The Alleged Haunting of B—— House / Including a Journal Kept During the Tenancy of Colonel Lemesurier Taylor

by Unknown

M. van der Broeck elsewhere refers to "similar noises heard on Dartmoor, and in some parts of Scotland." Readers of Blackmore's story of "Lorna Doone" will remember, among other valuable observations of out-door life, his accounts of "the hollow moaning sound" during the intense cold of the winter, of which he gives so graphic an account. It was "ever present in the air, morning, noon, and night time, and especially at night, whether any wind was stirring or whether it were a perfect calm" (Chap. xlvi.).

Another correspondent in Nature refers to remarkable noises among the hills of Cheshire: "When the wind is easterly, and nearly calm on the flats, a hollow moaning sound is heard, popularly termed the Soughing of the Wind, which Sir Walter Scott, in his glossary to 'Guy Mannering,' interprets as a hollow blast or whisper."

Another writer quotes experiences in East Anglia, tending to show that such sounds may be reports arising from the process of "faulting" going on, on a small scale, at a great depth, and not of sufficient intensity to produce a perceptible vibration at the earth's surface.

It would seem that in districts such as Comrie in Perthshire, East Hadden in Connecticut, Pignerol in Piedmont, Meleda in the Adriatic, &c., sounds without shocks are common during intervals, which may last for several years. Remarkable sounds, not apparently accounted for, are reported to proceed from Lough Neagh in Ireland.

See Nature, Oct. 1895, and following numbers; articles by M. van der Broeck in Ciel et Terre (Belgium), Dec. 1, 1895, and following numbers, also Geol. Mag., vol. ix. 1892, pp. 208-18.

