The Phantom Blow

The Phantom Blow: John Evelyn and the Mysterious Stigmata of a Deptford Maid (1670)We all know John Evelyn for his legendary forty-five-year devotion to the gardens at Sayes Court, or as the landlord who had his estate completely trashed by Peter the Great in 1698. But there is a much darker, weirder side to Evelyn’s time in Deptford.John EvelynAside from being a diarist and a gardener, Evelyn was a prominent member of the Royal Society—a group of pioneering minds dedicated to using science, logic, and observation to explain the world. In the summer of 1670, those analytical skills were put to a terrifying test when a bizarre, supernatural medical crisis walked straight through the gates of Sayes Court. Sayes Court.It is a story of phantom blows, bleeding crosses, and a 350-year-old psychological mystery that very few mainstream historians ever talk about.The Sudden AttackOn Friday, 5 August 1670, Evelyn was sitting in his study at Sayes Court when a local neighbour arrived, dragging…