Month: April 1855

Wells Journal (14/Apr/1855) – The Yorkshire Ghost

The “Seed Hill Ghost” is covered more fully in this blog post.

This article was widely syndicated and reproduced in many local newspapers, of which this is just one example.

The Yorkshire Ghost.

During the whole of the past week, says the Sheffield Examiner, the neighbourhood of Seed Hill, and in fact the whole of the “lower region” of the town of Huddersfield, has been in a state of extraordinary excitement owing to most alarming “noises” made in the house of Mr. Samuel Routledge, an extensive dyer, at Seed Hill. Mr. Routledge first called the attention of the police and the public to the matter last Saturday, declaring that the noises resembled the “striking of a door or a table-top with a stick or switcher with all one’s might ;” that these noises were very frequent, and had frightened all his servants, and even the cat, from the house, and that he was thus left in awful solitude. The rumour spread rapidly, and every day since the house has been regularly besieged by crowds of people, all anxious to see and hear for themselves the marvellous doings of the ghost. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday several policemen were stationed inside the house. The ghost, however, was not to be intimidated, either by the crowd or the police — “bang, switch, bang, switch, bang, switch” continued at intervals to echo through the corridors and rooms of the building. Impudent and cunning ghost! He is quite a ventriloquist : when you are seated in the dining-room the sound appears to come from the front door; and when you are at the front door, the sound appears to proceed from the dining-room. A policeman was therefore placed at each of these places, determined to catch the ghost. “Bang, switch,” echoes once more; each policeman rushes from his post to catch the fugitive; they meet in the passage, and a terrific collision takes place, each knocking the other down, and in the mêlée the ghost escapes! These watchings continued, until Wednesday evening, when the police, fairly baffled, raised the siege, and left the ghost in undisputed possession of the fortress. On Thursday night, it was suggested by a gentleman that a number of them should go on a tour of inspection through the house, and, by applying their walking sticks to different articles of furniture and washing utensils, see whether it was possible to produce a sound at all corresponding with that produced by the “ghost.” Accordingly they went, and a short time succeeded in gaining a clue to the affair. One gentleman having brought his stick to bear upon the washing machine, the result was most conclusive, and upon interrogating a little Irish girl of about twelve years of age, named Catherine Heeley, who was employed as maid-of-all-work by Mr. Routledge, she confessed to being guilty, and was forthwith taken into custody. What motive could have prompted so young a girl to such an act, and by what means she has been able so long and so successfully to baffle the investigations of at least half the people of Huddersfield, is at present shrouded in mystery.

Chester Chronicle (07/Apr/1855) – Yorkshire Ghosts

The “Seed Hill Ghost” is covered more fully in this blog post.

This particular article was common of several which mocked the people of Yorkshire for being superstitious.

Yorkshire Ghosts.

Every few weeks a ghost story appears in some of the Yorkshire newspapers ; and in the Sheffield papers, a week or two ago, we read of the death of a woman, brought on by fright, in addition to much local alarm. On investigation, however, the “ghost” generally ends, to use a popular expression “in smoke.” The people of Huddersfield have been foolishly alarmed for some days at the reported presence of a ghost in a house at Seed Hill, which made a great disturbance. The occupant even consulted a clairvoyant. It turns out that the supposed ghost was a young Irish servant, who, it appears, has considerably damaged the doors and windows, and some of the furniture, in her successful endeavours to impose on ignorant persons.

Morning Post (05/Apr/1855) – Capture of a Ghost

The “Seed Hill Ghost” is covered more fully in this blog post.

This article was widely syndicated and reproduced in many local newspapers, of which the Morning Post was just one example.

Capture of a Ghost.

