I discovered this story when I saw a photo of the spooky-looking house in a newspaper while researching a different story. And, of course, who doesn't love a good haunted house story? I had no choice. I had to look into it, and I'm glad I did. Upon its recent edit, however, I discovered another side to this story that had been well hidden. Again, while researching another story, I came across a report of a ghost sighting on Foul Point shortly before the haunted house was built (see Hardy's Ghost). I was going to blend the ghost-sighting story with the Haunted House story because the two are related. But I decided ultimately that both stories stand well on their own. You can consider that it is a story told in two parts. The ghost story would be Part One, and this Haunted House story would be Part Two.
I think this house's story is one of the most memorable from Victoria's past, having crossed generations who remember how the house sat on Harling Point. I hope I represented it well. The one thing about this story that still bothers me is that I could not nail down with 100% certainty who designed and built the house. I have many broken pieces of data that point to what is written but nothing concrete. I personally believe it was designed by Samuel McClure or Francis Rattenbury, who lived in the area at the time and owned the property. The Scottish scientist passing through town made the most sense as the owner, however, and I went with that. I hope to clarify this in the future.
"1934::Dr. Fred Harling"
Dr. Fred Harling, WW1 Pilot, Dentist, Hero. (1886-1934)
I scoured for hours, trying to find a photo of Dr. Harling. This photo was the best I could find.
Thanks to all who shared their memories of the house in the Facebook comments.
Thanks for following along!
🚂Papertown Conductor