User:Auric/Fire Spook
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| Grouping | Ghost |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Poltergeist |
| Other name(s) | Spontaneous Combustion |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Woodstock, New Brunswick |
| Habitat | Victoria Street House |
The Fire Spook was a supposed poltergeist that attracted attention to Woodstock, New Brunswick during the summer of 1887.
Events
[edit]The "spook" manifested itself in the home of one Reginald C. Hoyt, a picture frame dealer who lived in a two story wood frame house on Victoria Street with his wife and children.[1]
The events began on August 6, 1887. While Hoyt was sitting in his study, a window shade burst into flames. He ripped the shade down and stamped out the flames. A short time later, his wife cried out in alarm that a quilt on her bed was afire. He ran in and helped his wife beat out the flames. They rushed downstairs and stamped out a small fire in the parlor rug. Next a child's dress began to smolder, which was doused in water, which was used to put out the feather bed.
Other small fires continued to break out sporadically for the next 48 hours. Firefighters were called, but remained baffled as to the origins of the fires. Local curiosity seekers arrived, followed by reporters.
The fires ceased after two days and did not reoccur.
Causes
[edit]The causes of the event remained undetermined, although some suspected that the events could be traced to clothes that had been washed in carbolic acid. Others[2] posited short-circuits or gas build-ups.
Similar events
[edit]- 1922 - The Fire-Spook of Caledonia Mills.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Driven Away By Mysterious Flames". New-York Tribune. 8 Aug 1887 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Bertin, Johanna (2003). Strange Events: Incredible Canadian Monsters, Curses, Ghosts and Other Tales. Altitude Publishing. p. 94. ISBN 978-1551539522.
- ^ "More Mysterious Fire". The Press. Aug 23, 1887.
- ^ Sherwood, Roland H. (1992). "The House of Mystery". Maritime Mysteries (13th ed.). Hantsport, Nova Scotia: Lancelot Press. pp. 107–112. ISBN 978-0889990562.
Resources
[edit]- "Fire plays ghostly tricks". New York World. August 8, 1887. p. 1, sect. 4.
- "Haunted by Fire". Vol. 67, no. 1388. The Daily Telegraph. August 9, 1887.
- "Mysterious Fires In Woodstock are accounted for by the Press". The Daily Telegraph. Aug 11, 1887. p. 3.
- "Alleged Case of Spontaneous Combustion in New Brunswick". Montreal Star. August 20, 1887.
- Colombo, John Robert (2008). The Big Book of Canadian Ghost Stories. Toronto: Dundurn. pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-1-55002-844-7.
- New York Herald, Jan. 6, 1895
- Charles Fort (1932). "Chapter Thirteen". Wild Talents. p. 131.