Britain’s First Poltergeist: The Drummer of Tedworth
Wiltshire, 1661:
A town becomes annoyed at a man who decided to start busking on the streets by playing his drum loudly and asking folk for money.
One day a magistrate was visiting the town, and he too became irritated by the drumming man. So he approached the drummer and asked to see his documents. The drumming man whipped out his documents, but to his dismay, the magistrate recognised it to be a counterfeit permit.
This man was not allowed to busk on the streets.
The matter was escalated to the local baliffs, and it was agreed that they would confiscate the man's drum.
The magistrate arrived bac home that evening without another thought for the drummer.
A few days letter
A parcel arrived. It was the drum that belonged to the drumming man from the streets.
That night the entire family were plagued by knocking and drumming sounds echoing throughout their house. This happened every night. Doors would be knocked or banged on loudly, weird beats could be heard thumping from the attic late at night, hammering rhythms came from outside in the dark.
The family were tormented.
The magistrate got so frustrated, he spent an entire night chasing the noises around his home with his gun, shooting in every direction of sound. It did nothing of course.
Every night the drumming became faster, more frequent, unrelenting...
Then one night, the children began to scream.
They had first been disturbed by the sounds of scratching coming from beneath their beds, but then, the bed frames started shaking, beating to a weird angry rhythm, the children were lifted up from their beds, screeching their little souls out.
Let's take a break
Just a quick one to get you imagine this happening to you in your home with your family. How scary??? Realistically, how long would you put up with it for, how long would you stay if you couldn't make it stop??
The Magistrate and his family continued to live there for TWO YEARS!
During which time these sounds, the noises, the banging and clashing of objects, began to happen during the daytime too! They even managed to employ staff, servants, who are reported to have been terrified every time an object flew past them from seemingly nowhere.
The staff are also to have reported being shaken and flung about in bed by invisible forces, one woman was completely pinned against her bed as it slid across the room.
So loud
At times, the drumming and banging became so loud that it woke nearby villagers from their sleep. Naturally, it became a public curiosity.
The ole priest tactic
Eventually a priest was summoned. He arrived at the house, alongside a bunch of sleep deprived neighbours. He began praying in the children's bedroom and to everyone's amazement the noises became quieter, they seemed to shift, move across the house away from the prayers being cast.
However, when the prayers stopped, the drumming became much worse than before, louder, harder, throwing tables and chairs around the house, causing weird smells and hurling peoples shoes around. (all this from a drum!)
The tale became well known although not necessarily believed. It doesn't really have an ending, which is in itself a bit strange.
People wrote books and theories about it, it inspired the world's first ever paranormal detective.
And rumour has it that the drummer was eventually arrested for theft and sentenced to deportation. While in prison, he confessed to being the cause of the magistrate's paranormal troubles! But alas, the drummer had escaped from the transportation barge before any more charges could be brought.
However, under the Witchcraft act of 1604, the Magistrate was able to have his day in court, and it turns out, there was a witness who had overheard the drummer plotting how to terrorise their home.
The drummer was sent to the American colonies, never to be seen again.
(A black background with a selfie of a drumming ghost V1)
(A black background with a selfie of a drumming ghost V2)
Pictures created by A.I - Dall-E - https://labs.openai.com/