Mr. and Mrs. "G." were also guests at B—— during the occupation of the H——s. Mrs. "G." published an account of her experiences in a magazine article, of course with fictitious names; but she affirms that she has in no sense "written up" the story, which, indeed, is entirely corroborated by other evidence:—
"October 9th, 1896.—Some friends of mine took the place this year for the shooting, and, relying on the glowing description they had received, took it on trust, and in July last took possession of it without having previously seen it. For a few days all went well; the family established themselves in the old part of the house, leaving a new wing for their guests. The haunted room (for so I may justly call it) was inhabited by two or three persons in succession, who were so alarmed and disturbed by the violent knockings, shrieks, and groans which they heard every night, and which were also heard by many others along the same corridor, that they refused to sleep there after the first few nights. Those who serve under her Majesty's colours are proverbially brave; they will gladly die for their country, with sword in hand and face to the foe. For this reason a distinguished officer [Colonel A——, above quoted] was the next occupant of the haunted chamber, and was told nothing of its antecedents. The morning after his arrival he came down refreshed, and keen for the day's sport. I may here mention, no one is ever disturbed the first night of their stay. During the succeeding nights, however, he was continually roused from his slumbers by the most terrific noises, and want of sleep would cause him to become drowsy when out shooting on the moor, and would tempt him to make a bed of the purple heather and fragrant myrtle.
"A friend of mine, a man of great nerve and courage, next inhabited the room, and went through the same experiences. He took every possible means to discover the cause of the sounds, and failed in accounting for them in any way. He said the blows on the door were so violent he often looked, expecting to see it shattered to atoms. Since he left no one has been put into this room, but the noises continue, and are heard throughout the house. Even the dogs cannot be coaxed into this room, and if forced into it, they crouch with marked signs of fear.
"The disturbances take place between 12 and 4.30, and never at any other time. A young lady, of by no means timid disposition, and possessed of great presence of mind, has often heard the swing-door pushed open and footsteps coming along the corridor, pausing at the door. She has frequently looked out and seen nothing. The footsteps she has also heard in her room, and going round her bed. Many persons have had the same experiences, and many have heard the wild unearthly shriek which has rung through the house in the stillness of the night.
"I will now give my own experience. I arrived with my husband and daughter on September 17, having been duly warned by my friends of the nocturnal disturbances. We were put in rooms adjoining, at the end of the new wing. I kept a light in my room, but the first night all was still. Next night, about 2 a.m., a succession of thundering knocks came from the end of our passage, re-echoing through the house, where it was heard by many others. About half-an-hour afterwards my husband heard a piercing shriek; then all was still, save for the hooting of the owls in the neighbouring trees. When the grey dawn stole in it was welcome; so was the cheery sound of the bagpipes, as the kilted piper took his daily round in the early morning. The next night and succeeding ones we heard loud single knocks at different doors along our passage. The last night but one before we left I was roused from sleep by hearing the clock strike one, and immediately it had ceased six violent blows shook our own door on its hinges, and came with frightful rapidity, followed by deep groans. After this sleep was impossible. The next night, our last in Scotland, my husband and others watched in our passage all night, and though the sounds were again heard in different directions, nothing was to be seen. As I write, at the commencement of October, the house on the lonely hillside is deserted; the tenants have gone southwards; an old caretaker (too deaf to hear the weird sounds which nightly awaken the echoes) is the sole occupant. Even she closes up all before dusk, and retires into her quarters below; though she hears not, her sight is unimpaired, and she perhaps dreads to meet the hunchback figure which is said to glide up the stairs, or the shadowy form of a grey lady who paces with noiseless footfall the lonely corridor, and has been seen to pass through the door of one of the rooms. Within the last two months a man with bronzed complexion and bent figure has been seen by two gentlemen, friends of mine. They both describe him as having come through the door and passed through the room in which they were about three in the morning. I have tried to give a faithful and accurate account of these strange events. I leave it to each and all to form their own opinion on the matter."
Some passages in private letters to Miss Freer and Lord Bute written by Mrs. "G.," should be quoted as bearing upon some points in the above:—
"February 9th.—I am going to ask you if you do go there [B—— House] if you would let me know if you see or hear anything. I am immensely interested in it, as we stayed there in the autumn with some friends who took it, and anything more horribly haunted could not be. I never should have believed it if I had not been there."
After the appearance of The Times correspondent's accusation against the H—— family, Mrs. "G." wrote as follows to Lord Bute:—
"June 10th.—If the noises complained of by nearly all who have stayed at B—— were the result of practical jokes perpetrated by the H——s, how is it that not only were they heard by guests who stayed there years ago, but are admitted by members of the S—— family to have been heard by themselves? Miss Freer also has told me, that the same noises were heard at all hours day and night by herself and her guests for months after the H—— family and their servants had left Scotland. This so completely exonerates them from the absurd charge, that I should hardly have mentioned it, had not Miss Freer seemed quite under the impression that practical jokes had been played during the tenancy of the H——s; and as a proof of this, she told me that the doors, especially of two of the rooms, were marked with nailed boots, and the panels even split through, and this damage was attributed by her to the younger members of the H—— family. I am happy to say I was able to disabuse her mind of this idea, as we were staying at B—— within a few days of their leaving Scotland, and I had most carefully examined the doors especially of the two rooms specified, one of which was our own room. There was not a scratch, nor the smallest mark or indentation; others can also vouch for this fact. The H——s had all left B—— for good at that time, except the eldest son, and Miss Freer agreed with me that whatever damage was done to the doors, must therefore have been done after the H——s left, and before her party came in.... The hot-water pipe theory revived by the writer of the article in The Times is disproved by Miss Freer, who told me that the hot-water apparatus was not used for some time, and that the disturbances continued just the same.... The stories told in connection with B—— were not circulated or started by the H—— family. They were told to them by persons living around B——."
In a letter to Miss Freer, dated June 12th, Mrs. "G." writes, in reference to the charge of practical joking:—