A Time Slip in Versailles: The Moberly-Jourdain Incident

On a warm, overcast summer’s day of 1901, two English school mistresses strolled through the gardens of Versailles, unaware they were about to step into a defining moment in their lives. One minute in the present and the next in the past, Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain claimed to have crossed into a spectral vision of the court of Marie Antoinette. What began as a genteel outing quickly turned uncanny, with silent figures, oppressive stillness, and an inexplicable sense of dread creeping over their heads. Was it imagination, delusion, a ghostly breach in reality or simply a fancy dress party run amok?SOURCES Morison, Elizabeth & Lamont, Frances & (1913) The Adventure. Macmillan & Co. LTD. London, UK. Castle, Terry (1995) The Female Thermometer: Eighteenth Century Culture & The Invention of the Uncanny. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Lamont, Mark (2021) The Mysterious Paths of Versailles: An Investigation of a Journey Back in Time. Independently Published. Castle, Terry (1991) Contagious Folly: An Adventure & It’s Sceptics. Critical Inquiry, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Summer, 1991), pp. 741-772. Iremonger, Lucille (1957) The Ghosts of Versailles: Miss Moberly & Miss Jourdain & Their Adventure. Faber & Faber LTD, London, UK. The Daily Telegraph (1911) Books of the Day. The Daily Telegraph, 8 Feb 1911, p14. London, UK. Sidgwick, Henry (1911) Review: An Adventure. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol XXV, July 1911, p353. London, UK. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠ Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: ⁠⁠ or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠contact@darkhistories.com⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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A Time Slip in Versailles: The Moberly-Jourdain Incident is an episode from Dark Histories by Ben Cutmore.

This episode is 49:28 long.

This episode was published on Sep 29, 2025.

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