THE SYDERSTONE HAUNTINGS
Some years ago I published in a work entitled _Ghostly Phenomena_
(Werner Laurie & Co.) an account, sent me by the late Rev. Henry
Hacon, M.A., of Searly Vicarage, North Kelsey Moor, of hauntings that
once occurred in the Old Syderstone Parsonage (the present Rectory
has never, so I understand, been in any way disturbed). Thanks to
the kindness and courtesy of Mr. E. A. Spurgin of Temple Balsall,
Warwickshire (grandson of the Rev. John Spurgin), I am now able to
reproduce further correspondence relative to the same case, written at
the time of the occurrence--over eighty years ago.
The following paragraphs appeared in the _Norfolk Chronicle_, June 1,
1833:--
"A REAL GHOST
"The following circumstance has been creating some agitation in the
neighbourhood of Fakenham for the last few weeks.
"In Syderstone Parsonage lives the Rev. Mr. Stewart, curate, and rector
of Thwaite. About six weeks since an unaccountable knocking was heard
in it in the middle of the night. The family became alarmed, not
being able to discover the cause. Since then it has gradually been
becoming more violent, until it has now arrived at such a frightful
pitch that one of the servants has left through absolute terror. The
noises commence almost every morning about two, and continue until
daylight. Sometimes it is a knocking, now in the ceiling overhead,
now in the wall, and now directly under the feet; sometimes it is a
low moaning, which the Rev. Gentleman says reminds him very much of
the moans of a soldier on being whipped; and sometimes it is like the
sounding of brass, the rattling of iron, or the clashing of earthenware
or glass; but nothing in the house is disturbed. It never speaks,
but will beat to a lively tune and moan at a solemn one, especially
at the morning and evening hymns. Every part of the house has been
carefully examined, to see that no one could be secreted, and the doors
and windows are always fastened with the greatest caution. Both the
inside and outside of the house have been carefully examined during
the time of the noises, which always arouse the family from their
slumbers, and oblige them to get up; but nothing has been discovered.
It is heard by everyone present, and several ladies and gentlemen in
the neighbourhood, who, to satisfy themselves, have remained all night
with Mr. Stewart's family, have heard the same noise, and have been
equally surprised and frightened. Mr. Stewart has also offered any of
the tradespeople in the village an opportunity of remaining in the
house and convincing themselves. The shrieking last Wednesday week was
terrific. It was formerly reported in the village that the house was
haunted by a Rev. Gentleman, whose name was Mantal, who died there
about twenty-seven years since, and this is now generally believed
to be the case. His vault, in the inside of the church, has lately
been repaired, and a new stone put down. The house is adjoining the
churchyard, which has added, in no inconsiderable degree, to the horror
which pervades the villagers. The delusion must be very ingeniously
conducted, but at this time of day scarcely anyone can be found to
believe these noises proceed from any other than natural causes.
"On Wednesday se'nnight, Mr. Stewart requested several most respectable
gentlemen to sit up all night--namely, the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon of
Docking, the Rev. Mr. Goggs of Creake, the Rev. Mr. Lloyd of
Massingham, the Rev. Mr. Titlow of Norwich, and Mr. Banks, surgeon, of
Holt, and also Mrs. Spurgeon. Especial care was taken that no tricks
should be played by the servants; but, as if to give the visitors a
grand treat, the noises were even louder and of longer continuance than
usual. The first commencement was in the bed-chamber of Miss Stewart,
and seemed like the clawing of a voracious animal after its prey.
Mrs. Spurgeon was at the moment leaning against the bed-post, and the
effect on all present was like a shock of electricity. The bed was on
all sides clear from the wall; but nothing was visible. Three powerful
knocks were then given to the side-board, whilst the hand of Mr. Goggs
was upon it. The disturber was conjured to speak, but answered only by
a low hollow moaning; but on being requested to give three knocks, it
gave three most tremendous blows apparently in the wall. The noises,
some of which were as loud as those of a hammer on the anvil, lasted
from between eleven and twelve o'clock until near two hours after
sunrise. The following is the account given by one of the gentlemen:
'We all heard distinct sounds of various kinds--from various parts of
the room and the air--in the midst of us--nay, we felt the vibrations
of parts of the bed as struck; but we were quite unable to assign any
possible natural cause as producing all or any part of this. We had a
variety of thoughts and explanations passing in our minds _before_ we
were on the spot, but we left it all equally bewildered.' On another
night the family collected in a room where the noise had never been
heard; the maid-servants sat sewing round a table, under the especial
notice of Mrs. Stewart, and the man-servant, with his legs crossed
and his hands upon his knees, under the cognisance of his master.
