In 1936, Lord Halifax published his book of ghost stories he had collected. It included the story that follows, taking place at the priory of Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, U-K, starting with a statement signed in front of witnesses including king George V who was there, written by the young Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 17 years old, student in Eton, and future 10th Marquess of Hartington.
The teenager resided at this time in a bedroom of the priory, property of his father, the Duke of Devonshire, who was apparently sleeping in the contiguous cure when this happened. The king resided there for the shooting.
The statement said.
"On Sunday, August 18th, 1912, on going up to my room at The Rectory, at 11.15 p.m., I distinctly saw a figure standing at the door. It was dressed in nondescript clothes and was more or less clean-shaven. I was at the top of the staircase, looking down the passage in which mine was the end room. I went downstairs again and fetched another light, but on going up again the figure had disappeared."
"The ghost had been the subject of a conversation that evening at which I had not been present, and I was not thinking of it."
The Duchess of Devonshire wrote to Lord Halifax via Lady Halifax to tel that Eddy (Lord Hartington) would send him an account about the ghost; who, she thought, seemed to have be the same man who was seen two or three times by the Vicar, though the Vicar's "ghost" wore a brown dress while Eddy declared this man's was dark grey or black. She wrote:
"Eddy's ghost had a round face—no beard, but what he described as a rough face. When we asked the Vicar afterwards if his ghost had a beard he said, 'No', but that he looked as if he had not shaved for four or five days, and his face was very round."
The teenager thus wrote to Lord Halifax:
"I saw the ghost standing in the door of my room, looking not at, but past, me, at 11.15 p.m. on Sunday, August 18th. I was sleeping at The Rectory and saw him when I turned left-handed from the stairs, which are in three flights, and looked down the passage some eleven yards long, at the end of which is the door of my room. While I was going up the last flight, which consists only of six steps, I thought someone was there but attached no importance to this, as the Rector often met me on the stairs."
"I thought at once that it was the ghost, but was not frightened of him until afterwards. He was below the middle height and seemed to be an old man of sixty-five or so. His face was unusually round, or, rather, broad in proportion to its length, and was very heavily lined and wrinkled. The eyes were bright and the face might have been that of an old woman, but for the fact that there was about a week's growth of greyish stubble on the chin. There was a hood over the head and he was dressed in a long garment like a dressing-gown. The hood and shoulders seemed to be grey, but lower down the colour was black or brown. The light was behind me and I had a candle in my hand, so that his head and shoulders were fairly brightly lighted, while lower down he was in shadow."
"I looked at him for a second or two and then went down to fetch the Rector from his study. He was, however, not there and taking the lantern with which I had come across from the house, I went upstairs again, but the figure had gone."
"I had heard of the ghost before, but this was the account I gave of him before I heard any description whatever of him. I was not thinking of the ghost when I saw him, but he was being discussed in the house at that moment. There was no question of his being transparent; he was as solid as any actual man."
"The wall of my room is the old monastery wall and is seven feet thick."
"The habit of the monastery was not brown but white, so that he was certainly not a monk of Bolton Abbey."
In the Internet era, a very short version can be found on many "ghosts" websites, with "the Marquis of Huntington" as witness instead of the Marquis of Hartington.
And though this looks like a ghost story - at best, with no UFO or alien involved at all, some ufologists thought it should be included in the UFO files, wrong witness name included, mention of the "real" aspect of the so-called "ghost" excluded.
