The Epworth Poltergeist: 6 – Week 4(ii)
The Epworth Poltergeist haunting ends with an all-night paranormal investigation by Mr Wesley and Mr Hoole (priest of the neighbouring parish of Hax(s)ey). Mr Hoole would provide yet another eye-witness account from outside of the family. The vigil began quietly, with Mr Hoole feeling a little disappointed. However, the night soon livened up, giving Mr Hoole an experience of the disturbances. Mr Wesley, now emboldened with priestly company (and maybe as the father of the household, needing to show his status in front of another man), challenges whatever is causing the issue to meet him on his turf, in the Study. At this point, the entity gives a final show of defiance before heading off for nearly a month.
| Date | Wednesday 26th to Thursday 27th December, 1716 |
| Sun Data | Rise: 08:17 Set: 15:59 |
| Moon Data | Rise: 02:10 Set: 12:12 Phase: Waning Crescent (41% Full) |
| Phenomena | Acoustic: “Clockwork” winding – Matted Chamber Knocking – Nursery |
| Location | |
| Witnesses | Mr and Mrs Wesley, Emily, Suky. |
| Letter References | FJ, Sk2J. |
| Text Entries “Wednesday night, December 26., after, or a little before ten, my daughter Emilia heard the signal of its beginning to play, with which she was perfectly acquainted; it was like the strong winding up of a jack. She called us, and I went into the nursery, where it used to be most violent. The rest of the children were asleep. It began with knocking in the kitchen underneath, then seemed to be at the bed’s feet, then under the bed, at last at the head of it. I went down stairs, and knocked with my stick against the joists of the kitchen. It answered me as often and as loud as I knocked; but then I knocked as I usually do at my door, 1 – 2 3 4 5 6 – 7, but this puzzled it, and it did not answer, or not in the same method; though the children heard it do the same exactly twice or thrice after.” – Mr Wesley, FJ “I went up stairs, and found it still knocking hard, though with some respite, sometimes under the bed, sometimes at the bed’s head. I observed my children that they were frightened in their sleep, and trembled very much till it waked them. I stayed there alone, bid them go to sleep, and sat at the bed’s feet by them, when the noise began again. I asked what it was, and why it disturbed innocent children, and did not come to me in my study, if it had any thing to say to me. Soon after it gave one knock on the outside of the house. All the rest were within, and knocked off for that night.” – Mr Wesley, FJ “One night hearing it was most violent in the nursery, I resolved to lie there. Late at night, several strong knocks were given on the two lowest steps of the garret stairs, which were close to the nursery door. The latch of the door then jarred, and seemed to be swiftly moved to and from, and presently began knocking about a yard within the room on the floor. It then came gradually to sister Hetty’s bed, who trembled strongly in her sleep. It beat very loud three strokes at a time, on the bed’s head. My father came, and then removed to the room over , where it knocked my father’s knock on the ground, as if it would beat the house down.” – Nancy, N2J I had no mind to stay longer, but got up, and went to sister Em and my mother, who were in her room. From thence we heard the noises again from the nursery. I proposed playing a game at cards, but we had scarce begun, when a knocking began under our feet. We left off playing, and it removed back again into the nursery, where it continued till towards morning.” – Suky, Sk2J | |
| Comments Mr Wesley’s knock 1 – 2 3 4 5 6 – 7 was his usual way of letting the family know it was him at the door. Being a parish priest, he would have been out at all hours tending to his flock, and it would be good sense not to open the door to unknown persons, especially in the dark and given that arson had been carried out upon his family by some of the villagers previously (the 1709 fire destroyed their former home on that site). It fails to copy him, but does so later. He decides to take a stance against whatever paranormal force was affecting his children, challenging it to meet him in his study, which it fails to do. | |
An 18th Century Paranormal Investigation Vigil
| Date | Friday 28th December, 1716 |
| Sun Data | Rise: 08:16 Set: 16:02 |
| Moon Data | Rise: 04:15 Set: 13:15 Phase: Waning Crescent (23% Full) |
| Phenomena | Acoustic: Knocking (including mimicry and triplets) – Nursery, Kitchen, Outside Silk nightgown – Up Narrow Stairs. “planing” / “sawing” of wood – Nursery “Windmill turning” – Nursery “Rubbing beast against a wall” – Nursery |
