The Haunted Farm.
In the township of Godley, on the fringe of what was formerly an
unenclosed common known as Godley Green, stands an old farm,
stone-built, of picturesque appearance. It is pleasantly situated a
short distance from the turnpike road, from which it is approached by
a country lane. Its windows command some beautiful views over the farm
lands of Matley and Hattersley, which stretch away eastwards with many
a clough and dingle, to the bleak hill country where the old church of
Mottram stands out dark against the sky. The farm is said to occupy
the site of an ancient hall, and old folk tell of the remains of
mullioned windows, and a curious antique mounting block, which were to
be seen there in the days when they were young.
Tradition says that the farm is haunted. In former times it was
occupied by a family, the last survivor of which was an old dame, who
is spoken of by those who remember her as being the very picture of a
witch. She is said to have had a nose and chin so hooked that they
almost met; and to have been very mysterious in her movements. Rumour
had it that there was some treasure or secret buried in or about the
farm, and that after the old dame's death, her spirit, unable to rest
in the grave, commenced to wander through the farm at night, as though
searching for something which was lost.
Various persons who have at different times resided in the farm--some
of whom are still living,--have related strange stories of their
experiences of the ghostly visitant. In the dead of night, the
doors--even those which were locked--have suddenly opened, footsteps
have been heard, as though some unseen being walked through the rooms
and up the stairs, and then the doors have closed and locked
themselves as mysteriously as they opened. Sleepers have been awakened
by the beds on which they lay suddenly commencing to rock violently;
and at times the bed clothes have been snatched away and deposited in
a heap upon the floor. The ghostly figure of an old woman has been
seen moving about from room to room, and then has vanished. Fire-irons
have been moved, and have tumbled and danced about mysteriously; pots
and pans have rattled, and tumbled on the floor; and there has been
heard a strange noise as though some one invisible was sweeping the
floor.
In the early and the middle decades of the nineteenth century, the
appearances of the ghost were of frequent occurrence, so much so that
the farmer's family became accustomed to them, and beyond the
annoyance and the loss of sleep which were occasioned, ceased
troubling themselves about the visits. But for guests or strangers the
ghost had terrors. The farmer's daughter had a sweetheart, and one
night he paid a visit to his betrothed, and sat with her before the
kitchen fire. Suddenly there came a gust of wind, there was a noise as
though every pot and pan in the house had been broken, and every door
was flung wide open by a mysterious and invisible agency.
"What on earth is that?" asked the young man, full of surprise, not
unmixed with terror.
"It is only the ghost of the old dame prowling about," answered his
sweetheart.
But the youth had seen and heard enough, and seizing his hat, he
dashed outside and made off rapidly over the fields. Scarcely had he
departed, when the doors shut themselves, and all was quiet as before.
Some time afterwards, the farmer engaged a farm-hand from a place
beyond Charlesworth. The new man took up his abode and slept one night
in the haunted farm. The next morning he came downstairs with blanched
face and startled eyes.
"I have seen a boggart," said he; "the ghost of an old woman; and I
think it must be my mother. On her deathbed I promised her to place a
stone upon her grave; I have been too greedy to spare the money for
the purpose. It must be her ghost come to upbraid me; and I cannot
rest until I have placed the stone above her grave."
Never again would the poor fellow spend a night in the farm, but for
years he walked to and from his home beyond distant Charlesworth and
his work at the haunted farm.
Other farm-hands and servants were equally terrified by the strange
noises and apparitions; and the farmer found it almost impossible to
get anyone to remain long in his service. At length, so annoying did
the ghost visits become that it was decided to call in the aid of some
minister of the Gospel for the purpose of "laying the boggart." The
Rev. James Brooks--the respected pastor of Hyde Chapel, Gee Cross,
from 1805-1851--was asked to undertake the task, and he readily
complied. Accompanied by other devout men, he spent several nights in
the haunted rooms, reading passages from the Bible, and uttering
prayers specially adapted for driving evil spirits away. The
ministrations of the reverend gentleman were so far successful that
the ghost did not again appear for some time, and its visits have not
since been of such frequent occurrence as formerly. It was widely
believed that had Mr. Brooks continued his visits and his prayers long
enough, the boggart would have been effectively "laid."
As it is, the strange noises and visitations have continued, and are
borne witness to by several persons. Between 1880 and 1890 the
following strange thing happened. It was in the middle of the
afternoon, when most of the household were out of doors, and there
were only the farmer's wife and a boy, and girl within the house.
Presently the mother went into the yard, and the youngsters, bent on
mischief, rushed into the pantry for the purpose of feasting on the
jams and honey which they knew to be there, when lo! they were
suddenly startled by a loud and strange noise overhead, giving them
the impression that some burglars must have got in the upstairs rooms
by some means or other. Full of fear, they rushed for their mother,
who boldly went upstairs, the children following at her heels. When
they entered the room from which the noise came, they beheld the
curious sight of an old rocking-chair, violently rocking itself as
though some person might have been seated in it, and the rocking
continued unabated for a considerable time. A farm labourer, who was
called in to stop the chair, was too terrified to do anything, and
finally the farmer's wife had to sit in the chair to stop it.
It is said that the old dame whose ghost haunts the place, died in her
rocking-chair in that very corner of the room; and the belief was that
it was her spirit, invisible to the inhabitants of the farm, which had
set the chair rocking so mysteriously.
To add to the mystery and the uncanny character of the place, there is
a certain part of the garden connected with the farm, on which nothing
will grow. Time after time have the tenants endeavoured to cultivate
this little spot, but always unsuccessfully. Some years ago human
bones were dug up, and the secret attached to their interment is
supposed to account for the sterile nature of the soil. The present
tenant of the farm asserts that he has paid special attention to the
piece of ground, has applied quantities of the best manure, and in
other ways has endeavoured to bring the soil to the same state of
fruitfulness as the rest of the garden, but all to no purpose. So
recently as the month of April, 1906, primroses growing on that part
of the garden are pale and withered; while those in other parts are
fine and healthy flowers.
The present tenant's wife relates a strange story of a supernatural
death-warning which occurred in connection with this haunted house.
Her brother lay ill in the farm, and she had occasion to go to Gee
Cross on business. Returning homewards, she met a black cat, which, do
what she would she was unable to catch. Then, whilst walking along the
lane leading to the farm, in company with her mother who had met her,
a strange thing happened. It was a beautiful summer night, hot and
still; not a breath of air stirred the leaves upon the trees; and
there was no sound. Suddenly the high thorn hedge on their right
commenced to rock violently; and behind it there sailed along from the
direction of the farm a female figure draped in white. The beholders
were spellbound, and they entered the house with bated breaths. There
they found that the sick man had just died.
The history of this haunted farm is but another testimony to the truth
of the saying that there are more things in heaven and earth than are
dreamt of by ordinary mortals. Things such as these are beyond human
ken; and in all probability the apparition and the ghost-noises of
this old farm house in Godley will baffle the wisdom and the cunning
of generations yet unborn.