Bookshop ghosts and library angels
THE HAUNTING SEASON For our Christmas issue this year we bring you, as is traditional, ghosts. In his regular column (p18), Alan Murdie takes a look at the latest examples of phantoms appearing in photos – two impressive examples from Norwich, a city whose spooks are perhaps not as celebrated as they might be – and wonders whether suggestions of plague victims and deceased bishops are convincing identities for these seemingly supernatural snaps.
We also re-examine two classic London hauntings: Roger Clarke revisits the case of the Cock Lane ghost (pp36-41), an 18th century sensation that was satirised by Hogarth and that drew luminaries such as the Duke of York and Horace Walpole to the cramped London backstreet where ‘Scratching Fanny’ was supposedly communicating with the dead. It was, Roger notes, “a bit like Prince Charles and Gore Vidal visiting a famous haunted Enfield council house in 1977 and sitting on the bed of Janet Hodgson.” There are further similarities between the two cases – such as the accusations of hoaxing, pretty undeniable in Cock Lane – but what’s particularly fascinating in this instance is the rich background of sex and scandal underlying the 18th century events: the ghost was in some senses a particular, supernatural manifestation of a culture expressed in the Bartholomew Fairs, gay romps and numerous drinking dens that gave the area its carnivalesque character.
Across town, in upmarket Mayfair, ghost stories of a better class have long circulated concerning the elegant Georgian townhouse at 50 Berkeley Square, which, according to its Wikipedia entry, remains “the most haunted house in London”. Jan Bondeson traces the evolution of this famous haunting (pp28-35) and finds that there’s somewhat less to it than meets the eye: more a case of literary myth-making – much of it courtesy of celebrated author and ghost hunter Elliot O’Donnell in a series of books – growing out of local gossip when the house stood empty for a lengthy period.
Since 1939, the five-storey house, once the residence of Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister, George Canning, has been home to the antiquarian booksellers Maggs Bros, founded by Uriah Maggs in 1853 and still going strong. For years, Ed Maggs and his staff have had to deal with a steady stream of would-be ghost hunters turning up on their doorstep in search of spooks. Now, the venerable firm has upped sticks and relocated to new premises round the corner at 46 Curzon Street. We were fortunate to get a tour of no 50 just before the move – thanks to Ed and Alice Rowell, who shared their memories with us (p34). We have to report, with heavy hearts, that no manifestations took place during our evening visit – although we did manage to capture the atmospheric image that adorns our cover this month: the actual window of a genuine fake “haunted house”.
We wish Maggs Bros all the best in their new home – it would, of course, be pleasingly ironic if this one turned out to be really haunted…
Maggs Bros new premises at 46 Curzon Street, W1J 7UH, are now open Monday to Friday 10am-7pm and Saturday 10am-5pm.
BUILDING A FORTEAN LIBRARY If there’s someone out there looking to start an instant Fortean Times collection, then we may be able to help. London-based reader John Rowe is offering – for free, no less – an almost complete run of issues from 63 to 301, but you must be able to collect them in person. Another public-spirited offer comes from Laurence Stockdale of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, who writes: “I found the article regarding building a fortean library particularly interesting ( FT331:48-49) as I have a complete set of The Unexplained languishing in a storage cupboard. The issues still have their covers, so the readers’ letters are there to read, but I did not get around to buying the folders. They all seem to be in good condition so if anyone would like them they are welcome to them. They gave me many hours of pleasure and I would like someone else to have that opportunity rather than consign them to the local recycling centre. I also have 20 or 30 issues of Omni magazine from April 1979 till November 1983.”
If you are interested in taking John or Laurence up on their generous offers, please email us at drsutton@forteantimes.com and we’ll put you in touch.