Empty Houses Haunted?

Haunted houses can be found anywhere even in London,  you just have to know where to look.

Printed Friday the 26th of January 1872 in the Alexandria Gazette out of Alexandria, Virginia 

HAUNTED HOUSES IN LONDON. 

– A great deal of curiosity has been excited for a long period in reference to a number of large houses in Stamford street, (Blackfriars,) Snowhill, Newington, and other parts of London, which have for nearly half a century been allowed to remain empty, and suffered to get into a ruinous state, the rental value of the property being many thousands per annum. One house in Stamford street, at the corner of Hartfield street, which was formerly let for 100 per annum, has been empty more than 40 years.

   The various premises were popularly known as “haunted houses,” and crowds have collected occasionally around them, particularly the houses in Stamford street, upon the report that a “ghost” had been seen walking about some of the rooms. Their real history appears to be this: The property originally belonged to a solicitor named Reed, a man possessed of a large fortune, and he, through a mere whim, determined not to let any portion of this property. He died some five and twenty years ago, leaving it is said, strict injunctions to his widow to carry out the same course. His directions were obeyed, and at the death of the widow the same injunctions were given to the daughter, until her death, which took place on December 11^th, rather suddenly. By this event the condition of affairs in relation to the property will, in all probability, now be changed; and the estate will be put to some useful purpose. The habits of the deceased lady were most penurious. She resided in one of the houses in Stamford street, her only establishment consisting of one old woman, and the residence of the “old miser,” as she was generally termed, could easily be recognized by its dirty and dilapidated appearance. Periodically the two old women would make a visit to the other houses in the street, the time chosen being generally evening. With lantern in hand they would go through the different rooms of the large ruinous buildings, and these visits gave rise, no doubt, to the “ghost” rumors that were rife, and were that cause of the crowds assembling to see the light gleaming from the windows. Almost immediately after the death became known, it appears that parties claiming to be heirs-at-law of the deceased, took possession of the house where she resided, and among the strange rumors that are afloat in reference to the subject is one that a sum of money amounting to nearly 20,000 was found hoarded in different parts of the house, and concealed in all manner of out-of-the way places. At first, it was rumored that the deceased had died without making a will, but it has since been stated that a testamentary document has been discovered. It will perhaps be recollected that a few years ago some persons took forcible possession of the houses in Stamford street, and set up some claim to the property; but it was shown that they had no legal title, and they were forcible ejected by order of a magistrate. Since then, the whole of the property has remained in the same condition as before. _London News.

Ghost Detector from Society for Physical Research

As many of you know “ghost hunters,” “spirit investigators” and “spook hunters” have been around for many years. Little did I know that there was a society out of London focused heading most of these investigations. This article was found on GenealgoyBank.com and was from the Trenton Evening Times paper out of Trenton, New Jersey and appeared in November of 1906. There are many names mentioned in this article and some might surprise you. 

“SPOOK” HUNTERS

WELL PAID WORKERS

They Verify Ghost Stories and

 Run Down Visitors from

Spiritland

Chicago, Ill. Nov. 23. –Surely one of the most unusual businesses is that of a ghost detector. There are hundreds of them scattered thoughtout the world. There are a few in Chicago and all of them, both in this country and abroad, work under the direction and for the power and glory of an association in England that is backed by some of the most conservative and best known scientists and thinkers in the United Kingdom.

A ghost detector is an investigator for the Society for Physical Research, which was founded in London in 1882. The society, which already has published twenty-on  octavo volumes of proceedings, in addition to bales and bales of records of investigations made by the ghost detectors, has had as its presidents men like the Rt. Hon. O.J. Balfour, late Prime Minister of England; Professor William James, the noted psychologist of Harvard University, and brother of the mystical Henry James; Sir William Crookes, of Crookes tube fame and Professor Henry Sidgwick, a philosopher, whose book, “The Method of Ethics,” is a standard.

Now, these men are not to be fooled by the ordinary or garden variety of ghost story. A ghost story has to be well ballasted and well buttressed to receive credence at their hands, and it is to sift the wheat from the chaff, to throw the bad ghost stories into the discard and place the real, genuine ones in the best possible light that there is in existence a class of workers whose work deals not with men of flesh and blood and has little to do with material tangible things.

LARGE SUMS EXPENDED

It is the business of these investigators to run down every case of apparition,  ghost walking, presentiment, materialization, ghost photographs, telepathy and the like that they hear of. Expenses is no object. Each investigation costs money, but influenced by a sincere desire to get to the bottom of every story of the other world and it knows that such inquiries cost money.  One of the men who has contributed liberally to the work of the society is Andrew Lang, the champion two-handed author of the world who writes as much in England as the Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady does in this country.

Every time that the officials of the Society for Physical Research hear of any extraordinary ghost story or other story that has to do with the supernatural they dispatch an investigator –a ghost detector – to the scene. It is difficult to deceive this personage. He has read about all there is to read of ghost lore. He enjoys the personal acquaintance of many persons who have seen ghosts or who have thought that they have seen them. He knows mediums, trance artists, materialists, hypnotists and other artists in spiritualism and its kindred pursuits, and what he doesn’t know about the inhabitants of the spirit would isn’t worth knowing.

He investigates. It doesn’t make any difference how long it takes him. Neither time nor money is considered when the cause of truth is at stake. He stays on the ground until he has gathered every bit of available evidence, until he has interviewed everybody who by any chance might know anything about the case.

Then he prepares a long written report full of signed statements and circumstantial detail, and this he mails back to London. It is gone over by other experts and if there is anything in it worthy of preservation in the archives of the society it is filed away along with the reports made by the hundreds of other investigators.