In a letter written on 12 December 1874 while he was staying at Ripley Castle, Augustus Hare recorded the story of a moment-of-death apparition which he had heard there:
Another story which Countess Bathyany told from personal knowledge was that of Sir Samuel Romilly.
Lord Grey [Charles, second Earl Grey] and his son-in-law, Sir Charles Wood, were walking on the ramparts of Carlisle … While they were walking, a man passed them, returned, passed them again, and then disappeared in front of them over the parapet, where there was really no means of exit.
‘How very extraordinary! And how exactly like Sir Samuel Romilly!’
they both exclaimed. At that moment Sir Samuel Romilly had cut his throat in a distant part of England. Sir Samuel Romilly (1757–1818), lawyer and law reformer, committed suicide three days after his wife’s death.
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SOURCE:
Haunted England : The Penguin Book of Ghosts – Written by Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson –
Copyright © Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson 2005, 2008