A Haunting at Bowden and Brompton
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In 1903 the women of Brompton and Bowden became terrified of
the vagaries of a ghost! Women, and some men, became afraid to leave their
homes at night in fear of encountering the ghost haunting the streets. Some men
began to arm themselves for self-defence if they encountered the terrifying
spirit, but one has to wonder what effect a bullet would have upon the
non-corporeal.
According to The
Advertiser (newspaper), the ‘ghost is everywhere, and nowhere in particular’.
The ghost appeared in East Street Brompton at midnight, as witnessed by a young
man in the neighbourhood.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, the same young man witnessed the apparition
again. This time the witness provided an odd statement about the ghost, when
he stated, ‘The ghost of someone hath appeared to me two several
times by night—at Brompton once, and this last night here in
the Bowden brickfields. I know my hour is come."[1]
At 9pm
Tuesday, the screams of a child shouting on Drayton Street, Bowden were heard.
‘The Ghost! The Ghost! It’s gone up the street!’ the child screamed, which attracted a small
crowd of onlookers. None of the crowd were brave enough to chase the ghost
down. Frightened women, who were witnesses to the ghost claimed it attacked the
child, clasping it in its ghostly arms and almost scaring the child to death…the child lived, and the
ghost escaped into the night.[2]
The police later ascertained that the ghost was an ‘unfortunate woman’ who could not held
responsible for her actions. She was dressed in a ragged and torn white dress,
with unkempt hair, and a sullen white face, which gave her a spooky appearance in the moonlight.
