John Wesley's Ghost

At this point in the story, the people of Hydesville think the rapping noises are connected with the Foxes' house, rather then the youngest Fox girls. After all, most stories involve haunted homes, not people. One famous ghost story from that time involved John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. As Methodists, the Foxes would certainly have know the story well.

John Wesley wrote that as a child, his home had been disrupted by moaning, footsteps, the sounds of shaking chains, and pottery being destroyed. The ghost even raised the children's beds as they tried to sleep. Eventually, they became so accustomed to the entity that they started calling him "old Jeffrey."

Eventually their Mother, Susanna started to hear the sounds, as well. She thought perhaps it was a servant playing tricks, or one of the horrible neighbors trying to scare them. But as the family investigated, these reasons were discounted.

Samuel, the father, initially rebuked the family for being frightened by such nonsense. He commanded the ghost to visit him in his study if he wanted to make his presence known. "Thou deaf and dumb devil, why dost thou frighten these children? Come to me in my study, that am a man."Immediately, three on three poundings rocked the study door.

Later, when Samuel was in bed, Old Jeffrey pressed on Samuel's chest. Samuel was terrified. He purchased a dog– a mean old mastiff– to scare the intruder away. But as soon as the mastiff heard Jeffrey approaching, the dog whined and hid under the table.

Samuel wrote to one of the church's bishops about the haunting and he decided to come check out this nonsense for himself. That evening while the men sat in the study, Jeffrey paid a visit. The bishop fled the property.

This episode was reported in "The Memoirs of the Wesley Family," a book published in 1823 and reissued many times. Apparently, the book and Old Jeffrey provoked lively discussions in Methodist households and 100 years later, residents of the Lincolnshire rectory were driven away by the same noises and rattlings.