The noise was then for the first time heard there--'above, around,
beneath, confusion all'--but nothing seen, nothing disturbed, nothing
felt except a vibratory agitation of the air, or a tremulous movement
of the tables or what was upon them. It would be in vain to attempt
to particularise all the various noises, knockings, and melancholy
groanings of this mysterious something. Few nights pass away without
its visitation, and each one brings its own variety. We have little
doubt that we shall ultimately learn that this midnight disturber is
but another '_Tommy Tadpole_,' but from the respectability and superior
intelligence of the parties who have attempted to investigate into the
secret, we are quite willing to allow to the believers in the earthly
visitations of ghosts all the support which this circumstance will
afford to their creed--that of _unaccountable mystery_. We understand
that inquiries on the subject have been very numerous, and we believe
we may even say troublesome, if not expensive."
(_Norfolk Chronicle_, June 1, 1833.)
* * * * *
"SYDERSTONE PARSONAGE
"_To the Editor of the Norfolk Chronicle._
"SIR,--My name having lately appeared in the _Bury Post_, as well as in
your own journal, without my consent or knowledge, I doubt not you will
allow me the opportunity of occupying some portion of your paper, in
way of explanation.
"It is most true that, at the request of the Rev. Mr. Stewart, I was
at the Parsonage at Syderstone, on the night of the 15th ult., for the
purpose of investigating the cause of the several interruptions to
which Mr. Stewart and his family have been subject for the last three
or four months. I feel it right, therefore, to correct some of the
erroneous impressions which the paragraph in question is calculated to
make upon the public mind, and at the same time to state fairly the
leading circumstances which transpired that night.
"At ten minutes before two in the morning, '_knocks_' were distinctly
heard; they continued at intervals, until after sunrise--sometimes
proceeding from the bed's-head, sometimes from the side-boards of the
children's bed, sometimes from a three-inch partition, separating
the children's sleeping-rooms; both sides of which partition were
open to observation. On two or three occasions, also, when a definite
number of blows was requested to be given, the precise number required
was distinctly heard. _How_ these blows were occasioned was the
subject of diligent search: every object was before us, but nothing
satisfactorily to account for them; no trace of any human hand, or of
mechanical power, was to be discovered. Still, I would remark, though
perfectly distinct, these knocks were by no means so powerful as your
paragraph represents--indeed, instead of '_being even louder, and of
longer continuance that night_, as if to give _the visitors a grand
treat_,' it would seem they were neither _so_ loud nor _so_ frequent
as they commonly had been. In several instances they were particularly
gentle, and the pauses between them afforded all who were present
the opportunity of exercising the most calm judgment and deliberate
investigation.
"I would next notice the '_vibrations_' on the side-board and post of
the children's beds. These were distinctly felt by myself as well as
others, not only once, but frequently. They were obviously the effect
of different blows, given in some way or other, upon the different
parts of the beds, in several instances while those parts were actually
under our hands. It is not true that '_the effect on all present was
like a shock of electricity_,' but that these '_vibrations_' did take
place, and that too in beds, perfectly disjointed from every wall, was
obvious to our senses; though in what way they were occasioned could
not be developed.
"Again--our attention was directed at different times during the
night to certain sounds on the bed's-head and walls, resembling the
scratchings of two or three fingers; but in _no_ instance were they
'_the clawing of a voracious animal after its prey_.' During the night
I happened to leave the spot in which the party were assembled, and to
wander in the dark to some more distant rooms in the house, occupied
by no one member of the family (but where the disturbances originally
arose), and there, to my astonishment, the same scratchings were to be
heard.
"At another time, also, when one of Mr. Stewart's children was
requested to hum a lively air, '_most scientific beatings_' to every
note was distinctly heard from the bed-head; and at its close, '_four
blows_' were given, louder (I think) and more rapid than any which had
before occurred.
