Haunted Clocks

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The first thing to say is that there has always been something vaguely unsettling about grandfather clocks.  They're about the same height and girth as a human being, they have a face, and for centuries the clock was by far the most complex piece of machinery most people knew, the closest thing to artificial intelligence.  Long before radio and robots, it was the clock that seemed eerily human.  It's never taken very much to anthropomorphize grandfather clocks in odd or whimsical or sinister directions.

This cultural hangover continues into our own time.  Grandfather clocks have been standard props in scary movies as long as they've been making scary movies.  They're right up there with suits of armor when it comes to creepy things standing around in dark old houses.  
 
It's a small step from this general eeriness to the notion of haunted clocks, and sure enough, in popular culture haunted clocks are a widely-known phenomenon.  A good musical example is "My Grandfather's Clock," a lively little ditty written in 1876.  It's been recorded by the Everly Brothers, Burl Ives, and Johnny Cash, among others.
 
Stories of "genuine" haunted clocks have been around a long time and continue to be plentiful.  In an article by columnist J.D. Mullane, he describes in detail the strange ways of a grandfather clock he inherited from his sister after she died.  It won't run, can't be fixed, but it chimes at peculiar times, especially when there is a dangerous situation threatening one of the children.  Mullane's column triggered a number of responses from readers about their own creepy clocks:
 
 "On our first wedding anniversary, my parents gave us an anniversary clock. Not expensive, but I loved it. It kept perfect time for years. Mom passed in 1990. After a few years, it stopped. Changing batteries didn’t help. Because I loved it and it meant something to me, I kept it on the mantel. When we moved, the clock went with us and had its place of honor on a new mantel. But it was quiet, and the pendulum didn’t move.
 
Until one evening when my husband and I sat in the kitchen. The clock chimed. Looking at each other, we went to the clock, but it clearly wasn’t working. Puzzled, we forgot about it. Later that evening, my son was in a minor auto accident. Over the years, the clock chimed randomly, always announcing something, not always bad, most of the time good. It got to the point that when it chimed, I would say, ‘Hi, Mom.’
 
(On) Jan. 6, 2012, my dad passed away. Dad was a major do-it-yourself handyman. There was nothing he couldn’t fix. ... The clock still randomly chimed, until then. About a week after we buried Dad, we sat in the kitchen talking about him over a glass of wine, and damn, the clock chimed at 10:59 p.m. The next day, while dusting the mantel, I freaked out. The pendulum was spinning and the hands were keeping time! 
 
 While it doesn’t chime every hour, when it does, it is usually at night and always at one minute to the hour. Guess Dad is still working on it. Between the random chimes I have a connection to my parents, who I miss tremendously. The clock stays, as is."
*****
"My cousin, Gerri, passed away two years ago in September. Her brother cared for her and was very good to her until she died. Well, just a few months later, our families all got together for Thanksgiving at the brother’s house. Dinner was out on the table, and Gerri’s brother gave a toast to Gerri, and we all raised our glasses to her. He said some really sweet things to his sister, and we were all missing her and wishing she was with us.
 
Suddenly, a clock on the buffet started chiming. The brother stood up with a really funny look on his face, and then he told us this: The clock had not worked in over a year. It was sent to a repair shop, but could not be fixed. It just started working right after our little toast. It works to this day. So it must be that our loved ones can somehow communicate to us through clocks. I truly believe this."
*****
"Many years ago, on our first anniversary, my husband bought an anniversary clock with a chime. It stopped working (they always seem to stop working, no matter who owns them), and we took it to clock repairmen. But ... it wouldn’t work. I left it in our house, always in a place of honor, so everyone could see it. It’s really a beautiful thing.
 
(My husband) died five years ago. A few months after he died, I was still missing him, and then the clock began chiming. It was on what would have been our 54th wedding anniversary. The clock now works and keeps good time. I can’t explain it, but I know what I want to believe."
 
