The Masturbating Ghost Chimp of Athelhampton

 The Masturbating Ghost Chimp of Athelhampton

By Cole Herrold

Before I even start diving into this case, yes, you read that correctly. In the stately Athelhampton Manor, there is indeed, allegedly, the ghost of a chimpanzee that even after death is subject to self-indulgence although most sources tend to euphemize or totally ignore this behavior. Athelhampton Hall located in Dorchester, Dorset, England was built in 1485 by Sir William Martyn and has had a rich history which ultimately led it to being one of the most haunted locations in England and some would argue the world at least as far as homes go. The home housed the Martyn family for four generations until 1891 when it was sold to Alfred Cart de Lafontaine and then sold in 1957 to Robert Victor Cooke whose family had owned the property until 2019 when it changed hands to Giles Keating who made the grounds open to the public.

Now back to the Ape. The Ape which would appear on Martyn’s Crest sitting on a tree stump, and included in his  estate’s motto which was ‘He who looks at Martyn’s ape, Martyn’s ape will look at him’ was a creature kept as a family pet. The animal was allowed to wander freely through the halls, and it was this freeness which ultimately ended his life. This however gets into the more folkloric aspect of the tale. The Martyns were Catholic during the Tudor times which led into a religious turning of hands and in so to be faithfully Catholic led to a variety of problems. During this time one of their daughters in love with someone outside the catholic faith and wanting to marry this individual and seeing the denial from her family as this was forbidden proceeded to hide in a secret room behind some paneling in the Great Chamber however in her haste she did not notice the silent slinking form of the ape also entering the room. This is where the story enters two versions in one version this disheartened daughter proceeded to slit her throat in front of the started ape in the other she merely waited for a period of time still not seeing the ape in the hidden room and leaving the room with the ape behind ultimately trapping it. Another legend states that the Martyn Ape had entered the room accidentally when the house was under construction of the room and that the oblivious construction crew proceeded to in Edgar Allan Poe’s Cask of Amontillado fashion, wall the ape up. The outcome however in either version is the same the poor animal became trapped inside the secret room and became trapped therein to suffer the slow and terrible death by starvation. The family had heard the strange sound of scratching on the walls for some time, but none could place the sound and they soon stopped and then the smell came. They tracked the smell to the area of the secret chamber and upon opening it found the rotting mummy-like remains of the animal.

While this tragic end to the animal seemed to be just that to Martyn and his family it would not be the case. Soon reports of the apparition would arise and it would both mimic the estate motto and re-enact its final moments with a sexual twist. The ghost of the animal is said to do a variety of actions the most active of which is when it is claimed to swing from the Great Chambers rafters where it masturbates or “scratches itself” as it moves. Its also said to occasionally stay still and masturbate in front of any who enter the chamber whereupon it fulfills the motto specifically about it looking at whoever looks at him. Yet most of experience the ape when stationary state that it does make eye-to-eye contact as it indulges itself. Outside of this the ghost at night seems to return the hidden room that ended its life and proceeds to instead of “scratching” itself scratches the paneling as a constant reminder of the past.

This story was picked up by the Sun in 2015 and ran an article on the case entitled “the Ghost of a Masturbating Ape Haunts the Hallways of a Grand Country Estate in Dorset” the article on the site is now defunct yet the Express has since reprinted the article and with it the thoughts on one would-be ghost hunter to the location who said the following “One tourist who visited recently, 41-year-old dad-of-three John Morrison, of Derby, said "We heard that the monkey which haunts the house loves to scratch his privates while swinging around…"We didn't see him, which is a shame, because it would have been a real sight. Apparently he's not terrifying - quite friendly is what we heard" added John, a printer, who visited with wife Helene, 38, and their children while on their summer holidays in Dorset”.

Now it is important to note that Athelhampton Hall is not just the haunt of this Ghost ape but also that of a pair of spectral duelists, a grey lady, a phantom black monk, and a phantom cooper so paranormal phenomenon is not subjected to one specific type or form. Its all of these various apparitions that have led the house to being considered one of the most haunted homes in England as well as the veracity of the sightings. Typically, in haunted locations, there is this mass collection of apparitions reported and usually what we see is that one of the entities amongst the group is an animal of some sort. In many locations spectral horses are reported with riders, ghost pigs are fairly common, yet the most famous types typically tend to be ghost dogs, cats, or horses ridden or otherwise. The existence therefore of reported ghost ape or ghost monkey as some reports state are not impossible or even uncommon as Elliott O’Donnell described a case involving a ghost baboon and cat in a haunted location. However, he was quick to also hypothesize that this may have been the ghost of a human and horse as in ghost lore there is a ton of cases of ghost animals which witnesses and folklorists claim are the souls of transmogrified humans. Some famous examples being the Fiery Turkey of Kampa, The Roaring Bull of Bagbury, and The Leper Tiger.

