1942


19
YEARS

RUSHBROOKE HALL

“A peculiar incident occurred during my sojourn at Rushbrooke Hall in Suffolk…”

“…where I went for convalescence in 1942…”

“…where I went for convalescence in 1942…”

“…where I went for convalescence in 1942…”

“The building had a wonderful ‘feel’ about it… atmospheric in the extreme, and I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there - especially the ghosthunting adventure…”

“A window

was pointed out to me

as that through which…”

“…the murdered body

of a certain lady

had been hurled into the moat…”

“Queen Elizabeth I held court

at this sixty-roomed mansion

in 1578…”

“I was told that on the reputed anniversary

of the Queen’s visit…”

“…the gruesome disposal

of the victim’s body

was re-enacted...”

“When the anniversary drew near

I managed to arrange for three friends

to spend the night in the ‘haunted room’…”

“Everything was quiet

until just before 2 a.m…”

“…when the almost total silence was suddenly shattered

by the sound of a window opening violently...

slamming back against the wall…”

“After a few moments,

we approached the window…”

“Everything seemed to be still…

all was quiet in the moat below…”

“As we crouched over the sill,

peering down, we suddenly felt

an icy draught over our heads…”

“As we looked at each other…

we all heard a dull plop

from…the moat below us…”

“Looking down,

we each thought we could distinguish

a disturbance in the water…”

“Silent and wondering, we watched the

ever-widening circles of water

in the moonlight…”

No Common Task
pp.36-37

Private Correspondence, 2007