The room at the top of the tower
The sound of footsteps on the staircase is a common occurrence
“I have never been brave enough to make the tower room my bedroom,” said a smiling Dave Dewes, Democratic Alliance representative councillor, and owner of the Tower House, situated on the corner of Goldman Street and Seventh Avenue in Florida.
Dave has owned the property for the past 20 years. “Although this is now a place of business, I lived in the house in my younger years. Many people believe there is a presence – or a ghost if you will – in the house. I am unfortunately not one of those people who can detect the presence of supernatural visitors, but I do believe that the stories being told have confirmed themselves many times over the years,” he said. He added that the presence is definitely mostly in the tower room.
According to him, odd little things have always happened in the house. “The alarm would always activate every evening at around midnight; the temperatures in the rooms would either be too hot or freezing cold; many people have heard footsteps on the stairs, and some of the appliances, like the microwave, would just switch on by themselves,” he said.
He also had a few other stories to tell, see video here:
The Record team, together with Josh, the psychic medium, chose the house to feature in the third instalment of the Haunted History series, and went on a mission.
The first presence Josh detected was the spirit of a woman who committed suicide, trapped in one of the front offices. “She is not a peaceful spirit. The staff has probably noticed that a lot of fights usually happen in this office. This is her doing,” he said.
See video here:
Upon entering the kitchen, where the trapdoor to the cellar was located, he became aware of another spirit, this time a male who had died in the cellar. “He was kept there, maybe hidden, and died in the cellar. He could have suffocated, but it was a long time ago,” said Josh.
“As we arrived, I clearly heard footsteps on the stairs, and when I went to look, there was nobody. It is definitely a male spirit still lingering here,” he said.
The house was built by the original owner, Robert Bryden, in 1910, on the site which was formerly the Magistrate’s residence, with the jail diagonally across the road. The stone building of the Magistrate’s house was incorporated into the existing house, and the Bryden family lived in the house until Robert died in 1942.
Robert came to South Africa from Kerrow, Scotland and married Elizabeth in 1908. He was the architect and builder of the Tower House, and it is said that the house was specially designed and built for his wife.
The house is unusual because it is the only house with a turret feature in the area. Robert built the turret room to accommodate his ailing eldest son – David – who was suffering from tuberculosis, as the doctors believed that the fresh air would help. David died in 1913 – at age four.
During the tour of the house with the psychic medium, Josh, many of these suspicions were confirmed, but, although he did say that the underground cellar felt a little peculiar to him, he confirmed that he could not find – or see – any tunnels.
Dave could not confirm the identities of the woman and man Josh sensed. He also said that the presence of the much talked about tunnels could not be confirmed. “I have spoken to the civil engineer who was responsible for laying the sewer lines around here back then, and he confirmed that there was no tunnel connecting this house with the old jail. I have also gone down into the cellar to explore it for myself, and came up empty-handed,” he said, smiling.
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