Post by paulmurdoch1975 on Nov 30, 2011 18:16:19 GMT
Freshwater Bay - Isle Of Wight
A DANK, EARTHY SMELL
Some ghosts just won't fade away gracefully. After resting in relative peace for decades, building work and activity in their old home can literally waken the dead. Growing stronger and more active, they are curious to know what is going on.
Few ghosts can be more formidable than the spirit of pioneer Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Dimbola Lodge, at Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, her home from 1860 to 1875, has now been saved from demolition and is open to the public A charitable trust has rescued the house with help and sponsorship from Olympus Cameras, together with photographers such as David Bailey, Koo Stark and Hollywood actor Charlton Heston. But it was the persistence of a band of dedicated volunteers, led by Ron Smith, that really saved the house, a landmark in photographic history which today attracts visitors from all over the world. Now even the vegetarian restaurant and tea-room at Dimbola is sponsored by Linda McCartney - a photographer herself - and the wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Much of the restoration work is being supervised by Mrs Cameron herself ! Her shade has been reported in various parts of Dimbola, also in adjoining Cameron House. After seeing the ghost several times, former volunteer conservation worker Leo Cox started carrying two loaded cameras around with him to try to capture her on film. "She is an incredibly strong character and I am often aware that she is about. Mrs Cameron was a perfectionist and keeps a close watch on the restoration work here."
One thing is certain however, Mrs Cameron is not fond of music, for whenever the Trust holds a fund-raising musical evening at Dimbola an overpowering smell soon emanates from the rear of the house. Staff and visitors alike have smelled the pervasive and very distinctive odour. Some, like warden Brian Balshaw, describe it as an unpleasant fishy smell; others like Ron Smith say it is a rotting, mouldering stench. Leo Cox, who once worked in a cemetery, had a more sinister explanation. "It is a dank, earthy smell like a rotting body that has been buried for years. The stench is quite overpowering and Mrs Cameron is usually around when it happens."
Ron Smith said that after audiences at musical evenings and concerts started to complain about the smell, the drains were extensively checked - but to no avail. "It's really embarrassing. We have spent a fortune on air fresheners but when the smell starts, there's nothing we can do. It is particularly odd that the smell is associated with music. Our concerts, held in her former drawing room, are classical, so I would have thought she would enjoy Schubert, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Bach."
After an article about the supernatural smell appeared in The Times recently, Ron was inundated with letters and theories on the phenomenon from all over the world. Many suggested that it was caused by old-fashioned light fittings overheating, but Ron is equally certain it isn't - especially as the wiring and electrical fittings at Dimbola are all brand new. His theory is that the ghostly smell emanates from the strong chemicals Mrs Cameron used for developing and fixing her photographs. "Her hands were actually stained black by these chemicals, and it is known that she carried their distinctive odour around with her," he explained.
Since the smell was first reported several television crews have filmed the ghostly goings-on at Dimbola. But unfortunately it would need either smellyvision or scratch and smell TV to do justice to the reports. In April 1996, a crew from the cable station Live TV arrived at the house to investigate the paranormal pong. The spring air was sweet and clear - at first - but with the help of a little piano music and a cassette of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the smell soon started to waft from the cloakroom area - which in Mrs Cameron's day led to the kitchen. Bob, the video camcorder operator who trained as a photographer, was able to put a name to the acrid odour. "That's sodium thiosulphate, and it would have been used as a print fixer by Mrs Cameron," he exclaimed.
Author's note My lack of psychic sensitivity is legendary - but even I have been confounded by the malodorous Dimbola smell on several occasions. The smell, which is chokingly caustic, is difficult to describe and even more difficult to forget. It starts suddenly and can be so overpowering that within seconds one finds it hard to breathe. I don't know what Mrs Cameron is trying to tell us but I wish she would find a sweeter way of putting it.
SILHOUETTE AT THE WINDOW
Conditions early one summer evening were obviously perfect for the ghost of Julia Margaret Cameron to develop, and for her image to fix itself indelibly in the memory of Hazel Shakeshaft. Hazel, who ran the Blenheim House Hotel with her husband, only saw the apparition once. At that time Cameron House was empty and derelict, its future hanging in the balance - poised between demolition or salvation by the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust. Happily the Trust triumphed, turning Dimbola into a shrine to the formidable pioneer photographer who numbered Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ruskin, Darwin, Longfellow and Robert Browning among her friends.
However, that evening in 1991 the building was uninhabited and derelict, its windows blank and forbidding. Sitting outside the hotel on a swing seat, Hazel glanced across the road at Cameron House and was surprised to see a figure silhouetted at one of the upstairs windows. When she was later shown Julia Margaret Cameron's picture, Hazel recognised her instantly as the woman at the window. "She had a lovely friendly face. I could see it quite clearly. She was quite a middle-aged person with a round face, her hair put up in a bun at the back. She was visible for just a few seconds. I have looked for her a number of times since, but never have I seen her again," said Hazel wistfully.
