The Ghost of Anne Walker; Or, Dead Women Do Tell Tales

"Illustrated Police News," 1881, via Newspapers.com

I dare say that being murdered is never pleasing, under any circumstances. Imagine how much more irritating it is for the victim when there are no indications that your death will ever be avenged, leaving your murderer to walk free.

What is a ghost to do, except take the matter into its own hands and turn spectral detective?

About the year 1631, a widower, a "yeoman of good estate" named John Walker lived in the English village of Great Lumley. His live-in housekeeper was a niece, Anne Walker, an attractive young woman in her twenties. We do not know much else about John, other than that he was unpopular among his neighbors. He apparently was one of those people who, for undefinable reasons, had a knack for inspiring dislike and distrust. So it was small wonder that when Anne suddenly disappeared from Great Lumley, villagers immediately suspected some very unpleasant things. According to John, his niece had taken ill, and went to stay with an aunt in a neighboring village until she recuperated. However, the common belief was that John sent the girl away because he had gotten her pregnant.

Anne Walker's fate seemed destined to remain a mystery. Then, a Great Lumley miller named James Graham began having some very unsettling experiences. One night, he was working alone in his mill, when he saw the figure of a young woman approach him. She was of disheveled appearance, and had five ghastly wounds on her head. The "affrighted and amaz'd" Graham, realizing he was seeing a particularly horrifying ghost, quickly crossed himself. The spirit told him, "I am the spirit of Anne Walker, who while in the flesh, lived with your neighbor John Walker; I was betrayed by Walker."

The wraith went on to say that after she became pregnant, John sent her to to stay with her aunt. Soon before she was to give birth, Walker paid one Mark Sharpe to take her away from her aunt's home, claiming that he would bring her to some more suitable place to await her confinement. Instead, Sharpe brought her to a lonely moor, where he used "a pick, such as men dig coal withal, and gave me these five wounds." Her body was then dumped in a coal pit. She ordered Graham to relate her story to the nearest justice of the peace, warning him that until he did, she would continue to haunt him.

Graham, who was described as "a practical, no nonsense man, who would not court even an ignorant fear of the supernatural,"could not bring himself to follow these instructions. He feared, not unreasonably, that everyone would think he had lost his mind. But the murdered woman was not going to be put off so easily. She made a second appearance, and in a "stern and vindictive" manner demanded that Graham obey her wishes. When that also failed to move Graham, the now "very fierce and cruel" ghost returned a third time.

Graham finally got the message. He did not want to see what she would do on a fourth visit. The miller went to the magistrate and repeated what Anne's ghost had told him. Fortunately for Graham, his reputation for honesty and probity was such that his bizarre tale was taken seriously. A search was made of the area, which resulted in the discovery of the poor woman's corpse. She was found in the exact location described by the ghost, and the wounds on the body were identical to those Graham had seen on the wraith. The apparition had also helpfully provided the spot where the murder weapon and Mark Sharpe's bloody clothes had been hidden.

Sharpe and John Walker were promptly arrested and put on trial for murder. Unsurprisingly, the case created "an immense sensation." Further paranormal evidence was provided by the jury foreman, a Mr. Fairhair. Fairhair testified under oath that during the trial, he witnessed "the likeness of a child, stand upon Walker's shoulders." It was even reported that at the conclusion of the trial, Anne made an appearance in the courtroom, holding a baby in her arms and chanting, "Hush a baby! hush a baby! hush a baby be! 'Twas Sharpe and Walker that killed thou and me!" According to rumor, Anne's terrible spirit visited the judge as well. As far as everyone was concerned, all this was definitive proof that Walker had indeed made his niece pregnant, which led him to hire Sharpe to murder her. Despite the fact that neither man ever confessed to the foul deed, they were both found guilty and hanged.

Anne Walker's revenge was now complete, and her ghost was seen no more.