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[Ref. lh1:] LORS HALIFAX:
THE MONK OF BOLTON ABBEYThe present Marquis of Hartington, when a boy at Eton, sent Lord Halifax this account of a ghost he had seen at Bolton Abbey, the property of his father, the Duke of Devonshire. The experience befell him in August 1912, when the late King was staying at Bolton Abbey for the shooting. Apparently Lord Hartington was sleeping, not at the Abbey, but at the adjoining rectory. Statement by Lord Hartington. On Sunday, August 18th, 1912, on going up to my room at The Rectory, at 11.15 p.m., I distinctly saw a figure standing at the door. It was dressed in nondescript clothes and was more or less clean-shaven. I was at the top of the staircase, looking down the passage in which mine was the end room. I went downstairs again and fetched another light, but on going up again the figure had disappeared. The ghost had been the subject of a conversation that evening at which I had not been present, and I was not thinking of it. (Signed) Hartington. (Witnessed by) The King. Letter from the Duchess of Devonshire to Lady Halifax. Will you tell Lord Halifax that Eddy (Lord Hartington) will send him an account of his ghost? He seems to be the same man who was seen two or three times by the Vicar, but the Vicar's ghost wore a brown dress and Eddy declares this man's was dark grey or black. Eddy's ghost had a round face—no beard, but what he described as a rough face. When we asked the Vicar afterwards if his ghost had a beard he said, 'No', but that he looked as if he had not shaved for four or five days, and his face was very round. Letter from the Marquis of Hartington to Lord Halifax. I saw the ghost standing in the door of my room, looking not at, but past, me, at 11.15 p.m. on Sunday, August 18th. I was sleeping at The Rectory and saw him when I turned left-handed from the stairs, which are in three flights, and looked down the passage some eleven yards long, at the end of which is the door of my room. While I was going up the last flight, which consists only of six steps, I thought someone was there but attached no importance to this, as the Rector often met me on the stairs. I thought at once that it was the ghost, but was not frightened of him until afterwards. He was below the middle height and seemed to be an old man of sixty-five or so. His face was unusually round, or, rather, broad in proportion to its length, and was very heavily lined and wrinkled. The eyes were bright and the face might have been that of an old woman, but for the fact that there was about a week's growth of greyish stubble on the chin. There was a hood over the head and he was dressed in a long garment like a dressing-gown. The hood and shoulders seemed to be grey, but lower down the colour was black or brown. The light was behind me and I had a candle in my hand, so that his head and shoulders were fairly brightly lighted, while lower down he was in shadow. I looked at him for a second or two and then went down to fetch the Rector from his study. He was, however, not there and taking the lantern with which I had come across from the house, I went upstairs again, but the figure had gone. I had heard of the ghost before, but this was the account I gave of him before I heard any description whatever of him. I was not thinking of the ghost when I saw him, but he was being discussed in the house at that moment. There was no question of his being transparent; he was as solid as any actual man. The wall of my room is the old monastery wall and is seven feet thick. The habit of the monastery was not brown but white, so that he was certainly not a monk of Bolton Abbey. |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
Albert Rosales indicates that in Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, England, on August 18, 1912, before midnight, Upon reaching the top of the stairs in the Rectory, the Marquis of Huntington found a strange monk-like figure standing at the doorway of his room. "There was a hood over the head and he was dressed in a long garment like a dressing-gown. The hood and shoulders seemed to be gray, but lower down the color was black or brown." The Marquis, only a boy then, ran to fetch the Rector but could not find him. By the time he returned, the specter had vanished.
Albert Rosales indicates that the source is "Michael D Winkle, The Anomalist # 10".
[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 18 August 1912 at "23:45" in Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, UK, "Upon reaching the top of the stairs in the Rectory, the Marquis of Huntington found a strange monk-like figure standing at the doorway of his room. "There was a hood over the head and he was dressed in a long garment like a dressing-gown. The hood and shoulders seemed to be gray, but lower down the color was black or brown." The Marquis, only a boy then, ran to fetch the Rector but could not find him. By the time he returned, the specter had vanished."
The source indication is a broken link.
[Ref. js1:] JEAN SIDER:
The author indicates that on August 18, 1912, by night, at the Abbey of Bolton in Yorkshire, England, there was an CE3 that stands out from the others, but whose original source and the personality of the witness and of the person who was used as guarantee when he testified under oath justify that the case is kept. The witness is the still adolescent Marquis of Huntigton.
Jean Sider says that little before midnight, he reached the top of the staircase which lead to the abbey's presbytery where he briefly resided, when he saw the "ghost of a monk" standing in front of the door of his bedroom. Coming back later he noted that the "monk" had disappeared.
He wrote several years later a letter to Lord Halifax where he said:
"He wore a hood which covered his head and was dressed of a long clothe looking like a dressing gown. The cap and the shoulders seemed of gray color, but below all was black or brown."