| Location | Nursery, Matted Chamber, Kitchen, Outside South-side of House |
| Witnesses | Mr and Mrs Wesley, Mr Hoole, Emily, Molly, Suky. |
| Letter References | FJ, H2J, HER, LV, M2J, Mo2J |
| Text Entries “I had designed on Friday, December the 28th, to make a visit to a friend, Mr. Downs, at Normandy, and stay some days with him, but the noises were so boisterous on Thursday night, that I did not care to leave my family. So I went to Mr. Hoole, of Haxsey, and desired his company on Friday night. He came; and it began after ten, a little later than ordinary. The younger children were gone to bed, the rest of the family and Mr. Hoole were together in the matted chamber . I sent the servants down to fetch in some fuel, went with them, and staid in the kitchen till they came in. When they were gone, I heard loud noises against the doors and partition , and at length the usual signal, though somewhat after the time. I had never heard it before, but knew it by the description my daughter had given me. It was much like the turning about of a windmill when the wind changes. When the servants returned, I went up to the company, who had heard all the other noises below, but not the signal. We heard all the knocking as usual, from one chamber to another, but at its going off, like the rubbing of a beast against the wall; but from that time till January the 24th, we were quiet.” – Mr Wesley, FJ “As soon as I came to Epworth, Mr. Wesley telling me, he sent for me to conjure, I knew not what he meant, till some of your sisters told me what had happened, and that I was sent for to sit up. I expected every hour, it being then about noon, to hear something extraordinary, but to no purpose. At supper too, and at prayers, all was silent, contrary to custom, but soon after one of the maids, who went up to sheet a bed, brought the alarm, that Jeffery was come above stairs. We all went up, and as we were standing round the fire in the east chamber, something began knocking just on the other side of the wall , on the chimney-piece, as with a key. Presently the knocking was under our feet, Mr. Wesley and I went down, he with a great deal of hope, and I with fear. As soon as we were in the kitchen, the sound was above us, in the room we had left. We returned up the narrow stairs, and heard at the broad stairs head, some one slaring with their feet (all the family being now in bed beside us) and then trailing, as it were, and rustling with a silk night-gown. Quickly it was in the nursery, at the bed’s head, knocking as it had done at first, three by three. Mr. Wesley spoke to it, and said he believed it was the devil, and soon after it knocked at the window and changed its sound into one like the plaining of boards. From thence it went on the outward south side of the house, sounding fainter and fainter, till it was heard no more. I was at no other time than this during the noises at Epworth, and do not now remember any more circumstances than these.” – Mr Hoole, H2J “Shortly after, on Mr. Wesley’s invitation, Mr. Hoole staid a night with us. As we were all sitting round the fire in the matted chamber, he asked whether that gentle knocking was it? I told him yes, and it continued the sound, which was much lower than any of our voices, was distinctly heard above them all.” – Mrs Wesley, M2J “My father went into the nursery from the matted chamber, where we were, by himself in the dark. It knocked very loud on the press bed head. He adjured it to tell him why it came, but it seemed to take no notice; at which he was very angry, spoke sharply, called it deaf and dumb devil, and repeated his adjuration. My sisters were terribly afraid it would speak. When he had done, it knocked his knock on the bed’s head, so exceeding violently, as if it would break it to shivers, and from that time we heard nothing till near a month after.” – Molly, Mo2J “but the latter end of the night that Mr. Hoole sat up on, I lay in the nursery, where it was very violent. I then heard frequent knocks over and under the room where I lay, and at the children’s bed head, which was made of boards. It seemed to rap against it very hard and loud, so that the bed shook under them. I heard something walk by my bedside, like a man in a long night gown. The knocks were so loud, that Mr. Hoole came out of their chamber to us. It still continued. My father spoke, but nothing answered. It ended that night with my father’s particular knock, very fierce.” – Suky, LV “Thus it continued till the 28th of December, when it loudly knocked (as your father used to do at the gate) in the nursery, and departed” – Mrs Wesley, LI Account from HER, published nearly 70 years later “Being informed that Mr. Hoole, the Vicar