|
Esther Cox
was born March 28, 1860. She had dark brown, curly hair
worn short and her face was round with a pale complexion.
She enjoyed being with family and friends and attended church
regularly. When Esther was 18, she was living with her
sister, Olive, and brother-in-law, Daniel Teed in a two-storey house on Princess Street in Amherst.
However, the simplicity of Esther’s life would be threatened
by an invisible unknown power that tormented her both mentally
and physically.
During a
period from 1878 to 1879, unexplained manifestations began to
take place at the little yellow house on Princess Street. Mysterious fires would appear and lit
matches would fall from nowhere. There would be powerful
shakings of the house with loud knockings and other strange
noises. Furniture would move from place to place, turn
upside down or pile up on top of each other. Household
items would disappear, objects would fall from the ceiling and
table knifes would fly through the air.
Esther herself
would become feverish and her body would swell leaving her
screaming with pain. She would be slapped across the
face with such force that left a hand imprint. Pins
would come out of the air and stick into her body leaving her
marked from head to toe with scratches and once it was
reported that she was stabbed repeatedly in her back with a
clasp knife. Perhaps, one of the most terrifying events
was the night in Esther’s room when everyone heard the sound
of writing and saw deeply indented in the wall the threat
“Esther Cox, you are mine
to kill”.
With
all the unquestionable and
unanswered actions it
became no longer safe to have Esther in the house so she left,
never returning. Esther survived the ordeal and
eventually married Mr. Adam Porter of Springhill,
NS, who later died and they had one son. She remarried a
Mr. Peter Shanahan, also of Springhill, and they had one son.
They moved to Brockton, Mass. Esther died November 8,
1912.
|
Photograph of our
"Esther Cox" doll produced by Elaine Baptiste. See our
"Support the Museum - Gift Shop" page. |
We have recently commissioned
Elaine Baptiste of Salt Bay Artisans to produce an "Esther
Cox" doll (see image) for the Museum. The Book of Walter
Hubbell's record of the mysterious events, "The Great Amherst
Mystery" is also for sale at the Museum Gift Shop.
Source: The Great Amherst Mystery - Reference file
|