The Cheltenham Ghost
The Cheltenham Ghost was an apparition said to haunt a house in Cheltenham in western England. The building in Pittville Circus Road was the home of the Despard family who saw the ghost of a veiled woman on several occasions in the 1880s. The Society for Psychical Research in London is the oldest institute of its kind in the world. Its members are dedicated to researching purportedly paranormal phenomena. To this end, Frederic Myers an SPR Council member whose mother was resident in the town decided to investigate the case. He produced perhaps one of the first reports on a Ghost apparition investigation in history. His contribution was largely by publishing the account of Rosina Despard (under the pseudonym 'Rose Morton') a young woman resident in the house. Myers own investigations were limited to interviewing residents, locals and former servants. Summary In April 1882, Captain Despard with his invalid wife and six children moved into a house then known as 'Donore' in Cheltenham, England. The house, formerly 'Garden Reach', had been empty for many years, and there were reports of its being haunted. It was in June that Rosina, the Captain's daughter, saw the ghost for the first time: "The