True Ghost Stories 2 by ALAN TONER

Author:ALAN TONER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: true ghost stories, ghost stories, true ghosts, ghosts, true hauntings, hauntings, ghost books, real ghost stories
Publisher: ALAN TONER
Published: 2020-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13: THE DEMON DRUMMER OF TEDWORTH

In the 17th century, there was a remarkable incident of poltergeist activity in Tedworth (now Tidworth) which appeared to involve a "Demon Drummer".

The strange phenomena first began in March 1661, in the home of John Mompesson, a local magistrate, who had recently tried a conjuror named William Drury. A drum owned by Drury was confiscated, and it is said that, in a bitter act of revenge, Drury put a curse on Mompesson and his family.

Shortly afterwards, Mompesson's house began to experience strange rappings and booming sounds. There were also other strange incidents, which seemed to suggest that a poltergeist was behind all these disturbances. Various objects were moved around, children were tormented and levitated from their beds, and weird animal noises were heard in different parts of the house. A disembodied voice was heard shouting, "a witch, a witch" over and over again, and the frequency of the raps and knocking sounds increased. The drumming sounds also continued for days one end. There were also a number of other strange incidents, such as coins being turned to black while they were in the pockets of visitors.

Joseph Glanvill, the royal chaplain, came to investigate the hauntings at Tedworth. He witnessed the strange noises himself, and began to trace other witnesses. He related these incidents in his book Sarducismus Triumphatus (1681), which is now regarded as classic of early psychical research. It was thought at the time that sorcery by Drury was responsible for the phenomena, and consequently he was tried as a witch and transported out of the country for incarceration. According to later reports, the prison ship carrying him abroad was apparently disturbed by severe storms evoked by him in possible further actions of sorcery.

Some theories have suggested that, because Drury was of Roma ancestry, or possibly even a Siberian shaman, he knew how to induce fits and hypnotized states using the dark practice of ritual drumming.

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