October 16th 2024.
Jim Spencer was going through a box of legal deeds when he came across a 239-year-old manuscript that told a chilling ghost story. It detailed an encounter that left a man named Francis Eld so shaken that he fainted. The papers, which were official documents, described how Eld's deceased mother, Catherine, appeared to him in the early hours of March 29, 1785.
According to the manuscript, Eld was in his young daughter's bedroom when he suddenly felt a puff of air and saw a cloud or vapour take on the form and voice of his mother. She comforted him, saying, "My child, be not grieved, I am dead, but happy." This strange incident is said to have taken place at Seighford Hall in Staffordshire, as documented in the manuscript that was found among a box of legal deeds and papers.
Jim Spencer, the director at Rare Book Auctions, stumbled upon these papers while conducting a valuation. He recalled, "It was quite eerie finding these papers just before Halloween. They were in a box filled with old deeds and letters related to the Whitby family of Shugborough and Haywood." Spencer admitted that he often comes across such documents, but the word "visitation" caught his attention. He was so intrigued that he couldn't read fast enough, with his eyes racing ahead of his brain.
The manuscript went on to describe how Eld, who resided at Seighford Hall, was in his daughter's room with her when he felt the strange puff of air and saw the vapour. Spencer added, "Eld had no idea that his mother, who was living at Pit Place in Surrey, had passed away during this visitation." The next morning, fearing the worst, Eld went to the Stafford Post Office to collect a letter from his father's housekeeper at Pit Place.
The letter stated that Eld's mother was "tolerably well" and had eaten "remarkably hearty of a hare." However, the letter was written two days before the haunting. Upon reading this, Eld repeatedly told his servant during their return journey home that he was sure he would receive bad news about his mother soon. And unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
On April 1, Eld received a letter informing him that his mother had passed away on the night of March 28 or the morning of March 29, which was the same time as the visitation. This realization was too much for Eld to handle, and he fainted in shock. At the funeral, he shared the ghostly encounter with his father, who was deeply affected by the news. John Eld, Eld's father, was a notable benefactor of Stafford General Infirmary and had been painted by renowned society painter Thomas Gainsborough.
The manuscript also included letters between the Reverend Thomas Whitby of Creswell and the Reverend Townson of Malpas, Cheshire, discussing this "very uncommon event." These documents are expected to be auctioned for a price between £300 and £500, but they could potentially fetch a higher amount when they go under the hammer at Rare Book Auctions in November.
Spencer noted, "The fact that Eld's experience was documented and discussed by members of the clergy, along with a servant's testimony, highlights how greatly he was affected by the incident. Seeing the ghost of his own mother, who told him she had passed away when he thought she was alive, was terrifying enough. But when his worst fears were confirmed, it was enough to make him faint from shock." The supernatural records and deeds will be sold at Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, adding to the mystery and intrigue surrounding this eerie ghost encounter.
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