MY father became tenant of the Manor House in a village in the
Midlands and moved in with mother and six children, five girls
(including me) and one boy. I was then twelve years old. Many were the
warnings kindly given to us by the villagers that the house was
haunted, but, being a merry family, and father and brother keen on
shooting, they laughingly warned off any intruders from outside. We
younger were not so dubious. The rooms were large and opened off long
passages and had an eerie effect, especially at night.
The first I remember of anything disturbing was when my brother
injured his foot and was laid up for a time. My eldest sister used to
attend to him, and was surprised one morning, when she took his
breakfast, by him asking why she came into his room during the night
without speaking. She questioned him, and he told her someone came
into his room and leaned over him as if to see if he was asleep, and,
when he spoke, and got no answer, he felt to see if his watch was
there, thinking it was someone after valuables. As he raised himself,
the visitor disappeared. This happened several nights in succession.
On another occasion, my mother was ill and, during the night, called
to my sisters to take down the dog, which she said had jumped on her
bed. They, too, could not explain what had happened, as the dog was
peacefully sleeping downstairs and never was allowed upstairs. Father
also had his share, for, while sitting reading one night, after
everyone else had retired, and all doors locked and bolted, he was
suddenly aroused from his book by hearing footsteps. Then the door at
the end of a long passage was unlocked, and there came a gust of wind
as if it was opened. The door closed, and was bolted again, and
footsteps came towards the room. He asked who was there and,
receiving no reply, went to investigate, but nothing was to be seen,
and the door was still locked and bolted.
Father told the landlord of the experience and the latter stated he
had the same thing happen when living there and could offer no
explanation. I can well remember my feelings of relief when we
removed to another house in a neighbouring village. That, too, had
the reputation of being haunted, but, although we lived there some
years, nothing happened to verify the statement.