The Women in the White Nightgown: Semaphore: Adelaide: SA

[KANACKI]

Greeting once again lover of all things that go bump in the night. The following ghost yarn was found by the tireless efforts of headless that has made old Kanacki pull his finger out and find out more about the he following ghost story.

For those who cannot see the following pictures I suggest signing up to this wonderful forum to get a unique insight into haunted places of Australian. Meanwhile sit back and enjoy the yarm.

To be continued....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

Even as recently as 1918 a family took a house at the Semaphore, and had the place thoroughly cleaned preparatory to moving in. One room was used as a bedroom, and one of the children persisted in saying that on certain nights his room was visited by a lady in a white nightgown. The child was told that he must have been dreaming. He, however, remained firm in his statement, but no notice was taken of his remarks until some weeks later.

About this time the boy's mother had to go into hospital, and a sister came to take charge of the house. Thuds and noises were heard at night time during her stay, but she imagined that these sounds were called by the elder boy moving about in his room. Iwen the mother returned home, but the sister stayed on. One night she heard an unusually loud noise, and getting up to investigate saw standing before her a figure of a woman in a white nightgown. She spoke to her, but the figure did not answer.

To be continued......

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

In the morning, when she met the mother, and reprimanded her for getting out of bed in the cold air. The mother denied having left the bed, and said that it must have been her husband. 'That is ridiculous,' said the sister. 'The person I saw was a woman. I could see her quite plainly.' Noticing the rest of the family looking uneasy she thought that it would be best to say no more on the subject,

The family, however, decided that there were too many inexplicable things happening for their peace of mind, and they decided to seek a more comfortable dwelling. That the place was haunted is their firm conviction. What is the mystery behind these strange visitations?

The source of the above story was printed in the Mail newspaper Adelaide, SA Sat 28 Dec 1929

To be continued......

[KANACKI]

What was the event that was possibly behind this alleged haunting in 1919?

Port Adelaide News (SA :1913 - 1933), Friday 12 September 1913, page 7 newspaper reported the strange story of a mysterious death of a women.

Death and Burial within Five Hours.

INDECENT HASTE.

Reuss.—On the 2nd September, at the Semaphore (suddenly), Agnes Pauline' Reuss, for 33 years a faithful servant of Prince Alfred College. REUSS.

The Friends of the late Miss Agnes Pauline Reuss are respectfully informed that her remains were removed from Esplanade, Semaphore, on Tuesday, at 1 p.m., and interred in the West-Terrace Cemetery F..R. Moore & Son, Undertakers, Military Road, Semaphore, 'Phone 188; Junction Road, Rosewater., 'Phone 540.

 The friends of Miss Agnes Pauline Reuss who had long held a position in the Prince Alfred College Dining Room, Received a painful shock on Wednesday morning when they read the notices reproduced above. Miss Reuss was spending part of the vacation holidays at "Trejago House," on The Esplanade, Semaphore, and was in high spirits. On Monday evening she was playing the piano and singing, and was apparently in the very best of health.

She remarked carelessly to the daughter of Mrs. Sandberg (the proprietress of "Trejago House") that it was nice to have a home as strangers cared nothing for you, and were in fact only in: a hurry to put you under the ground as soon as the breath left the body. As Mrs. Sandberg remarked to our representative, the unfortunate lady seemed to foresee her own case only loo clearly.

On the Tuesday morning at 7.30 aim. Mrs. Sandberg followed Miss Reuss, who had partially dressed and come downstairs, up again to her 100m with a cup of tea for her and also for Miss Whittaker, her companion. Just before she reached the door she heord an alarming crash. Miss Whittaker called her hastily, and on entering, Mrs. Sandberg found that Miss Reus had fallen prone to the ground.

The two ladies managed to get her on to the bed, no light task, for she was a powerfully built woman, and administered some brandy. 'Miss Reuss gasped,out her desire for a doctor, and fought pitifully for her' breath. Dr. Verco, who is relieving Dr. Bollen, arrived at ten minutes to eight, but in a couple of minutes all was over, and Miss Reuss had breathed her last.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Sandberg would rather have had the body kept in the house than that such undue haste should have been shown in the burial arrangements. Dr. Chappie, however, of Prince Alfred College, stated that be was leaving Adelaide for a holiday on Wednesday, and that  he also had to attend a board meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 4 o'clock.

To be continued.....

Kanacki

[KANACKI]

Therefore all arrangements were made, he explained, when remonstrated with, and could not be altered. As far as Dr. Chappie knew, the deceased had no friends or relatives in South Australia, and he said that be bought as death had occurred in boarding-house, the sooner things were fixed up the better.

Dr. Chappie was a pall-barer at the funeral as were others from the College staff. There were several beautiful wreaths, and all the respect possible under the painful circumstances was paid. Mrs. Sandberg states emphatically that the corpse was still warm when screwed down. No blame is attach able either to Mr. or Mrs. Sandberg, who were highly indignant at the turn matters had taken, nor to the undertaker, who merely carried out his orders.

Dr. Chappie, no doubt, was actuated by the kindly motive of a desire to be present to pay the last respects to a well-trusted servant. Still the fact remains that the custom of hasty burial like this might well lead to grave abuses.

A strange lightening quick funeral no inquest, not post mortem on the body? Was she poisoned? Did she pay the price for knowing secret? Was it suicide was it murder?

There seems a lot of unanswered questions in her death. Was she the ghost haunting the boarding house that came up for rent as a house 6 years later. The women in the white nightdress?

Kanacki