"Neither ought I to omit that, at the commencement of the noises,
several feeble '_moans_' were heard. This happened more than once;
after a time they increased to a series of '_groanings_' of a
peculiarly distressing character, and proceeding (as it seemed) from
the bed of one of Mr. Stewart's children, about ten years of age. From
the tone of voice, as well as other circumstances, my own conviction
is, that these '_moans_' could not arise from any effort on the part
of the child. Perhaps there were others present who might have had
different impressions; but be this as it may, towards daybreak four or
six shrieks were heard--not from any bed or wall, but as hovering in
the atmosphere in the room, where the other noises had been principally
heard. These screams were distinctly heard by _all_, but their cause
was discoverable by _none_.
"These, Sir, are the chief events which occurred at Syderstone
Parsonage on the night alluded to in your paragraph. I understand
the '_knockings_' and '_sounds_' have varied considerably in their
character on different nights, and that there have been several nights
occurring (at four distinct periods) in which _no noises_ have been
heard.
"I have simply related what took place under my own observation. You
will perceive that the noises heard by us were by no means so loud
and violent as would be gathered from the representations which have
been made. Still, as you are aware, they are not on that account the
less real; nor do they, on that account, require the less rational
explanation. I trust, however, Mr. Editor, your readers will fully
understand me. I have not related the occurrences of the night for the
purpose of leading them to any particular views, or conclusions upon a
subject which, for the present at least, is wrapt in obscurity: such is
very remote from my object. But Mr. Stewart having requested me, as a
neighbouring clergyman, to witness the inconveniences and interruptions
to which the different members of his family have been subject for
the last sixteen weeks, I have felt it my duty, as an honest man
(particularly among the false statements now abroad) to bear my feeble
testimony, however inconsiderable it may be, to their actual existence
in his house; and also since, from the very nature of the case, it
is not possible Mr. Stewart can admit the repeated introduction of
strangers to his family, I have thought it likewise a duty I owed to
the public to place before them the circumstances which really did take
place on that occasion. In the words of your paragraph, I can truly
say: '_I had a variety of thoughts and explanations passing in my mind
before I was on the spot, but I left it perfectly bewildered_,' and I
must confess the perplexity has not been diminished by the result of an
investigation, which was most carefully pursued for five days, during
the past week, under the immediate direction of Mr. Reeve, of Houghton,
agent to the Marquis of Cholmondeley, the proprietor of Syderstone and
patron of the Rectory, and who, on learning the annoyances to which
Mr. Stewart was subject, directed every practicable aid to be afforded
for the purpose of discovery. Mr. Seppings and Mr. Savory, the two
chief inhabitants of the parish, assisted also in the investigation. A
'_trench_' was dug round the back part of the house, and '_borings_'
were resorted to in all other parts of it to the depth of six or seven
feet, completing a chain round the entire buildings, for the purpose of
discovering any subterranean communication with the walls, which might
possibly explain the noises in question. Many parts of the interior of
the house, also, such as '_the walls_,' '_floors_,' '_false roofs_,'
etc., have been minutely examined, but nothing has been found to throw
any light upon the source of the disturbances. Indeed, I understand the
'_knockings_' within the last four days, so far from having subsided,
are become increasingly distressing to Mr. Stewart and his family--and
so _remain_!--I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
"JOHN SPURGIN.
"DOCKING, _June 5, 1833_."
* * * * *
"_To the Editor of the Norfolk Chronicle_.
"NORWICH, _June 5, 1833_.
"SIR,--The detail of circumstances connected with the _Syderstone
Ghost_, as reported in the public papers, is in my opinion very
incorrect, and calculated to deceive the public. If the report of
noises heard on other evenings be as much exaggerated as in the report
of the noises which five other gentlemen and myself heard on Wednesday
evening, the 15th of May, nothing could be better contrived to foster
superstition and to aid deception. I was spending a few days with a
friend in the neighbourhood of Syderstone, and was courteously invited
by Mr. Stewart to sit up at the Parsonage; but I never imagined the
noises I heard during the night would become a subject of general
conversation in our city and county. As such is the case, and as I
have been so frequently appealed to by personal friends, I hope you
will afford the convenience of correcting, through the medium of your
journal, some of the errors committed in the reports made of the
disturbances which occurred when I was present. If the other visitors
thought proper to make their statements known to the public, I have no
doubt they would nearly accord with my own, as we are not, though so
represented in the _Bury Post_, 'those who deal in contradictions of
this sort.'
