The house that isn't there

AI art by Rayne

 

There is a very unusual house that keeps appearing and disappearing. It's a type of mirage because it's visible and seen by many people although it vanishes as soon as someone gets too close to it. This is something that chills to the bone and an entire house itself is the ghost. What is it though and where is it? Located in a town called Rougham in Suffolk, England. The house is at a field between Bradley St George and Rougham Green. Described as a large red manor house in a Georgian style, complete with flowering gardens. The mysterious big house has been sighted by many people ever since Victorian times. It keeps materialising in the field, so that passers by in cars will notice it there. Visitors to the town as well as locals would've noticed the strange ghostly house. 

In 1860, Mr Robert Palfrey was working outside in the field on a pleasant evening in June. The air suddenly turned cold and he looked up to see a large red Georgian house with a garden, that wasn't there just moments before. It soon disappeared, leading to more sightings. His account was one of the earliest reports. In 1912, James Cobbold, who was the great grandson of Mr Palfrey, with George Waylett, a local butcher, was riding a pony trap when they both saw the great ghost house. This happened when the warmth suddenly turned very cold, along with a whooshing sound, frightening the pony who reared up and flung off Mr Waylett who was unhurt. The large house became covered n mist and vanished soon afterwards. That was the third time George said he had seen the strange house.

In 1923 Ruth Wynne, a school teacher and one of her students were travelling on foot at the area of Church Road. They entered a wooded place and found a greenish yellow wall, that also had an iron gate, with a big stately house behind of it. She made a note of the place to find out more about it, Later she realised there was no record of a big house there, and on her return to the same vicinity to retrace her steps, there was no trace of the property, or the wall and its gate anymore. It was simply never there. Since then researchers discovered fragments of greenish yellow bricks that indicate something was there a very long time ago.

Many numerous reports of witnessing the house became part of local legend. However, most people who've seen it are often left feeling very upset, as was a girl in 1998 who lived at Rougham Green Rectory. She saw the ghost house of red brick and in Georgian style appear. It frightened her so much that she sought shelter in the nearest pub, and told everyone what she saw. In 2007 Jean Batram spoke to the local press about witnessing the spooky mysterious house. She was in a car with her husband Sidney when they saw the large house appear on Kingshall Street. Jean was amazed by the beauty of the house with a row of long windows and trees behind it. After speaking to people, they too had seen it. 18th century maps reveal that a large house might've stood in the area but it's not known why nothing remained and why no records about it were kept even in 1860. 

Also weirder still are the temperature drops and the whooshing sound that accompany the house materialising from nowhere. It's also strange that the house appears in different locations around this place. Some more researchers discovered overgrown areas that showed something big used to exist up there. Also red bricks have been found although after some examination, it appears modern made and doesn't come from an earlier time. Many speculate that this house is in a strange portal and this means vanishing into another dimension, and then returning. The mystery is still unsolved.

She Wolf Night