The Ghost-room at Belvoir.

Related by Lady Marion Alford

When I went to Belvoir with Lady Caroline Cust, they danced in the evening. I went upstairs early, for I was tired. As I was going to my room, Lady Jersey - it was wrong of her, I think - said, 'Oh, I see you are put in the ghost-room.' I said, 'I am quite happy; there are no real ghosts here, I think' - 'Well,' said Lady Jersey, 'I can only say Miss Drummond slept there last night, and she received letters of importance this morning and left before breakfast.' Well, I went into my room, and lit the candles and made up the fire, but very soon I gave a great jump, for I heard the most dreadful noise close at my elbow - 'Oh-o-oo-oo!' I thought of course that it was a practical joke, and began to examine every corner of the room, thinking someone must be hidden there; then I rang my bell. When my maid came in I said, 'Now don't be frightened, but there is someone hidden in this room somewhere, and you must help me to find him.' Very soon the noise came again. Then Lady Caroline came, and she heard it: then her maid came. The noise occurred about every five minutes. We examined everything and stood in each corner of the room. The noise then seemed close to each of us. At last Lady Caroline said, 'I can stand this no longer, and I must go,' and she and her maid went away and shut themselves into the next room. Then I said to my maid,' If you are frightened you had better go,' but she protested that she would rather stay where she was; after what she had heard, anything would be better than facing the long lonely passages alone. However, just at that moment 'Oh-o-oo-oo!' went off again close to her ear, and with one spring she darted out of the room and ran off as hard as ever she could. I went courageously to bed and determined to brave it out. But the thing went to bed too, and went off at intervals on the pillow close to my face. And at last it grated on my nerves to such a degree that I could bear it no longer, and I dragged a mattress into Lady Caroline's room and slept there till dawn. The next morning, I also received letters of importance and left before breakfast.

Before I left, I sent for the housekeeper, and said, 'You really should not put people into that room,' and told her what had happened. She was much distressed, and told me that there really was no other room in the house then, but confessed it had often happened so before. Some time after, I went over to Belvoir with some friends who wanted to see the castle, and the housekeeper then told me that the same thing had happened again in that room, which was now permanently shut up.