larger than is generally supposed. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of the stories communicated to me can be given many are too fragmentary; some too uninteresting; others refer too directly to living persons; whilst in several instances, owners of "Haunted Homes" object strongly to publication of the circumstances which so distinguish their dwellings, or their families, from those of their more commonplace neighbours. This SECOND SERIES may not claim to have exhausted the subject, but it will serve to render somewhat more comprehensive my guide to the haunted buildings of Great Britain; and in placing it in the hands of the public which received the first series so kindly, there is now no need for me to do aught further than tender my warm thanks to the many correspondents who have aided my researches, and to those noblemen and gentlemen who have not only answered my inquiries, but have kindly permitted me to make use of private information concerning their households and their homes. JOHN H. INGRAM. PREFACE. THE favourable reception accorded to my compilation entitled THE HAUNTED HOMES AND FAMILY TRADITIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN, encouraged me to continue my researches in Ghostland. The present collection is the result. This SECOND SERIES of supernatural stories is far less largely derived from previously published volumes than is the first, and in the various instances (always carefully acknowledged) where printed information has been obtained, it has been largely supplemented by corroborative particulars derived from private and personal sources. My application to the public through the columns of our leading critical journal, for reference to instances. of dwellings bearing the reputation of being haunted, coupled with widely-circulated inquiries among members of various antiquarian and learned provincial societies, invoked an extensive correspondence in proof that the number of buildings still regarded as so troubled is far larger than is generally supposed. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of the stories communicated to me can be given: many are too fragmentary; some too uninteresting; others refer too directly to living persons; whilst in several instances, owners of "Haunted Homes" object strongly to publication of the circumstances which so distinguish their dwellings, or their families, from those of their more commonplace neighbours. This SECOND SERIES may not claim to have exhausted the subject, but it will serve to render somewhat more comprehensive my guide to the haunted buildings of Great Britain; and in placing it in the hands of the public which received the first series so kindly, there is now no need for me to do aught further than tender my warm thanks to the many correspondents who have aided my researches, and to those noblemen and gentlemen who have not only answered my inquiries, but have kindly permitted me to make use of private information concerning their households and their homes. JOHN H. INGRAM. |