"The noises were _not loud_; certainly they were not so loud as to be
heard by those ladies and gentlemen who were sitting at the time of
their commencement in a bedroom only a few yards distant. The noises
commenced as nearly as possible at the hour we had been prepared
to expect they would--or at about half-past one o'clock a.m. It is
true that knocks seemed to be given, or actually were given, on the
side-board of a bed whilst Mr. Goggs' hands were upon it; but it is
not true that they were 'powerful knocks.' It is also true that Mr.
Goggs requested the ghost, if he could not speak, to give three knocks,
and that three knocks--gentle knocks, not 'three most tremendous
blows'--were heard as proceeding from the thin wall against which were
the beds of the children and the female servants. I heard a scream as
of a female, but I was not alarmed; I cannot speak _positively_ as to
the origin of the scream, but I cannot deny that such a scream may be
produced by a ventriloquist. The family are highly respectable, and I
know not any good reason for a suspicion to be excited against any one
of the members; but as it is _possible_ for one or two members of a
family to cause disturbances to the rest, I must confess that I should
be more satisfied that there is not a connection between the ghost and
a member of the family if the noises were distinctly heard in the rooms
when _all_ the members of the family were known to be at a distance
from them. I understood from Mr. Stewart that on one occasion the whole
family--himself, Mrs. Stewart, the children, and servants--sat up in
his bedroom during the night; that himself and Mrs. Stewart kept an
attentive watch upon the children and servants; and that the noises,
though seldom or never heard before in that room, were then heard in
all parts of the room. This fact, though not yet accounted for, is not
a proof but that some one or more of the family is able to give full
information of the cause of the noises.
"Mr. Stewart and other gentlemen declared that they have heard such
loud and violent knocking, and other strange noises, as certainly throw
a great mystery over the circumstance. I speak only in reference to
the knockings and the scream which I heard when in company with the
gentlemen whose names have been already made known to the public; and
confining my remarks to those noises, I hesitate not to declare that I
think similar noises might be caused by visible and internal agency.
"I do not deny the existence of supernatural agency, or of its
occasional manifestation; but I firmly believe such a manifestation
does not take place without Divine permission, and when permitted it
is not for trifling purposes, nor accompanied with _trifling effects_.
Now there are effects which appear to me _trifling_, connected with the
noises at Syderstone, and which therefore tend to satisfy my mind that
they are _not caused by supernatural agency_. On one occasion the ghost
was desired to give ten knocks; he gave nine, and, as if recollecting
himself that the number was not completed, he began again, and gave
ten. I heard him beat time to the air of the verse of a song sung by
Miss Stewart--if I mistake not, 'Home, Sweet Home'; and I heard him
give three knocks in compliance with Mr. Goggs' request.
"Mr. Editor, noises are heard in Syderstone Parsonage the cause or
agency of which is at present unknown to the public, but a full, a
diligent investigation ought _immediately_ to be made--Mr. Stewart, I
believe, is willing to afford facility. If, therefore, I may express an
opinion, that if two or three active and experienced police officers
from Norwich were permitted to be the sole occupants in the house
for a few nights, the ghost would not interrupt their slumbers, or,
if he attempted to do it, they would quickly find him out, and teach
him better manners for the future. The disturbances at the Parsonage
House, Epworth, in 1716, in some particulars resemble those which have
occurred at Syderstone, but in these days we give little credit to
tales of witchcraft, or that evil spirits are permitted to indicate
their displeasure at prayers being offered for the King, etc.; and
therefore I hope that deceptions practised at Syderstone, if there be
deceptions, will be promptly discovered, lest that parsonage become
equal in repute to the one at Epworth.--I am, Sir, your humble servant,
"SAMUEL TITLOW."
(_Norfolk Chronicle_, June 8, 1833.)
