Page images
PDF
EPUB

were done, and then in sight of the company the chairs walked about the room of themselves, the children's shoes were hurled over their heads, and every loose thing moved about the chamber. At the same time a bed-staff was thrown at the minister, which hit him on the leg, but so favourably that a lock of wool could not fall more softly, and it was observed that it stopt just where it lighted, without rolling or moving from the place.

Mr. Mompesson perceiving that it so much persecuted the little children, lodged them out at a neighbour's house, taking his eldest daughter, who was about ten years of age, into his own chamber, where it had not been a month before. As soon as she was in bed, the disturbance began there again, continuing three weeks drumming, and making other noises, and it was observed that it would exactly answer in drumming any thing that was beaten or called for. After this, the house where the children lodged out, happening to be full of strangers, they were taken home, and no disturbance having been known in the parlour, they were lodged there, where also their persecutor found them, but then only plucked them by the hair and night-clothes, without any other disturbance.

It was noted, that when the noise was loudest, and came with the most sudden and surprising violence, no dog about the house would move, though the knocking was often so boisterous and rude, that it had been heard at a considerable distance in the fields, and awakened the neighbours in the village, none of which lived very near this house. The servants sometimes were lifted up in their beds, and let gently down again without hurt, at other times it would lie like a great weight upon their feet.

About the latter end of December, 1661, the drumming was less frequent, and then they heard a noise like the jingling of money, occasioned, as it was thought, by something Mr. Mompesson's mother had spoken the day before to a neighbour, who talked of fairies leaving money, viz.: that she should like it well, if it would leave them some to make amends for their trouble; the night after the speaking of which, there was a great chinking of money over all the house.

After this, it desisted from the ruder noises, and employed

itself in trifling apish and less troublesome tricks. On Christmas-eve, a little before day, one of the young boys arising out of his bed, was hit on a sore place upon his heel, with the latch of the door: the pin that it was fastened with was so small, that it was a difficult matter to pick it out. The night after Christmas-day, it threw the old gentlewoman's clothes about the room, and hid her bible in the ashes. In such silly tricks it frequently indulged.

After this, it was very troublesome to a servant of Mr. Mompesson's, who was a stout fellow, and of sober conversation; this man lay within during the greatest disturbance, and for several nights something would endeavour to pluck his clothes off the bed, so that he was fain to tug hard to keep them on, and sometimes they would be plucked from him by main force, and his shoes thrown at his head; and now and then he should find himself forcibly held as it were, bound hand and foot, but he found that whenever he could make use of his sword, and struck with it, the spirit quitted its hold.

A little after these contests, a son of Mr. Thomas Bennet, whose workman the drummer had sometimes been, came to the house and told Mr. Mompesson some words that he had spoken, which it seems were not well received; for as soon as they were in bed, the drum was beat up very violently and loudly; the gentleman arose and called his man to him, who lay with Mr. Mompesson's servant, just mentioned, whose name was John. As soon as Mr. Bennet's man was gone, John heard a ruffling noise in his chamber, and something came to his bedside, as if it had been one in silk; the man presently reached after his sword, which he found held from him, and it was with difficulty and much tugging that be got it into his power, which as soon as he had done, the spectre left him, and it was always observed that it still avoided a sword.

About the beginning of January, 1662, they were wont to hear a singing in the chimney before it came down; and one night, about this time, lights were seen in the house. One of them came into Mr. Mompesson's chamber, which seemed blue and glimmering, and caused great stiffness in the eyes of those that saw it. After the light, something was heard coming up the stairs, as if it had been one

without shoes. The light was seen also four or five times in the children's chamber; and the maids confidently affirm, that the doors were at least ten times opened and shut in their sight, and when they were open they heard a noise as if half a dozen had entered together, after which some were heard to walk about the room, and one ruffled as if it had been silk; Mr. Mompesson himself once heard these noises.

During the time of the knocking, when many were present, a gentleman of the company said, "Satan, if the drummer set thee to work, give three knocks and no more;" which it did very distinctly, and stopped. Then the gentleman knocked to see if it would answer him as it was wont, but it did not for farther trial, he bid it for confirmation, if it were the drummer, to give five knocks and no more that night, which it did, and left the house quiet all the night after. This was done in the presence of Sir Thomas Chamberlain, of Oxfordshire, and divers others.

On Saturday morning, an hour before day, January 10, a drum was heard to beat on the outside of Mr. Mompesson's chamber, from whence it went to the other end of the house, where some gentlemen strangers lay, playing at their door, and without, four or five several tunes, and so went off into the air.

