Smile and say cheese, Lord Combermere

After more than a century, it has become one of the best known and most mysterious of all ghost photographs. Both paranormal experts and ordinary folk alike are fascinated by this enigmatic picture.
On Dec. 5, 1891, photographer Sybell Corbet was taking pictures inside the historic house at Combermere Abbey, located in Cheshire, England. At that time, she was also visiting her sister at the estate.
Benedictine monks founded Combermere Abbey in 1133. In 1540, King Henry VIII kicked out the Benedictine monks, and the Abbey later became the home of Sir George Cotton. In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton, a descendent of Sir George, took the title "Lord Combermere" and in 1817 became the governor of Barbados. That title would be passed down to his heirs.
It turned out to be a good day for Corbet's picture taking at the historic estate because the family and their servants were not there at the time. The reason they were gone was because Lord Combermere had died and his funeral was taking place some four miles away. That left the house empty except for Corbet.
One of the pictures she took shows the library at Combermere Abbey. At the time, no one was standing or sitting in the library when the photo was made. But when it was developed, the figure of a man could be faintly seen sitting in the chair to the left. His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly seen. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere, who at that moment was being laid to rest, according to a Web site.
The Lord Combermere who was being buried had been a British cavalry commander in the early 1800s and had distinguished himself in several military campaigns.
Corbet later stated that it took about an hour to get the image of the library, complete with its ghostly figure. It is thought by some that during that time a servant might have come into the room and sat briefly in the chair, creating the transparent image. But members of the household refuted this notion, stating that all of them were attending Lord Combermere's funeral.
In addition, Lord Combermere is connected to another well-known ghost story: the famous moving coffins of Barbados. In the early 1800s, the Chase family of Barbados had placed their deceased loved ones inside a family vault. It was said that their coffins were moved around in the vault by supernatural forces. The heavy coffins were repeatedly put back in their proper order, but often when a new coffin was added to the vault, the old ones were found strewn about. Lord Combermere, while governor of Barbados, had ordered a professional investigation of the mystery.
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Last week's column about a man who heard Bigfoot screams resulted in some interesting responses from readers of Tales of the Weird. Some people thought that I was the one who reported hearing the screams. Sorry, I have never heard anything like that myself.
But James Hatch of Fall City in Washington state wanted to share with me something that he heard and saw in the northern Idaho wilderness when he was a boy. Hatch is a geologist and a graduate of the University of Washington. He works in the mining industry and spends a lot of time outdoors.
"No matter what the skeptics say or believe, I know these animals are real," he writes. "My cousin and I heard and then saw an enormous ape-like bipedal creature walking, striding very purposefully, along the upper reaches of the St. Joe River in Idaho when we were boys. It was walking away from us up the riverbank. It was not a man in a monkey suit.
"This area is extremely remote – we were there because our Grandpa lived there along the river. There was no one else in that area for many miles around and there was only one primitive and dangerous road in. If it were someone trying to perpetrate a hoax, why would he do it where it is extraordinarily unlikely that anyone would see him?"
Hatch estimates that the creature he and his cousin saw stood at least 8 feet tall.
"I have heard the screams you write about twice more in the same general area – once not that long ago. They are terrifying," he writes.
I appreciate folks like James Hatch who are willing to share what they have seen and heard. They know that their stories are treated with respect in this column.

Contact Mike Conley at 652-3313, ext. 3422 or e-mail nconley@mcdowellnews.com.