One of the most famous ghost photos is that of Raynham Hall's "Brown Lady". This photo was taken in 1936 by Captain Provand, and Indre Shira. They were on assignment from the magazine Country Life, doing an article on Raynham Hall.
While they were taking photos graphs of the stairwell, Shira sensed something on the stairs and immediately triggered the flash. When they developed the photo, they discovered the shape of a woman in a veil coming down the stairs.
The ghostly figure is suspected of being Lady Townshend, the wife of Charles Townshend, who was known for a quick temper. As the story goes, Townshend learned that his wife had been unfaithful, and imprisioned her at Raynham Hall. Lady Townshend stayed there until her death as an old woman.
The Brown Lady has been sighted a few times over the centuries roaming through the halls. It is claimed that King George IV, while staying at the estate, saw her standing beside his bed, wearing a brown dress, with a pale face and disheveled hair.
Another report from 1835, around Christmas time has Colonel Loftus seeing this famour phantom. On his way to bed, one night, the figure was seen in the hall. When he tried to get a better look, the mysterious woman in the brown dress disappeared. A week later, the Colonel saw her again, and got a better look this time. The dress was made of brown satin, while her skin seemed to glow slightly. Gruesomely, however, her eyes were gone. After reporting his experience to the other staying at Raynham Hall, many of them came forward with their own stories of meeting the spirit. An artist even did a painting of the Brown Lady, which was hung up in the room where she had been seen the most.
Captain Frederick Marryat, a novelist, was staying at Raynham Hall later, and spent a night in the room where she was reported to be the most. She did not make an appearance that night. Less than a week or so later, however, Marryat saw her when he and two friends were walking down a hallway in the upstairs area. They said she had a lantern as she quietly passed them while they hid behind the door. Marryat claimed that she grinned at him in a "diabolical manner" before vanishing. Just as she did, Marryat fired his pistol at her, but it passed through her harmless, to lodge into a wall nearby.
Sightings of the Brown Lady continued through the years, until the famous photo was taken on September 19, 1936. There are many who claim the photo is fake, with a photo analyst by the name of Joe Nickell stating that it was a composite of two images. While argument continues about the factual integrity of the photo, there is no argument about the existance of the spirit. Sightings of her have dropped off as time has passed, though in the 1960, the late Marchioness of Townshend reported to Denniss Bardens that she had seen the ghostly figure several times.
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