A FACELESS VOID
For keen photographer Linda Fisher, the chance to work at Cameron House was a golden opportunity. There, surrounded by photographic memorabilia in the very place where Mrs Cameron produced the majority of her masterpieces, she helped to man the reception desk and run the tea-rooms. Occasionally Linda was there alone, and one winter's evening in 1994, while locking the house, she came face to face with a dark figure which slowly materialised into the form of Julia Margaret Cameron.
Linda explained, "It was late afternoon and growing dark. I was here on my own, the last to leave. After locking the back kitchen and tea room I went into Cameron House to fetch my bicycle, which was leaning against the wall in the hallway. As I started to wheel it to the front door I saw a figure in front of me. I stood frozen to the spot. As I watched I could see the features slowly forming, filling the void where her face should be. One moment it was all completely black, then the head and face started to appear in white. As she stood staring back at me, I recognised Mrs Cameron from her photograph. Neither of us spoke. Then I moved backwards. This broke the spell. She turned, walked through the doorway to her right, and disappeared."
On another occasion, Linda sensed a strong presence next to her as she was decorating in the tea-room. Once again it was late in the afternoon, but this time she was working at the top of a ladder in what was once the drawing room in Dimbola. "I sometimes felt her presence about the place and sensed she was pleased that her old home was being put back together, restored and cared for," Linda said.
Others working in the 150-year-old property have seen a dark shape flitting about the upstairs rooms and during an open day at Cameron House in January 1994 volunteer helper Mrs Ann Judd, was startled to see the photographer's ghost appear beside her. Ann said, "I had taken two steps from the top of the stairs when there were three enormous flashes right in front of me, together with three loud bangs. I believe now that it was Mrs Cameron announcing herself."
Ann from Old Park Road, St Lawrence, was stunned momentarily, then as she gathered her senses, she saw Julia Margaret Cameron standing next to her. "She did not appear fully fleshed like a real person but was certainly real enough to have a very strong presence. She was very pale, almost white, with rather tired-looking dark eyes. Her hair was scragged away from her face and clipped back, with dark ringlets. She was in her fifties, smaller than me and not quite solid. She did not look at me as she walked beside me along the corridor, but I think she was aware of me."
The ghostly Mrs Cameron was wearing a full-skirted shot-silk taffeta gown, dark bronze in colour, with a peacock-green sheen. The dress which was close fitting at the waist had a high neck and tight sleeves. "I could hear the rustle of the dress as she walked. She did not stay beside me very long - perhaps 45 seconds - but she did generate a very strong and lively presence. I have no doubt that it was her and that she approves of the plans for the house. She seemed very strong and positive as though she was enjoying overseeing the project," added Ann.
courtesy of Gay Baldwin
www.haunted-uk.co.uk/places/places.html
A DANK, EARTHY SMELL
Some ghosts just won't fade away gracefully. After resting in relative peace for decades, building work and activity in their old home can literally waken the dead. Growing stronger and more active, they are curious to know what is going on.
Few ghosts can be more formidable than the spirit of pioneer Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Dimbola Lodge, at Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, her home from 1860 to 1875, has now been saved from demolition and is open to the public A charitable trust has rescued the house with help and sponsorship from Olympus Cameras, together with photographers such as David Bailey, Koo Stark and Hollywood actor Charlton Heston. But it was the persistence of a band of dedicated volunteers, led by Ron Smith, that really saved the house, a landmark in photographic history which today attracts visitors from all over the world. Now even the vegetarian restaurant and tea-room at Dimbola is sponsored by Linda McCartney - a photographer herself - and the wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Much of the restoration work is being supervised by Mrs Cameron herself ! Her shade has been reported in various parts of Dimbola, also in adjoining Cameron House. After seeing the ghost several times, former volunteer conservation worker Leo Cox started carrying two loaded cameras around with him to try to capture her on film. "She is an incredibly strong character and I am often aware that she is about. Mrs Cameron was a perfectionist and keeps a close watch on the restoration work here."
One thing is certain however, Mrs Cameron is not fond of music, for whenever the Trust holds a fund-raising musical evening at Dimbola an overpowering smell soon emanates from the rear of the house. Staff and visitors alike have smelled the pervasive and very distinctive odour. Some, like warden Brian Balshaw, describe it as an unpleasant fishy smell; others like Ron Smith say it is a rotting, mouldering stench. Leo Cox, who once worked in a cemetery, had a more sinister explanation. "It is a dank, earthy smell like a rotting body that has been buried for years. The stench is quite overpowering and Mrs Cameron is usually around when it happens."
Ron Smith said that after audiences at musical evenings and concerts started to complain about the smell, the drains were extensively checked - but to no avail. "It's really embarrassing. We have spent a fortune on air fresheners but when the smell starts, there's nothing we can do. It is particularly odd that the smell is associated with music. Our concerts, held in her former drawing room, are classical, so I would have thought she would enjoy Schubert, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Bach."
After an article about the supernatural smell appeared in The Times recently, Ron was inundated with letters and theories on the phenomenon from all over the world. Many suggested that it was caused by old-fashioned light fittings overheating, but Ron is equally certain it isn't - especially as the wiring and electrical fittings at Dimbola are all brand new. His theory is that the ghostly smell emanates from the strong chemicals Mrs Cameron used for developing and fixing her photographs. "Her hands were actually stained black by these chemicals, and it is known that she carried their distinctive odour around with her," he explained.
