Victorian Urban Legend: The Nail Ghost February 24, 2018
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
This is a very enjoyable ghost story: it is classed as an urban legend because this blogger has come across it before but cannot remember where. Can anyone help: drbeachcombing AT gmail DOT com The text comes from The Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham (the good Lord’s autobiography, published in 1871: flor. 1778-1868). Brougham’s father was also Henry Brougham (1742-1810), and he was allegedly at the centre of the tale.
On all such subjects as Ghosts my father was very sceptical. He was fond of telling a story in which he had been an actor, and, as he used to say, in which his unbelieving obstinacy had been the means of demolishing what would have made a very pretty ghost story. He had been dining in Deans-yard, Westminster, with a party of young men, one of whom was his intimate friend, Mr. Calmel. There was some talk about the death of a Mrs. Nightingale, who had recently died under some melancholy circumstances, and had been buried in the abbey. Some one offered to bet that no one of those present would go down into the grave and drive a nail into the coffin. Calmel accepted the wager, only stipulating that he might have a lanthorn. He was accordingly let into the cathedral by a door out of the cloisters, and there left to himself. The dinner-party, after waiting an hour or more for Calmel, began to think something must have happened to him, and that he ought to be looked after; so my father and two or three more got a light and went to the grave, at the bottom of which lay the apparently dead body of Mr. Calmel. He was quickly transported to the prebend’s dining-room, and recovered out of his fainting-fit. As soon as he could find his tongue, he said, ‘Well, I have won my wager, and you’ll find the nail in the coffin; but, by Jove! the lady rose up, laid hold of me, and pulled me down before I could scramble out of the grave.’ Calmel stuck to his story, in spite of all the scoffing of his friends; and the ghost of Mrs. Nightingale would have been all over the town but for my father’s obstinate incredulity. Nothing would satisfy him but an ocular inspection of the grave and coffin; and so, getting a light, he and some of the party returned to the grave. There, sure enough, was the nail, well driven into the coffin; but hard fixed by it was a bit of Mr. Calmel’s coat-tail! So there was an end of Mrs. Nightingale’s ghost.
An Elizabeth Nightingale was buried in the abbey in 1761: she had actually died in 1729 (after a miscarriage brought on by a lightning blast..) and her daughter had died in 1755 and was buried with her. Could one of the Nightingales be the source of the story? Henry pater would have been very young or perhaps we should take ‘recently’ with a piece of salt?
Chris from Haunted Ohio Books 28 Feb 2018: LOVED The Nail Ghost. I wonder if that is the earliest version of this story? I can’t think of an earlier one. The story was told in a ghost story contest in the Dayton Daily News, 1 February 1914, with this splendid illustration.
Here, meanwhile is a Dutch version, thanks to Peter Burger.