Tying Cryptozoology to cases that seem to be entirely spectral in origin seem to be an impossibility yet interestingly in Nick Redfern’s book Three Men Seeking Monsters he does just that. The ghost Chimp of Athelhampton as well as the Ghost Ape of Marwood yet another ape ghost from England are all stories generated to explain sightings of a bigfoot-like cryptid known as the Man-Monkey said to roam in England. Redfern states that these shadowy ape-like figures were easier to explain away as ghosts than some flesh and blood local fauna or some supernaturally empowered mixed between the two, however, and while I do not want to outright dismiss this possibility with such cases as the Marwood ape. A bigfoot-like creature that regularly masturbates inside the Grand Chamber of an estate is a stretch unless it is some spectral or egregoric entity which again is a whole new animal and not the simple deluge into the hypothesis that is proposed in his book.  The same goes for if this is some interdimensional or spectral version of a sasquatch to what point would this creature need to masturbate or even appear in a building when in most cases these entities are the alternatives of what humans are/ are interested in. There are those cases of Sasquatch peering in cabins/ trailers or even entering in, but those cases end with them either wrecking the cabin or leaving prompted or unprompted. None of which typically vanish or decide to masturbate. Plus, I think there’s something off-putting in general to explain every phenomenon or every seemingly ape or human-like phenomena into a bigfoot-like camp and not its own unique phenomenon. 

Alternative explanations to the masturbating chimp seems to be an impossibility. Outside that is of either a hoax or a legend. I’ve never come across a first-person account of someone saying they seen the ape as opposed to say the Highgate ghost Chicken or other animal ghost cases reported by Elliott O’Donnell. It's from this that it's hard to garner a rating on this phenomenon. People do want and expect to witness this entity yet so far no one has seemingly in the modern century come forward and claimed a sighting. To me, this would garner an immediate place into the urban legend category but as with all legends perhaps there is something to it or that there’s something to animal ghosts that causes them to manifest less than other types of ghosts. Its come to my attention while researching the phenomenon that animal ghosts usually have a few major documented accounts and then suddenly they drop off the earth as though that was enough for them to manifest or that their mission was completed or whatever else would cause an apparition to appear. Experts or those familiar with ghost animal lore seemingly have no effect in manifestation rate and so further sightings if they occur are rare and seemingly not an example of the Egregoric creation something commonly associated with hauntings.

Its from this that if reports of the ghost chimp are accurate that I am led to believe that what was seen was a genuine ghost and that due to environmental constraints or that its mission was achieved that it now either no longer haunts the location or has no need to appear as common as it did previously. The legend of this apparition lives on as many classic British ghosts which have been rehashed over the years and like them we have no new sightings and while I do not dismiss Egregores or Tulpas its safe to say that the Athelhampton Ghost is not one of those especially since it shines above the other apparitions said to haunt the location. Yet all of this has yet to be tested perhaps the ghost will return and some brighter minds will decipher whether we are seeing some specter from the past or some manifestation created from seemingly the most intelligent forces on this planet. All of which is currently to be debated and if so one has to wonder if this is the result who has the dirtier mind.

Species/Potential Species: Ghost Primate/Paranormal Entity

Location: Athelhampton Hall, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

Sighted: Unspecified/Modern Times

Works Cited:

A Ghost Hunter's Handbook By Peter Underwood

Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men By Nick Redfern

Haunted Pet Stories: Tales Of Ghostly Cats, Spooky Dogs, And Demonic Bunnies By Mary Beth Crain

“The Ghosts of Athelhampton” Athelhampton. https://www.athelhampton.com/copy-of-history. Accessed 2/25/2023.

“THE GHOSTS OF ATHELHAMPTON HOUSE” Haunted Rooms. https://www.hauntedrooms.co.uk/athelhampton-house Accessed 2/25/2023

“SPANK the Monkey Does Just That While Haunting English Estate” 95.7 The Hog Rocks. July 23, 2019. https://www.957thehog.com/spank-the-monkey-does-just-that-while-haunting-english-estate/. Accessed 2/25/2023

“Ghost of rude masterbating monkey shocks visitors to stately home in Dorset” Express. August 5, 2016. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/696974/Ghost-rude-monkey-shocks-visitors-stately-home-Dorset. Accessed 2/25/2023.