HAUNTED PLACES IN ENGLAND HAUNTED PLACES IN ENGLAND BY ELLIOT O'DONNELL AUTHOR OF "SOME HAUNTED HOUSES OF ENGLAND AND WALES" "TWENTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE AS A GHOST HUNTER" ETC. ETC. LONDON SANDS & CO. 15 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN 1919 PREFACE In presenting this volume to the Public, I wish to emphasise the fact that all the names of people and houses mentioned in it (saving in Chapter X.), in connection with the hauntings, are fictitious. ELLIOT O'DONNELL. _May 5, 1917._ CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE CHAIR 7 II. THE HEAD 26 III. THE CUPBOARD 39 IV. THE EMPTY LEASH 52 V. THE DRESSING-ROOM 63 VI. THE RETICULE 77 VII. THE COOMBE 95 VIII. THE TRUNK 110 IX. THE COUGH 124 X. THE SYDERSTONE HAUNTINGS 132 XI. THE GREEN VAPOUR 161 XII. THE STEPPING-STONES 188 XIII. THE PINES 213 HAUNTED PLACES IN ENGLAND CHAPTER I THE CHAIR THE CASE OF A HAUNTED HOUSE IN RED LION SQUARE I am not a psychometrist--at least not to any great extent. I cannot pick up a small object--say an old ring or coin--and straightway tell you its history, describing all the people and incidents with which it has been associated. Yet, occasionally, odd things are revealed to me through some strange ornament or piece of furniture. The other day I went to see a friend, who was staying in a flat near Sloane Square, and I was much impressed by a chair that stood on the hearthrug near the fire. Now I am not a connoisseur of chairs; I cannot always ascribe dates to them. I can, of course, tell whether they are oak or mahogany, Chippendale or Sheraton, but that is about all. It was not, however, the make or the shape of this chair that attracted me, it was the impression I had that something very uncanny was seated on it. My friend, noticing that I looked at it very intently, said: "I will tell you something very interesting about that chair. It came from a haunted house in Red Lion Square. I bought it at a sale there, and several people who have sat in it since have had very curious experiences. I won't tell you them till after you've tried it. Sit in it." "That wouldn't be any good," I answered; "you know I can't psychometrise, especially to order. May I take it home with me for a few nights?" My friend smilingly assented.