Insurance firm ponders poltergeist activity after mysterious reappearance of Georgian candlesticks

Via southwestbusiness.co.uk

An insurer has had a pay-out of £8,500 returned to it after apparently stolen candlesticks reappeared in mysterious circumstances.

The owners of Ripley Castle returned the sum to Ecclesiastical after two pairs of Georgian candlesticks disappeared and reappeared.

Two pairs of Georgian silver candlesticks at Ripley Castle, in North Yorkshire, were reportedly last seen on Christmas Eve in 2014 and were reported stolen to the Gloucester insurance firm in May 2016.

However, Sir Thomas Ingilby, the castle’s owner, was always convinced they would resurface again.

“I remember saying several times that I thought the candlesticks would reappear eventually and even held off on reporting the theft to Ecclesiastical,” he said.

“But we searched the castle thoroughly and, with no sign of them, we had to make the claim.”


Sir Thomas’ initial inkling, however, has proved correct and the missing candlesticks have reappeared in the castle’s strong room… on a shelf in a bright red bag.

Sir Thomas said: “They were impossible to miss.

“To add insult to injury, they were sitting right next to the bag containing the replacements we had purchased with the money from Ecclesiastical.

“Three of us had searched the strong room from top to bottom and I had searched it on three separate occasions. To find them sitting there in such plain view was quite astounding.”

The castle has a history of poltergeist activity and Sir Thomas suspects the saga is down to ghosts of two children, Henry and Mary Ingilby, who died of leukaemia in the castle in the 19th century.

David Bonehill, claims director for Ecclesiastical, said: “We are delighted to hear that the candlesticks have been safely returned.” when they were aged only seven and five.

“On a previous occasion, a dessert spoon from a set of cutlery disappeared for 18 months before miraculously reappearing in its rightful place in the locked wooden canteen.

David Bonehill, claims director for Ecclesiastical, said: “As a specialist insurer, we are trusted to protect some of the country’s most irreplaceable treasures and are delighted to hear that the candlesticks have been safely returned.

“We often have customers contact us when items that were feared lost turn up unexpectedly, but these tend to be smaller items like jewellery, which are easy to mislay. This is certainly the first time a customer has reimbursed us for items they suspect was returned by a ghost.”

Source