As mentioned in our last, the residence of Mr. S. Routledge, dyer, Seed Hill, had, during the whole of the preceding week, been haunted by strange and unaccountable noises, but which always appeared to be in and about the passage. Numerous rumours detrimental to Mr. R. and his family were rife in every quarter, and every one explained the extraordinary circumstance in his own way. While conjecture was thus kept on the tip-toe, Mr. Routledge was unremitting in his exertions to discover the cause. Steam, gas, and water pipes innumerable were emptied and explored; sinks, drains, &c., ripped up, but all to no purpose, as his ghostship did not choose to descend to such lowness. An extra watchman was engaged, and up to Thursday night kept watch and ward. A joiner was engaged to thoroughly examine the house to ascertain if any mechanical apparatus had been fixed whereby, with the aid of galvanism or other scientific means, the strange unearthly sounds might be produced, but all was in vain, for notwithstanding these exertions, the invisible one still continued its “rappings.” On Sunday it took another shape, and the bells were continually rung, but no explanation offered itself as to the cause. The rappings were again renewed, and the same took place on Monday. The services of Miss Challand, who has “got her name up” as a faithful clairvoyante (since the discovery of the body of the missing female from Marsden), were put into requisition ; but, after being placed in the required state, nothing could be elicited from her, inasmuch as, not having heard the ghost perform his operations, she could discover nothing to detect his whereabout, or the means he employed to effect such startling sounds. On Tuesday the knockings were not so violent, and the operator confined his freaks to the daytime. Still no suspicion was entertained by any of the family that the ghost was an inmate of the house, this idea being the farthest from their thoughts. On Thursday, however, the pranks of the undiscovered visitant took another range. The bells being silent, from the fact of the wires being unhooked, it took it into its head to enter the bedrooms, and denuding the beds of their coverings, pillows, &c., dragged them down the stairs to the landing, and there left them. This was done several times, and notwithstanding the fact that, whenever there was a loud knocking or bell ringing, an Irish servant girl was sure to appear the only one really frightened, no one for a moment thought that she could he capable of playing such extraordinary tricks, so successfully as she had done ; and had she continued to confine her duties to the “rapping,” in all probability the mystery would have still remained undiscovered. The continued knocking, together with the abstraction of the bed clothes, so terrified the housekeeper that she left the house in the afternoon of Thursday, and refused to return till after the discovery. The man left in possession was so worked upon by his feelings that although he remained in the house he dared not close his eyes. Mr. R. having returned from Bradford, was informed of the whole circumstances, when it at once occurred to him that some person in the house might have been the cause of the annoyance, and considerable expense he had been put to. He, therefore, in company with a few friends, took a stick and proceeded to try by sounding the walls, &c., to discover anything which would produce the same dolorous sound, when, after spending some time in the examination, his son accidentally struck the end of the barrel of a large washing-machine standing in the back kitchen, and like magic the sounds were at once explained, and on the outer end being examined hundreds of indentations were discovered. At an early hour the next morning the servant girl, who had been taken into the house nine months ago by Mr. R. from motives of charity, and whose name is Catherine Haley, was closely questioned as to her knowledge of the “rappings.” Her reply was, “Shure she knew nothing about it at all at all,” but subsequently she admitted she had “knocked a little.” On being taken to the police-office, she during the forenoon further admitted to our reporter that she had “done it all,” could not tell how she had done it, and added that no one told her to do it, and she could not tell why she had so acted. Subsequently she stated it was done to “frighten” the housekeeper, whom she did not like ; then she said she had done it at first for a “bit of fun,” but finding so many people come about the place she had continued it for the purpose of driving them away. On further examining the premises the whole of the room doors leading into the passage were found to be in a state of indentation produced by the little urchin’s “rappings,” and under the pillow of a sofa was found a good sized stone, which had been “rapped” against the inside of the kitchen door, which upon examination bore visible marks of the effect produced. Thus at length the formidable ghost of Seed Hill has been discovered, and turns out to be nothing more than the vicious freaks of an Irish girl. No doubt the circumstance will be food for the gossips of the country for many a day to come.

Liverpool Albion (02/Apr/1855) – Seed Hill Ghost

This snippet was reproduced in the Australian newspaper The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (18/Jul/1855).

The people of Huddersfield have been foolishly alarmed for some days at the reported presence of a ghost in a house at Seed Hill, which made a great disturbance. The occupant even consulted a clairvoyant. It turns out that the supposed ghost was a young Irish servant, who, it appears, has considerably damaged the doors and windows, and some of the furniture, in her successful endeavours to impose op ignorant persons.