Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Amherst Mystery

Issue #6: June 1979

In the autumn of 1878, a young woman named Esther Cox became the focus of one of the most violent and well-documented poltergeist cases in North American history. The phenomena that plagued her for over a year were witnessed by dozens of respectable citizens, investigated by multiple authorities, and defied every attempt at explanation.

The Amherst Mystery, as it came to be known, remains a cornerstone case in the study of paranormal disturbance.

The Teed Cottage

Esther Cox, nineteen years old, lived with her married sister Olive and brother-in-law Daniel Teed in a modest cottage on Princess Street in Amherst, Nova Scotia. The household included Daniel’s two sons, Esther’s brother William, and another sister, Jennie.

The troubles began in early September 1878, shortly after Esther had been the victim of an attempted assault. A young man named Bob MacNeal had lured her into a secluded area and produced a pistol, threatening to shoot her if she did not comply with his demands. A passing carriage frightened him away before he could carry out his threat. MacNeal fled the area and was never apprehended.

Within days of this trauma, inexplicable events began in the Teed cottage.

The Phenomena Commence

It started with sounds: scratching noises from beneath Esther’s bed, as though mice were gnawing at the floorboards. Then came movement. A box of fabric scraps leapt from beneath the bed and overturned itself. Bedclothes were pulled away. Esther’s body began to swell alarmingly, as though she were being inflated from within, while she screamed in terror.

A loud report, like a thunderclap, shook the house. Esther’s swelling immediately subsided, and she fell into an exhausted sleep.

Over the following nights, the phenomena escalated. Loud knocking sounds echoed through the cottage. Objects moved of their own accord. Esther’s pillow was repeatedly snatched from beneath her head and thrown across the room. The household was in turmoil.

Dr. Carritte, the family physician, was summoned. He witnessed the disturbances firsthand and documented them carefully. As he sat by Esther’s bedside, he watched the bedclothes rise and fall as though breathing. The pillow was thrown at him. Then, before his astonished eyes, letters began appearing on the wall above Esther’s bed, as though scratched by an invisible nail.

They spelled out: ESTHER COX YOU ARE MINE TO KILL.

Public Witnesses

Word of the disturbances spread through Amherst. Neighbours, clergy, and officials visited the cottage and witnessed phenomena that none could explain. Objects flew through the air. Furniture moved. Fires broke out spontaneously: lit matches would appear and ignite curtains or bedding, forcing the household to maintain constant vigilance.

The Reverend Edwin Clay, a Baptist minister, conducted a series of interviews with the family and observed the phenomena himself. He attempted to communicate with whatever force was responsible, establishing a code of knocks. The entity, if such it was, identified itself as the ghost of Bob MacNeal, though MacNeal was known to be alive.

John White, a prominent local citizen, spent several nights in the cottage documenting the disturbances. He recorded objects moving in well-lit rooms, sounds emanating from walls and ceilings, and the spontaneous appearance of lit matches.

The Van Amburgh Investigation

Walter Hubbell, an actor touring with a stage company, heard of the case and visited Amherst in 1879. He would later publish a detailed account, The Great Amherst Mystery, which remains the primary source on the case.

Hubbell moved into the Teed cottage and immediately experienced the phenomena. A large carving knife flew at him across the room. His umbrella rose from its stand and stabbed at him repeatedly. A bucket of water on a table began rocking violently before flipping onto the floor.

Hubbell attempted to commercialise the case, arranging for Esther to appear on stage. The first performance was a disaster: nothing happened while she was on display. Later, when she was taken to a friend’s house, spontaneous fires broke out almost immediately.

The End of the Haunting

The phenomena followed Esther when she moved to other locations, though they seemed less intense away from the Teed cottage. When she worked briefly at a farm, a barn burned down under mysterious circumstances. Esther was charged with arson and served a month in prison, though many believed she was innocent and the fire supernatural in origin.

After her release, the phenomena gradually diminished. By 1880, the disturbances had largely ceased. Esther married twice (both husbands died young) and lived until 1912, never again troubled by the forces that had tormented her youth.

Analysis

The Amherst Mystery presents features common to many poltergeist cases: a young person, often a woman, at the centre of the phenomena; recent psychological trauma preceding the outbreak; physical effects including sounds, movement of objects, and spontaneous fires; and eventual cessation without clear cause.

The number and quality of witnesses distinguishes this case from many others. Dr. Carritte, Reverend Clay, John White, and Walter Hubbell were all educated, respectable men with no obvious motivation to fabricate or exaggerate. Their accounts, written independently, corroborate one another in essential details.

Sceptics have proposed that Esther herself produced the phenomena through trickery, perhaps unconsciously. Yet the spontaneous fires occurred when she was under constant observation, and the physical disturbances were witnessed by multiple people simultaneously from different vantage points.

Whatever tormented Esther Cox in that Amherst cottage, it left behind a mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.

The Amherst case remains among the most significant poltergeist episodes on record. Readers with knowledge of similar Canadian phenomena are encouraged to write to our research department.