First, before I can begin to tell the tale of The Black Lady of Broomhill, I must explain my fascination with the story and the reasons why I have pursued her history, even to the other side of the world.
My grandmother Helen Perrie,nee Henderson was born in 1857. Her family came off the Henderson-Hamilton estate at Dalserf Village. In 1869 at the tender age of 12, she went to work at the Broomhill House, home of the Mcneil-Hamiltons
This position was to grow in status until she became 1st housekeeper, then companion to Captain Mcneil- Hamilton in his last years. My old loyal hardworking granny worked for this family until her death in 1939. I grew up with gran's account of the Black Lady and 8 years ago, due to this and a very personal experience, I decided to bring her out of the mists of time and see if I could prove her existence and find out her real name. Which I did in the end.
The Story Begins
About 8 years ago, when I was in my early forties, I began to have a recurring dream. It came quite out of the blue, and initially I made no connection with the Black Lady, although there might have been some subconscious prompting since the stories were known to me. At first the dream was mixed up and hazy, but then it started to get clearer, as if someone had adjusted the contrast on the television set. I could see myself, at least I thought it was me, standing in a room wearing a white blouse and a long skirt, holding a set of keys. As it appeared to me. I thought, it's me, but it's not me,it's an older me. There is a beautiful ornate fireplace with a brass fender, a clock and candlestick and on each side of the fireplace is a door. Behind me there is a bay window with green velvet curtains. There's a piano and a firescreen with a red rose on it, and standing on one side of it is this very tall good looking colored woman. On the other side is this man. I ve never seen him in my life before- he's very aristocratic looking and he has these piercing eyes.
The dream develops, I see a male hand and on the third finger is a gold ring with a black stone on it. The hand lifts the candlestick. The colored woman is truck by the candlestick and falls to the floor. A sheet is passed over her where she lies. I follow the hand as it pulls the woman on a sheet through a door, across a black and white marble floor, where for some reason there is a polished stone like a curling stone, down a passageway and through a kitchen. A door is opened which seems to lead to a cellar. There is blood on the steps, even though the body is still on the near side of the door. Later I had other dreams, which seemed to take place elsewhere in the house.
One was of a young deformed boy, in a nursery with a rocking horse with only 1 ear, with a colored woman trying to comfort the child. Another was in a cellar or vault of some kind, with hooded men participating in some kind of satanic ritual. Understandably I was disturbed by the detail and the repetition of these dreams. I began to wonder if the woman in the dreams was in some way connected with the Black Lady of ghostly legend.
My experiences and research have prompted me into writing a book about the Black Lady, this book which is still at the editing stage, is a book about Love, History, murder and witchcraft all occurring within the Broomhill- Hamilton estate and surrounding area of Dalserf. A powerful story about the lives and times of the Broomhill family hundreds of years ago.
The book when it is published will be known as THE CAPTAIN'S SECRET.
Helen Moir
