The Epworth Poltergeist: 1 – The Wesley Home
The Epworth Poltergeist is a fascinating story of one Christianity’s famous families, the Wesleys, based in their home, Epworth rectory.
One of the family, John Wesley, is well recognised as the founder of the Methodist movement. Less well known however is his interest as a paranormal investigator. This stemmed from a poltergeist encounter his family had between December 1716 and January 1717.
Samuel Wesley Jr. was training in London at the time of the haunting. However, thanks to correspondence between him and his family at this time we’re able to determine the fine details of this haunting. These eye witness accounts from the family, guests and servants have led to the encounter being described as one of the most well documented of all poltergeist cases. The level of detail even helped stewards of the Old Rectory locate various original room names! The letters are also very revealing about their particular beliefs in the afterlife, including:
- the notion that perhaps Samuel Jr. had died whilst away, and that it was his spirit that had come back to them,
- the spirit of a previous servant was haunting them,
- the noises in the house were a portent of doom for the father, and
- communication with the spirits of the dead was possible.
In this series, we shall explore the home of the family [1], and reconstruct the haunting on a day by day basis, using their own words [2]. Was this just bored children having a bit of fun at their father’s expense? Was it villagers, angry at the preaching of the parish priest, Mr Samuel Wesley? Was it the spirit of a servant who had earlier died in the rectory and was making itself known? Was it one of the newly appointed servants? Or was it a poltergeist effect, the source of which was one of the family children?
This first post sets the scene in terms of the main characters, ages at the time of haunting, floor plans for the Old Rectory and where the family members slept. Also we will find links to the various source letters and statements given by witnesses to the events. Referencing codes for the documents referred to in further parts of this series are also located here. You can use the Interactive Timeline at the top of each page to access various stages of the haunting, as well as the analysis at the end.
The Wesley Family
A good, potted history of the family members can be found on the Old Rectory website here, so to save space, I recommend you look there for more background information on them.
Father: Mr Samuel Wesley (17/12/1662 (baptised) – 25/4/1735)
Mother: Mrs Susanna Wesley (20/1/1669 – 23/7/1742)
| Child Name | Birth and Death Dates | Age at Time of Haunting |
| Samuel | 10/2/1690 – 1739 | 25 |
| Emilia | 31/12/1692 – 1771 | 23 |
| Susanna (Suky) | 1695 – 1764 | 20/21 |
| Mary (Molly) | 1696 – 31/10/1764 | 19/20 |
| Mehetabel (Hetty) | 1697/98 – 1750 | 18/19 |
| Anne (Nancy) | 17/3/1701 – ? | 14 |
| John (Jack) | 28/6/1703 – 2/3/1791 | 12 |
| Martha (Patty) | 1706 – 12/7/1791 | 9/10 |
| Charles | 18/12/1707 – 29/3/1788 | 9 |
| Kezia | 3/1709 – 9/3/1741 | 6 |
being away at various educational establishments.
Rectory Location and Floor Plans
The Old Rectory is located in the Lincolnshire village of Epworth, UK. A Google map of the location can be found here.
The following plans have been drawn from original plans provided by an English Heritage tree-ring analysis report [3], data from the various letters, and information on the garrets extending above the whole of the first floor [4].
The rear, NW, room is unknown as yet, though it may be a rear entrance hall for use by those coming in from the rear garden. The Rear Dining Room / Parlour must have had a door between it and the back kitchen, as described in Letter XI when Robin Brown chases an apparition between the Back Kitchen and the Parlour.
Room Residents
According to the letters, it’s possible to work out who was usually sleeping in which room at the time [5]:
| Room | Occupants |
| Paper Chamber (Best Room) | Suky and Molly |
| Nursery (Green Chamber) | Hetty, Kezia and Patty |
| Master Bedroom | Mr. and Mrs. Wesley |
| Matted Chamber (East Chamber) | Emily and Nancy |
Correspondence Codes
The following table contains the letters and eye witness statements as per Southey’s collection. Entries in the ‘Correspondence’ column are clickable links to the texts themselves.
| Code | Correspondence |
| LI | Letter 1: From Mother To Samuel (12/1/1717) |
| LIV | Letter 4: From Mother to Samuel (25 or 27/1/1717) |
| LV | Letter 5: From Suky to Samuel 24/1/1717 |
| LXI | Letter 11: From Emily to Samuel |
| LXII | Letter12: From Suky to Samuel |
| RB2J | Robin Brown 2 Jack |
| E2J | Emily to Jack |
| E2NB | Emily to Mr. N. Berry 1/4/1717 |
| FJ | Father’s Journal (with additions) 27/8/1726 & 7/2/1731 |
| H2J | Mr Hoole to Jack 16/9/???? |
| HER | The Haunting of Epworth Rectory by John ‘Jack’ Wesley 1784 |
| M2J | Mother to Jack 27/8/1728 |
| Mo2J | Molly to Jack 27/8/1728 |
| N2J | Nancy to Jack |
| Sk2J | Suky to Jack |
but you can still read them by clicking on the respective L number.
Next Time – With all this information to hand, we will begin our journey exploring the first week’s events of the Epworth Poltergeist in Part 2 here.
Bibliography
Arnold, A. and Howard, R. (2007), The Old Rectory, Epworth, North Lincolnshire, Tree Ring Analysis of Timers: Scientific Dating Report, English Heritage
Handley, S. (2016), Sleep in Early Modern England, London: Yale University Press.
Southey, R. (1820), The Life of Wesley; and the Rise and Progress of Methodism, Volume 1, London: Longman, Rees, Orme and Brown.
Stonehouse, W. B. (1839), The History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme: Being that Part of Lincolnshire which is West of Trent, London: Longman, Rees, Orme & Co.
Footnotes
[1] You can visit Epworth Old Rectory in Lincolnshire, UK, which has been turned into a beautiful museum packed with Wesley artefacts and information. It’s a great day out! See their website here.
[2] Southey, 432 – 459.
[3] Arnold and Howard, 13-15
[4] Stonehouse, 170
[5] Handley, 120.
