n discussing this with the First Lady, I strongly suggested that we
purchase a king-size bed with no footboard from Craftique Furniture
Company in Mebane, that we pay for this bed ourselves, and that when we
left the Executive Mansion at the end of our term, we could take this new
bed home to our farm with us. Mrs. Scott agreed to this, and our new bed
was ordered. When it arrived, the Governor Fowle Bed was stored on the
third floor of the Executive Mansion, where it is today.
ne evening a few days later, Mrs. Scott and I were both in the bedroom
reading (at approximately 10pm), and we heard this rather strange
knocking that appeared to be coming from within the wall near where the
headboard of the Governor Fowle Bed had stood.
he knocking lasted for a
least one minute. The knocking had a rather unusual cadence to it, much
like the bouncing of tennis balls after being dropped from a rather high
distance. After the first knock, there was a long pause of several
seconds. Then there was the second knock and a slightly less lengthy
pause, then the third knock, and the pause following that was even less
in length, until finally the pauses at the end were almost negligible.
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rs. Scott and I paid no attention to the knock for the first several
nights that it occurred. Then we began to notice that this knocking,
which was not very loud, occurred every night. Further, it occurred
around 10 o'clock, although there might be a variation of as much as
thirty minutes. We discussed this several times, joked about ghosts in
the house, then soon found ourselves listening for this knocking each night.
t first, we speculated that it might have some connection with the water
pipes. However, there should not be any water pipes running in that
particular section of the wall since it is not very close to the
bathroom. Furthermore, we checked hurriedly when the knocking occurred to
see if anyone was drawing water in the Mansion at that time. We were
unable to find anyone drawing water when this knocking occurred. In
addition to this fact, the knocking does not occur at other times when
water is being drawn.
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e, of course, do not believe in ghosts.
However, the knocking does
occur, and it is usually about the same time each night. For lack of a
better explanation, we have named the knock the Governor Fowle Ghost. We
assume that it is the ghost of Governor Fowle, requesting that the bed in
which he died be replaced in the room.
here are two little sidelights to this story. One is that Mrs. Scott and
I spent our honeymoon in this room and slept in the Governor Fowle Bed on
September 1, 1951. (The narrator's father, W. Kerr Scott, was governor at
that time.) The other is that the daughter of Governor Fowle today lives
just down the street from the Executive Mansion. When a new governor moves
into the Mansion, she soon thereafter pays a courtesy call on the new
residents of the Executive Mansion. There are two questions she usually
asks: "Is Father's portrait still hanging?" and "Is Father's bed still in
his room?"
he bed isn't, but the knock is.
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