The Brown Lady

Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, is home to the subject of one of the most famous ghost photos ever captured, the Brown Lady is named so because she appears in a rich brocade brown dress. She is widely believed to be Lady Dorothy Walpole, sister of Sir Robert Walpole, who married Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend in 1713. She died under mysterious circumstances in 1726, and sightings of her began shortly after. Though reports of sightings have waned dramatically since the photo was taken in 1936, sightings before then had been reported by some fairly reputable sources. My favorite account is from a Major Loftus, who was staying at Raynham Hall in 1849. Retiring to bed one night, he and a friend named Hawkins observed a woman in brown brocade who vanished as Major Loftus approached her. Determined to confront the apparition, the next night he returned to she same spot and saw her again. He was horrified to see however, that when he looked into her face he saw only two black sockets where her eyes should have been.