of Haxey (an eminently pious and sensible man) could give me some farther information, I walked over to him. He said, “Robert Brown came over to me, and told me, your father desired my company. When I came he gave me an account of all that had happened, particularly the knocking during family prayer. But that evening (to my great satisfaction) we had no knocking at all. But between nine and ten, a servant came in and said, Old Jeffries is coming (that was the name of one that died in the house) for I hear the signal. This they informed me was heard every night about a quarter before ten. It was toward the top of the house on the outside, at the northeast corner, resembling a loud creaking of a saw, or rather that of a windmill when the body of it is turned about in order to shift the sails to the wind. We then heard a knocking over our heads, and Mr. Wesley catching up a candle, said, ‘Come, Sir, now you shall hear for yourself.’ We went upstairs; he with much hope and I (to say the truth) with much fear. When we came into the nursery, it was knocking in the next room: when we were there, it was knocking in the nursery. And there it continued to knock, though we came in, particularly at the head of the bed, (which was of wood) in which Miss Hetty and two of her younger sisters lay. Mr. Wesley observing that they were much affected though asleep, sweating and trembling exceedingly; was very angry, and pulling out a pistol, was going to fire at the place from whence the sound came. But I catched him by the arm and said, ‘Sir, you are convinced this is something preternatural. If so, you cannot hurt it, but you give it power to hurt you.’ He then went dose to the place and said sternly, ‘Thou deaf and dumb devil, why dost thou fright these children that cannot answer for themselves? Come to me in my study, that am a man?’ Instantly it knocked his knock (the particular knock which he always used at the gate) as if it would shiver the board in pieces, and we heard nothing more that night.” – Mr Hoole’s Account to Jack, HER | |
| Comments Mr Hoole is quite fearful of what is about to unfold, though Mr Wesley is confident he will take his stand against this disturbing force, apparently recognising it as having come from a demonic source. If whatever was causing the disturbances was feeding off fear, it had finally annoyed Mr Wesley enough to have met its match in being stood up to by a fearless Mr Wesley. As such, was this the reason it shied away after this night, with only a few knocks later on? Mr Wesley’s knock 1 – 2 3 4 5 6 – 7, having first confused whatever was knocking a couple of days previously, was now being repeated back to him, in a possible defiant fashion, before departing suddenly and not making itself known much after that. Note that this particular investigation, carried out by Mr Wesley and Mr Hoole, both Christian ministers, does not contain anything which is designed to initiate contact with the other side. They merely sit and wait for anything to happen. No divination devices, no mediums involved, just patience. When something does happen, they “test the spirit”, but nothing comes of this. With the noises seemingly starting in the front kitchen (according to Mr Wesley), the elder sisters and Mr Hoole were able to hear them in the Matted (East) Chamber where the vigil took place. However, from Mr Hoole’s account, the knocking started with a gentle tapping on the other side of the chimney breast in the Matted Chamber. The ground floor plan shows that this is Mr Wesley’s study, to which he alone had the key. Explanations for this could be: (i) Normal- the study door had become unlocked (either due to Mr Wesley unlocking it previously, or someone purloined the key from him and unlocked it). Or, the knocking was being transmitted through the chimney from either below or above, as this passed through all floors of the house from kitchen to garret – the sound was only perceived to be coming from the other side due to sonic effects. (ii) Paranormal – something was beginning to make its appearance in the house again. The sound of someone in a nightgown were heard at the top of the best stairs, along the landing from where Mr Wesley and Mr Hoole were, at the top of the Narrow Stairs. Mr Hoole’s timing says it was “quickly” in the nursery, meaning it would have had to either pass through them to get there (if they stayed in that corridor), or would have had to make its way down the Best Stairs, along the bottom corridor, into the back kitchen, then up the Narrow Stairs, before getting into the Nursery. Quite a feat for a human to achieve on their own, especially if the stairs were creaky. One can imagine