Is Charleston haunted?

What do you think?

I’ve been following Blogtober over on my website and it’s obviously coming to an end, so I wanted to write about Charleston. Although I love volunteering here, it is an old, creaky house and at this time of year - especially on a gloomy day like today - it is very atmospheric, if not exactly spooky.

I was in Clive Bell’s Study to start with today, and there was a steady stream of a people in the room, but thankfully only a few at a time. One lady came in and shuddered and said, with a grimace, “There’s a weird feeling in this house isn’t there?” and I fumbled slightly in my response, as I wasn’t quite sure what to say.

I certainly feel a kind of presence, but then again the house is curated to feel like the family have popped out and we are looking round before they get back. A sense of voyeurism I suppose, as of course this was their private residence, never meant to be seen by anyone apart from their closest friends and allies.

Sidenote: I think this aspect is missed by many visitors, and their comments often suggest judgement and almost ridicule, forgetting that the decisions about the decor and life choices were made between the people living there, and for their eyes only.

Anyway, back to the question in the title. I asked my colleagues Lucy and Jasmina in the Welcome Room if the house was haunted and they immediately responded: “YES!”

Imagine my delight! I pressed them for more information and they regaled me with details, among which were the following of note:

• Duncan Grant’s Bedroom: knocking on the door

• Garden: a man in a baggy suit with long hair, sitting on the bench

• Garden Room: movement seen even when there’s no-one else in the house

Apparently many people have said they can hear voices, or feel that someone is in the room, and some people have been so affected they can’t even enter the property. A number of the staff have said they have heard someone in the house and assumed it was a coworker but then realised the other people had already left. The house dates back to the 16th Century, and must have witnessed to so many births and deaths, and with this group of creatives imbuing the very fabric of the house with their personalities as they lived their lives, I am not remotely surprised that there is an unexplained energy within the rooms.

I will leave you with a photo I took just as I left Duncan Grant’s Bedroom at the end of my shift…