eBooks Base 2000

{141}
There are other cases, in Webster, Aubrey and Glanvil of ghosts who
tried more successfully to bring their murderers to justice. But the
reports of the trials do not exist, or cannot be found, and Webster
lost a letter which he once possessed, which would have been proof
that ghostly evidence was given and was received at a trial in Durham
(1631 or 1632). Reports of old men present were collected for
Glanvil, but are entirely too vague.
The case of Fisher's Ghost, which led to evidence being given as to a
murder in New South Wales, cannot be wholly omitted. Fisher was a
convict settler, a man of some wealth. He disappeared from his
station, and his manager (also a convict) declared that he had
returned to England. Later, a man returning from market saw Fisher
sitting on a rail; at his approach Fisher vanished. Black trackers
were laid on, found human blood on the rail, and finally discovered
Fisher's body. The manager was tried, was condemned, acknowledged his
guilt and was hanged.
The story is told in Household Words, where Sir Frederick Forbes is
said to have acted as judge.


Pages:
163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187