The Ghost Whistle of Riccarton

Back in March of 1902, a gentleman was traveling into town on a Riccarton Coach, right past here. He saw a butcher who was feeling sick. The butcher was told to take a sea voyage and went on a Union Steam Ship to Sydney. Later that day, the gentleman went to Oxford Terrace at 9 AM.

Shortly after he left, an acquaintance said they heard the butcher whistling. That afternoon, news came that the butcher had died at sea, early that very morning. This story, along with others, shows how spiritualist beliefs circulated, carried by rumors, sparking curiosity in people's minds.

There's also the story of Professor F.W. Haslem, who lived in a house on Yaldhurst Road, in Riccarton. He was an Honorary Associate of the Society for Psychical Research in London. In 1897, his son had a dream about a rider in a scarlet coat winning the Riccarton Races. The son whimsically bet on a horse named "Scarlet Rider" that morning. He was told the horse and rider had no chance of winning because they were so new. But while he was at university that day, the horse won, just as in his dream. This story has a practical feel to it, and there are letters confirming its truth.