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CONSPECTUS OF AUDILE PHENOMENA AT
B—— HOUSE RECORDED IN JOURNAL

Recorded under Date.	Heard in Room.	Witness.	Description of Sound.
Feb. 4	No. I.	Miss Freer Miss Moore	Loud clanging sound, as of metal struck with wood Voices in conversation
	No. III.	"Mac," the maid	Voices, footsteps, things dragged about
Feb. 5	Attics	Two housemaids	Continuous reading
Feb. 7	No. VII.	Miss Moore	Reverberating bang close to bed
	Drawing-room Hall	Mac Miss Moore	Noises and footsteps Clanging sound upstairs
Feb. 8	"Butler's room"	Mac	Footsteps and sounds on door
	No. VII.	Miss Moore	Reverberating bang
		Miss Moore Miss Freer	Noises percussive or explosive
	The Glen	Miss Freer Mr. C——	Voices in conversation
Feb. 9	No. VII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Noises percussive or explosive
Feb. 10	No. I.	Miss Moore	Clangs. Voices in conversation
	No. V.	Mr. W——	Knockings.
	No. VIII.	Colonel Taylor	Footsteps overhead
Feb.13	No. I.	Miss Moore	Clanging noise
		Miss Moore Miss Freer	Crash
	No. V.	Mrs. W——	Knockings
Feb. 15	No. IV.	Miss Langton	A loud crash
Feb. 16	The Glen	Miss Langton Miss Freer Miss Moore	Voices in conversation
Feb. 17	Drawing-room	Mrs. W—— Miss Langton Miss Moore Miss Freer	Footsteps overhead in disused room
	Drawing-room	Col. Taylor Mrs. W—— Miss Langton Miss Moore Miss Freer	Clanging noise, four times repeated
Feb. 18	No. VIII.	Miss Freer	Banging sounds
	No. VIII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Sounds as of an animal's movements in the room in daylight
	The Glen	Miss Langton Miss Freer	Voices in conversation
	The Glen	Miss Langton (later)	Voices in conversation
Feb. 19	The Glen	Miss Langton	Voices in conversation and footsteps
Feb. 20	No. VIII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Sounds of active movement of an animal in the room
Feb. 21	No. VIII.	Miss Moore	Footsteps of an old man shuffling in slippers
		Miss Moore Miss Freer Dog	Movements of animal
		Miss Moore Miss Freer	Bang on wall near No VII.
Feb. 25	Wing	Mr. "Endell"	Clang noise "like a pavior's hammer dropped"
	No. I.	Mr. Garford	Violent banging on door of Nos. I. and II.
	No. III.	Mr. "Q."	Groans; "a greatly magnified edition of sounds I have several times heard in the drawing-room"
Feb. 26	No. I.	Mr. Garford	Detonating or percussive noise like "a wheel-barrow on a hard road"
March 1	No. IV.	Mr. MacP——	Loud clanging sound in the room
March 2	No. VIII.	Miss Freer Miss Moore	Movements of animal in the room
		Miss Freer Miss Moore	Heavy fall
	No. III.	Miss "N."	Thud, sounding from below
March 5	No. VIII.	Miss Moore	Movements of animal in the room
	Attics	Two maids	Monotonous reading
	No. I.	Mrs. B.C.	Monotonous reading (also mentioned by Mr. Garford as occurring in No. I.)
		Mrs. B.C.	Bang on door of room
	Attics	Mrs. Robinson (cook)	Voices in conversation Bangs on the wall of room
March 7	Attics	Robinson (butler)	Heavy body falling in the room
	No. II.	Mr. C——	Movements of heavy body in the room Footsteps as if descending stairs Loud rapping on doors of Nos. I. and II.
March 8	No. II.	Mr. C——	Noises in No. I. (empty room)
March 10	No. VIII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Animal moving in the room Heavy fall
March 13	No. VIII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Loud bangs
	Attics	Robinson, and Mrs. Robinson	Loud bangs
	No. IV.	Miss Langton	Loud bangs
March 15	No. VIII.	Miss Moore Miss Freer	Vibrating bang
	No. IV.	Miss Langton	Vibrating bang
	Wing	Colonel Taylor	Vibrating bang
[Miss Freer was absent for four nights, and no Journal was kept.]
March 20	No. I.	Miss Moore Miss Freer Miss Langton	Metallic sound in room "like the 'giving' of a large tin box"
March 22	No. IV.	Mr. MacP——	Heavy footsteps overhead
	No. III.	Miss "Duff"	Resounding crash at door Resounding crash in room
March 23	Drawing-room	Miss "Duff"	Monotonous reading (also mentioned as occurring in No. III.)
March 24	No. V.	Miss Freer	Crash of something falling under dome
	No. VIII.	Colonel C——	Loud thump on door of room
	No. I.	Mr. W——	Explosive noises Crash of something falling under dome
	Attics	Two housemaids and kitchen-maid	Loud knockings
	Butler's room on ground floor	Mrs. Robinson	Footsteps and knocking on door of No. III.
	No. III.	Miss "Duff"	Shuffling foot steps outside room
	No. II.	Miss "Duff" Miss Langton	Fall against door of No. I.
March 25	No. II.	Miss Langton	Loud thump on door between I. and II.
March 27	Attics	Carter (housemaid) Under-housemaid Kitchen-maid	Monotonous reading
March 29	Library	Miss Freer Miss Langton	Footsteps in locked-up room overhead
March 30	Library	Miss Freer Miss Langton	Footsteps in locked-up room overhead
	Corridor	Mr. and Mrs. M—— Miss Langton Miss Freer	Rappings in No. II. (empty). (See Mr. M——'s account)
March 31	No. VIII.	Miss Langton	Shuffling footsteps in the room Knock near the wardrobe
	No. I.	Mrs. M—— Mr. M——	Metallic clangs in the room like "tuning a kettle-drum"; later, "terrific noise," "like treble rap on a hollow panel,"--like "the lid of a heavy coal-scuttle let fall"
	Drawing-room	Mrs. M——	Voices in library Detonating noise (like a distant cannon)
April 1	No. VIII.	Mr. M—— Mrs. M——	Voices and footsteps in room overhead (empty)
	Drawing-room	Mrs. M——	Voices and footsteps overhead
	In the garden	Mrs. M—— Miss Freer Miss Langton	Detonating noise
	Drawing-room	Mrs. M—— Miss Freer Miss Langton	Limping footsteps overhead Voices of a man and woman
April 2	Library	Miss Freer Miss Langton	Heavy blow on table
		Mrs. M—— Miss Freer Miss Langton	Heavy blow on table (heard in dining-room)
	Dining-room	Miss Freer Miss Langton Robinson (butler)	Footsteps overhead in empty room
April 3	Library	Miss Langton	Violent hammering on door in daylight
	Dining-room	Miss Freer Miss Langton Mr. T—— Robinson (butler)	Footsteps overhead in empty room
April 4	No. V.	Miss Freer Miss Langton	Crash under dome
April 5	No. I.	Mr. T——	Monotonous reading
April 6	No. I.	Mr. T——	Thuds on floor above, and on door of room Voices in conversation
April 7	No. V.	Miss Freer	Crash under dome
	No. I.	Mr. T——	Crash under dome Voices in conversation Raps at foot of door
April 8	Various parts of the house	Household generally	Crashes and bangs and footsteps heard during the day
	Smoking-room	Miss Freer Miss Langton Mr. T—— Dog	Shuffling footsteps in the room Voices outside door
	No. IV.	Miss Freer	Crash under dome
	No. VIII.	Miss Langton	Shuffling footsteps
	No. I.	Mr. T——	Voices
	No. IV.	Miss Freer	Thuds on lowest panels of door Footsteps of many persons
[No Journal kept between April 8 and April 29. During this period Professor Lodge's notes testify to "knocks on the wall, a sawing noise, a droning and a wailing, ... some whistling, and apparent attempts at a whisper, all up in the attic.]
May 3	No. I.	Mme. Boisseaux	Monotonous voice from No. III. Voices in argument
	No. V.	Mrs. "F."	Knocks at door
May 4	No. V.	Mme. Boisseaux	Knocks at door
May 5	Drawing-room	Mme. Boisseaux Mrs. "F." Mrs. M—— Miss Freer Rev. MacL——	Detonating noise in empty room overhead (No. I.) in daylight
	Billiard-room	Gardener, butler, cook and others	Crash in the room
May 6	No. V.	Mme. Boisseaux	"Room resounded with knocks"
	Library	Miss Freer Miss Moore	Bangs on table
May 13	No. I.	Mr. "Etienne"	[?] Detonating noise