The Tedworth Drummer


The following is an historical tale about a poltergeist that was stranger than most as the cause might not have been a spirit, or the unconsciousness mind of a adolescent child so common in poltergeist cases, but of someone who consciously caused it while alive.

It was supposed to have begun one day in 1661. A magistrate named John Mompession, who lived in the village of Tedworth in Wiltshire, visited a nearby village named Ludgershall. While there, he heard the sound of drumming outside on the street. He inquired as to what the drumming racket was and was told it was by a foreign man who was protesting about not being given public assistance. The magistrate was suspicious the foreigner was in England with forged papers, so he asked the local police to arrest him. His instincts turned out to correct and the foreigner was taken straight to court. He was found guilty and sentenced to be removed from England, but during the deportation, the prisoner (who was named Drury) escaped and vanished leaving his drum behind. The man was not particularly seen as a threat so it was soon forgotten and the magistrate start for his home in Tedworth. When he reached his house, he was told that there had been mayhem prior to his return.

Strange drumming sounds and rappings had been heard all over the house and the beds had been levitated into the air. This continued for months, getting so bad that the “creature”, as it was described, started making barking sounds like a dog panting and also purring sounds like a cat. Soon the magistrate and children got used to the events, even playing games with it like tug of war with the bed sheets. For years, the activity continued.

One of the most extreme events was when a horse was found on it’s back in the stable and its hoof rammed down its throat, killing the animal. Soon they called in the local priest, prompting the “creature” to act up in the presence of the priest, including burning the priest’s bible. The drumming was louder than ever as the priest tried to exorcise the spirit. As a result, the “creature” had developed a voice and at one point a light started to float through the room to which the “creature” repeated more than a hundred times “Ahhhh… look priest, a witch! a witch!”. The priest failed to remove the strange disturbances. When the magistrate’s wife become pregnant, the magistrate asked the “creature” to please refrain from the racket while his wife was pregnant to avoid a miscarriage, to which it obliged. The activity ceased until a few months after the wife had given birth.

The magistrate gathered the facts of the incidents and concluded that it related to the man he had arrested a few years before. Soon word came that the drummer had again been arrested for stealing a pig, so the magistrate headed to where Drury was being held. The magistrate questioned Drury and asked him if it was he who had been disturbing his family. Drury simply smiled.

Eventually, Drury was forced out of England and returned to his native land. The disturbances at the magistrate’s house ceased. A while later, Drury the drummer found his way back into England and the disturbances resumed. The magistrate asked the “creature”, by way of raps, if Drury was responsible. The “creature’s” raps confirmed this. It is not known how long the disturbances continued.

NOTE: To many people, this is a well-documented poltergeist attack, conforming to some standard patterns of poltergeist behavior. I have read and examined many phenomena cases over the years and will concede that most reports are either mistaken or seem to be outright hoaxes. But, IMO, the Tedworth account, though three centuries old, still retains credibility. Please note, Tedworth is in Wiltshire…a county that has witnessed an overwhelming amount of strange activity over the centuries as well as the current epicenter of crop circle manifestation in the UK…Lon

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