Halloween Roundup

Mysterious and eerie? A roundup of our Halloween entries in case you’ve missed any of these spooktacular tales…

How is the Ghost?

A letter from the Standford Estate enquiring about the Preston Manor ghost

Beware the Wolfman!

Lycanthropy in mythology

Transcript of twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson (Ghosts and Preston Manor)

Have you been in contact with the spirits? What would you want to ask a ghost?

A Ghost in the House?

Does this photograph show the ghost of young Anthony Shirley?

Object of the Month – Toms’ Witch Stones

For this month’s object we take a look at an amulet known as a lucky stone or witch stone.

Personality of the Month – Henry Solomon (1794-1844)

One of Brighton’s most dramatic ghost stories

Read and enjoy. If you dare…

How is the Ghost?

During our twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson she produced a copy of a letter from the Standford Estate to Henry Roberts, director of Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in 1935, who lived at Preston Manor. We liked it so much we thought we’d share it with you:

Standford Estate Office

Shirley Drive,

Hove

21st August 1935

Henry D. Roberts Esqr. M.B.E.,

Preston Manor,

Brighton.

Dear Mr. Roberts,

How is the ghost? Have you met her yet?

I hope that by this time she has been ‘laid’ after all the trouble I have taken over her.

She is quite harmless and quite interesting.

I have a sneaking hope that she will come and share your whisky and soda last thing before you go to bed.

 Your faithfully,

(signed) John Benett-Stanford

Letter from the Stanford Estate, 1935

Twitter Q&A — Ghosts and Preston Manor with Paula Wrightson

Paula Wrightson at Preston Manor

On Thursday 27 October we’ll be holding a Twitter Q&A with Paula Wrightson, Learning Officer, from 1-2pm. In the run up to Halloween, the subject of this discussion will be ghosts. As she described in an earlier blog post, Paula has worked with the ghosts of Preston Manor for several years. If you’ve ever been curious about the manor’s ghostly past, Paula will be the ideal person to answer your questions. Does she know of anyone who has seen a ghost? What is it like working with paranormal investigators? Does she believe the manor is haunted?

But she will also be able to debate any questions about our presentation of the manor’s past. Should we really be promoting the manor as a haunted house? Is it nonsense that shouldn’t be taken seriously? Or are we trivialising the supernatural?

We would also be interested to know if you or anyone you know has had an uncanny experience in and around the manor that you would be willing to share.

Questions and stories can be posed live on Twitter any time between 1-2pm next Thursday. We’ll be using the hashtag #PrestGhost. But if you would prefer to submit your question in advance, please use the box below. Questions can even be asked anonymously.

Name

Email

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We will be holding a variety of events at Preston Manor around Halloween, including:

• Writing the Uncanny: a ghost story workshop, Sat 22 October
• A Victorian House in Mourning: a the Victorian etiquette of death, Sat 29 October and Sat 26 November.
• Victorian Seance: an event marking the 100th anniversary of the famous Preston Manor seance, Friday 11 November
• Ghost Tours:  Fri 28 and Sat 29 October
• Halloween Ghost Tours: 31 October
• Haunted House Day: family theatre for adults and children aged 8 and over, Sun  30 October.