The haunting of Esther Cox remains a mystery, to this day.

The haunting began in 1888 when Esther Cox lived in a house on Princess Street, with her married sister Olive, Olive’s husband Daniel and their two children as well as Esther’s brother and sister. The strange events began in August 1878, when Esther Cox was on a date with what turned out to be an unsavoury gentleman. She was sexually assaulted by the male ‘friend ‘ at gunpoint, which caused her to spiral into a deep emotional trauma response. It is after this horrible assault that the phenomenon began.

The haunting began with knockings, bangings and rustling in the night. Esther began to suffer seizures and her body would visibly swell and she experienced chills as well. Objects moved on their own in the house. Concerned for her well-being and struggling to find an explanation for the odd events, her family called a doctor. During the doctor’s visit, the bedclothes moved, scratching was heard and the words “Esther Cox, you are mine to kill” appeared on the wall by her bed. The following day, the doctor prescribed sedatives to Esther to calm her and help her sleep, but this did not stop the noises and objects flew around the house. They attempted to communicate with the rambunctious spirits and this led to tapped responses to their questions.

The haunting continued for many months and the family gained a reputation for having the most haunted house on the block. When people would visit the cottage, including those from the church, they heard banging, knocking and the movement of objects and this happened even when Esther was under close observation. In December, Esther fell ill from diptheria during which time haunting ceased while she was recovering for two weeks in bed. There was no haunting activity when she spent time at her sister’s home in New Brunsiwck either. When she returned to Amherst though, the mysterious events picked up right where they left off. In a horrifying turn, fires broke out in various spots around the house and Esther claimed to see the ghost which was threatening to burn down the home unless she stayed away.

In January 1879, perhaps to bring some desperately needed peace to the home, Esther Cox lived with another family, but the haunting still continued. Several people witnessed the manifestations, including conversing with the ghost and received rappings for answers. Some people felt sympathy and curiosity while others were more skeptical. Those that were skeptical believed that Esther was responsible for the odd occurrences and were hostile towards her. Poor Esther was pricked, slapped and scratched by the ghost and on one occasion, was even stabbed in the back with a knife.

The news spread far and wide about Esther Cox. In late March, she visited New Brunswick where she was visited by a few gentlemen with an interest in science. This is where Walter Hubbell enters the picture. He moved into the Teed cottage to study the phenomena more closely. Hubbell was an actor with an interest in psychic phenomena who happened to be in that area of Canada when the mystery began and he kept a diary of the events in the house. He later developed the diary entries into a book which was dismissed as a hoax by skeptical investigators.

Hubbell spent several weeks with Esther Cox and her family to study the phenomenon. While in her home he claimed to have witnessed objects moving on their own as well as fires and items manifesting from nowhere. He claimed to have witnessed this occurring even when Esther was in full view and not in a position to have caused these things. He and Esther embarked on a speaking tour to give an account of these events, but encountered a great deal of hostility and skepticism which put an end to the endeavor. Esther returned to Amherst in an attempt to have an everyday life. She worked for a man, but after his barn burned down, he accused her of causing the fire and she was found guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison. She spent only one month in jail, and when she returned home the activity had completely ceased as mysteriously as it had started. She married twice and had two sons. Esther moved to Massachusetts and lived there until her death in November 1912.

Hubbell’s book, titled “The Great Amherst Mystery: A True Narrative About the Supernatural”, about the occurrences at Esther Cox’s house was published and was successful with 55,000 copies of his book having been sold. However, there is no solid scientific evidence to suggest that the ghostly activity ever happened beyond Hubbell’s notes.

A local author, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, who lives in Nova Scotia, wrote a book about Esther Cox. The book, titled “Haunted Girl Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery”, was published by Nimbus Publishing in April 2012. The book includes thirty photos of the locations in Amherst that are related to the house where Esther lived.

The town of Amherst now holds an annual festival, EstherFest, which began in 2017. EstherFest holds numerous activities for the public, including the Fifth Annual Scarecrow Stroll, a Ghost Hunt with Paranormal Phenomena Research and Investigation, a staged reading, and scary movies at Amherst Theatre. Additionally, there will be a ghost walk and a ghost hunt, as well as a youth dance and many other family activities. The festival takes place from October 18 to 30th.

The Great Amherst Mystery will always remain a mystery. We will never know for sure what really happened to Esther Cox and her family and sadly, the house that Esther and her family lived in no longer exists. The tale of Esther Cox in the Great Amherst mystery has inspired many podcasts, a town festival and books. She continues to inspire our minds and hearts today.