The Sampford Peverell Ghost
The Sampford Peverell Ghost story first appeared in 1810, and was the subject of a series of pamphlets and newspaper correspondence between a Tiverton vicar who supported the ghost story and the editor of the Taunton Courier who was sceptical about the ghost and the possible human forces behind it. The story was picked up by national newspapers and quickly caught the public imagination. It is still included in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
The following account of it comes from 'This History of Tiverton Volume 1' published by Lt. Col. William Harding in 1845:
The 1845 account in the History of Tiverton
The following account of it comes from 'This History of Tiverton Volume 1' published by Lt. Col. William Harding in 1845:
The 1845 account in the History of Tiverton
The Taunton Courier 1810
The following is a transcription of the first Taunton Courier article on the subject of the ghost. The Examiner of 2nd September quotes the article in full but with this preamble:
"The Taunton Courier of Thursday contains the following pleasant account of this precious piece of imposition. The Editor, in his next paper, it is hoped, will be able to inform the public the precise amount of the "very considerable sum of money" which the Reverend Mr. Colton has pledged himself t bestow on the poor of his parish, whenever the affair shall have been proved to have originated in human agency. This promise must not be forgotten - It may be useful for the Editor to know, that in various places on the coast, it has been no uncommon practice for smugglers to give out that certain houses have been haunted by evil spirits - and it really might be of some service, in the elucidation of the affair, if the Excise Officer was to take a peep into that same "hollow depth" about which the owner knows nothing - Did not the Ghost amuse himself in terrifying the females who sleep in the house, one should not object so much to his taste in refusing to appear when male visitors were there; but if his gallantry be disputable, his prudence must be allowed to be unquestionable, - a quality not always discoverable in these grim visitors.- But now for the account:-"
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/SampfordPeverell/Ghost1
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/SampfordPeverell/Ghost2
There then followed some acrimonious correspondence between Rev Colton of Tiverton and the editor of the Taunton Courier, leading Rev Colton to publish a pamphlet on the subject:
Rev Colton's 1st pamphlet: spg_pamphlet_1.pdf
Further correspondence led to Rev Colton publishing another pamphlet, described as an appendix:
Rev Colton's 2nd pamphlet
Rev Colton led a colourful life and he and the editor of the Taunton Courier eventually met regularly on good terms, with Rev Colton contributing scholarly pieces to the paper, although the Sampford Peverell Ghost was never mentioned again. He later travelled, racking up large gambling debts, in America and France, where he lived in extreme pain and poverty and eventually shot himself. The long obituary to him in the Taunton Courier may get transcribed by us in due course, along with some of the relevant newspaper articles.