The Moberly–Jourdain incident (also the Ghosts of Petit Trianon or Versailles, / les fantômes de Versailles) is a claim of time travel and hauntings made by Charlotte Anne Moberly (1846–1937) and Eleanor Jourdain (1863–1924).
In 1911, Moberly and Jourdain published a book entitled An Adventure under the names of "Elizabeth Morison" and "Frances Lamont". Their book describes a visit they made to the Petit Trianon, a small château in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, where they claimed to have seen the gardens as they had been in the late eighteenth century, as well as ghosts, including Marie Antoinette and others. Their story caused a sensation and was subject to much ridicule.
Background
Moberly, born in 1846, was the tenth of fifteen children. She came from a professional background; her father, George Moberly, was the headmaster of Winchester College and later Bishop of Salisbury. In 1886 Moberly became the first principal of a hall of residence for young women, St. Hugh's College in Oxford. It became apparent that Moberly needed someone to help run the college, and Jourdain was asked to become Moberly's assistant.
Jourdain, born in 1863, was the eldest of ten children. Her father, the Reverend Francis Jourdain, was the vicar of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. She was the sister of art historian Margaret Jourdain and mathematician Philip Jourdain. She went to school in Manchester, unlike most girls of the time who were educated at home.
Jourdain was also the author of several textbooks, ran a school of her own, and after the incident became the vice-principal of St. Hugh's College. Before Jourdain was appointed, it was decided that the two women should get to know one another better; Jourdain owned an apartment in Paris where she tutored English children, and so Moberly went to stay with her.
Claims
Moberly and Jourdain recounted that they had decided to visit the Palace of Versailles as part of several trips around Paris, detailing how, on 10 August 1901, they travelled by train to Versailles. They remembered not thinking much of the palace after touring it, so they said they decided to walk through the gardens to the Petit Trianon. Upon reaching the Grand Trianon they found it was closed to the public.
They recollected travelling with a Baedeker guidebook, but said they became lost after missing the turn for the main avenue, Allée des Deux Trianons, and entered a lane, where they bypassed their destination. Moberly reported that she noticed a woman shaking a white cloth out of a window while Jourdain recalled noticing an old deserted farmhouse, outside of which was an old plough.
At this point they described a feeling of oppression and dreariness coming over them after which men who they thought looked like palace gardeners told them to go straight on. Moberly described the men as "very dignified officials, dressed in long greyish green coats with small three-cornered hats". Jourdain recalled that she noticed a cottage with a woman holding out a jug to a girl in the doorway, describing it as a "tableau vivant", a living picture, much like Madame Tussauds waxworks. Moberly did not observe the cottage, but remembered that she felt the atmosphere change. She wrote: "Everything suddenly looked unnatural, therefore unpleasant; even the trees seemed to become flat and lifeless, like wood worked in tapestry. There were no effects of light and shade, and no wind stirred the trees."
They reported reaching the edge of a wood, close to the Temple de l'Amour, and coming across a man seated beside a garden kiosk, wearing a cloak and large shady hat. According to Moberly, his appearance was "most repulsive ... its expression odious. His complexion was dark and rough." Jourdain noted "The man slowly turned his face, which was marked by smallpox; his complexion was very dark. The expression was evil and yet unseeing, and though I did not feel that he was looking particularly at us, I felt a repugnance to going past him." They said that another man whom they described as "tall ... with large dark eyes, and crisp curling black hair under a large sombrero hat" came up to them, and showed them the way to the Petit Trianon.
Moberly said she noticed a lady sketching on the grass who looked at them after they crossed a bridge to reach the gardens in front of the palace. She later described the lady as wearing a light summer dress and a shady white hat with much fair hair. Moberly reported that she thought she was a tourist at first, but the dress appeared to be old-fashioned. Moberly came to believe that the lady was Marie Antoinette. Jourdain, however, did not see the lady.