘faint away’ has been discovered in a box of old deeds.
A manuscript account of a ‘visitation’ from a ghost at Seighford Hall, near Stafford, Staffordshire, has been discovered by Jim Spencer, Director at Rare Book Auctions, Lichfield.
Jim said: “It was quite eerie discovering these papers during the run-up to Halloween. It’s a tale worthy of ghost writer M. R. James himself. Except this isn’t fiction. It’s true!
“I found it in a box full of old indentures relating to the Whitby family of Shugborough and Haywood. It’s the sort of thing I see all the time but the word ‘visitation’ just caught my eye. As soon as I realised they were talking about a ghost, I genuinely couldn’t read quickly enough, my eyes were racing ahead of my brain.
“It records the story of how, in the early hours of Tuesday, March 29, 1785, Mr Francis Eld of Seighford Hall was in a room with his infant daughter when he experienced a ‘puff of air’ across his face and saw ‘a sort of cloud or vapour’, which took on the appearance and voice of his mother. The ghost spoke to him, saying, ‘My child, be not grieved, I am dead, but happy’.
“Mr Eld was unaware his mother, who was residing at Pit Place in Surrey, had died during the time of his visitation. The following morning, fearing bad news, he ordered his servant to accompany him to Stafford Post Office where he collected a letter written by his father’s housekeeper at Pit Place. It stated his mother was ‘tolerably well, & had eaten remarkably hearty of a hare which had been sent to her from Seighford by her son’. Mr Eld’s anxiety was briefly suppressed, until he realised it was composed on Saturday March 26 – two days before the haunting.
“During the coach journey home, Mr Eld repeatedly told his servant he was ‘sure’ he would ‘hear some bad news about his mother soon’. The following Friday, on April 1, Mr Eld returned to Stafford and received a letter informing him his mother had died on the preceding Monday night or Tuesday morning – March 28/29 – coinciding with the time of the visitation. This realisation caused him to ‘faint away’ in shock.
“At the funeral, Mr Eld told his father about the mysterious haunting, which turned him ‘into jelly’. Mr Eld’s father, John Elde of Dorking, was a notable benefactor of Stafford General Infirmary who was painted by renowned society painter Thomas Gainsborough.”
The handwritten account comes with correspondence between Reverend Thomas Whitby of Creswell and Reverend Townson of Malpas, Cheshire, discussing ‘this very uncommon event’, as well as a statement from Francis Eld’s servant, taken down by Whitby. The servant’s testimony is treated respectfully, ‘The man is not a common menial servant but one who rents a small farm in the neighbourhood, & is employed by Mr Eld to take care of his Woods & Game, & when he comes to Seighford for the Hunting Season this man attends him in his sports, the man is more sensible & intelligent than persons of his situation usually are, Bold & Resolute, & so that I think one may venture to depend upon the accuracy of his Relation’.
Jim said: “The fact that Mr Eld’s experience was documented and discussed by members of the clergy, as well as a servant’s testimony, underlines how greatly he was affected by the incident. Seeing the ghost of his own mother telling him she had passed away when he thought she was alive was frightening enough. When his worst fears were met and he realised her visitation coincided with her passing, it was enough to make him faint from shock.
“When you see Seighford Hall, near Stafford, a rambling period property with its origins in the late 16th century, the ghost story comes to life even more. It was built for the Eld family, almost certainly for Richard Eld (1546–1621), who was born in neighbouring Derbyshire. It’s awash with rooms and you can but imagine which one his mother appeared in to tell her son of her own death.
“Most auction houses would’ve overlooked these papers, I’m sure. This is the part of the job I enjoy most, unpicking the history of an object and telling its story. How does one put a price on something like this? There’s no way of knowing how people will respond. They might find it unsettling. I’m guiding the archive of papers at £300-£500 but it could spark a determined bidding battle and more surprising result.”
Auction: The supernatural records and deeds will be sold at Rare Book Auctions, Wade Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, in November.
Enquiries: Jim Spencer | [email protected]
Address: Rare Book Auctions, 3 Wade Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6HL
Website: www.rarebookauctions.co.uk
Picture credit/Seighford Hall: Spiderdan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seighford_Hall#/media/File:Seighford_Hall.jpeg |
