The Great Amherst Mystery
Let’s travel back to Nova Scotia, to the year 1878, and set the scene for one of the most infamous poltergeist stories I’ve come across. Rumors and stories swept across town about Esther Cox, and her family. These stories soon gained national attention and Walter Hubbel, an actor and someone with an interest in the paranormal, went to the house, recorded a diary, and later turned it into a book: The Great Amherst Mystery: A True Narrative of the Supernatural
As mentioned above, the story begins in August 1878 in the Cox family home. At the time Esther lived in a busy, full home with her married sister, Olive, Olive’s husband Daniel Teed, their two children, Daniel’s brother (John), and two more of Esther’s siblings. Needless to say, this was a big family and they were well-known in town and by neighbors.
Unfortunately, the troubles of Esther Cox began when she was nearly (or in some cases actually) sexually assaulted by someone she had thought was a friend and had agreed to go on a date with. She was only 18, and this attack left her distressed, and likely, depressed. However, her mental health and emotional state weren’t the only things that changed.
Members of the household and visitors soon noticed some very physical manifestations including knockings, banging, and even objects flying around the room. All very common attributes of a poltergeist haunting. In particular, knives were seen flying across the room and furniture would be mysteriously overturned.
The family, both concerned about Esther’s health and the strange activity happening in their home, called a doctor. During his visit, sheets moved, scratching noises were recorded, and, perhaps most terrifyingly, the words “Ester Cox, you are mine to kill” appeared on the wall above esther’s bed. The doctor returned the next day and provided sedatives to Esther to aid her sleep. While he was doing this, more noises occurred and objects flew around the room.
For her time, her family believed their house was haunted. However, they noticed a strange pattern: if Esther was out of the house/property, the pheomnea would stop. Perhaps it wasn’t the house that was haunted, but Esther herself.
This phenomenon continued for several months and, naturally, became well known. Various people attended the house and Esther, including clergymen, and dozens of accounts of unexplained phenomena were recorded. Four months into the activity, in December, Esther caught diphtheria and became ill. While she was bedbound all activity stopped. Additionally, she decided to spend some time recuperating at her other sister’s home in Sackville, and during her time away no activity occurred at the house. Which, if you’re like me, may have raised an eyebrow.
However, when she returned so did the activity and a new element had been added: fire. Esther claimed that a ghost-like figure was appearing to her and threatening to burn down the house if she did not leave. Small fires also began appearing throughout the home.
For the safety of her family, and, perhaps, to find a new start Esther moved out of Olive’s house in 1879 to live with a different family in town. However, the activity continued there as well. In addition to noises, people also noticed that Esther was often slapped, pricked, and scratched by this ghost. And, by this time, Esther’s story was being covered by several Nova Scotian newspapers. The ghosts were also gaining attention.
What began as bodiless noises and activity, then grew in an unidentified ghost, now had a name…or, rather, names. The ghost first claimed to be Bob Nickle, who was a shoemaker during his life. However, other spirits came forward, including Peter Cox, a relative on Esther’s father’s side, and Maggie Fisher.
After spending time with the other family, as well as visiting several places including Saint John, Esther once again returned home to Olive’s house where activity continued in the summer of 1879, nearly a year (and several scenery changes) after it had first begun.
The attention and activity brought Walter Hubbell, an American actor, to Canada. He decided to move into the Teed cottage as a lodger to investigate the phenomena and the family. His diary, which would later be a book, confirmed of the phenomena so many Nova Scotians, family members, and media outlets had written about: attacks on Esther, objects moving, fires, and other inexplicable activity. He even communicated with the ghost (or ghosts) that surrounded Esther by using a rapping/tapping method similar to what was used during seances at the time.
Eventually, he even convinced Esther to tell her story on the road. They toured together and she told her tale, however she sometimes was heckled on stage or met with cruel remarks so the tour didn’t last long.
Trying to reclaim some sort of normal life, Esther began to work for a man named Arthur Davison. When his barn burned down, she was blamed and eventually convicted of arson. She was set to serve four months but was released after one. After her sentence ended, the occurrences finally stopped. Esther then lived a fairly normal life, marrying twice and having two sons. She eventually moved to Brockton, Massachusetts and died in November of 1912 when she was in her early 50s.
The blog image is of the Teed Cottage, where much of the activity was concentrated. This image is in the public domain.
Thanks to Jay Gianmmarco for this blogstonishing suggestion!