Viva Brighton Issue #60 February 2018

SPOOKS
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where the White Lady is said to have appeared at
the deathbed of the lady of the house, and the head
maid’s bedroom, where a guide dog became agitated,
and a staff member saw a ghost of a woman
making the bed. She points out the corridor where
a phantom child has been seen playing. Paula then
shows me the room where, in November 1896,
celebrity ‘psychic’ Ada Goodrich Freer ran a séance.
It was Ada who started the story about a ghost nun
who had been excommunicated. “If you pay a medium,
they’ll come up with a good story.”
That Christmas, the Stanford family were troubled
by a smell from the drains. After investigation, the
skeleton of a woman was discovered. But, Paula tells
me, the son John Benett-Stanford was a notorious
prankster who liked mucking about with skeletons.
“I think he might have planted it.” I like Paula’s
way of weaving sinister tales with pragmatism and
historical context. My favourite story is about the
holes in the leather wallpaper. “The twin daughters
used to throw darts at the monkeys embossed
in the pattern”.
Lots of school children go to Preston Manor on
Victorian-themed trips. It’s well worth a visit, even
if you don’t believe in ghosts.
Emma Chaplin
House opens April. Open all year for group bookings.
brightonmuseums.org.uk/prestonmanor. Ghost Hunt
by Psychic Gold Events/Ghost Hunter Tours, Sat
17th Feb, 8pm, from £21
Photos by Adam Bronkhorst, adambronkhorst.com
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