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The Link – Matthew Manning

The phenomenon in the dormitory was very much akin to the staircase displays that had occurred at my home. On many occasions when we were all in bed, objects would hurtle towards somebody, as if to strike the person, and then either swing away at an angle, just before he was hit or strike him so lightly that it was hardly felt. Hurling objects missed people literally by a few inches and often hit the wall behind their head.

One event that made a lasting impression in more than one way, was when an apport, in the shape of a four ounce brass weight, hurtled from one end of the dormitory to the other, striking the metal frame of a bunk with a resounding crack. It made such a noise that the lights were switched on; it was found that the frame had been dented by the weight, which gives some indication of the force behind these objects. Had it veered a fraction of a degree in either direction it would have hit somebody. The Headmaster's worries grew daily.

Objects, none of which belonged in the dormitory, would be thrown and it was soon noted that certain missiles would appear one night and not the next. One night nothing but glass would materialise, and on the following night it would be only nails. Other apports included skewers, stones, pieces of broken concrete, and spoons.

Terror struck the dormitory when on one night bone-handled knives were thrown, which no one had seen before. By the next morning fourteen of these knives were picked up from the floor. Several of these had struck people very gently, and one or two of them narrowly missed fellow pupils as they hurtled towards the walls.