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Lord Londonderry and the Radiant Boy

The Alexandria Herald of January 29, 1823, reprints a ghostly encounter in England between Lord Londonderry and a boy over twenty years earlier. The unnamed mansion of this event is located in the north of Ireland, and the writer claimed everything from the setting to the architecture and furnishings would predispose anyone to start seeing ghosts and other wild apparitions. Here is a condensed version of the story with select quotes from the original article:

After acquainting himself with the room he had been assigned, settling into bed, and turning out the lights, Lord Londonderry

perceived a light gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopy over his head. Conscious that there was no fire in the grate—that the curtains were closed—that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few moments before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally entered his apartment; and, turning hastily round to the side from which the light proceeded— saw—to his infinite astonishment—not the form of any human visitor—but the figure of a fair boy, who seemed to be garmented in rays of mild and tempered glory, which beamed palely from his slender form like the faint light of the declining moon, and rendered the objects which were nearest to him dimly and indistinctly visible.— The spirit stood at some short distance from the side of the bed. Certain that his own faculties were not deceiving him, but suspecting that he might be imposed upon by the ingenuity of some of the numerous guests who were then visiting in the same house; — Lord Londonderry proceeded towards the figure. It retreated before him. As he slowly advanced, the form with equal paces, slowly retired.
The ghostly figure retreated into the chimney and then disappeared from view. The next morning, he resolved not to speak of the encounter initially to see if one of the guests or family members had been playing a joke on him. When it seemed no one was waiting for the wild tale of a glowing boy at breakfast, Lord Londonderry shared the encounter. The other guests were incredulous, but the host finally put the matter to rest with the following statement:
The circumstances which you have just recounted must naturally appear most extraordinary to those who have not been long inmates of my dwelling, and are not conversant with the legends connected with my family; to those who are, the event which has happened will only serve as the corroboration of an old tradition that long has been related of the apartment in which you slept. You have seen the Radient Boy; and it is an omen of prosperous fortunes; I would rather that this subject should no more be mentioned.

This version of the tale is a bit different in details and execution to the more commonly-related story of Captain Robert Stewart being caught outside when a sudden turn of weather pushed him into a full house unexpectedly. Usually there is a hapless butler thrown to the mercy of the lord of the house for putting a guest into the haunted room which was never to have been used.

Another point omitted from this version is second half of a Radiant Boy sighting. It may foretell success as related by the host - followed by a painful and violent death. It appears from the timing this is indeed the same Captain Robert Stewart, second Lord Londonderry, who experienced success in his life, but also committed suicide. He is, so far as I can find, the sole victim of the double-edged omen of seeing a Radiant Boy.

The Dead Boy, detail. Frederick Styles Agate, artist; Oscar A., Lawson, engraver, 1824. Image courtesy the Library of Congress.

While I have not found the original source of the more commonly-circulated story of Lord Londonderry and the Radiant Boy, the Herald lifted this tale wholesale from Accredited Ghost Stories by T. M. Jarvis, published in 1823. While most stories claim it was the second Lord Londonderry, at least one source states it was actually the first of that title who experienced this encounter. This source, however, may be the origin for the full, ominous prophecy through this rhyme:

To whomsoever he appeared the person so honoured would attain to the highest honours in the land, and afterwards die by his own hand.
It's also of some note another Radiant Boy ghost was reported in the House of Commons in 1911. This description of the boy calls him pale white with a halo of silver sparkles, and eyes "like electric lamps." The ghostly boy appears to be in agony, eyes always downcast, hands stiff and turned down, moaning as it moves through the rooms. The origin of this ghost was unknown.

Although the story of the Radiant Boy is often connected with Knebworth House, another has been linked to Corby Castle (the House of Commons ghost appears forgotten.) This ghost type seems to have largely faded away in the past 100 years. I could not find any recent accounts of someone encountering a shining boy with eyes like electric bulbs - and perhaps that's for the best.

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