The next night, a smith in the village lying with John, the man, heard a noise in the room, as one had been shoeing a horse, and somewhat came, as if it were with a pair of pincers, snipping at the smith's nose most part of the night.

One morning, Mr. Mompesson, rising early to go a journey, heard a great noise below where the children lay, and running down with a pistol in his hand, he heard a voice crying "A witch, a witch," as they also had heard it once before. Upon his entrance all was quiet.

66

Having one night played some little tricks at Mr. Mompesson's bed's feet, it went into another bed where one of his daughters lay; there it went from side to side, lifting her up as it passed under. At the time that there were three kinds of noises in the bed, they endeavoured to thrust at it with a sword, but it still shifted and carefully avoided the thrust, still getting under the child, when they offered at it. The night after, it came panting like a dog out of

[blocks in formation]

breath; upon which one took a bed-staff to knock, which was caught out of her hand, and thrown away, and company coming up, the room was presently filled with a noisome smell, and was very hot, though without fire, in a very sharp and severe winter. It continued in the bed panting and scratching for an hour and half, and then went into the next chamber, where it knocked a little, and seemed to rattle a chain; thus it did for two or three nights to gether.

After this, the lady's Bible was found in the ashes, the paper sides being downwards. Mr. Mompesson took it up, and observed that it lay open at the third chapter of St. Mark, where there is mention of the unclean spirits falling down before our Saviour, and of his giving power to the twelve to cast out devils, and of the scribes' opinion, that he cast them out through Beelzebub.

The next night they strewed ashes over the chamber, to see what impressions it would leave; in the morning they found in one place the resemblance of a great claw, in another of a lesser, some letters in another, which they could make nothing of, besides many circles and scratches in the ashes.

"About this time," says Glanvil, "I went to the house to enquire the truth of those passages, of which there was so loud a report. It had ceased from its drumming and ruder noises before I came thither, but most of the more remarkable circumstances before related were confirmed to me there, by several of the neighbours together, who had been present at them. At this time it used to haunt the children, and that as soon as they were laid in bed. They went to bed that night I was there about eight o'clock, when a maid servant coming down from them, told us it was come. The neighbours who were there, and two ministers who had seen and heard it divers times, went away; but Mr. Mompesson and I, and a gentleman who came with me, went up. I heard a strange scratching as I went up the stairs, and when we came into the room I perceived it was just behind the bolster of the children's bed, and seemed to be against the ticking. It was as loud a scratching as one with long nails could make upon a bolster. There were two little modest girls in the bed,

between seven and eight years old, as I guessed. I saw their hands out of the clothes, and they could not contribute to the noise that was behind their heads; they had been used to it, and had still somebody or other in the chamber with them, and therefore seemed not to be much affrighted. I, standing at the bed's head,, thrust my hand behind the bolster, directing it to the place whence the noise seemed to come, whereupon the noise ceased there, and was heard in another part of the bed; but when I had taken out my hand it returned, and was heard in the same place as before. I had been told it would imitate noises, and made trial by scratching several times upon the sheet, as five and seven and ten, which it followed, still stopping at my number. I searched under and behind the bed, turned up the clothes to the bed-cords, grasped the bolster, sounded the wall behind, and made all the search that possibly I could, to find if there were any trick, contrivance, or common cause of it; the like did my friend, but we could discover nothing. So that I was then verily persuaded, and am so still, that the noise was made by some demon or spirit. After it had scratched about half an hour more, it went into the midst of the bed under the children, and there seemed to pant like a dog out of breath, very loudly.. I put my hand to the place, and felt the bed bearing up against it, as if something within had thrust it up. I grasped the feathers, to feel if any living thing were in it. I looked under and everywhere about, to see if there were any dog or cat or any such creature in the room, and so did we all, but found nothing. The motion it caused by this panting was so strong, that it shook the room and windows very sensibly. It continued thus more than half an hour, while my friend and I stayed in the room, and as long after, as we were told. During the panting, I chanced to see as it had been something (which I thought was a rat or mouse) moving in a linen-bag, that hung up against another bed that was in the room. I stepped and caught it by the upper end with one hand, with which I held it, and drew it through the other, but found nothing at all in it. There was nobody near to shake the bag, or if there had, no one could have made such a motion, which seemed to be from within, as if a living creature had moved in it. This passage I mentioned

« PreviousContinue »