The Haunted House on Stanmore Road

The sea was already breaking over the deck before anyone could reach the dinghy. The rudder was gone, ripped off by the reef, and the Waterlily wasn't going anywhere. This was back in 1928, and a skeptical professor, usually based in the Cashmere Hills, was on one of his usual yachting trips, heading back to Lyttelton from Wellington. His friends, tired of the long journey, tried to use a dinghy to speed things up, but an oar snapped, and they had to drop anchor.

They heard a "fearful cry" from the cliff, a call for help, then a scream, and then silence. They wanted to investigate right away, but realized they'd have to climb the cliff where the crime occurred. They had jobs waiting for them back in Christchurch, so they couldn't stay long, but they felt they had to do something. The professor argued that searching was absurd with only one working oar and suggested reporting it to the police when they returned. This explanation wasn't good enough; they expected him to do something. They were glad when a breeze finally allowed them to sail away.

When they returned, they reported the incident to the police, only to find that a murder had already been reported the night before. After a week of searching, nothing was found. Years later, when the professor was telling this story to a judge, he learned the hidden truth: years before, a Swede living in the cliff had stabbed an Englishman there. This happened in the sea off Lyttelton Harbour, though exactly where that haunted cliff was isn't clear, but Godley Head is a possibility.