The Amherst Horror: The Fires Followed Esther Cox From House to House

A burning match dropped onto the bed while the family stood nearby. Someone quickly put it out, but more matches began falling from above, according to the family’s account.

Nobody could see where they were coming from, and the family was terrified that the house might catch fire.

For months, they had been dealing with strange knocking sounds, furniture moving on its own, and frightening incidents involving a young woman named Esther Cox. Now things were catching fire, and the trouble seemed to be getting worse.

It was the winter of 1878–79 in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and the family was running out of ways to make it stop.

Something Was Moving Beneath the Bed

Esther Cox was 18 when the strange activity began in the summer of 1878. She lived with her older sister Olive, Olive’s husband Daniel Teed, and several other family members in a small cottage on Princess Street.

A few weeks earlier, Esther had been through a terrifying experience. A young man named Bob MacNeil had taken her for a carriage ride, driven to an isolated spot, and threatened her with a revolver. She managed to get home safely, but the experience left her badly shaken.

Not long afterward, Esther and her sister started hearing strange sounds beneath their mattress. They thought a mouse might have gotten inside the bed, so they searched for it.

They couldn’t find anything, but the noises kept returning. Soon, the sheets were moving while they tried to sleep, and loud knocking sounds echoed through the house.

Sometimes the knocking seemed to come from beneath the floor. Other times, it came from inside the walls, and people outside said they could hear it.

Furniture began moving, and household objects flew across rooms. Esther also started experiencing frightening physical symptoms. Her family described episodes in which her body swelled, her skin became unusually hot, and she cried out in pain.

They called a local doctor named Carritte, hoping he could help Esther and figure out what was happening.

While he was examining her, the knocking started again.

The Message Above Esther’s Bed

According to accounts collected at the time, the doctor heard heavy knocking beneath Esther’s bed. He looked underneath but couldn’t find anything.

When he moved toward the doorway, the sounds seemed to follow him.

Suddenly, the sheets were pulled away. The witnesses then heard what sounded like someone scratching the wall with a sharp object.

When they looked above Esther’s bed, they found a threatening message that hadn’t been there before. It warned that Esther would be killed.

The doctor also said he watched a piece of plaster fly from the wall and land nearby. More banging followed, shaking the room while Esther lay frightened in bed.

News of the disturbances spread quickly through Amherst. Neighbours, clergymen, and curious townspeople began visiting the cottage, hoping to see something for themselves.

Some claimed they witnessed objects moving or heard the strange knocks. Others went home without seeing anything, but the stories kept spreading.

By December, Esther had become seriously ill with diphtheria. During her illness, the disturbances stopped, according to the family, giving them a welcome break.

When she recovered and returned home after staying with relatives, the knocking began again.

Soon, the family had something much more dangerous to worry about.

The House Begins Catching Fire

One evening, Esther told her family that she had heard a voice warning her the house would be set on fire.

They had already experienced months of frightening incidents, but they weren’t prepared for what happened next.

While the family was talking about the warning, a burning match fell onto a bed. Someone put it out before the bedding caught fire, but more matches began appearing.

The family scrambled to extinguish them as they fell onto the bedding and floor.

Daniel Teed had started using the knocking sounds to communicate with whatever was causing the disturbances. The family had worked out a system in which different numbers of knocks meant yes, no, or uncertainty.

When Daniel asked whether the house would be set on fire, the family heard three loud knocks in reply.

A short time later, Esther’s dress was discovered burning beneath a bed. Someone managed to put out the flames before she was seriously hurt.

The next incident came dangerously close to destroying the house.

Olive was working in the kitchen when she noticed smoke coming from the cellar. She hurried downstairs and discovered a barrel of wood shavings burning fiercely.

She tried pouring water onto the flames, but she couldn’t put them out. Olive and Esther ran outside calling for help, afraid the fire would spread through the cottage.

A passing stranger heard them and rushed inside. He managed to extinguish the blaze before it could do more damage.

By this point, the family was frightened of what might happen while they slept. They were also beginning to wonder whether Esther could safely stay in the house.

Eventually, she moved out.

The Trouble Followed Esther

Esther went to stay with a local man named John White. For a little while, things seemed peaceful, and everyone hoped the move had brought the trouble to an end.

But according to people in White’s household, the knocking and moving objects soon returned.

White operated a dining saloon, and Esther sometimes accompanied him to work. People there described strange incidents too, sometimes in front of customers.

One account described a small knife being pulled from someone’s hand and injuring Esther. There were also reports of furniture moving across the room without anyone touching it.

People started arriving just to see the young woman everyone was talking about. The attention became so intense that Esther found herself at the centre of a story spreading far beyond Amherst.

Among the visitors was an American actor named Walter Hubbell. He had experience with stage tricks and believed he might be able to recognize whether someone was creating the disturbances.

He stayed with the household, watching what happened and writing down his experiences.

Hubbell reported seeing objects fly through the air and hearing knocking sounds that seemed to answer questions. He also described matches appearing when he asked for them, including one day when he said dozens fell around the house.

After spending time with Esther and the family, Hubbell became convinced that something supernatural was happening.

In 1879, he published The Haunted House: A True Ghost Story, describing what he had witnessed. The book became popular, and Esther’s story spread across Canada and the United States.

Hubbell even accompanied Esther on a short speaking tour, hoping audiences might witness the disturbances themselves.

But nothing happened when people expected it to. Some audience members became angry, and the tour ended after only a couple of appearances.

Esther returned to Amherst, where another fire would bring the authorities into the story.

The Last Fire

Later in 1879, Esther was staying with another family when a barn on the property burned down.

This time, the incident led to her arrest. She was convicted and sentenced to four months in jail, although historical accounts differ on the exact charge connected with the case.

She served about a month before being released.

Afterward, the strange activity gradually faded from public accounts. There were no further documented episodes of the knocking, flying objects, and unexplained fires that had made Esther famous.

She eventually married and moved on with her life. She later settled in Brockton, Massachusetts, where she died in 1912.