Part 2

Father B. was attacked in 1888-89 in London. In June 1892, Father H. visited the Haunted House at B----. He first brought the haunting to the notice of Lord Bute in August 1892, and in 1893 met a lady who had been governess at B---- about twelve years before, and who reported that the house was haunted then.

A noise like the continual explosion of petards, another like the falling of a large animal against his bedroom door, another noise like spirit raps, and shrieks were heard by Father H.; no one else then heard them. Father H. heard them for eight nights, and not on the ninth. As a priest, he was probably a good deal alone, and had to walk over to a cottage behind a belt of wood to the eastward, where the retreat of the nuns he attended to was held.

According to the average experience of Miss Freer's party, he would only have been attacked on about two days. The last day his tormentor left--doubtless to avoid a journey with Father H. and subsequent recognition. How these sounds are produced is easily understood. If the doctrine of a very light stream of electricity be admitted, the pressure on the ear readily causes raps--there is a slight buzzing sound if the pressure on the ear be relaxed at a distance at first, later there is pain; the flap is from an intermitted pressure. It is a thud if the pressure be more acute, and the pattering, which is almost identical to the effect produced by a drop of water rolling on the inside of a sensitive ear, occurs when there is a double or treble intermission. In some cases where the victim is strong, the consonants can be worked off to his hearing.

Add to this a slight effect on the eye, and Miss Campbell's doubtfully pronounced word "candle" becomes clear enough. An initial starts a word there is some reason to believe. Mr. Osgood Mason dwells upon community of sensation, and it is doubtless this that renders the direction of aim so exact; but when the subject of tickled faces is considered, we shall see that it does not insure complete accuracy, any more than that exists in volley firing, which with inferior shots is more telling than independent firing, and yet is not perfect.

The reason why more audile phenomena are perceived at night is that the percipient is tolerably still. Father H. and other people heard these sounds more when in bed after daylight. If loud clangs, &c., were heard by night by the garrison under Miss Freer's command, it was that the attacking hypnotists did not have the chances they had with Father H. of hypnotising their victims; and here again, where action on the ear and eye is concerned, talking with a friend, or indeed any one, is a great safeguard. The tympanum is stirred, the eye moves--the mere irregularity of the breath is an aid. Another reason will be given later. Miss Campbell, whose case--one of experimental thought transference--has been twice referred to, was an intimate friend of Miss Despard, who effected the transfers. Her case differs from his; he expected nothing (at least consciously), and perceived nothing except ugly sounds, until he got a feeling that some one was glad that he left, and that he himself would not like to pass another night there. Perhaps this last feeling was a deceptive transfer; they did not like the stout priest bluffing them. Later he was willing to go to the house at B---- again.

Miss Campbell got a word, imperfect perhaps, but a better-developed effort developed better results. It is worth remarking that in another experimental transfer of thought, where the percipient was not warned, when Mr. Godfrey's apparition was seen by a lady friend, she heard a curious sound like birds in the ivy. It is by no means unlikely that this was the result of his first trying to attract her attention.

The eye impression moving to the ear in a new and strange way, there is perhaps a stirring and dragging of the cartilages.

That Mr. Godfrey's friend appeared in response and spoke to him, and referred back to some joint conversation, is curious.

It must be said here that the speech coming from within is extremely indicative of a real transferred or hypnotic speech, and its coming from within facilitates surprise where it is used fraudulently or criminally. A certain amount of collateral trickery would enhance this. It is easily confounded with the victim's own thoughts.

The appearance of a person to another does not seem to be as difficult as the causing another person to appear to a third person. In this case the second person should apparently be hypnotised, and willed to appear to the third. The third person must know the second person.

The apparition to Miss Ducane is interesting, and it is a pity it could not be recognised. It was seen in the mirror by her sisters, with one exception; but she (Miss Ducane) and the other young ladies all felt the cold air.

Miss Freer, who saw the shadows of a figure on the wall first, and then the figure itself, must have been more scientifically operated on, but an apparition to several young ladies is harder to bring about. The original of Miss Freer's visions should be carefully traced--the one in the drawing-room especially. How many persons would be needed to produce the rather inchoate phenomena observed by Miss Freer's garrison is doubtful; three distinct voices, if not four, were heard, and it seems probable that at least four persons would be necessary to produce very startling phenomenon--notably conversation.

