Ghosts I Have Seen, and Other Psychic ExperiencesTweedale, Violet
Religion
Ghosts I Have Seen, and Other Psychic Experiences
Tweedale, Violet
Ghosts; Parapsychology
The stranger returned my stare with perfect composure, and in a second
or two during which we regarded each other I had time to observe his
appearance. He was well dressed, all in black, with a modern, black
broadcloth frockcoat buttoned close. He was very tall and strongly
built, his face was sallow and heavy featured, and he wore a short,
black beard. I bowed and addressed him:
"I'm sorry! I didn't know any one was waiting. Do you wish to see me or
my husband?" I said politely.
The man made no reply, but at once began to glide, not walk, towards a
closed glass door leading to a conservatory on the left. His eyes never
left mine. Without opening the door he passed through it and vanished.
Then I realized and darted after him, throwing open the door and staring
beyond. Nothing! Nothing physical could have passed through a glass door
without shattering it, and that is all there is to this story. The man
had no connection with us nor, so far as we could learn, with the former
occupants of the house.
A very old friend of mine, Mrs. Sinclair, wife of the late Sir
Tollemache Sinclair's second son, told me of an experience she and her
mother once had when visiting a cousin, Major Fetherston Dilke, of
Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire. The Castle is ancient and surrounded by
a moat, and within the moat lies a tennis court. In order to reach their
rooms on the ground floor, Mrs. Sinclair and her mother had to pass
through a great stone hall filled with fine old oak and armor. Beyond
that their way lay through the remains of an old chapel, which once had
been extensively damaged by fire.
One evening after playing tennis till rather late, Mrs. Sinclair and her
mother hastened indoors to change for dinner. As they passed through the
chapel Mrs. Sinclair saw her mother suddenly shrink back against the
wall; at the same time she exclaimed, "Oh, May, stand aside and let that
person pass."
Mrs. Sinclair looked round, but could see no one. Again her mother cried
out insistently:
"Oh, do let her pass."
"But no one is here," Mrs. Sinclair assured her. Then seeing that her
mother looked terrified she took her by the arm and hurried her to their
rooms.
When the door was shut Mrs. Sinclair tried to soothe her mother's
agitation, and asked her what she had seen, and why she was so
disturbed.
Her mother replied: "There was a young woman in the corner who was
trying hard to escape observation, and the sight of her gave me the most
uncomfortable feeling. She was not a maidservant, and wore no cap. She
was dressed in a mauve print gown with a violet sprig upon it. She might
have been a needle-woman." Mrs. Sinclair calmed her mother as well as
she could, and they went down to dinner together.
During the meal what was her horror to hear her mother say to their
host, "Oh, William, I feel sure there are ghosts in the Castle. I've
seen one to-night."
There was a most uncomfortable silence after this, and Major Fetherston
Dilke looked terribly agitated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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