There are plenty of stories like those out there. Some of these creepy time pieces have been acting up for quite a while.  Birr Castle in Ireland reportedly has an old haunted grandfather clock in it:
 
 "I am the fourth owner of a grandfather clock that was first purchased by my grandmother's brother approximately 100 years ago.  Great Uncle Telemac was a man of wealth who could neither read nor write but went on to start one of the largest insurance companies to date. When he passed away, the great clock stopped, and no amount of coaxing would get it to start again. It sat in the dining room of his house in Montreal, Quebec, and when the family was gathered around the dining room table to hear the reading of the will, the clock started again with no outside influence.
 
The clock is a seven foot tall unit that has a series of three weights that have to be pulled up by chains to wind it. When my grandmother Blanche died, it again stopped working and would not start. My mother was given the clock by her sister and had the clock shipped a thousand miles to her house. For weeks the clock would not run. When she received a copy of her mothers will in the mail, the clock again started.
 
I was living with my mother at this time, and we had gone to town. We found the copy of the will in the mailbox, and when we went into the house we found the clock running. When my mother passed on, the clock struck thirteen and would stop and run in spurts. The clock thus far has been behaving itself, with no other episodes."
*****

 The Sherman House in Plover, Wisconsin is reputed to be haunted.  It's a renovated 19th century building, and it has been plagued with poltergeist activity since opening as a restaurant in the 1980's.  Among other things, they've got glasses flying off the shelves, a massive front door that opens and closes by itself, and a mantel clock that strikes thirteen at midnight.


 
Make of it what you will.  I tend to credit at least the sincerity of a lot of these accounts, becausin many cases it would beso easy to "improve" the story. ("And the clock stopped precisely at themoment of Uncle Fred's death!  I swear it's true!")
 

The Prague Astronomical Clock And The Curse Of The Clockmaker

Prague Astronomical Clock (Prague Orloj) is one of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating timepieces, a medieval artefact which has been running for over 600 years. Prague Astronomical Clock is located on the south wall of the Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. Covered with details and carvings in a Gothic style, it is known for its two intricate astronomical and calendar dials, its massive size, as well as its hourly show of parading figurines.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Prague was being redeveloped to be one of Europe’s grandest and most beautiful cities. Charles IV’s vision was of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral competing for the title of the most dominant and stunning landmark, to make the city the jewel of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time the Old Town Hall tower was built, which would incorporate surrounding houses to become the Town Hall. The Bohemian School of Art flourished as well, and independent artists made their mark on the city. The astronomical clock was first installed in 1410 by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and astronomer and scientist Jan Šindel. The astronomical clock face was all by itself for 80 years, when it was modified in 1490 by Jan Růže to add the calendar dial, and Gothic figurines and columns. In 1552, clockmaker Jan Táborský spent 20 years repairing the clock, as well as mechanising the figurines.

Since it started ticking all those centuries ago, it has had lots of repairs done by various caretakers, and the design continually embellished. A golden rooster was added in 1882, complete with whistles and bells to create a crowing sound. In 1945, tragedy struck; The Old Town Hall was shelled by the Nazis during their retreat from Prague, severely damaging the clock. Many of the figurines and exterior was burned away. While the clock mechanism was fixed in 1948, It wasn’t until 1979 that the clock was fully restored, including copies of all the sculptures. Other European astronomical clocks, such as Rouen’s Le Gros Horloge, were also subjected to bombardment in WW2.

The Curse

According to legend, a horrible tale of jealousy and death surrounds the clock, and it carries a curse. The master clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň, having completed his masterpiece in Prague, was approached by many other nations to build them an equally magnificent astronomical clock. When the city councillors of Prague found out about this, they burned out Mikuláš’ eyes, ensuring that no other country could have a clock like theirs.

Driven mad, he took revenge against those that blinded him by hurling his body into the gears and mechanisms of the clock. Mikuláš was killed, and the clock was broken. His suicide cursed the clock – anybody who would attempt to fix it would also go mad.  According to local legend, the city will suffer if the clock is neglected and its good operation is placed in jeopardy; a ghost, mounted on the clock, was supposed to nod its head in confirmation. According to the legend, the only hope was represented by a boy born on New Year's night. - https://stickymangorice.com/2021/06/15/prague-astronomical-clock/

http://www.prague.eu


 
 
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