Hattie Bennett's Friend - Ghost? Imagination?
Illinois Ghostly Playmate was Witnessed by Many
Mar 7, 2009
A child's mind hasn’t been conditioned not to believe in ghosts. They are curious. These factors allow them to see ghosts easier than adults. Some children find having a ghostly playmate normal, so they think, “Why not have one to have fun with her or him?”
Hattie Bennett
The girl was 12 when the mysterious apparition first appeared in 1870. Vital and Julia Bennett and their children lived on Belleview Road, in Illinois, approximately two miles from East St. Louis.
Hattie was the youngest child. The house had a kitchen/living room and a bedroom on the first floor and a loft, the children’s bedroom, upstairs.
Hattie’s Ghostly Friend
While there was no formal investigation and the identity of the ghost child is unknown, there is evidence that the entity existed.
The ghost was mischievous and liked to play pranks on people. She pulled coats and caps from their pegs and threw them on the floor. Later, she would put them back where they belonged. She made scratching sounds in the loft. People could hear her disembodied voice, sometimes, barely audible; others, loudly and clearly speaking. She answered questions with the grammar, tone and syntax of a child. Sometimes, the ghost talked to visitors; other times, only Hattie could hear her.
Witnesses to the Ghost Child
Word soon spread about Hattie’s friend and people flocked to the Bennett home to meet the ghostly playmate.
- Father Zabel, a Catholic priest, visited the house when he learned about the ghost. He was unyielding in his opinion that she was evil.
- A St. Louis newspaper reporter visited the Bennetts, hoping to uncover a fraud. Instead, he was so shaken by what he experienced that he could only write an incoherent story for his editors to review.
- Colonel Jarrolt, the mayor of East St. Louis, visited the house with a group of businessmen. Unlike the reporter, he wrote a clear account in his diary. After taking their coats off and hanging them on a peg, the men sat in the parlor. When they turned around, they noticed the garments had vanished. The entity communicated with them and told them who they were, what career they had and where they came from. While the men were there, everything that could be moved in the house did so by unseen hands. Doors opened, became unhinged and were displaced. Lights were blown out and relit.
- In one year’s time, numerous people came to witness the ghost child and were amazed by the “wonderful” entity.
Ghost Child, Imaginary Companion or Trickery?
It is possible that Hattie or one of her siblings or a combination thereof were playing tricks on people, but from the testimony of the witnesses, it's highly unlikely. If there was chicanery, at least some of the witnesses would have exposed it. It appears there was nothing to expose — other than a paranormal presence.
Some children create imaginary playmates when they are lonely, bored or just like to pretend. These fantasies, for the most part, are understood to be “pretend.” These creations exist in children’s minds and cannot communicate with others unless the child is playing “pretendzies.” They cannot make objects move, tell people about themselves or have minds of their own as Hattie’s friend did.
Those who believe that apparitions exist accept Hattie’s playmate for what she was — a ghost.
Related Articles on Ghosts and Apparitions
Readers may also enjoy Apparitions: Intelligent Ghosts along with Imaginary Playmate or Ghostly Friend? and "Mini Canal,” New Orleans Ghost.
Sources:
- Haunted Heartland, Michael Norman & Beth Scott, (Tor, 1985).
- The Unquiet Dead, Edith Fiore, (Ballentine Books, 1988).
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