The Cheltenham Ghost is one of the most accredited ghosts on record. It is well known among the paranormal community, and was first brought to public attention in the early 1890’s.
‘The Morton Case’, Society For Physical Research 1892
Records of the ghost were compiled in an exclusive case named ‘The Morton Case’, which were published by the Society For Physical Research in 1892. These records indicated that the ghost of a tall woman dressed in black was regularly haunting a Georgian Town House, built around 1860, within the city of Cheltenham. The case was written and compiled by primary witness, Miss Rose Despard, who’s surname was substituted at the time as ‘Morton’ to protect her real identity. This is why the case is often recognised as the Morton Case today. It was written under the title ‘Record Of A Haunted House’, which is still publicly available online. The case was also investigated by the society of cyclical research, and particularly by a Mr Frederick Myers who took a personal interest in the hauntings.
According to Frederick Myers, who conducted research on behalf of the SPR, multiple witnesses and accounts were recorded, and witnesses seemed to be of a sound state of mind. Some witnesses notably had no relation, yet describe similar experiences and/or gave the same visual description of the apparition. Apparently, most hauntings occurred roughly between 1882 and 1886.
Brief History of the Cheltenham Ghost House
The first residents of the house were an unhappy couple, who both eventually turned to alcohol. The husband died in the small sitting room of the house, and according to the report published by RC Morton, the next resident to live within the building also eventually died in the same room. Rose described it as a ‘curious coincidence’, although apparently the ghost she witnessed was never sighted in that particular room. Around this time, there was also little evidence of haunting, except for the claims of a gardener working on the property opposite who said they saw the figure of a tall lady wearing black standing in the window.
The Real Woman In Black?
The Despard family later moved in, and claimed to often hear unexplainable noises and footsteps around the property. Servants and guests of the house all claimed to see the ghost of a tall woman, alongside daughter of Captain Morton (Despard), Rose. Rose claimed to see the figure a dozen times over two years, describing it as ‘The figure of a tall lady dressed in black, standing at the top of the stairs’ (Page 313 of the report). Between pages 313 and 314 of the report, Rose gives a description of the ghost she encountered in great detail, claiming she wore widow’s weeds and assumed that her clothing was woollen from the sound it made. In the report, she also explained that she approached the phantom and tried to communicate with it, but all she heard in reply was a ‘slight gasp’. Later in the report, the ghost was even mistaken for a living woman by a neighbour, when it (or she) was spotted crying in the orchard visible from the main road, clad in her black veil and gown. Rose also states the she witnessed proof of immateriality by setting up experiments when the ghost would pass, like a string across the stairs that remained untouched and intact when the lady passed through, and the sudden disappearances of the woman before her eyes.
Throughout August of 1886, it was recorded that she was seen on almost a daily basis within a couple of weeks, making frequent appearances within the house, and especially in front of Miss Morton (R.C. Despard). The family tried investigating the reasonings behind the hauntings, as stated in the report, and eventually, sightings became less frequent from 1887. Between 1889 and 1892, no sightings were recorded at all.
The Disappearance of the Cheltenham Ghost
Once the Despard family eventually left the property, the house became a boarding school for boys. However, the school eventually had to be moved due to the claims of ghostly sightings and unusual occurrences within the building. It was converted into flats soon after, which are still in use today. No further reports of activity occurred after the conversions.
Report ‘Record Of A Haunted House by R.C Morton’ (P.311 onwards) - http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/spr_proceedings/spr_proceedings_v8_1892.pdf