Originally published in Terrific Register (Sherwood, Jones, and Co.; 1825).
At Warblington near Havant, in Hampshire, within six miles of Portsmouth, in the parsonage house dwelt Thomas Perch the tenant, with his wife and a child, a man servant Thomas —, and a maid servant. About the beginning of August anno, 1695, on a Monday about nine or ten at night, all being gone to bed except the maid with the child; the maid being in the kitchen, and having raked up the fire, took a candle in one band, and the child in the other arm and turning about, saw some one in a black gown walking through the room, and thence out of the door into the orchard: this maid, hasting, having recovered but two steps, cried out; on which the master and mistress ran down, found the candle in her hand, she grasping the child about its neck with the other arm; she told them the reason of her crying out. She would not tarry that night in the house, but removed to another belonging to one Henry Salter, farmer; where she cried out all the night from the terror she was in, and she could not be persuaded to go any more into the house upon any terms.
On the morrow, (id est Tuesday) the tenant's wife came to my lodging, then at Havant, to desire my advice, and have a consultation with some friends about it. I told her that I thought it was a flam, and that they had a mind to abuse Mr. Bereton the rector, whose house it was; she desired me to come up; I told her I would come up, and sit up, or lie there, as she pleased; for then as to all stories of ghosts and apparitions, I was an infidel: I went thither, and sat up on the Tuesday night with the tenant and his man servant: about twelve or one o'clock I searched all the rooms in the house to see if any body was hid there to impose upon me: at last we came into a lumber room, there, I smiling, told the tenant that was with me, that I would call the apparition, if there was any, and oblige it to come; the tenant then seemed to be afraid, but I told him I would defend him from harm. And then I repeated, "Barbara celarent Darii," &c. jestingly; on this the tenant's countenance changed so that he was ready to drop down with fear: then I told him, I perceived he was afraid, and I would prevent its coming, and repeated Baraliptons, &c. then he recovered his spirits pretty well, and we left the room and went down into the kitchen where we were before, and sat up there the remaining part of the night and had no manner of disturbance.
Thursday night the tenant and I lay together in one room, and the man in another, and he saw something walk along in a black gown, and place itself against a window, and there stood for some time and then walked off. Friday morning he related this. I asked him why he did not call me, and told him I thought that was a trick or flam; he told me the reason why he did not call me, was that he was not able to speak or move. Friday night we lay as before, and Saturday night, and had no disturbance either of the nights.
Sunday night I lay by myself in one room (not that where the man saw the apparition) and the tenant and his man in another; and between twelve and two the man heard something walk in the room at the bed's feet, and whistling very well; at last it came to the bed's side, drew the curtain, and looked on them; after some time it moved off; then the man called to me, desired me to come, for there was something in the room went about whistling: I asked whether he had any light or could strike one; he told me no; then I leaped out of bed and not staying to put on my clothes, went out of my room along a gallery to the door, which | found locked or bolted; I desired him to unlock the door, for that I could not get in; then he got out of bed and opened the door which was near, and went immediately to bed again; I went in three or four steps, and it being a moon-shine night I saw the apparition move from the bed-side, and clap up against the wall that divided their room and mine; I went and stood directly against it within my arms length of it, and asked in the name of God what it was that made it come disturbing us; I stood some time expecting an answer, and receiving none, and thinking it might be some fallow hid in the room to frighten me, I put out my hand to feel it, and my band went seemingly through the body of it and felt no manner of substance, till it came to the wall: then I drew back my hand and still it was in the same place.
Till now I had not the least fear, and even now had very little; then I adjured it to tell me what it was: when I said these words, it, keeping its back against the wall, moved gently along towards the door; I followed it, and it going out of the door turned its back towards me; I went a little into the gallery: end it disappeared where there was no comer for it to turn, and before it came to the end of the gallery, where was the stairs. Then I found myself very cold from my feet as high as my middle, though I was not in great fear; I went into bed between the tenant and his man and they complained of any being exceedingly cold. The tenant's man leaned over his master in the bed, and saw me stretch out my hand towards the apparition, and heard me speak the words; the tenant also heard the words. The apparition seemed to have a morning gown of a darkish colour, no hat nor cap, short black hair, a thin meagre visage of a pale swarthy colour, seemed to be about forty-five or fifty years old; the eyes half shut, the arms hanging down; the hands visible beneath the sleeve; of a middle stature. I related this description to Mr. John Larner, rector of Havant parish; they both said, the description agreed well to Mr. P. a former rector of the place who has been dead above twenty years: upon this the tenant and his wife left the house which has remained void ever since.
The Monday after last Michaelmas day, a man of Chodson in Warwickshire, having been at Havant fair, passed by the aforesaid parsonage house about nine or ten at night, and saw a light in most rooms of the house; his pathway being close by the house, he wondering at the light looked into the kitchen windows, saw only a light, but turning himself to go away, he saw the appearance a man in a long gown; he made haste away; the apparition followed him over a piece of glebe land of several acres, to a lane which he crossed, and over a little meadow, then over another lane to some pales, which belonged to farmer Henry Salter, my landlord, near a barn, in which were some of the farmer's men, and some others; this man went into the barn, told them how he was frightened and followed from the parsonage house by an apparition, which they may see standing against the pales if they went out; they went out and saw it scratch against the pales, and make a hideous noise; it stood there some time, and then disappeared; their descriptions agreed with what I saw. This last account I had from the man himself whom it followed, and also from the farmer's men.