The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
The image in this famous photograph was captured on September 19, 1936 by Capt. Hubert C. Provand and his assistant Indra Shira, who were hired by the Lady Townshend to photograph Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, New York When they pointed their camera at the staircase, there appeared to be nothing there but the stairs. Only when the film was developed did the alleged spirit of a woman, who looks as if she's wearing a brown brocaded dress or shroud, appear on the stairs. The photo was published in the December 1, 1936 issue of Country Life magazine and received widespread attention thereafter.
It was not the first time the Brown Lady was detected at Raynham Hall, built in 1738 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The first recorded sighting was on Christmas Day 1835, when a woman named Lucia Stone claimed to have seen the phantom woman in her brown dress while Stone was on the way to her upstairs bedroom. Others claimed sightings over the ensuing years, building expectations of the place being haunted and prompting Provand and Shira to investigate the facility with their camera.
Legend has it that the spirit belongs to Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686-1726), sister of Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. After allegedly committing adultery, Lady Walpole was locked away in her rooms by her vengeful husband, Charles Townsend. She was forbidden to ever leave Raynham Hall again, and died of smallpox in 1726. Though her body eventually left the building to be buried in the cold earth, her spirit chose to remain. The apparition has not been seen as frequently since the famous photo was taken almost 80 years ago, but one can only wonder if Lady Walpole still roams the more than 300-year-old property.
Regardless, the image captured in 1936 of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall -- long before digital technology and manipulation -- remains the most famous image of an alleged ghost in recorded history.
It was not the first time the Brown Lady was detected at Raynham Hall, built in 1738 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The first recorded sighting was on Christmas Day 1835, when a woman named Lucia Stone claimed to have seen the phantom woman in her brown dress while Stone was on the way to her upstairs bedroom. Others claimed sightings over the ensuing years, building expectations of the place being haunted and prompting Provand and Shira to investigate the facility with their camera.
Legend has it that the spirit belongs to Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686-1726), sister of Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. After allegedly committing adultery, Lady Walpole was locked away in her rooms by her vengeful husband, Charles Townsend. She was forbidden to ever leave Raynham Hall again, and died of smallpox in 1726. Though her body eventually left the building to be buried in the cold earth, her spirit chose to remain. The apparition has not been seen as frequently since the famous photo was taken almost 80 years ago, but one can only wonder if Lady Walpole still roams the more than 300-year-old property.
Regardless, the image captured in 1936 of the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall -- long before digital technology and manipulation -- remains the most famous image of an alleged ghost in recorded history.