APPENDIX A. Ghosts.
Referred to on [page 288].
The Ghost of Mr. Blondel.
At “Les Mourains” we have seen that the ghost was “laid” by the means of the clergy of the parish, (see page 288) and it is evident by the following stories that the laying of spirits frequently formed part of the duties of the clergy in Guernsey in the last century.
The house Colonel Le Pelley now inhabits at St. Peter-in-the-Wood, was formerly owned by an old Mr. Blondel, who, on his death bed, gave instructions to Mr. Thomas Brock (then Rector of the parish and grandfather of the present Rector, Mr. H. Walter Brock), to toll the big bell to announce his decease.
This was not done, but Mr. Blondel’s spirit determined to show that promises to the dying were not to be trifled with! All the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois were ready to affirm that the ghost was to be seen climbing up the Church tower; and in the Rectory kitchen the china on the dresser would make a clattering noise and finally be swept by the unseen hands on to the floor.
Life at the Rectory became so unendurable under these circumstances that Mr. Brock finally decided to “lay” the ghost, and confine it to its own house. So he went to “Prospect Place,” as the house is now called, with twelve others of the local clergy. They shut every door and window, and blocked up every crevice, key-hole, etc., through which the spirit might pass. They then prayed in every room, after which having driven the spirit out of each room in succession, they locked it up in a cupboard, with either the key of the Church door or a specially-made silver key (Miss Le Pelley could not find out which, some say one, and some another), but the ghost has not troubled the Brock family since.