Anna Maria Porter’s Experience, Esher

John Ingram in his ‘The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain’ (1897) recounts a reported experience by the authoress Anna Maria Porter (also referred to as ‘L’Allegra’) (born 1780 – died 1832). Born in Durham and spending her earliest years in Edinburgh, Anna’s family moved to London sometime in the 1790’s. It was whilst living is Esher that she witnessed an apparition.

According to Ingram; ‘An aged gentleman of her acquaintance, who lived in the same place, was accustomed to visit at her house almost daily, generally making his appearance in the evening, when he would take a cup of tea and read the paper.

One evening Miss Porter saw him enter the room as usual, and seat himself at the table, but without saying a word. She addressed some remark to him, but received no reply, and, after a few seconds, was surprised to see him rise and leave the room without uttering a word.

Fearing that he might have been taken ill suddenly, Miss Porter sent a servant to his house to make inquiries. She sent at once, but the answer the servant brought back was that the old gentleman had died suddenly about an hour before.

Miss Anna Maria, it is avowed, believed that she had seen an apparition, and was herself the authority for this story.’

I do not have an exact location for this experience yet so the map just shows Esher itself.