Jean Sider indicates that the same night king Georges V was at the abbey, that the young marquis had signed a written statement under oath "which established the reality of the incident" and that the monks in Bolton at the time wore white clothes, which eliminates a confusion with a local monk."
The sources are indicated as "The Anomalist N.10, San Antonio, Texas, 2002, pp25-26, selon Charles Linley, Vicomte de Halifax, Lord Halifax's Ghost Book, Castle, 1983, pp 195-197, princeps in 1936.
[Ref. sh1:] SUSAN HILL:
Susan Hill wrote:
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Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing distinguishes the fictional ghost from the ‘real’ and that is Purpose. Read through the several dozen tales of English ghosts here and you will find not a single one that has any raison d’être fantome. |
As an example, she wrote:
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In 1912 the Marquis of Hartington (future 8th Duke of Devonshire and misnamed the Marquis of Huntington here) saw a figure standing at the door of his room ‘dressed in nondescript clothes... the phantom was not at all transparent but solid and real.' |
[Ref. hi1:] "HAUNTED ISLAND" WEBSITE:
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This Augustinian Priory is haunted by an Augustinian Canon. The ghostly Canon was seen in 1912 by a prominent member of the aristocracy. The Marquis of Hartington saw a figure in the room he was staying in, standing by the door. It was described as a figure of a man in his sixties, with a round face and stubble. The figure wore a long robe and hood and this description was similar to that of a figure seen by the Rector. |
[Ref. fa1:] "BOLTON ABBEY" ON FACEBOOK:
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Haunting King George V was one of the witnesses to the Marquis of Hartington's account of seeing the ghost of a monk in 1912, the Marquis of Hartington saw a figure in the room he was staying in, standing by the door. It was described as a figure of a man in his sixties, with a round face and stubble. The figure wore a long robe and hood as well as The Reverend F.G. Griffiths confirmed in 1975 that the apparition of an Augustinian monk in a brown hassock has been seen walking through the wall of the rectory towards the ruined abbey. The figure of the monk has also been witnessed on a number of occasions near the rectory by visitors to the ruins. A black-robed spectre that haunts the church accompanied by a strong smell of incense usually appears in July in the daytime. |
Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington and eighth Duke of Devonshire, was born on 23 July 1833. The duke left no children, so the title and estates passed to his nephew, Victor Cavendish.
Victor Christian William Cavendish, (31 May 1868 – 6 May 1938), Duke of Devonshire, Marquis of Hartington, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Burlington, Baron Cavendish of Hardwicke, Baron Cavendish of Keighley, K.G., P.C., G.C.M.G., etc,. etc, became a Governor-General of Canada.
He had several children, including two boys:
- Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (6 May 1895, 26 November 1950).
- Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish (29 August 1905, 23 March 1944).
So one of them must have been the witness. As it is said that the witness was "adolescent" at the time of the occurrence, it must have been Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Marquess of Hartington, aged 17 then, rather than Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish, aged 7 then. And this fits the name "Eddy" in the original report.
(See http://www.thepeerage.com/p959.htm#i9587 for a bio).
Bolton Abbey, technically this is the rectory or priory, as the abbey itself is a ruin, was in the family estate:
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It is true, like the witness says, that the Augustinian monks of the place were in white outfit, hood also white; the canon outfit was red, the priests were generally in black. But other monks wore other outfits, including brown ones with brown hoods. Can an ordinary visitor be excluded? Did Edward William Spencer Cavendish take care to discuss with the Rector about a visitor the latter would know of? The story does not specify this.
As Susan Hill, and the witness, point out, this "ghost" has nothing strange about him, he is "real", not "transparent", not only all this is resting only on one single witness, who perhaps found the encounter strange only after he heard about ghost-monks stories there, obviously, one may wonder why should such a story be part of the ufological literature!
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
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| 1 | Data | Severe | February 23, 2013 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Help needed. | Opened. |
Ordinary encounter turned strange because witness was told ghost stories later. Not UFO-related.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 23, 2013 | Creation, [lh1], [ar1], [ud1], [js1], [sh1], [hi1], [fa1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 23, 2013 | First published. |