All the ears and eyes (notably one eye, the right) are affected. This number would be easily got from a body like the Shakers, but it is probably harder to collect an efficient gang elsewhere. Indeed there is, the writer believes, evidence that only one such gang exists, and its members are possibly all British subjects of various colours. It is strange there have been no informers. The failure of the minor gang at B---- to fairly beat Miss Freer's party as they had beaten the family who lived in the house the year before, made them furious, and their attacks on the weak secular priests and on a French lady of high courage but weak health, were particularly desperate. How far the latter's health was undermined, and her death brought about by them, is uncertain. She had the shock of the fire at the Paris charity bazaar to break her down. She lost relations there. Miss Freer sometimes writes as if ghosts and spirits were possible. In her essays, on page 52, she says "naughty girls or spirits"--the collation is perhaps sufficient to condemn the latter alternative. But her remark about a lady medium whom she compares to a gentleman jockey, and who had a maid of the Catholic faith, and that this fact had an effect on the later proceedings, reads as if she were not wanting in scepticism. Probably Miss Freer, subject to thought transference, and yet a thought transferrer, as she is, was interested in the effect on Miss "K." of the Catholic maid-servant. Nothing more interesting than the transfer of thought by Miss Freer to a friend, who therefore saw candles lighted on a lunch table, could be found, but here again the experience seems simply hypnotic. The chapters in her essays on visualising, on "how it once came into my head," are very valuable. Those on hauntings are grave and gay, comments on realities and errors and superstitious, sometimes charming, beliefs. Miss Freer says of the visions which she sees of persons in the crystal, or otherwise, that they are (1) visions of the living--clairvoyant or telepathic; (2) visions of the departed, having no obvious relation to time and space; (3) visions which are more or less of the nature of pictures, from memory or imagination: they are like No. 2, but not of a person.

Her most remarkable stories are certainly almost magical. One refers to her seeing the doings of relations, another to her seeing a friend's doings. "The figures do not appear" (she says, referring to the B---- apparitions) "before 6.30 at the earliest; there is little light on their surfaces--they show by their own light--i.e. outlined by a thread of light."

She does not see things in a flash. Thus when she saw a brown wood crucifix, she saw a hand holding it, whilst a clergyman who saw the same crucifix (Father H. also saw it) got just a glimpse of it. It was also seen by Miss Langton.

To turn to another characteristic of the disturbers of the peace at B----, and to illustrate it by comparison. In Mr. Podmore's book on Psychical research, in the chapter describing phenomena of the Poltergeist order--the Poltergeist in one case was a girl of about twelve, Alice. She, Mrs. B. and Miss B., and Miss K. were seated at a table; it moved sharply and struck Miss K. on the arm. Miss K. was an inmate of the house, and no doubt Alice preferred hitting her to hitting her mother and sister.

Similarly the disturbers at B---- House showed great respect for the press. When a leading Edinburgh editor's son was there all was quiet; and although they flew at their pet prey the priests, yet a bishop was too imposing for them; and after he had blessed the house from top to bottom, they left it quiet for the remaining week of Miss Freer's stay.

This might be sufficient to lull any further zeal the Catholic regular clergy might find for the matter.

Again the strange fact may be noted that, a gardener coming every night to look after the stoves between 10 and 10.30, no noises were noted at that time, with one exception. The gardener therefore kept the ghosts away.

But the one exception was when a servants' ball was being given, and the gardener was in the house, in the billiard-room, where the supper was served. To obtain re-hypnotism it was necessary for the disturbers to approach the house. Their object would easily be affected with people already hypnotised in the railway station or train.

These would suffer from fatigue and nervousness, but would put it down to the journey.

The approach to the house with rights of way close by would be very easy. The brave garrison who were so well commanded by Miss Freer, and who, with three or four exceptions, support her account, were generally affected (if well known, and not as Mr. Z., the editor's son, too dangerous) on the first night of their arrival at B----.

Miss Freer and Miss Moore, her comrade who shared her bedroom during the greater part of the B---- siege, were thus attacked. Mr. L.F. was disturbed, and also Colonel Taylor (in whose name the house was taken, and who was almost impervious to influences), on their first night at B----. Why the Honourable E.F. did not suffer at all is not clear. Perhaps he was left alone on account of his scientific capacities.

Three gentlemen who arrived together were not affected; there is strength in numbers; and whilst people talking to each other are harder to influence for two or three reasons, they further unconsciously watch over each other. Mr. W. stayed two days and heard nothing; his scepticism was convinced later. Mr. MacP. experienced nothing in four nights, but on a later visit heard sounds. Mr. C., an Edinburgh solicitor, heard voices in the glen, on the second occasion of a vision being seen there by Miss Freer, which was during his first visit.

Perhaps it may be guessed that the three gentlemen travelled with no heavy luggage, and their identity and destination was not detected. The vision seen most was that of a nun in the black dress commonest among nuns.

It was seen moving about on a very steep bank, a bank apparently too steep for walking, and was only visible against the snow. Miss Freer did not look on the bank for tracks.

It may be noted that on the two previous days in the neighbourhood of this glen a terrier, who never barked except under strong excitement, had barked at the same hour, but no vision was seen; on the 6th of February the dog had been taken off in another direction. After seeing the vision in the glen, Miss Freer almost always heard strange sounds at night.

The inference is that in the glen, where there was plenty of cover, and where, judging by the dog's barking, suspicious persons lurked, Miss Freer was hypnotised, made to see an apparition, and left susceptible to a further operation that night. Later on it says, "the dog ran up, pointed, and ran straight for the two women." This was on the second occasion of a grey woman appearing, and the third occasion of the black nun being seen. He was found barking in the glen; no cause could be found; a lurking stranger is a possible explanation. It may be noted, that the pointing attitude in a dog of the smaller breeds means reflection, and that something puzzled it, perhaps its mistress's attitude; but its going on barking would indicate the steady retreat of some one who frightened it.