Since the smell was first reported several television crews have filmed the ghostly goings-on at Dimbola. But unfortunately it would need either smellyvision or scratch and smell TV to do justice to the reports. In April 1996, a crew from the cable station Live TV arrived at the house to investigate the paranormal pong. The spring air was sweet and clear - at first - but with the help of a little piano music and a cassette of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the smell soon started to waft from the cloakroom area - which in Mrs Cameron's day led to the kitchen. Bob, the video camcorder operator who trained as a photographer, was able to put a name to the acrid odour. "That's sodium thiosulphate, and it would have been used as a print fixer by Mrs Cameron," he exclaimed.
Author's note My lack of psychic sensitivity is legendary - but even I have been confounded by the malodorous Dimbola smell on several occasions. The smell, which is chokingly caustic, is difficult to describe and even more difficult to forget. It starts suddenly and can be so overpowering that within seconds one finds it hard to breathe. I don't know what Mrs Cameron is trying to tell us but I wish she would find a sweeter way of putting it.
SILHOUETTE AT THE WINDOW
Conditions early one summer evening were obviously perfect for the ghost of Julia Margaret Cameron to develop, and for her image to fix itself indelibly in the memory of Hazel Shakeshaft. Hazel, who ran the Blenheim House Hotel with her husband, only saw the apparition once. At that time Cameron House was empty and derelict, its future hanging in the balance - poised between demolition or salvation by the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust. Happily the Trust triumphed, turning Dimbola into a shrine to the formidable pioneer photographer who numbered Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ruskin, Darwin, Longfellow and Robert Browning among her friends.
However, that evening in 1991 the building was uninhabited and derelict, its windows blank and forbidding. Sitting outside the hotel on a swing seat, Hazel glanced across the road at Cameron House and was surprised to see a figure silhouetted at one of the upstairs windows. When she was later shown Julia Margaret Cameron's picture, Hazel recognised her instantly as the woman at the window. "She had a lovely friendly face. I could see it quite clearly. She was quite a middle-aged person with a round face, her hair put up in a bun at the back. She was visible for just a few seconds. I have looked for her a number of times since, but never have I seen her again," said Hazel wistfully.
A FACELESS VOID
For keen photographer Linda Fisher, the chance to work at Cameron House was a golden opportunity. There, surrounded by photographic memorabilia in the very place where Mrs Cameron produced the majority of her masterpieces, she helped to man the reception desk and run the tea-rooms. Occasionally Linda was there alone, and one winter's evening in 1994, while locking the house, she came face to face with a dark figure which slowly materialised into the form of Julia Margaret Cameron.
Linda explained, "It was late afternoon and growing dark. I was here on my own, the last to leave. After locking the back kitchen and tea room I went into Cameron House to fetch my bicycle, which was leaning against the wall in the hallway. As I started to wheel it to the front door I saw a figure in front of me. I stood frozen to the spot. As I watched I could see the features slowly forming, filling the void where her face should be. One moment it was all completely black, then the head and face started to appear in white. As she stood staring back at me, I recognised Mrs Cameron from her photograph. Neither of us spoke. Then I moved backwards. This broke the spell. She turned, walked through the doorway to her right, and disappeared."
On another occasion, Linda sensed a strong presence next to her as she was decorating in the tea-room. Once again it was late in the afternoon, but this time she was working at the top of a ladder in what was once the drawing room in Dimbola. "I sometimes felt her presence about the place and sensed she was pleased that her old home was being put back together, restored and cared for," Linda said.
Others working in the 150-year-old property have seen a dark shape flitting about the upstairs rooms and during an open day at Cameron House in January 1994 volunteer helper Mrs Ann Judd, was startled to see the photographer's ghost appear beside her. Ann said, "I had taken two steps from the top of the stairs when there were three enormous flashes right in front of me, together with three loud bangs. I believe now that it was Mrs Cameron announcing herself."
Ann from Old Park Road, St Lawrence, was stunned momentarily, then as she gathered her senses, she saw Julia Margaret Cameron standing next to her. "She did not appear fully fleshed like a real person but was certainly real enough to have a very strong presence. She was very pale, almost white, with rather tired-looking dark eyes. Her hair was scragged away from her face and clipped back, with dark ringlets. She was in her fifties, smaller than me and not quite solid. She did not look at me as she walked beside me along the corridor, but I think she was aware of me."
The ghostly Mrs Cameron was wearing a full-skirted shot-silk taffeta gown, dark bronze in colour, with a peacock-green sheen. The dress which was close fitting at the waist had a high neck and tight sleeves. "I could hear the rustle of the dress as she walked. She did not stay beside me very long - perhaps 45 seconds - but she did generate a very strong and lively presence. I have no doubt that it was her and that she approves of the plans for the house. She seemed very strong and positive as though she was enjoying overseeing the project," added Ann.
courtesy of Gay Baldwin
www.haunted-uk.co.uk/places/places.html
