Ghostly Goings on at Buxton

Cedar House (our head office), previously known as the “Old Rectory,” is believed to be the most haunted house in the district.

Since we published our ghost story, an 84-year-old lady, who lived in the Rectory during her teenage years, recounted several chilling experiences:

"There was a row of servant bells in the kitchen. We had to tie old socks around the clangers because the bells would spontaneously ring.

"One evening, while we were by the fire, my father leaped up to save the Grandfather Clock from tumbling"

"One snowy Christmas, lacking a garage, Dad parked the car against the back door. Out of the blue, the back doorbell rang loudly. Upon entering the kitchen, we saw the bell wire detached from the wall. When we opened the door, the bell pull was extended out by a yard. However, the snow leading to the side gate remained untouched!"

"While ironing in the kitchen, I once saw a monk, dressed in a brown habit with its hood up, standing in the living room. As solid and real as any person. I remember thinking, 'Why is there a monk in our house?' But when I went to look, he had vanished. I felt his fleeting presence several times after."

"The cellar always terrified me. I placed a chest of drawers blocking its door. If you descended the cellar stairs, the left wall ended beneath the eaves of the main floor, revealing what looked like another dark room."

Those days in Caterham feel like another lifetime. I hope you find these tales as fascinating as I did. Oh, and the ghost's name? I was told it's 'Bernard'."

– Chrissie Evans

Hauntings at the rectory date back to the early 19th Century. The Reverend Alick St John Heard and his wife, upon moving in, locked every door and left with the keys. An hour later, they returned to find every door flung open.

Each stud represents someone who died in the great plague

Other reports include a ghostly figure hovering over a sleeping mother, rattling door handles, footsteps echoing in hallways, and personal items like hair brushes moving on their own.

Mediums who've visited claim the front of the house is home to benevolent spirits, while malevolent ones linger at the back. Disturbingly, a child's skeleton was once found in a shallow grave near the back door.

Neighbours too have tales. One recalls a pianist who fell ill and died, leaving her fiancé so heartbroken that he took his own life in the house. Eerie piano melodies have since wafted through the gardens, especially when the house stands empty.

Ever since Buxton began operations at Cedar House, our staff have reported unexplained phenomena. Just last week, disembodied voices were overheard. In our boardroom, cupboard doors burst open and objects move or tumble without explanation. Nobody dares enter the archives in the cellar alone. Cleaners once found bins oddly stacked on chairs they'd just cleaned.

Our quantity surveyors sometimes feel such an intense sense of foreboding that they flee the premises. Skeptics jest that it might be due to daunting cost reports.

But one wonders... What mysteries unfold in Cedar House after dark?