It’s 1893 in York, a city most haunted. Notorious Victorian ghost hunter, Professor Matthias Jeremiah Braithwaite, has gone missing. His diary, documenting his exploration of the city in search of paranormal activity, has been discovered. Could this explain the mystery of his disappearance?
“Occasional glimmers of light from the full harvest moon illuminated my subterfuge, as I once again gained entry to the museum gardens after dark. Apprehensive of being caught for a second time, yet driven to pursue my intent to visit the ancient ruins of St Mary's Abbey, my desire being to investigate the many reported encounters with a dark figure a-wandering the site. The apparition is rumoured to be oblivious of those passing by, locked in his own world, murmuring quietly to himself.
I positioned myself near one of the ancient stone pillars, my clockwork lantern at the ready, in order to observe this ghostly being for myself.
This Benedictine house had fallen victim to Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries as he seized control of the church’s power. The window arches in the ruins are a beautiful and somewhat poignant reminder of its former glory. A number of graves remain, no longer sacred but unearthed and disturbed of their contents.
Wearing inappropriate footwear and beginning to feel chilled, the clouds parted suddenly to reveal the moon - low, large and bright under the dark blanket of night. It was then I espied the solitary robed figure drifting between the stone ruins of this once impressive building. Unlike the other shrouded figures encountered during my investigations, he was adorned in black, shimmering in the moonlight, eyes not black but glowing white.
From the many rumours and sightings which have been related to me, I took this to be the Black Abbot who is said to haunt this site. Seeming to drift along, hands clasped in front, he appeared oblivious to his surroundings and deep in prayer. As I stood quietly and observed from a distance by the dim glow of my waning lantern light, it was not fear that gripped me, but an overwhelming feeling of pity. Presumably a former occupant of a once magnificent building, his desire appeared not to be in disturbing the living, but merely to quietly pray for the souls of the lost. His tragic destiny, to remain suspended between two worlds - the afterlife to whence his former brothers had departed, and ours to which he could no longer belong. Why he alone had failed to find rest, I could only guess. Perhaps the abbot had been designated to remain as caretaker of his former home, watching over the souls of those fallen victim to Henry’s tyranny. It did indeed appear to me as a relentlessly lonely existence, destined to continue for all time."
© The Artist
The image is available in four formats:
Monochrome - a black & white print in a black mount
Colour - a colour print in a black mount
Enchanted Edition - a larger mounted print where the ghostly images glow under black light
Enchanted Limited Edition - a larger mounted print where the ghosts and many other background details illuminate under black light. The mount is hand signed by the artist and numbered from an edition of 1893 - the year of the Professor's disappearance!
The Professor’s diary entry, printed on aged parchment effect paper, is included with each artwork.
Would you like your picture framing? Our favourite frame choices for this picture are Small Linear Black and Wide Distressed Black. The prints are framed on demand in the gallery's workshop - if the print is in stock, we can frame it! Do contact the gallery if you need help with framing, as we stock many other frames.
© The Artist