* * * * *
SYDERSTONE PARSONAGE
"_To the Editor of the Norfolk Chronicle._
"SIR,--Having already borne my testimony to the occurrences of the
night of the 15th ult. in the Parsonage at Syderstone, and finding that
_ventriloquism and other devices_ are now resorted to as the probable
causes of them (and that, too, under the sanction of certain statements
put forth in your last week's paper), I feel myself called on to state
publicly that, although a diligent observer of the different events
which then took place, I witnessed no one circumstance which could
induce _me_ to indulge a conjecture that the _knocks_, _vibrations_,
_scratchings_, _groanings_ etc., which I heard, proceeded from any
member of Mr. Stewart's family, through the medium of mechanical or
other trickery:--indeed, it would seem to me utterly impossible that
the scratchings which fell under my observation during the night, in a
remote room of the house, could be so produced, as, at that time, every
member of Mr. Stewart's family was removed a considerable distance from
the spot.
"While making this declaration, I beg to state that my only object in
bearing any part in this mysterious affair has been to investigate
and to elicit the _truth_. I have ever desired to approach it without
_prejudging_ it--that is, with a mind willing to be influenced by
_facts_ alone,--without any inclination to establish either the
intervention of _human_ agency on the one hand, or of _super-human_
agency on the other hand:--at the same time, it is but common honesty
to state that Mr. Stewart expresses himself so fully conscious of his
own integrity towards the public that he has resolved on suffering all
the imputations and reflections which _have_ been or which may be cast
either upon himself or upon his family to pass without remark; and
as he has, at different times and upon different occasions, so fully
satisfied his own mind on the _impossibility_ of the disturbances in
question arising from the agency of any member of his own household
(and from the incessant research he has made on this point, he himself
must be the best judge), Mr. Stewart intends declining all future
interruptions of his family, by the interference of strangers.
"Perhaps, Mr. Editor, your distant readers may not be aware that Mr.
Stewart has not been resident at Syderstone more than fourteen months,
while mysterious noises are _now_ proved to have been heard in this
house, at different intervals and in different degrees of violence, for
the last thirty years and upwards. Most conclusive and satisfactory
affidavits on this point are now in progress, of the completion of
which you shall have notice in due time.--I am, Sir, your obedient
servant,
"JOHN SPURGIN.
"DOCKING, _June 7, 1833_."
(_Norfolk Chronicle_, June 15, 1833.)
* * * * *
These Declarations were inserted in the _Norfolk Chronicle_, June 22,
1833:--
"SYDERSTONE PARSONAGE
"For the information of the public, as well as for the protection
of the family now occupying the above residence from the most
ungenerous aspersions, the subjoined documents have been prepared.
These documents, it was proposed, should appear before the public as
Affidavits, but a question of law having arisen as to the authority
of the Magistrates to receive Affidavits on subjects of this nature,
the Declarations hereunder furnished have been adopted in their stead.
The witnesses whose testimony is afforded have been all separately
examined--their statements, in every instance, have been most
cheerfully afforded--and the solemn impression under which the evidence
of some of them particularly has been recorded, has served to show how
deeply the events in question have been fixed in their recollection.
Without entering upon the question of Causes, one Fact, it is presumed,
must be obvious to all (namely): That various inexplicable noises
have been heard in the above residence, at different intervals, and
in different degrees of violence, for many years before the present
occupiers ever entered upon it: indeed, the Testimony of other
respectable persons to this Fact might have been easily adduced, but
it is not likely that any who are disposed to reject or question the
subjoined evidence would be influenced by any additional Testimony
which could be presented:--
* * * * *
"_Elizabeth Goff_, of Docking, in the county of Norfolk, widow, now
voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at any time to confirm the
same on oath, and say: That she entered into the service of the Rev.
William Mantle about the month of April 1785, at which time her said
master removed from Docking to the Parsonage at Syderstone, and the
said Elizabeth Goff further states, that at the time of entering upon
the said parsonage, two of the sleeping rooms therein were nailed up:
and upon one occasion, during the six months of her continuance in the
service of her said master, she well remembers the whole family were
much alarmed in consequence of Mrs. Mantle's sister having either seen
or heard something very unusual, in one of the sleeping rooms over the
kitchen, which had greatly terrified her.--This Declaration was made
and signed this 18th day of June 1833, before me, Derick Hoste, one of
His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"The mark (X) of Elizabeth Goff."