Messrs Wesley and Hoole having gone over to the top of the Best Stairs to investigate the sound, which could have allowed such a movement around the house to occur. An interesting point is that after Mr Wesley calls it a devil (and according to HER, challenges it to meet him in his study – not in any of the original reports), it makes an exceedingly loud knocking, repeating his trademark knock. It then seems to move outside to the southern side of the building, and departs for the evening. HER also notes that it was no longer Hetty who was trembling in her sleep, but also her sisters that were sleeping with her. Whether this is mis-remembering, or it was more than Hetty who was trembling is important in determining if Hetty was along in being affected in some way (or stifling laughter if being a trickster). | |
Addendum – Assault in the Study
| Date | Saturday 29th December, 1716 |
| Sun Data | Rise: 08:15 Set: 16:04 |
| Moon Data | Rise: 05:12 Set: 13:54 Phase: Waning Crescent (23% Ful) |
| Phenomena | Physical: |
| Location | Study |
| Witnesses | Mr Wesley |
| Letter References | HER |
| Text Entries “Till this time, my father had never heard the least disturbance in his study. But the next evening, as he attempted to go into his study (of which none had any key but himself) when he opened the door, it was thrust back with such violence as had like to have thrown him down. However, he thrust the door open and went in. Presently there was knocking first on one side, then on the other; and after a time, in the next room, wherein my sister Nancy was. He went into that room and (the noise continuing) adjured it to speak, but in vain.” – John Wesley, HER | |
| Comments This entry comes hot on the heels of John’s write-up of the all-night vigil, the night before. However, whereas earlier documents say there was no further disturbances until 24th January, John includes this particular episode. It seems out of place and may be embellishment as either a storytelling device, or misremembering – based upon an entry in FJ which reads: “I have been thrice pushed by an invisible power, once against the corner of my desk in the study, a second time against the door of the matted chamber, a third time against the right side of the frame of my study door, as I was going in.” These particular instances are not possible to locate within the timeline, but are included for completion. Many have sought to conflate the challenge from Mr Wesley to him going straightway into the study and getting assaulted on the same night. This is not the case. | |
It is clear by this point that Mr Wesley was incensed enough by the disturbances to want to be rid of them. He does a wise thing in getting a fellow clergyman to come and be a witness to the events, if not for just for moral support, but spiritual too. Having an outside witness lends credence that something genuine was happening at the house and it wasn’t just a family making the story up.
Again, it must be stressed, that during the investigation, no attempts were made to provoke activity, either by taunting, or initiating communication with it. Far too often, paranormal investigators, desperate to achieve results, will try and provoke / taunt tactics, or try any number of divination devices to get a response. If there genuinely is something happening at a haunting, and it wants to make itself known, does it really need us to do that? From this case alone, it seems not.
One wonders how a case like this today would play out, especially in the light of being able to have “locked off cameras” which can see in the dark, or motion sensors to pick up on anyone creeping around the house. Would they have been able to catch tricksters if such technology was available for Mr Wesley to use back then? As John developed a keen interest in the paranormal, one wonders what particular equipment he would have chosen to use to capture evidence. I would imagine he would be choosing it in line with certain biblical principles that would not contravene certain prohibitions within it, yet still allow a good investigation to take place.
Next time – We look at the tiny remnants of activity in the Wesley household after the main haunting closed down on the 28th December 1716. Are these accounts extra embellishments to the story? If not, why could they have been happening?
Bibliography
Southey, R. (1820), The Life of Wesley; and the Rise and Progress of Methodism, Volume 1, London: Longman, Rees, Orme and Brown.
Footnotes
[1] Moon Phase information for Epworth on the dates shown has been taken from Moonpage.com; Moonrise / set taken from TimeAndDate.com (moon); Sunrise / set taken from TimeAndDate.com (sun).
