The World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), Saturday 22 November 1947, page 10
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137126078
There's a spate of witch-hunting
By BILL KNOWLES
WHENLord Inverchapel, for
merly Sir Archibald Clark
Kerr, Britain's popular Ambassador
to the United States, cut short his
Honeymoon to nurry to loch Jt.cn,
his Scottish estate, to exorcise a
witch, he did not .create a precedent.
He was merely following an old.
custom.
At the estate, the diplomat found
the household seriously concerned at
evidence of witchcraft.
According to local folklore, witches
were slowly destroying a stone wallthat obstructed their path north to
Black Sabbath revels.
With typical thoroughness Lord
Inverchapel set about banishing the
spell. >
A fire was lit on the terrace of the
old ancestral home, and into it was
poured brandy. By the eerie light of
the leaping and dancing flames, Lord
Inverchapel solemnly conducted the
exorcism.
At the conclusion of the service
champagne was served to all present.Lord Inverchapel's action set off a
spate of witch-hunting that extended
over Britain.*
Aboriginal relic
The Rev. T. H. Elkington, padre to
the Missions to Seamen at Falmouth,
caused a stir by announcing that he
would conduct an exorcism service on
the "death-bone" of an Australian
aborigine.
Misfortune had all those who
Misfortune had dogged all those who
had possessed this grisly souvenir,which was taken to England by JimmyHill, a former member of the Merchant
Navy.Hill got the bone from one of the
Loritja tribe in Central Australia,
where it had been used by the tribal
medicine men. Even now "pointingthe bone" is a practice extensively used
and feared by superstitious blacks in
remote parts 6f Australia.
On his way to England, Hill showed
the death-bone' to several people, one
of whom went down with meningitis,another with infantile paralysis, and
a third complained of queer Illness
after viewing the bone.
Hill said he was too superstitious
to destroy the bone, and so on his
arrival in England he persuaded Padre
Penny, of Bristol, to accept it. Like
a curse from over the ocean, bad luck
struck again. A mysterious sickness
laid low several members of tlie Padre's
family.
Immediately, Padre Penny got in
touch with his friend, Padre Elkington, who agreed to do what he could.
He said *he believed ih the potency of
the native curse, but did not fear it.
However, he planned to burn the bone
just in case.
Before the exorcism service, Hill de
manded his talisman, which was
handed back.
The desperate housing situation in
postwar England, was indirectly re
Lord and the
sponsible for yet another case of at
tempting to lay an unwanted ghost.
A huge apparition was reported to
be haunting an old almshouse at Langley, Buckinghamshire. The tenants
appealed to the Rev. T. D. Prentis to
save them from what they feared to
be a visitation from another world.
Knowing it was impossible for them
to find other accommodation, he
promised to do what he could.
Delving into musty ecclesiastical
tomes, he found that the medieval
church authorised a ritual for riddinga place of unwanted, spirits.
"Bell, book, candle""Bell, book and candle," ran the
litany. The 'correct procedure, he
found, was for the priest to end his
incantation with the words "unclean
spirit, depart thee hence, go to the
Book, quench the candle, ring the
bell."
Even staid local government bodies
in England are taking up cudgels
against these unearthly visitations.
Fearing a loss in rates because of
a local legend, Duton Council organ
ised a ghost hunt. The story went
that 250 years ago an irate father
locked his daughter and her lover in
a cupboard in which they died. Later
Dick Turpin, the highwayman, taking
shelter in the house, found their skele
tons. He then blackmailed the father
into letting him use the house as a
hideout.
The eviction- party consisted of a
spiritual medium, a' member of the
Society of Psychical Research, and H.
W. Richards, a member of the local
council. v
Mere coincidence?But .are ghost hunts always success
ful? Or is it merely coincidence that
after exorcism the phenomenon
appears to cease?
Some years ago the Railway *author
ities at Tokio were gravely concerned
about the number of inexplicable acci
dents at Tokio Station.
It was put down to the work of an
evil spirit, reputed to live in a stone
from a tomb that had been built into
the platform.
The stationmaster had the offend
ing stone removed, and a Buddhist highpriest performed an exorcism service.
This had the desired effect.
Since 1858, a lighthouse in the
Bahamas was reputed to be haunted.
This had been reported officially bya succession of lightkeepers. In 1914,
a new keeper decided to lay the un
canny visitor once and for all. He
held "committal service" at dusk on
his first day ,of duty. The phantomhas not been seen since.
Superstitious beliefs are a heritagefrom the past. Today many people
give superstitions a wavering adher
ence, like that of the man who doesn't
believe in ghosts, but avoids cemeteries
at midnight.#