Description: This portrait of The Brown Lady ghost is arguably the most famous
and well-regarded ghost photograph ever taken. The ghost is thought
to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd
Viscount of Raynham, residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England
in the early 1700s. It was rumored that Dorothy, before her marriage
to Charles, had been the mistress of Lord Wharton. Charles suspected
Dorothy of infidelity. Although according to legal records she died
and was buried in 1726, it was suspected that the funeral was a sham
and that Charles had locked his wife away in a remote corner of the
house until her death many years later. Dorothys ghost is said to
haunt the oak staircase and other areas of Raynham Hall. In the
early 1800s, King George IV, while staying at Raynham, saw the
figure of a woman in a brown dress standing beside his bed. She was
seen again standing in the hall in 1835 by Colonel Loftus, who was
visiting for the Christmas holidays. He saw her again a week later
and described her as wearing a brown satin dress, her skin glowing
with a pale luminescence. It also seemed to him that her eyes had
been gouged out. A few years later, Captain Frederick Marryat and
two friends saw the Brown Lady gliding along an upstairs hallway,
carrying a lantern. As she passed, Marryat said, she grinned at the
men in a diabolical manner. Marryat fired a pistol at the
apparition, but the bullet simply passed through. This famous photo
was taken in September, 1936 by Captain Provand and Indre Shira, two
photographers who were assigned to photograph Raynham Hall for
Country Life magazine. This is what happened, according to Shira
Captain Provand took one photograph while I flashed the light. He
was focusing for another exposure; I was standing by his side just
behind the camera with the flashlight pistol in my hand, looking
directly up the staircase. All at once I detected an ethereal veiled
form coming slowly down the stairs. Rather excitedly, I called out
sharply Quick, quick, theres something. I pressed the trigger of
the flashlight pistol. After the flash and on closing the shutter,
Captain Provand removed the focusing cloth from his head and turning
to me said Whats all the excitement about? Upon developing the
film, the image of The Brown Lady ghost was seen for the first time.
It was published in the December 16, 1936 issue of Country Life. The
ghost has been seen occasionally since.
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