The yellow light in the Weinsberg prison
In 1835 Madame Mayer spent a night in a cell of the Weinsberg prison and, about midnight, saw a yellow light drift in, felt a cool draught and smelled decay.
Catherine Crowe picks one case from the prison at Weinsberg to tell, from 1835. Madame Mayer decided to spend a night in one of its cells to watch for herself, and took her niece, a girl of nineteen, along. Crowe prints Madame Mayer's own report.
About midnight a yellowish light came in through the window and moved slowly. The cell was shut tight, yet she felt a cool breeze, and she asked the other woman in the cell whether the ghost had come. The woman said yes and went on praying.
The light and the breeze came closer until the bedcover shone and she could see her own hands and arms. At the same moment came a smell of rot, and her face felt as if ants were crawling on it.
Michael Nahm, a researcher at the IGPP, has reviewed Justinus Kerner's investigation of the Weinsberg prison ghost, including where it falls short. He notes that Kerner took statements from more than 50 witnesses.
"“About midnight I saw a light come in at the window; it was a yellowish light, and moved slowly; and though we were closely shut in, I felt a cool wind blowing on me. I said to the woman, ‘The ghost is here, is he not?’ She said ‘Yes,’ and continued to pray, as she had been doing before. The cool wind and the light now approached me; my coverlet was quite light, and I could see my hands and arms; and at the same time I perceived an indescribable odor of putrefaction; my face felt as if ants were running over it."
- The Night-Side of Nature, Catherine Crowe (1848), Project Gutenberg ebook #54532
- The 'Prison Spook' in Weinsberg, New Thinking Allowed Foundation, Michael Nahm