The Wesley Ghost #6: Feeling the Ghost November 15, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Physical manifestations are, after noises, the most common features of poltergeist hauntings. In this sense Jeffrey did not disappoint, but given the sheer richness of the sounds that the family heard: and the three creepy sightings of Jeffrey, the albino mongoose from hell, the casual reader might have expected that the family would have been roughed up a bit or dropped from a great height. Instead, it is fairly tame stuff:
There is an instance of Nancy being lifted up twice while sitting on her bed (162). The whole bed seems to have levitated under her while she was in the presence of her sister.
A trencher danced on the table: someone stopped it moving by putting their hand upon it. (139)
Emilia tried to hold down a latch but Jeffrey forced it up. (145)
The handle of a corn mill turned round swiftly of its own volition: Robert witnessed this in the garret. (165)
On three occasions Jeffrey pushed hard against Samuel Wesley (the elder). (470)
Latches jumped up and down.
Some of the noises came from the ‘tingling’ of brass or metal objects, which suggests that, for example, bed pans were sent a rocking.
Doors were opened and closed. 140
There are other occasions that perhaps had or hint at a physical component. For example, the very strange experience of Susanna Wesley (the elder): ‘A large pot of money seemed to be poured out at my waste, and to run jingling down my night gown to my feet.’ (154) Did she feel the money as it went down? John’s paraphrase may be revealing ‘as if a vessel full of silver was poured upon my mother’s breast, and ran jingling down to her feet.’
Another instance that is not precisely physical, but that suggests some form of contact is the children sweating unnaturally in bed asleep as Jeffrey played around them.
It is also perhaps interesting that on several occasions the noises that Jeffrey create sound as if something has been broken, but, in fact, nothing ever is. The bottles under the stairs are smashed, the pewter is thrown around in the kitchen, and Robert’s shoes are tripped over: but the bottles remain intact, the pewter has not been touched; and the shoes were not actually there. All very curious. have found this in boggart accounts.
Anything else on Jeffrey: drbeachcombing AT Yahoo DOT com
Anyone interested in the original documents they have been usefully put together in a single pdf document. There are about sixty pages and the file weighs in at about 15 mb.
The tag for these posts is Wesley Ghost: all comments collected on Wesley 1.
