Spook Sightings Of Yester Year No.4 - Rattled in Rothsay Place!

Time for another ghostly happening from years ago! This one is from the Bedfordshire Times And Independent, Friday 17th November 1939....

"THE POLTERGEIST 

A Ghostly Bedford Episode Recalled 

The following record of mysterious happenings in a Bedford house has been communicated to Major Arthur Nelson by a member of one of the oldest Bedfordshire County families. The story is told her own words:-

About ten o’clock one night in Rothsay Place, Bedford, when my sisters and I were living with our father many years ago, my eldest sister was sitting on my bed talking to me before she went to her room. A few minutes after she had gone the handle of my door began to turn very slowly, making a creaking noise which grew louder and louder until it became a vigorous rattle. Thinking my sister was playing some trick on me I called out "Oh Edie, don't stand there making such an awful noise; if you want to come in, come in!” For a moment there was dead silence, then a rattling of the handle more vigorous still. At the same time I had a distinct feeling that someone was passing beside my bed.

 I sat up and reached for the matches and lighted a candle. I was still convinced, although I had a creepy feeling that something uncanny was happening, that my sister was responsible. So I ran to her room. She was in bed. Before I reached her I said "Oh Edie, you are horrid. You have given me a fright!” 

THE GHOST BECOMES VIOLENT

But I got a bigger fright still when I realized that she was sound asleep and that I must have been speaking to a ghost in my room. When I had roused her and told her about the rattling of my door-handle and the eerie feeling that someone had passed by my bed, she became so alarmed that she was afraid to stay by herself and came back with me to my room. we got into bed and blew out the candle. Immediately the rattling began again, increasing in violence every second.

We were now terrified and, getting out of bed, we rushed to our father's room. We told him what had happened, but he only laughed and told us to go back to bed. So we went; but no sooner were we in bed than we were out of it again, for the rattling had become simply deafening. Rushing out of the room, we nearly collided with our father, who had come on to the landing exclaiming, "My God, what is it?"  Meanwhile the maids had rushed out of their room in a state of terror.

Directly a match was struck the rattling ceased. We searched everywhere, but discovered nothing to unravel the mystery. My two sisters, for by this time my other sister, who had been to the theatre with her fiancé, had returned, spent the rest of the night in my room. Immediately following the blowing out of the light the rattling began again with terrific violence and we had to keep re-lighting the candle all night.

For the next five consecutive nights, and exactly at the same hour, the rattling of the door-handle in my room was repeated; and during the whole of that time rest, or rather sleep, was impossible except from when a light was kept burning. From that time till our giving up the house some years afterwards there was no recurrence of the disturbance and no explanation of the mystery has ever been forthcoming.

Possible (adds Major Nelson) by the publishing of this strange record, some of your readers with a knowledge of the occult may be able to offer a solution."

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