* * * * *
"_Elizabeth_, the wife of George _Parsons_, of Syderstone, in the
county of Norfolk, blacksmith, now voluntarily declareth, and is
prepared at any time to confirm the same on oath, and say: That she
married about nineteen years ago, and then entered upon the occupation
of the south end of the Parsonage at Syderstone, in which house she
continued to reside for the space of nine years and a half. That she,
the said Elizabeth Parsons, having lived at Fakenham previously to
her marriage, was ignorant of the reputed circumstances of noises
being heard in the said house, and continued so for about nine or ten
months after entering upon it; but that, at the end of that time, upon
one occasion during the night, she remembers to have been awoke by
some 'very violent and very rapid knocks' in the lower room occupied
by them, immediately under the chamber in which she was sleeping;
that the noise appeared to her to be as against the stove which she
supposed must have been broken to pieces; That she, the said Elizabeth
Parsons, awoke her husband, who instantly heard the same noise; that he
immediately arose, struck a light, and went downstairs; but that, upon
entering the room, he found everything perfectly safe, as they had been
left upon their going to bed; that her husband hereupon returned to the
sleeping room, put out the light, and went to bed; but scarcely had he
settled himself in bed, before the same heavy blows returned; and were
heard by both of them for a considerable time.--This being the first of
the noises she, the said Elizabeth Parsons, ever heard, she was greatly
alarmed, and requested her husband not to go to sleep while they
lasted, lest she should die from fear; but as to the causes of these
noises, she, the said Elizabeth Parsons, cannot, in anywise, account.
And the said Elizabeth Parsons further states, that about a year
afterwards at midnight, during one of her confinements, her attention
was particularly called to some strange noises heard from the lower
room. These noises were very violent, and, as much as she remembers,
were like the opening and tossing up and down of the sashes, the
bursting of the shutters, and the crashing of the chairs placed at the
windows: that her nurse hereupon went downstairs to examine the state
of the room, but, to the surprise of all, found everything perfectly
in order, as she had left it.--And likewise the said Elizabeth Parsons
further states, that besides the occurrences hereinbefore particularly
stated and which remain quite fresh in her recollection, she was, from
time to time, during her residence in Syderstone Parsonage, constantly
interrupted by very frightful and unusual knockings, various and
irregular;--sometimes they were heard in one part of the house, and
sometimes in another;--sometimes they were frequent, and sometimes two
or three weeks or months or even twelve months would pass, without any
knock being heard. That these knocks were usually never given till the
family were all at rest at night, and she has frequently remarked, just
at the time she hoped she had got rid of them, they returned to the
house, with increased violence.--And finally the said Elizabeth Parsons
declares, that during a residence in the Syderstone Parsonage of
upwards of nine years, knocks and noises were heard by her therein, for
which she was utterly unable to assign any cause.--This Declaration was
made and signed this 18th day of June 1833, before me, Derick Hoste,
one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"ELIZABETH PARSONS."
* * * * *
"_Thomas Mase_, of Syderstone, in the county of Norfolk, carpenter,
now voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at any time to confirm
the same on oath, and say: That one night, about eleven years ago,
while Mr. George Parsons occupied part of the Parsonage at Syderstone,
he happened to be sleeping in the attic there; and about midnight he
heard (he thinks he was awoke out of sleep) a dreadful noise, like the
sudden and heavy fall of part of the chimney upon the stove in the
lower sitting-room.--That the crash was so great that, although at a
considerable distance from the spot, he distinctly heard the noise, not
doubting the chimney had fallen and dashed the stove to pieces:--that
he arose and went downstairs (it being a light summer's night): but
upon examining the state of the room and stove, he found, to his
astonishment, everything as it ought to have been. And the said Thomas
Mase further states, that, upon another occasion, about eight or nine
years ago, while sleeping a night in Syderstone Parsonage in a room at
the south end thereof, the door of which room moved particularly hard
upon the floor, requiring to be lifted up in order to close or open
it, and producing a particular sound in its movement, he distinctly
heard all the sounds which accompanied its opening.--That he felt
certain the door was opened, and arose from his bed to shut it, but,
to his great surprise, he found the door closed, just as he had left
it.--And finally the said Thomas Mase states, that the circumstances
above related, arose from causes which he is totally at a loss to
explain.--This Declaration was made and signed this 18th day of June
1833, before me, Derick Hoste, one of His Majesty's Justices of the
Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"THOMAS MASE."
