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W is for...

... Wallingford Ghost, George Inn--Teardrop Room



The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
---Edgar Allan Poe


The Hermit

Okay, so letter "W" is hard. This really isn't so much a morbid/macabre story as it is a dark/sad story---but, quite a few people find dark/sad synonymous with morbid/macabre, so I'm taking poetic license...or whatever it's called.

The story of the Wallingford ghost is a sad one, like all ghost stories. At the George Inn in Wallingford, England there is a room colloquially known as the Teardrop Room. This 16th century coaching inn, still a functioning hotel today, has its share of ancient ghost tales surrounding the building. But, one in particular draws quite a bit of sympathy.

A few hotel guests staying in the Teardrop Room have reported waking in the middle of the night to find a very life-like young woman with tears streaming down her face. The only movement the "ghost" makes is to turn and disappear into the wall.

The tale goes that an Innkeeper's daughter lost her lover/fiance to a murderous group. The girl became so distraught that her family was forced to lock her in her room to keep her safe. Behind her locked bedroom door, it is purported that the poor girl went mad with her grief and mixed her own tears with soot from the fireplace---using the mixture to decorate the wall of her room in the only shape she was able to bring forth---methodically and compulsively placed...teardrops.


Small portion of Teardrop Wall preserved

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Comments

  1. cleemckenzieApril 29, 2014 at 11:03 AM

    That was a sad one. You're stumping everyone at The Write Game today. You were my mystery blogger for Y!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. e.a.s. demersApril 30, 2014 at 12:43 AM

      Ha! I've never been a mystery blogger before :-)
      And, yes, the story of the teardrop room is definitely a tragic one...

      Delete

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