VI Strange Pranks Played by the Devil at Woodstock in England, Anno 1649
The commissioners, October 13, 1649, with their servants, being come to the manor-house, they took up their lodging in the king’s own rooms, the bed-chamber, and withdrawing room: the former whereof they also made their kitchen; the council-hall their brew-house; the chamber of presence, their place of sitting to dispatch business; and a wood-house of the dining-room, where they laid the wood of that ancient standard in the High Park, known of all by the name of the King’s Oak, which (that nothing might remain that had the name of King affixed to it) they digged up by the roots. October 14th and 15th, they had little disturbance; but on the 16th there came, as they thought, somewhat into the bed-chamber, where two of the commissioners and their servants lay, in the shape of a dog, which going under their beds, did, as it were, gnaw their bed cords; but on the morrow finding them whole, and a quarter of beef, which lay on the ground untouched, they began to entertain other thoughts.
October 17. Something, to their thinking, removed all the wood of the King’s Oak, out of the dining-room to the presence-chamber, and hurled the chairs and stools up and down that room: From whence it came into the two chambers where the commissioners and their servants lay, and hoisted up the feet of their beds so much higher than their heads, that they thought they should have been turned over and over, and then let them fall down with such force, that their bodies rebounded from the bed a good distance, and then shook the bedsteads so violently, that themselves confest their bodies were sore with it.
October 18. Something came into the bed-chamber, and walked up and down, and fetching the warming-pan out of the withdrawing-room, made so much noise, that they thought five bells could not have made more. And October 19th, Trenchers were thrown up and down the dining-room, and at them who lodged there; one of them being wakened, put forth his head to see what was the matter, but had trenchers thrown at it.
October 20th. The curtains of the bed in the withdrawing-room were drawn to and fro, and the bed-stead much shaken, and eight great pewter dishes, and three dozen of trenchers, thrown about the bed-chamber again. This night they also thought a whole armful of the wood of the King’s Oak were thrown down in their chambers, but of that in the morning they found nothing had been moved.
October 21st. The keeper of their ordinary, and his bitch lay in one of the rooms with them, which night they were not disturbed at all. But Oct. 22d, Though the bitch kennelled there again, to whom they ascribed their former night’s rest, both they and the bitch were in a pitiful taking, the bitch opening but once, and that with a whining fearful yelp.
October 23. They had all their clothes pluck’d off them in the withdrawing room, and the bricks fell out of the chimney into the room.
On the 24th, They thought in the dining-room, that all the wood of the King’s Oak had been brought thither, and thrown down close by their bed-side; which being heard by those of the withdrawing-room, one of them rose to see what was done, fearing indeed that his fellow commissioners had been killed, but found no such matter. Whereupon returning to his bed again, he found two or three dozen of trenchers thrown into it, and handsomely covered with the bed clothes.
October 25. The curtains of the bed in the withdrawing-room were drawn to and fro, and the bed-stead shaken as before; and in the bed-chamber, glass flew about so thick (and yet not one lozen of the chamber windows broken) that they thought it had rained money, whereupon they lighted candles; but, to their grief, they found nothing but glass.
October 29. Something going to the window opened and shut it; then going into the bed-chamber, it threw great stones, for half an hour’s time, some whereof lighted on the high-bed, others on the truckle-bed, to the number in all of above fourscore. This night there was also a very great noise, as if forty pieces of ordnance had been shot off together. At two several knocks, it astonished all the neighbouring dwellers, which is thought might have been heard a great way off. During these noises, which were heard in both rooms together, both commissioners and their servants were struck with so great horror, that they cried out one to another for help: whereon one of them recovering himself out of a strange agony he had been in, snatched a sword, and had like to have killed one of his brethren coming out of his bed in his shirt, whom he took for the spirit that did the mischief. However, at length they got all together, yet the noise continued so great and terrible, and shook the walls so much, that they thought the whole manor would have fallen on their heads. At its departure, it took all the glass of the windows away with it.
November 1. Something, as they thought, walked up and down the withdrawing-room, and then made a noise in the dining-room. The stones which were left before, and laid up in the withdrawing, room were all fetched away this night, and a great deal of glass (not like the former) thrown about again.
November 2. There came something into the withdrawing-room, treading as they conceived, much like a bear, which first only walked about a quarter of an hour; at length it made a noise about the table, and threw the warming pan so violently, that it quite spoiled it. It threw also a glass and great stones at them again, and the bones of horses; and all so violently, that the bed-stead and the walls were bruised by them. That night they planted candles all about the rooms, and made fires up to the rantletrees of the chimneys, but were all put out, no body knew how, the fire and burn-wood, which made it, being thrown up and down the rooms; the curtains torn with the rods from their beds, and the bed-posts pulled away, that the tester fell down upon them, and the feet of the bed-stead cloven into two. And upon the servants in the truckle-bed, who lay all the time sweating for fear, there was first a little, which made them begin to stir, but before they could get out, there came a whole tub-full, as it were, of stinking ditch water down upon them, so green, that it made their shirts and sheets of that colour too.
The same night the windows were all broken by throwing of stones, and there was most terrible noises in three several places together, to the extraordinary wonder of all that lodged near them. Nay, the very rabbit-stealers, who were abroad that night, were so affrighted with the dismal thundering, that for haste they left their ferrets in the holes behind them, beyond Rosamond’s well. Notwithstanding of all this, one of them had the boldness to ask, “In the name of God what it was that it would have, and what they had done, that they should be so disturbed after this manner?” To which no answer was given, but it ceased for a while. At length it came again, and, as all of them said, brought seven devils worse than itself. Whereupon one of them lighted a candle again, and set it between the two chambers in the door-way, on which another fixing his eyes, saw the similitude of a hoof striking the candle and candlestick into the middle of the bed-chamber, and afterwards making three scrapes on the snuff to put it out. Upon this, the same person was so bold as to draw his sword, but he had scarce got it out, when there was another invisible hand had hold of it too, and tugged with him for it; and, prevailing, struck him so violently, that he was stunned with the blow.
Then began violent noises again, insomuch that they called to one another, got together, and went into the presence-chamber, where they said prayers, and sung psalms: notwithstanding all which, the thundering noise still continued in other rooms. After this, November 3d, they removed their lodging over the gate; and next day, being Sunday, went to Ewelm, where how they escaped, the authors of the relation knew not. But returning on Monday, the devil (for that was the name they gave their nightly guest) left them not unvisited, nor on the Tuesday following, which was the last day they stayed.