It is hard to imagine, during the day, when admiring the light and airy rooms of Lamb House and its homely, peaceful atmosphere that it is, in fact, the place that brought murder, terrifying stories of the supernatural, and resident poltergeists to Rye. These events and stories are told in the current exhibition at Lamb House, Ghost Written, centred on the ghost stories of Henry James and EF (Fred) Benson, and the ghostly goings on experienced by Benson and later, by writer Rumer Godden.
Inspired by events in the house and of the stories written by its inhabitants, there have been several events, the latest being a candlelit ghost tour of the house, which took place on October 25 and 26.
In the gloaming dusk, with blinds shut tight, candles flickering from every surface casting strange shadows, and fleeting glimpses of movement out of the corner of your eye, the mystery and terror of a good ghost story becomes all too real.
A volunteer welcomed the small group into the hall, with candles on every stair and lamps draped with cloth, and read the story of the death of deputy mayor, Allen Grebell, murdered in the churchyard by butcher John Breads, as retold by Fred Benson. The oak parlour, equally gloomy, contained a ladderback chair draped with the red mayoral robe, like the one that was reported to have contained the ghost of Allen Grebell.
Upstairs, the tour continued in the Green Room where Henry James dictated his novels, including The Turn of the Screw, in which a series of terrifying events convinced a governess that the two children in her charge were communicating with spirits. The group heard tales of the domestic staff in Henry James’ time with hints that one may still not be at rest, and of the seances and mediums that Benson encouraged. Fred Benson even reported that he had seen a figure in the garden wearing a cloak and passing through the wall between the secret garden and the garden of Lamb House. But the hauntings did not stop with Benson, as Rumer Godden, living in the house from 1968 to 1973, experienced all sorts of mysterious poltergeist activity, until the house was blessed by the local priest.
Bringing the story up-to-date, the group gathered in the dining room and had one final account of the supernatural. Many volunteers, it is said, have felt the presence of a possibly unhappy spirit, and have experienced seeing and hearing the handle of a silver teapot on the table falling down, with some visitors feeling that someone was standing next to them.
Well-chosen extracts from the writers, presented in a lively and entertaining way by the three volunteers, kept the group rapt and gripped, and not a little jumpy from some surprises on the way.
Ghost Written continues until November 2 and then from November 24 until December 22.
Image Credits: National Trust Images/Eve Lynn Brogan .