* * * * *
"_William Ofield_, of Syderstone, in the county of Norfolk, gardener
and groom, now voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at any time to
confirm the same on oath, and say: That he lived in the service of the
Rev. Thomas Skrimshire, about nine years ago, at which time his said
master entered upon the occupation of the Parsonage at Syderstone, and
that he continued with him during his residence in that place. The said
William Ofield also states, that, as he did not sleep in the house,
he knows but little of what took place therein during the night, but
that he perfectly remembers, on one occasion, while sitting in the
kitchen, he heard in the bedroom immediately over his head, a noise
resembling the dragging of furniture about the room, accompanied with
the fall as of some very heavy substance upon the floor.--That he is
certain this noise did take place, and verily believes no one member
of the family was in the room at the time.--The said William Ofield
likewise states, that the noise was loud enough to alarm part of the
family then sitting in the lower room, in the opposite extremity of
the house; that he is quite sure they were alarmed, inasmuch as one of
the ladies immediately hastened to the kitchen to make inquiry about
the noise, though his said master's family never seemed desirous of
making much of these occurrences:--that he, the said Wm. Ofield, was
ordered to go upstairs to see what had happened, and upon entering the
room he found everything right:--he has no hesitation in declaring that
this noise was not occasioned by any person in the house. The said Wm.
Ofield likewise states, that, at different times during the evenings,
while he was in his said master's service, he has heard other strange
noises about the house, which he could never account for, particularly
the rattling of glass and china in the chiffonier standing in the
drawing-room, as if a cat were running in the midst of them, while he
well believes no cat could be there, as the door was locked. And the
said Wm. Ofield likewise states, that he has been requested by some of
the female servants of the family, who had been frightened, to search
the false roof of the house, and to quiet their alarms, he has done so,
but could never discover anything out of order.--This Declaration was
made and signed this 18th day of June 1833, before me, Derick Hoste,
one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"WILLIAM OFIELD."
* * * * *
"_Elizabeth_, the wife of John _Hooks_, of Syderstone, in the county
of Norfolk, labourer, now voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at
any time to confirm the same on oath, and say: That she entered the
service of the Rev. Thomas Skrimshire, at Syderstone Parsonage, about
seven years ago, and continued with him about four years; that in the
last year of her service with Mr. Skrimshire, about Christmas-time,
while sitting by the kitchen fireside, she heard a noise resembling
the moving and rattling of the chairs about the sleeping rooms
immediately over her;--that the noise was so great that one of Mr.
Skrimshire's daughters came out of the drawing-room (which was removed
a considerable distance from the spot in which the noise was heard)
to make inquiry about it: that the manservant and part of the family
immediately went upstairs, but found nothing displaced;--and moreover
that she verily believes no member of the family was upstairs at
the time.--The said Elizabeth Hooks also states, that, upon another
occasion, after the above event, as she was going up the attic stairs
to bed, with her fellow-servant, about eleven o'clock at night, she
heard three very loud and distinct knocks, as coming from the door
of the false roof. These knocks were also heard by the ladies of the
family, then separating for the night, who tried to persuade her it was
someone knocking at the hall door. The said Elizabeth Hooks says, that
although convinced it was from no person out doors, yet she opened the
casement to look and, as she expected, found no one;--indeed (being
closest to the spot on which the blows were struck) she is sure they
were on the door, but how and by whom given she is quite at a loss
to conjecture.--And finally the said Elizabeth Hooks states, that
at another time, after she had got into her sleeping-room (the whole
family besides being in bed, and she herself sitting up working at her
needle) she heard noises in the passage leading to the room, like a
person walking with a peculiar hop: that she was alarmed, and verily
believes it was not occasioned by any member of the family.--This
Declaration was made and signed this 18th day of June 1833, before me,
Derick Hoste, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County
of Norfolk.
"The mark (X) of Eliz. Hooks."
