Ghost story which made man ‘faint’ present in field of previous deeds after 239 years

A 239-year-old manuscript detailing a “ghostly visitation” that caused a man to faint has been unearthed in a box of old deeds.

The official documents recount how aristocrat Francis Eld was visited by the spirit of his deceased mother, Catherine. According to the papers, Mr Eld was in his young daughter’s bedroom in the early hours of March 29, 1785, when the apparition made its appearance.

He felt a “puff of air” across his face and saw “a sort of cloud or vapour,” which morphed into the likeness and voice of his mother.

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The ghost reportedly said: “My child, be not grieved, I am dead, but happy.”

This eerie incident is believed to have occurred at Seighford Hall, near Stafford, Staffs. The manuscript account of the “visitation” was found among a box of legal deeds and papers.

Jim Spencer, Director at Rare Book Auctions, Lichfield, Staffs, stumbled upon the papers while conducting a valuation.

He said: “It was quite eerie discovering these papers during the run-up to Halloween.

“I found it in a box full of old indentures relating to the Whitby family of Shugborough and Haywood.

“It’s the sort of thing I see all the time but the word ‘visitation’ just caught my eye.

“As soon as I realised they were talking about a ghost, I genuinely couldn’t read quickly enough, my eyes were racing ahead of my brain.

“It records the story of how, in the early hours of Tuesday, March 29, 1785, Mr Francis Eld of Seighford Hall was in a room with his infant daughter when he experienced a ‘puff of air’ across his face and saw ‘a sort of cloud or vapour’, which took on the appearance and voice of his mother.

“The ghost spoke to him, saying, ‘My child, be not grieved, I am dead, but happy’.

“Mr Eld was unaware his mother, who was residing at Pit Place in Surrey, had died during the time of his visitation.

“The following morning, fearing bad news, he ordered his servant to accompany him to Stafford Post Office where he collected a letter written by his father’s housekeeper at Pit Place.

“It stated his mother was ‘tolerably well, & had eaten remarkably hearty of a hare which had been sent to her from Seighford by her son’.

“Mr Eld’s anxiety was briefly suppressed, until he realised it was composed on Saturday March 26 – two days before the haunting.

“During the coach journey home, Mr Eld repeatedly told his servant he was ‘sure’ he would ‘hear some bad news about his mother soon’.

“The following Friday, on April 1, Mr Eld returned to Stafford and received a letter informing him his mother had died on the preceding Monday night or Tuesday morning – March 28/29 – coinciding with the time of the visitation.

“This realisation caused him to ‘faint away’ in shock.”

At the funeral, Mr Eld told his father about the mysterious haunting, which turned him ‘into jelly’.”

Mr Eld’s father, John Elde of Dorking, was a notable benefactor of Stafford General Infirmary who was painted by renowned society painter Thomas Gainsborough.

The handwritten account is accompanied by letters between the Rev Thomas Whitby of Creswell and the Rev Townson of Malpas, Cheshire, discussing “this very uncommon event”.

The documents are tipped to fetch between £300-£500 but could reel in much more when they go under the hammer at Rare Book Auctions.

Jim Spencer said: “The fact that Mr Eld’s experience was documented and discussed by members of the clergy, as well as a servant’s testimony, underlines how greatly he was affected by the incident.

“Seeing the ghost of his own mother telling him she had passed away when he thought she was alive was frightening enough.

“When his worst fears were confirmed and he realised her visitation coincided with her passing, it was enough to make him faint from shock.

The eerie records and deeds will be auctioned off at Rare Book Auctions, Wade Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, this November.

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