In April 1882, Captain Despard and his family, a wife and six children, moved into a house in Cheltenham. The house was built in 1860. Henry Swindhoe bought it. His first wife died in 1866. He married Imogen Hutchins. She insisted that he give her the first Mrs. Swindhoe’s jewelry and he refused. He kept it in a locked vault. Imogen left him before he died in 1876. She died in 1878.
Encounters with the Cheltenham Lady’s Ghost
Despard’s daughter, called Rose or Rosina, first saw the ghost in June. Sixteen other people, family, staff and friends, also saw her. The apparition was tall, dressed in the clothing of a recent widow and her face was obscured by a handkerchief.
She appeared as solid as a living human being to the witnesses and they mistook her for a real person. She would descend the stairs, stand by the sofa for a bit, then go down a hall to the door to the garden and disappear. One day, two of Rose’s sisters saw her in the garden.
Rose tried to communicate with the phantom by verbal communication and sign language. The first time, she thought the ghost was going to answer, but she only gasped. All of the family members were not able to see the phantom, but they could hear the footsteps. Rose tried to photograph the ghost. Once she formed a ring of people around the wraith to try to catch her. She walked between two people and disappeared. The most frequent appearances were between 1884 and 1886. After that, the apparition was not seen as often and faded slowly.
Animals react to psychic phenomena, which is called anpsi. The family dog, a Skye Terrier, reacted to the presence. It went to the bottom of the stairs and wagged its tail, as if in greeting. Suddenly, the reaction turned to one of terror. It slunk away, tail between its legs and hid under a sofa. The family cat showed no fear and seemed to be unaware of the entity.
Cheltenham - SPR’s Investigation and Further Encounters
The London-based SPR, Society for Psychical Research, is the oldest parapsychological organizations in the world. Psychologist and highly respected parapsychologist, F.W.H. Myers, was one of its founders. He did the investigation. He heard about the ghost in 1894 and visited with the Despards early in the following year. It was Myers who suggested Rose try to photograph the ghost. Rose used the alias R. C. Morton when she wrote about the ghost for the SPR’s journal, Proceedings. It was believed that the ghost was that of Imogen based on her height and known habits.
The Despards moved from the house in 1893. It was vacant until it became a boys’ prep school in 1898. During this time, the apparition was often encountered. The school closed and the house was vacant until 1901 when I became a nunnery. They only stayed for two years. Until 1973 when the house was turned into apartments, tenants did not stay long and there were long stretches of time that it was vacant. There have been no reported accounts of the ghost appearing since the conversion.
Articles Related to Cheltenham Ghost
Reader who enjoyed this article may be interested in The Psychic World of Cats Part I,The Psychic World of Cats Part II, The Psychic World of Dogs Part I and The Psychic World of Dogs Part II
Sources:
Bayless, Raymond, Animal Ghosts (University Books, Inc., 1970)
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits (Facts on File, Inc., 1992)