* * * * *
"_Phoebe Steward_, of Syderstone, in the county of Norfolk, widow,
now voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at any time to confirm
the same on oath, and say: That about twenty years ago, a few days
after Michaelmas, she was left in charge of Syderstone Parsonage,
then occupied by Mr. Henry Crafer; and about eight o'clock in the
evening, while sitting in the kitchen, after securing all the doors,
and no other person being in the house, she heard great noises in
the sleeping rooms over her head, as of persons 'running out of one
room into another'--'stumping about very loud'--and that these noises
continued about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour:--that she felt
the more alarmed, being satisfied there was, at that time, no one but
herself in the house.--And the said Phoebe Steward further states,
that on Whitsun-Tuesday, eighteen years ago, she was called to attend,
as nurse, on Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons, in one of her confinements, then
living in Syderstone Parsonage:--That about a fortnight after that
time, one night, about twelve o'clock, having just got her patient to
bed, she remembers to have plainly heard the footsteps, as of someone
walking from their sleeping-room door, down the stairs, step by step,
to the door of the sitting-room below:--that she distinctly heard the
sitting-room door open, and the chair placed near one of the windows
moved; and the shutters opened. All this the said Phoebe Steward is
quite sure she distinctly heard, and thereupon immediately, on being
desired, she came downstairs, in company with another female, whom she
had awakened to go with her, being too much alarmed to go by herself:
but on entering the room she found everything just as she had left
it.--And the said Phoebe Steward further states, that about a fortnight
after the last-named event, while sleeping on a bureau bedstead in
one of the lower rooms in Syderstone Parsonage,--that is, in the room
referred to in the last statement,--she heard 'a very surprising and
frightful knock, as if it had struck the head of the bed and dashed
it in pieces': that this knock was so violent as to be heard by Mrs.
Crafer in the centre of the house:--that she, the said Phoebe Steward,
and another person who was at that time sleeping with her, were very
much alarmed with this heavy blow, and never knew how to account
for it. And finally, the said Phoebe Steward states, that, during
the forty-five years she has been in the habit of frequenting the
Syderstone Parsonage (without referring to any extraordinary statements
she has heard from her sister, now dead, and others who have resided in
it), that she, from her own positive experience, has no hesitation in
declaring, that in that residence noises do exist which have never been
attempted to be explained.--This Declaration was made and signed this
18th day of June 1833, before me, Derick Hoste, one of His Majesty's
Justices of the Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"The mark (X) of Phoebe Steward."
* * * * *
"_Robert Hunter_, of Syderstone, in the county of Norfolk, shepherd,
now voluntarily declareth, and is prepared at any time to confirm the
same on oath, and say: That for twenty-five years he has lived in the
capacity of shepherd with Mr. Thomas Seppings, and that one night in
the early part of March 1832, between the hours of ten and eleven
o'clock, as he was passing behind the Parsonage at Syderstone in a
pathway across the glebe land near the house, when within about twelve
yards of the back part of the buildings, his attention was arrested
all on a sudden by some very loud 'groanings,' like those 'of a dying
man--solemn and lamentable,' coming as it seemed to him from the centre
of the house above:--that the said Robert Hunter is satisfied these
groans had but then just begun, otherwise he must have heard them long
before he approached so near the house.--He also further states, that
he was much alarmed at these groans, knowing particularly that the
Parsonage at that time was wholly unoccupied, it being about a month
before Mr. Stewart's family came into residence there:--that these
groans made such an impression upon his mind, as he shall never lose,
to his dying hour. And the said Robert Hunter likewise states, that,
after stopping for a season near the house, and satisfying himself
of the reality of these groans, he passed on his way, and continued
to hear them as he walked, for the distance of not less than 100
yards. The said Robert Hunter knows 100 yards is a great way, yet if
he had stopped and listened, he, the said Robert Hunter, doubts not
he could have heard them to a still greater distance than 100 yards:
'so loud and so fearful were they, that never did he hear the like
before.'--This Declaration was made and signed this 19th day of June
1833, before me, Derick Hoste, one of His Majesty's Justices of the
Peace for the County of Norfolk.
"The mark (X) of Robt. Hunter."
* * * * *
"We, the undersigned chief inhabitants of the parish of Syderstone, in
the county of Norfolk, do hereby certify that Elizabeth Parsons, Thomas
Mase, William Ofield, Elizabeth Hooks, Phoebe Steward, and Robert
Hunter, who are now residing in this parish, and whose Declarations are
hereto annexed, have been known to us for some years, and are persons
of veracity and good repute.
"Witness our hands, this 18th day of June 1833.
"THOMAS SEPPINGS.
"JOHN SAVORY."