Original article in the Glamorgan Gazette of 10/1/1908.
A scene of outrage played out at the home of Mr, and Mrs Hitchings (Manager of Pontycymmer Co-operative Society) At 50. High St, Pontycymmer.
Mrs Hitchings was in the house with her two year old son just after 9pm. She had just bade goodbye to a visitor, and did not accompany her to the front door immediately. She busied herself in the basement kitchen for some minutes, then went upstairs to latch the front door and then returned to the kitchen. She heard a soft bump upstairs and concluded that something had fallen but did not investigate. Moments later she heard a a knock and lighted a candle to see who it was? On opening the front door she could see there was no-one there?
She closed and latched the front door and as she turned turned to go back downstairs, a ghastly sight met her eyes, which thrilled her through and through and rooted her to the floor. For slowly coming out of the back room was a figure, It was covered in a white sheet from head to foot, In the flickering candlelight it was a terrifying sight to behold. Mrs Hitchings noticed some tapes hanging down from the sheet and recognised it as an old bed cover belonging to her, beginning to think some sort of joke was being played on her, she called out in Welsh.
“Helo, pwy sy ‘na? Hello, who is there?”
She was quickly disabused of this occurence as a prank, when the figure ran at her with a raised arm and struck her with an object, believed to be a poker, although injured, she closed with the assailant in the narow passage way and they wrestled. But the ‘ghost’ was too strong for her, and struck here again and about the head, and pushed the sheet into her mouth to stifle her screams. At some point she los all consciousness. When she came to later, her attacker had fled.
It is assumed that the attacker was intent on robbery, possibly of the Co-operatives takings?which may have been on the premises. A witness reports that a dark figure was seen leaving the Hitching’s back garden and heading North before going out of sight, The witness also affirms that the person seemed to know his way around the area?
A thorough search of the neighbourhood was made and the poker was recovered but the attacker was never found. Mrs Hitchings recovered from her injuries.